I have received many questions about what coconut milk products I use, so I thought I would finally address those questions.
My Favorite Canned Coconut Milk Brand
I have found, by far, that the best brand for canned coconut milk is Thai Kitchen’s Organic Coconut Milk. This coconut milk, when compared to other brands I have bought, is so much more creamy and rich. The reason? They are the only company I have found that doesn’t add water to the coconut milk. So although it is a bit more expensive then the other brands, I figure I am just paying for water with the other ones. If you want to make it stretch a little farther, you can always add water yourself.
We will do this by making coconut milk tonic, or by simply adding around the same amount of water to coconut milk. We use this mixture to add to hot teas, hot chocolate, to make smoothies, and I use it in baked good recipes as well.
See all of that beautiful cream on top of the can? I find that usually 2/3 to 3/4’s of the can is full of this thick and creamy coconut cream. That’s what you want to see when looking for a quality brand. I have heard that you can actually buy just coconut cream, but I have only been able to find sweetened coconut cream.
Where I Buy It
I try to watch for sells at my local health food store, but I usually order coconut milk through Azure Standard, because they have great prices! I save a significant amount ordering through them. Their current price is $18.05 for 12 cans ( their prices do change).
I have been told by some readers that some of the poor quality coconut milks have sulfur dioxide in it, so be aware when buying coconut milk that you should be reading the labels. The only additives to Thai Kitchen’s coconut milk is guar gum and soy lecithin (they don’t have the soy lecithin on the label, but my understanding is that there are small quantities of it in the product, but I may be wrong).
However, one disadvantage to buying canned coconut milk is that, like almost all canned food, there are BPA’s in the lining of the can which can leak into your product. So there are other options, some of which I am looking into for my family.
Other Options
- Another option that I have used, is Let’s Do….Organic’s Organic Creamed Coconut. This comes in a solid block, which you mix with hot water. It’s a fairly frugal choice and works very well for savory dishes. I don’t find the texture as smooth, however, as canned coconut milk. But it’s an excellent option that is dairy free (the only ingredient is organic coconut). If you can find it at a local store, it will probably be cheaper, but they do sell it here. I should also mention, for those trying to avoid plastic, this is also wrapped in plastic. But once again, it’s not liquid, so it shouldn’t be as much of a problem.
- You can also make your own, but I would recommend that you buy a coconut grater to help you with that task.
- Other readers mentioned buying frozen coconut milk at local Asian stores. This, I am assuming is not an organic choice, but it is supposed to be very cheap. Once again, plastic covered, I am sure (we can’t get away from it in this market!).
- Tropical Traditions has a coconut cream concentrate that they claim you can mix with water to replace coconut milk. I haven’t used it personally, but did try someone else’s. It seemed like it could be very watery and not very rich, but I couldn’t say for sure, because I haven’t tried it personally.
So those are the options I consider good options, but I would love to hear from you all. Do you know of a good brand or option that I have missed? Or have you used some of the options I have listed with good results? Do share with us all.
This post is part of Kitchen Tip Tuesday
{ 20 comments… read them below or add one }
I agree with you about Thai Kitchen’s organic coconut milk. It is so far superior to the other brands I’ve tried. All of that wonderful cream on top is just fabulous, the texture is better, and even the taste is more pleasing.
I must say that I’m completely jealous of the price you’re getting through Azure. I have to pay around $2.40 per can.
I eagerly anticipate the day Azure expands to Texas (I looked into shipping options already, but the shipments have to come so far, it completely negates the low product prices).
Tropical Traditions coconut cream concentrate is wonderful!!! It is thick very thick and hardens in cooler weather, as all good coconut products should. Just put the jar in a pan of hot water and it softens right up.
I actually put it in my tea daily, as well as eat it right off the spoon. Num!!
Thanks for your wonderful blog. This is my first comment but read your blog daily. It has been such a blessing to me and my family. Thank you!!!
leemomofthree
Tropical Traditions coconut concentrate has no water in it–it’s just pure coconut, ground into a smooth paste. Tastes a bit like coconut frosting with a nice natural sweetness. You have to add more CO as you get through the jar because it can be a bit dry, but it is a wonderful quick source of energy.
Thanks for sharing your source for coco milk. Will be linking to this post from my dairy-free hot chocolate post.
LeeMomofThree and Lauren,
Thanks for the feedback about Tropical Traditions. Perhaps I should give it another try.
I actually have WFN’s coconut spread (lovely as well) which I think it very similar. I wonder how they compare?
Lauren, I realized I wasn’t very clear.
I meant it could taste watery if you tried to make coconut milk out of the coconut concentrate. They certainly don’t tell you to put a lot in! So that’s why I was thinking it could be a little thin compared to the thick Thai Kitchen coconut milk. Have you ever tried it?
Thanks for the link, by the way!
