The post I should’ve written a long time ago!
Yesterday afternoon, I made a Single-Lady Cupcake.
But not just any single lady cupcake. This one is covered with creamy, dreamy, melty homemade coconut butter (as well as cacao nibs). Every time I post a recipe using coconut butter, bunches of coconuts people leave comments lamenting the lack of coconut butter in their areas (or lack of $$, for coconut butter, in their wallets). Never fear; a remedy exists! You can make your own coconut butter to use any way you’d use Artisana Coconut Butter.
Homemade Coconut Butter:
- Shredded, unsweetened coconut
- Oh wait, there aren’t any other ingredients!
I took a bag of shredded coconut (Let’s Do Organic brand) and simply blended it in my Vita-Mix for about 2-3 minutes. (Note: If you use a food processor, blend for 10-ish minutes.) That’s all there is to it!
While you’re at it, why not also make your own Homemade Cacao Bliss?
Side note: Depending on where you live–and the temperature/altitude–you might have trouble with this recipe. It works perfectly for me (and many of the commenters). But coconut butter is very tempermental and reacts oddly in different temperatures. My wish is that this would work for everyone, but a few people have left comments saying they’ve encountered trouble. So please know before trying that there’s a chance this recipe might not work for you.
This coconut butter works great in Chocolate PB Fudge.
Just a thought 
.
{ 366 comments… read them below or add one }
← Previous Comments
Did you use full-fat, or reduced fat coconut? I tried reduced fat, but it didn’t work.
I used full-fat.
I tried to make coconut butter in my food processor. It’s a Quisinart so it’s a pretty good brand. I had mine running for 45 minutes and never got the coconut butter. It burned up a piece of my food processor from running so long. Live and Learn.
Boo
. I just don’t understand… I want it to work for everyone like it does for me. I think Heather (heathereatsalmondbutter.com) has a cuisinart and has had success, so the only thing I can think of is that maybe the super-cold temperatures are having an effect? ‘Cause I’ve gotten a few comments from people who’ve had problems, but Heather–who posted last March–only seems to have success stories in her comments. I wish everyone could have success with this!
Oh, also, what kind of coconut did you use? Apparently, it can make a difference. I’ve had success with the “Let’s Do Organic” brand.
I bought mine at sprouts. I think it may have something to do with the freshness, maybe it’s moister and works better if its fresh. I don’t have a Whole Foods close by, so I can’t get my hands on the coconut butter, but I’m dying to try it. It’s all good. The stuff that came out of my Cuisinart tasted good, it was just not butter.
By any chance, did you accidentally pick up the reduced-fat one that Sprouts sells? I got mine at Sprouts too, and I accidentally picked that one up first and almost went home with it!
I did not pick up the reduced fat one, but I found the Lets Do Organic brand at sprouts. Did you use the big shreds or the small ones? I used the small shreds. I will try it again with the Lets Do Organic Brand and let you know how it works out. Thanks so much for your responses.
Small. I got butter after like 6-10 minutes. I really hope it works for you!!!
When you used the Vitamix, did you used the whole bag of coconut? Did you put it on High and use the wet container? I used the whole bag and tampered but after five minutes (on variable 5/6/7ish), it was just more shredded. Heather @ Heather Eats Almond Butter sent me your link (you both are fab, by the way) and told me not to be scared to put My precious Vitamix on high (she’s new and we’re still in our honeymoon, “just getting to know you” phase so I’m being gentle) but nothing really happened and it seemed to just whirr everything up the sides and underneath the blade so no butter. Sorry for the run on but had dreams about the butter and just have to have it!
Yes, definitely use the whole bag of coconut! If you don’t, it has a harder time making butter. And I did turn my blender on high. I got butter in just a few minutes. LOL about your honeymoon… I’ve had my vita for like three years and my poor mom is STILL scared to put the thing on high!
I hope putting it on high will work for you!
Oh my god! I just tried it (and I have to admit, I was sceptical…) and it worked! And I am addicted already! THANK you so much!! I will try a lot more soon!
