Creamed Coconut substitute

Best substitute

Canned Coconut Cream

50 g block plus 100 ml water becomes about 150 ml coconut cream

Best for Caribbean curry

Close match

The closest swap is canned coconut cream: replace a 50 g piece of block plus 100 ml of the recipe's water with about 150 ml of coconut cream. Full-fat canned coconut milk also works if you swap 50 g of block for 200 ml of coconut milk and remove 150 ml of water. Coconut butter, sometimes labeled coconut manna, is essentially the same product under a different name and swaps one for one.

Other creamed coconut substitutes

Ranked, with the exact amount to use

2Full-Fat Canned Coconut Milk
Different texture
50 g block becomes about 200 ml coconut milk; remove 150 ml of the recipe's water
The most widely available option, noticeably thinner and milder.
What changes
Best for
rice and peas, curries, stews, soups
Coconut milk is about half the fat of the block once you account for water, so a curry made with it is looser and less lush, and it will not thicken a sauce the way melted block does. Shake the can, or better, use the thick layer at the top and less of the watery part. Never use light coconut milk here, which is mostly water and will leave the dish tasting washed out.
3Coconut Milk Powder
Close match
Use the same amount by weight, plus 1 teaspoon coconut oil per 50 g
The best dry-pantry match, and the most shelf-stable.
What changes
Best for
curries, rice dishes, baking, sauces, camping cooking
Coconut milk powder is also concentrated with the water removed, so the weight maps closely. It is usually lower in fat than the block, often because maltodextrin has been added as a carrier, which is why the extra coconut oil matters: without it, a curry made with powder tastes thin and slightly starchy. Whisk the powder into warm liquid rather than dumping it in cold, or it clumps.
4Coconut Butter or Coconut Manna
Close match
Use the same amount
Effectively the same ingredient with a different label.
What changes
Best for
any recipe calling for creamed coconut, curries, desserts, spreads
Both are whole coconut flesh ground to a paste with its own oil. Coconut butter is usually ground finer and sold soft in a jar rather than as a hard block, and it is often made from dried rather than fresh flesh, so it can taste a shade more toasted. Otherwise it behaves identically: it seizes if you add cold liquid, and it melts smoothly into hot liquid.
5Blended Desiccated Coconut and Coconut Oil
Different texture
50 g unsweetened desiccated coconut plus 2 tablespoons coconut oil makes about 60 g of block equivalent
A homemade approximation you can make from two cupboard staples.
What changes
Best for
curries, stews, rice dishes
Blitz them together in a food processor for two to three minutes, stopping to scrape down, until it goes from crumbs to a thick paste. It will stay slightly gritty unless you keep going considerably longer than feels reasonable, and that grittiness shows in a smooth sauce and disappears in a rustic stew. Use unsweetened desiccated coconut, never the sweetened flaked kind sold for baking, which will make the dish sugary.
6Heavy Cream or Cashew Cream, With Nothing Coconut About It
Different taste
Use the same amount by melted volume
The honest least-bad option when there is no coconut in the house.
What changes
Best for
curries where richness matters more than authenticity, creamy stews
This is worth being straightforward about. You will get the fat and the body, so the sauce will be rich and will coat properly, but you lose the coconut aroma completely, and in a Caribbean rice and peas, a callaloo or a Thai curry that aroma is a large part of what makes the dish recognizable. The result tastes creamy and pleasant and does not taste like the dish you meant to make. A pinch of toasted unsweetened coconut stirred in at the end recovers a little of it.

What is Creamed Coconut?

Creamed Coconut is Creamed coconut, sold as a coconut cream block, solid creamed coconut or coconut concentrate, is a hard white block of finely ground whole coconut flesh with its oil still in it and virtually no water, common in UK, Caribbean and South Asian groceries.

Cooking tips

Creamed coconut is doing two jobs at once: it is concentrated fat that enriches and thickens, and it is the aroma that identifies the dish. That is why the substitution question is really about how much water comes with your replacement. Every swap here is a matter of matching the fat and then subtracting the water you accidentally added.
Melt it into a little hot liquid first, whisking, before it goes into the pot. Dropped whole into a cold pan it seizes into lumps that never fully disperse, and you end up picking waxy white nuggets out of the finished curry. Grating the block on a box grater makes this far easier.
Do not boil it hard. Like any high-fat coconut product, the oil will separate out and pool on the surface. In some Caribbean and Indian cooking that oil splitting is deliberate and desirable; in a smooth sauce it looks broken, so keep it at a gentle simmer.
It is unsweetened, and this trips people up constantly. Creamed coconut, coconut cream and cream of coconut are three different products: the block is unsweetened concentrated flesh, coconut cream is unsweetened and canned, and cream of coconut is heavily sweetened and meant for pina coladas. Using cream of coconut in a curry makes it taste like dessert.
Wrap the opened block tightly and refrigerate it. It is mostly fat, so it goes rancid, and rancid coconut has a sharp crayon smell you will notice immediately. It keeps a couple of months cold and freezes indefinitely.

Frequently asked questions

Is creamed coconut the same as coconut cream?

No, and this is the most common mix-up. Creamed coconut is a solid block of ground coconut flesh with essentially no water in it. Coconut cream is a pourable canned liquid, roughly a quarter water and thinner in fat. You can substitute one for the other but you have to adjust the recipe's liquid, which is why a straight gram-for-gram swap gives you a watery curry.

Can I leave creamed coconut out of rice and peas or a curry?

You can cook the dish without it, but it will not taste like the dish. It is supplying most of the fat, most of the body and all of the coconut aroma. If you have no coconut at all, add a couple of tablespoons of butter or cream for richness and accept that you are making a different, plainer version. If you have any coconut product in the house, use that instead.

How much creamed coconut equals a can of coconut milk?

Roughly speaking, a 200 g block dissolved in about 550 ml of hot water gives you a liquid similar to a standard 400 ml can of full-fat coconut milk, with some left over. For a single 400 ml can of coconut milk, about 100 g of block plus 300 ml of hot water is a good working equivalent. Whisk the grated block into the hot water until fully dissolved before adding it to the pot.

Why did my creamed coconut go lumpy in the pan?

It hit liquid that was too cool, or it went in as a whole chunk. The fat solidifies instantly against cold liquid and forms lumps with a dry coconut center. Grate it, then whisk it into a few tablespoons of near-boiling water or stock to make a smooth paste, and stir that paste into the dish. Once it is dispersed it stays dispersed.

Can I use creamed coconut in baking or desserts?

Yes, and it is very good in things like coconut ice, coconut fudge, macaroon-style cookies and Caribbean sweet bread, because it brings fat and intense coconut flavor without adding water to the batter. Melt it gently first. Bear in mind it is unsweetened, so it will not sweeten anything on its own, and it is much richer than shredded coconut by weight.

Related substitutes

More dairy alternatives substitutes

Creamed Coconut substitute

Other creamed coconut substitutes

2Full-Fat Canned Coconut Milk

3Coconut Milk Powder

4Coconut Butter or Coconut Manna

5Blended Desiccated Coconut and Coconut Oil

6Heavy Cream or Cashew Cream, With Nothing Coconut About It