Cream of Coconut substitute

Best substitute

Coconut Cream Plus Sugar

Per 1 cup cream of coconut: ¾ cup coconut cream warmed with ⅓ cup sugar until fully dissolved, then cooled

Best for pina colada

Close match

This is the accurate conversion, because cream of coconut is literally coconut cream with sugar added. Get the sugar in and you have made the product.

Other cream of coconut substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Coconut Milk Plus Sweetened Condensed Milk
Different taste
Per 1 cup cream of coconut: ½ cup full-fat coconut milk plus ½ cup sweetened condensed milk
A very good substitute and often better than the real thing in a coquito, where condensed milk belongs in the recipe already.
What changes
The condensed milk supplies both the sugar and the thick, glossy body.
Best for
coquito, pina colada, coconut flan, coconut cake, ice cream bases, tres leches variations
This is not dairy-free, which rules it out if that matters. It also tastes of caramelised milk alongside the coconut, so a pina colada made with it is rounder, creamier and slightly toffee-ish rather than purely tropical, and the colour goes ivory rather than bright white. In a coquito nobody would call it wrong. Shake the coconut milk can hard before opening or scoop the thick top layer for a richer result.
3Coconut Milk Plus Simple Syrup or Sugar
Different texture
Per 1 cup cream of coconut: ¾ cup full-fat coconut milk plus ⅓ cup sugar, warmed to dissolve, or ½ cup rich 2:1 simple syrup
The pantry version, using the can of coconut milk that is far easier to find than either coconut cream or cream of coconut.
What changes
Best for
pina colada, frozen cocktails, coconut rice pudding, smoothies, sorbet
Coconut milk has roughly half the fat of coconut cream, so the result is noticeably thinner and less luxurious, and a blended pina colada made with it comes out slushy rather than creamy and separates faster in the glass. To fix it, chill the can, scoop off only the thick solid cream from the top and use that, discarding the watery layer. Using a rich 2:1 syrup instead of dissolving sugar saves a step but dilutes the coconut a little more.
4Sweetened Condensed Milk Plus Coconut Extract
Different taste
Per 1 cup cream of coconut: ¾ cup sweetened condensed milk, ¼ cup water, ½ teaspoon coconut extract
The emergency option when there is no coconut in the house at all but there is a tin of condensed milk.
What changes
It gets the sweetness and the thick body right, and borrows the coconut flavour from a bottle.
Best for
coquito, coconut cake soak, frostings, milkshakes, iced coffee
The texture is very close and the sweetness is right, but the flavour is dairy-forward with a coconut top note rather than the other way round, so it tastes like a coconut-flavoured milk drink instead of a coconut drink. Add the extract a few drops at a time and stop early, because coconut extract turns soapy fast. Definitely not dairy-free.
5Coconut Cream Plus Honey, Maple Syrup or Agave
Taste and texture differ
Per 1 cup cream of coconut: ¾ cup coconut cream plus ¼ cup honey, maple syrup or agave
Worth knowing if you avoid refined sugar.
What changes
Liquid sweeteners dissolve instantly with no heating, which makes this the fastest version on the list.
Best for
smoothies, pina colada, coconut panna cotta, dessert sauces, overnight oats
Each sweetener brings its own flavour and they are not shy about it. Honey makes the coconut taste floral and a bit heavy, maple pushes it toward butterscotch, and agave is the most neutral of the three and therefore the best match. All three are slightly sweeter than sugar by volume, so start with a little less than the quantity above and taste. The mixture stays looser and pourable rather than setting up thick.
6Coconut Milk Alone (do not do this in a pina colada)
Taste and texture differ
Use the same amount but add at least ⅓ cup sugar per cup
Included because it is the swap people reach for by default, and it is the one that produces the disappointing result.
What changes
Coconut milk on its own has around 3 grams of sugar per cup where cream of coconut has well over 100.
Best for
savoury dishes where the recipe's sugar comes from elsewhere, curries, rice
Without added sugar, a pina colada made this way tastes watery, faintly savoury and vaguely disappointing, and a coquito tastes like spiced coconut soup. It is not a matter of taste, it is a matter of arithmetic: you have removed most of the sugar from the recipe. If coconut milk is genuinely all you have, add the sugar and use the thick cream from the top of a chilled can, and it becomes a decent substitute.