)
Aw yay! I’m so glad it worked for you! I love it, because it’s great for saving $$
.
Katie
Your recipes are so amazing Thank you for continually sharing the goodness with us
Aw, thanks Dina!
Your coconut butter looks so delicious!
Did you take dried or fresh coconut for this? I tried dried coconut flakes and it became hard instead of creamy
Hey Lily, is it cold where you are? Coconut solidifies at room temp, but it can be warmed up in the microwave or in a warm oven (Just be sure to turn the oven off prior to putting the coconut butter in; you don’t want it to burn lol).
just 1o mins in my El-Cheapo magic chef mini and voila! creamy smooth coconut butter, Thanks for posting!
I’m so excited it worked for you, Nikki!
Hi Katie,
Thanks for sharing!
I’m so glad I found your website! All your recipes look delicious, but I think this one is calling my name the loudest… if only because once I have coconut butter ready, I can make a billion more recipes… I might be drooling a little right now.
Aww I’m so glad you found me too!!
Ok, your use of coconut butter in a few of your recipes just made me have to finally try making it on my own! I have a little blender, so I figured I’d attempt it (it doesn’t normally like making anything other than smoothies, which works for me haha).
WELL, it did work! I got some sitting on the counter now! Woohoo! But I do have ONE question…have you ever experienced it smoking/steaming (the coconut in the blender that is)? I didn’t let it sit on for more than a few seconds at a time as I didn’t want it to overheat, but the last push when it was actually turning into the butter, I let it go a little longer (maybe 20 seconds?) and when I opened the top, all this white steam came out haha. I’ve never made any homemade butters before, I thought I read somewhere that some nut butters can steam from the heat of the whole process, so I was just making sure it was something that COULD happen and not just the rubber in my blender burning or something, which would totally be my luck! haha
Nevertheless…I cannot wait to dig in! Thank you again!
Hey Alison! I’m so glad it worked for you! This just further proves my suspicion that it works better in warmer weather… a lot of people seemed to have trouble making coconut butter in the winter months (and more than one person told me her blender started steaming up). But lately, all I’ve gotten are success-story comments.
.
Personally, I’ve not had the steaming problem, but (as I said), others have. So you’re not alone! As long as it tastes good (and your blender isn’t broken!), I think you should be ok
Aha that makes me feel better! I’m TOTALLY going to be making a single lady cookie again (with allspice) and frosting it with the coconut butter! I CAN’T WAIT! Haha!
And yes I’m in the UK at the moment and it’s been warm the past few days (even warmer in my kitchen) so I wouldn’t be surprised if the warmer temps helped the whole process out. I suppose it’s good I can’t find coconut butter over here so I’m forced to make my own, because if I were back home, I’d probably just grab the Artisana! Mmm, someday!
Thanks for the speedy reply:D I think I’ll be setting up some overnight oats for strawberry shortcake oats next (but your chocolate raspberry truffle oats have been in my dreams!!) Have a great rest of the day!
Aww u too! Have a great CHOCOLATE-covered rest of the day
.
Ooh yay, thanks for this! Now I can finally try out all your yummy coconut butter recipes.
Oooo, awesome! Is this the same as coconut oil…? I’m new to the whole coconut thing. Can you cook with it, or is it just a spread?
Hey Alex,
Coconut butter has more of a consistency like peanut butter (when it’s warm). And you use it like pb too. Coconut oil is liquid at room temperature. (Both are solid when cold. Don’t store coconut butter in the fridge.)
Does the coconut butter become creamy or is it just powdery? Cause I’ve been processing it for at least 25min!
Some people seem to have trouble with it… I’m not sure if it’s that their food processors aren’t strong enough or that it’s too cold where they live. Is it cold where you are?
do you have to add any water?
No, definitely don’t add water! It’ll dilute the flavor!
Ugh I had to use water! My food processor wouldn’t make it any smoother past a fine grain coconut ( there was a little paste) so i added water and it’s still not as smooth and airy as yours! Boo. I think I wasn’t patient enough. Now I’m stuck with thick coconut butter.
