Wondering what to do with coconut cream? This guide covers how to pick it, cook it, store it, and swap it, plus 46 recipes to put it to work.

What is coconut cream?

Coconut cream is the thick, rich part of pressed coconut. When grated coconut meat is steeped in hot water and squeezed, the first press is dense and fatty, and that is coconut cream.

Let a can settle and it is the firm white layer that rises to the top while the thin liquid sinks below.

It is the same plant as coconut milk, just more concentrated. Coconut milk is thinner because it is the second, watered-down press. Cream carries far more fat, which is why it tastes so plush and stiffens the way it does when chilled.

Do not confuse it with sweetened cream of coconut, the sugary stuff in the cocktail aisle. Coconut cream is unsweetened.

How to Use Coconut Cream

It is the backbone of a deep curry. Stirred in toward the end, it turns a Creamy Chicken Curry or a Chicken & Vegetable Curry lush and glossy.

In The Bicol Express it simmers down with chilies until the sauce clings to every piece.

Desserts love it just as much. It poaches fruit into something silky in Bananas in Coconut Cream and pools over warm sticky rice in Mangoes with Sticky Rice, where its richness is the whole appeal.

And it is the reason a frozen pina colada tastes like the beach. Coconut cream blended with pineapple and rum gives that thick, creamy body no juice can fake.

Pairing and Common Mistakes

Coconut cream pairs with the warm and the bright in equal measure. Lime, lemongrass, ginger, chili, curry paste, mango, pineapple, and palm sugar all sit naturally beside it.

The biggest mistake is boiling it hard. Push coconut cream to a rolling boil and the fat splits out into greasy specks while the rest turns grainy.

Keep it at a gentle simmer and stir, especially once it is in the pan.

The other slip is buying the wrong can. Reach for cream of coconut by mistake and a savory curry turns cloyingly sweet. Read the label: you want unsweetened coconut cream.

Substitutes

The easiest swap is full-fat coconut milk. Open the can without shaking, spoon off the thick top layer, and you have something close to coconut cream.

For a richer hit, stir a spoonful of coconut oil or creamed coconut into regular coconut milk.

For whipping, only well-chilled full-fat coconut cream or the firm top of a coconut milk can will hold peaks; light coconut milk simply will not. In a savory dish in a pinch, heavy dairy cream works for body, though it loses the coconut flavor entirely.

Buying and Storing

Buy it canned and look for a short ingredient list, ideally just coconut and water, with the highest fat you can find. Give the can a shake: if it sloshes thin, it is closer to milk than cream.

To whip it, chill an unopened can in the fridge overnight, then scoop out only the solid top and leave the watery layer behind. Cold is what lets it hold air; at room temperature it stays loose and will not stiffen.

An unopened can keeps for a year or more in the pantry. Once opened, move any leftover into a sealed container in the fridge and use it within four to five days.

It freezes fine for cooking, though it may look separated when thawed. A quick whisk or warm-up brings it back together for curries and sauces.

Nutrition

Quick facts

Food group: Coconut cream is a member of the Nut and Seed Products US Department of Agriculture nutritional food group.

In Chinese

椰子奶油

British (UK) term

Coconut cream

en français

la crème de noix de coco

en español

crema de coco

How much does coconut cream weigh?

Amount	Weight
1 cup	296 grams
1 tbsp	19 grams

Related

Nut and Seed Products

Recipes using coconut cream

There are 46 recipes that contain this ingredient.

All 46 recipes