What is Cream of Coconut?

Cream of Coconut is Cream of coconut, sold as Coco Lopez, Coco Real or crema de coco, is thick coconut cream that has been heavily sweetened, roughly half sugar by weight, so it is doing two jobs at once in a drink or a dessert: coconut richness and most of the sweetening.

Cooking tips

Cans of cream of coconut separate hard in the shop, with a solid white plug of fat above a syrupy layer. Stand the unopened can in hot water for ten minutes, then scrape everything into a jar and shake or whisk it smooth before measuring, or your first pour will be almost pure sugar syrup and your last will be solid fat.
Learn the three coconut products apart once and it saves a lot of grief. Cream of coconut is sweetened and thick, for pina coladas and coquito. Coconut cream is unsweetened and thick, for curries and whipping. Coconut milk is unsweetened and thin, for everyday cooking. Recipes are careless about the wording, so if a recipe says coconut cream but is making a pina colada, it almost certainly means cream of coconut.
Because cream of coconut is about half sugar, any substitution changes the total sugar in the recipe, not just the flavour. In a cake or a flan that also changes browning and texture, so use the sweetened conversions above rather than reaching for plain coconut milk and hoping.
For a coconut poke cake, warm the cream of coconut or your substitute slightly before pouring it over the hot cake so it soaks in rather than sitting on the surface. Cold from the fridge it is thick enough to sit as a skin on top and never penetrate.
Once opened, cream of coconut and any homemade version keep about a week in the fridge in a sealed jar and separate again as they chill, so give the jar a shake before each use. It also freezes well in an ice cube tray, which is handy since most drink recipes use only an ounce or two at a time.

Frequently asked questions

Is cream of coconut the same as coconut cream?

No, and the difference is sugar. Cream of coconut, such as Coco Lopez, is coconut cream with roughly its own weight in sugar added, plus emulsifiers, and it is intended for sweet drinks and desserts. Coconut cream is the thick unsweetened cream skimmed from coconut milk and is used in curries and whipped desserts. To convert coconut cream into cream of coconut, warm 3/4 cup of it with 1/3 cup of sugar until dissolved.

Can I use coconut milk instead of cream of coconut in a pina colada?

Only if you add sugar, otherwise the drink will taste thin and oddly savoury. Cream of coconut supplies most of the sweetness in a pina colada as well as the coconut, so replace 1 cup of it with 3/4 cup of coconut milk plus 1/3 cup of sugar dissolved into it. For a better result, chill the can, scoop off just the thick cream at the top and use that, since coconut milk has about half the fat of coconut cream and the drink will otherwise be watery.

Can I just leave cream of coconut out?

Not in a pina colada, a coquito or a coconut cake, because it is providing the coconut flavour, the fat that gives the drink its body, and most of the sugar all at once, so removing it leaves you with pineapple juice and rum. In a smoothie or a sauce where other things are sweetening the recipe, you can leave it out and just accept a thinner, less coconutty result. Anywhere else, substitute rather than omit.

What is the best dairy-free substitute for cream of coconut?

Coconut cream warmed with sugar, at 3/4 cup coconut cream to 1/3 cup sugar per cup of cream of coconut. It is dairy-free, it is the accurate conversion, and it tastes cleaner than the canned product. If you cannot find coconut cream, the thick layer from the top of a chilled can of full-fat coconut milk works the same way. Avoid the condensed milk routes, which are excellent substitutes but contain dairy.

How much sugar is in cream of coconut?

A great deal, roughly half the product by weight, which works out to something like 20 grams of sugar per ounce depending on the brand. That is why substitutions that ignore the sugar go so wrong, and it is worth knowing if you are making a batch of coquito or a cake and thinking about the total sweetness. If your finished drink tastes too sweet, cut the cream of coconut back and add a little coconut milk to make up the volume.

Related substitutes

More beverages substitutes

Cream of Coconut substitute

Other cream of coconut substitutes

2Coconut Milk Plus Sweetened Condensed Milk

3Coconut Milk Plus Simple Syrup or Sugar

4Sweetened Condensed Milk Plus Coconut Extract

5Coconut Cream Plus Honey, Maple Syrup or Agave

6Coconut Milk Alone (do not do this in a pina colada)