Hey Katie, I’ve been blending away like crazy and I still have powdery coconut. It’s very warm were I live, so I don’t think the weather is causing any issues. I used the Let’s Do Organic brand, but I bought the reduced fat. Do I need to buy the full-fat version to make this?
Yes, definitely you must use the full-fat version.
This was awesome! Not even ten minutes to creamy awesomeness! Thank you!!!
Sorry…I thought the coconut butter was just OK!!
Hi Katie,
My roommate and I (we’re in college) have been experimenting a lot with coconut butter, oil, and other things and we made our own “treats” (what we call them) using cashews, coco butter, and honey. We discovered that a 50/50 blend of cocobutter (homemade or Artisana, doesn’t matter) and raw organic honey from our co-op tastes a lot like “healthy” cheesecake, and I’ve been trying to capitalize and perfect this and put it into a raw, organic treat on a crust of crushed cashews and honey, and it’s delicious. Have you found any other things that go particularly well with coco butter? I’m always looking for new flavors to play with…also I recommend you try mixing the coco butter with honey for something that’s CRAZY good!
thanks and regards,
Marcus
Hi Marcus!
Here’s a link to all my recipes with coconut butter: http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/tag/coconut-butter/
That stuff is addictive!!
Also, I want to share with you my recipe for macaroons!
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
Whip two egg whites into a frothy paste, add 1/8 cup sugar, 1/8 cup raw honey, and 1/3 cup dried unsweetened coconut shreds…
tablespoon it onto a parchment-covered cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes until golden brown
let cool and drizzle with melted dark chocolate
if you like this recipe please post about it! thanks and have a good day!
Hello, I was stirring up my new jar of coconut butter and spilled about 1/3 cup of the oil liquid on the counter so I continued heating up the rest and now it doesn’t taste right. It is not sweet. what should I do? Thanks!
i only used a little bit because i wanted like a single serving type thing but my mom got mad at me about the blender and nothing happened?
… is it just because i didnt use the whole amount cuz i dont want to try again if theres no chance itll work for me :/ …. and also if it does work can i use the butter instead of the oil in ur recipes?
You need to use an entire package for it to work.
Many of my recipes already call for the butter. It depends on the recipe.
so i was able to kindofish get a result the second time i put hot coconut milk with it and kept blending it its kinda gritty but i think it should still work in ur recipes! (:
YUM! You have just saved me a TON of money!!! This was so easy. I had melty, beautiful butter in only like 5 minutes. No trips to far away Whole Foods, and no spending major money on a jar! Awesome!
I’ve read your blog for a while now, but have never actually tried any of the recipes besides some of the oatmeals, which are delish! I just had my third baby and he is a sensitive little dude… so I’ve cut dairy and (SADLY) chocolate out of my diet. So I’m back to the internet to find tasty dairy free recipes. That’s where you come in! I want to make that coconut butter… Like whoa. I have a vitamix, but I only have the wet contatiner, not the dry one. If I try and blend the coconut in the wet one will it ruin it? Also… can I make the homemade larabars and babies in it? I obviously don’t know what I am doing!
Sorry, I don’t really know anything about a Vitamix wet container. I have a very old model and it only came with one container. But I AM pretty sure you can make the fudge babies/larabars in it! I make them in my Magic Bullet, which isn’t very powerful at all, and it works fine!
Help! Im trapped in this site and I dont wanna get out!
LOL! Funniest comment ever!
So I finally got around to getting some coconut… but I have to settle for sweetened right now. I’ve been doing it in my vitamix, and the thing is steaming like there’s no tomorrow! Did yours steam and get hot? It seems like my vitamix is having a really hard time with it. I don’t want to burn the motor out.
I”ve heard that the sweetened one won’t work.
Dear Katie,
I have tried a couple times to make the coconut butter and it seems like it is proving a bit difficult. Is it because I am trying to make it using the Magic Bullet? My latest attempt is semi-mush. What should I do?