HI Kimberly, loved the info about coconut products! Thanks!
When you use the coconut milk do you mix the more solid cream part up with the liquid before you measure out the amount you need? Or how do you use it?
Thanks alot, Penny
HI Kimberly, loved the info about coconut products! Thanks!
When you use the coconut milk do you mix the more solid cream part up with the liquid before you measure out the amount you need? Or how do you use it?
Thanks alot, Penny
Penny,
You are so welcome!
I do mix the two together. If it is quite cold, the oil in the cream may be a little hardened, so then I will sometimes use my hand held blender to make it nice and creamy.
I think it is BPA in the can linings that is the concern (bisphenol A). I have read (but can’t confirm) that Native Forest says their cans do not contain BPA. I’d love more info on whether that is true.
I just opened some powdered coconut milk from Wilderness Family Naturals. I put it in a curry (in the crockpot) and it was awesome. I haven’t tried liquifying it for other purposes, but it made for a nice curry!
Beth,
First, thanks for catching my typo. ooops!
And thank you also for the feedback on WFN product, I am really curious to try it now!
thanks!
I also like the brand, Thai Kithchen’s Coconut Milk. It is rich and creamy and I purchase it at our local health food store, Sprouts. Thankfully, it does go and sale!
Hi- There is a recent study that says that ALL cans have BPA. I’ve been looking for a non-canned option so thanks for this post. FYI: Organic is not really an issue with coconuts because the pesticides are on the surface of fruits and the skin is so thick on coconuts that it doesn’t much matter. Of course any pesticide use at all won’t get organic certification…
Hi Anonymous,
Thanks for the comment. I would love to read that article, could you send me the link?
I still choose to buy organic whenever possible, but I had heard that thought about coconuts before on some forums. In fact, I use non organic young coconuts, because I can’t find any organic ones (and their price would probably be through the roof in my area, if I could).
I never saw any conclusive evidence however, that it was true that it didn’t matter as much. Do you know where I could find this?
Thanks.
Here in Houston, I can buy 365 Organic (Whole Food’s brand) organic coconut milk for 1.59 per can. It also only has guar gum in it and side by side I can’t tell the difference between it and Thai Kitchen. The best part is that I can buy it by the case (24 cans) and get a 10% discount. I have been making yogurt out of it instead of or 50-50 with my raw milk. It is heavenly!
I’ve been making coconut milk by combining equal parts unsweetened, grated coconut and boiling water. Then I let it sit for 10 minutes and strain it into a mason jar. To thin it out I just pour more hot water through the strainer with the coconut. I love the coconut milk in the can, but I’m nervous about the BPA in the cans since my 17mo is drinking quite a bit of coconut milk (she has a dairy sensitivity, too).
KH: I will definitely have to try that! Sounds like it would be a great choice for avoiding canned goods. Is it very creamy though?
It can be as creamy as you want it to be — the less water you use the more creamy it is. The biggest downside is that when it’s stored in the fridge the cream come to the top and hardens so it doesn’t mix well with the rest of the milk. It works okay for me since we mainly use it in cooking and smoothies (we just break off a chunk of cream and stir it in), but if we were drinking it straight it would get annoying.
You don’t even need boiling water. Warm water does the trick just fine. The best coconut milk is made by using a juice grinder and press. That way you don’t have to add any water if you don’t want to, and this is equivalent to the first pressing which is not available in America. All the canned coconut milk in the US is a combination of the first, second, and sometimes even a third pressing with added gums and water. Lately it seems even the Thai brand has added water.
Michael
Nutrition and Physical Regeneration
Hey, has anyone here found a better source of coconut milk recently? I’ve only been able to find So Delicious coconut milk, and the quality doesn’t seem great (also they add lots of stuff, like vitamin D2, that I don’t want to be ingesting all of the time). I live near Chicago, but not close to a health food store with the selection of Whole Foods (and I’m not sure Whole Foods has anything except the So Delicious milk).
To the author: Why don’t you request that your favorite coconut milk brand use large glass containers and that you’ll get a lot of people to buy from them and you’ll promote them more on your site in return?
I definitely prefer So Delicious to the canned stuff, for another perspective. It’s better for a straight milk sub, imo, though the canned stuff is better for curries and the like.
I’ve been consuming quite a bit of coconut milk lately, and I am trying to find a better brand in Canada that is reasonably priced. The non-organic cans are about $1.30 so I have been buying those, but organic cost about $4.50 per can, which is out of my budget. Can anyone help me out?
I was also wondering how quickly the milk has to be used after opening. Will it spoil quickly?
I made my own coconut milk today, and it was awesome! It really wasn’t that bad. The hardest part was removing the brown part from the actual meat. Once that is done you just cut it up, drop it in the blender, add hot water and mix. Once it’s blended, use a cheese cloth to squeeze the milk out. Nice!