I seriously doubt a magic bullet would work
I’ve never tried coconut butter, but I would probably make something gooey, sweet and delicious!!
What makes the shedded coconut creamy? most shredded coconut is pretty dry.
Now, what do we do with the coconut butter? I bought a jar and I am not sure how to use it!
Here’s a list of all my recipes tagged with “coconut butter.” http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/tag/coconut-butter/
Hey,
i wanted to make this, but i bought desiccated coconut, not shreeded coconut, are they the same? And if not does anyone know where i can get the right stuff from in the uk?
Katie,
How big was your bag of coconut?
I use a full package of Let’s Do Organic brand.
Mmm…this sounds interesting! I’ve recently been reading about Coconut Butter…sounds like there’s so much you can do with it! I never tire of learning more about it’s uses!
Looking for advice Katie! I don’t own a food processor and would like to buy one but not crazy expensive or something to wild I won’t use all of (attachments etc). I’m looking to use it for making things such as Pita Bread, Pesto, Chopping Veggies/Shredding etc. I think the Vita Mix (ha! Why do I always think of LUCY when I hear that term) might be a bit out of my price range at the moment. BUT if it’s the best way to go I can see what I can do. What I’m looking to do is not own 10 different pieces of equipment that all do one or two things when I can instead have one piece of kitchen equipment that does it all! HELP PLEASE. ;o) xo Beth
THANK YOU SO MUCH for helping me with the above, you wonderful FUN blog receipes… I can’t get enough of your blog. It’s definitely my go to for fun and creative ideas. Haven’t yet tried the Single Lady Cupcakes but can’t wait, cool concept for portion control. lol ;o)
Honestly, I think a Cuisinart food processor is more versatile than a Vita or other blender. That’d be my recommendation! I am currently using my mom’s old Cuisinart… it’s at least 7 years old, but it still works perfectly!
How in the heck did you make that coconut butter??
Ok, this was my grand plan.. it seemed so clever when I thought of it. I was at the grocery store and I saw a coconut. I thought, “Hey, I am going to make coco butter!” I bought the biggest coconut and headed home. I went through this long process of breaking the coco open, draining the milk, scraping out the meat, chopping the meat in my blender, toasting it in the oven and then put the toasted meat in the blender. The problem came up every time I hit the puree button. The meat would get slung to the sides of the blender thus causing me to have to stop the blender every ten seconds to scrape the sides. anyways, EPIC FAIL. So, in making this stuff, do I have to have an awesome blender (like a vitamix) to succeed in this process??
You don’t need a Vita. I’ve made it in my Cuisinart food processor. But I would recommend getting already-shredded coconut flakes if you can… I’ve never tried it with a raw coconut
.
I’ve tried to subscribe to the emails (no blog or twitter) for the ice cream maker contest but I don’t think I did it right because I haven’t gotten anything. I would LOVE to try the coconut butter. All I have is a Ninja (big borther of the magic bullet) so i doubt it would work to try and make my own…
I tried it in my food processor, but it worked so much better in my cheap blender
Will this work if the coconut if reduced fat? I don’t want to take risks with this!
Most likely not
I have yet to buy a food processor and was just today looking at a small Kitchen Aid one at Target (not a full sized one, sadly) and after reading this post and repeating it to my husband…well, you’ve made my decision. The food processor is a must because I have a bag of coconut just screaming to be made into this yummy recipe
Thanks so much for the idea! Can’t wait to try it!
How do you store this stuff?
Closed jar, in the pantry
. It lasts for months!
Thanks so much, Katie (for your reply on how to store the coconut butter).
I finally figured out why this wouldn’t work for me the first time. I was using Let’s Do Organic unsweetened coconut, but it was the reduced fat version, and I never realized it! Anyway, I picked up a bag of the full fat stuff, and I just made this in my 62F house with great success! So, the cold did not affect this recipe for me. I’m so excited to make some of your recipes using coconut butter now!
I have no idea how I found you but I put this on my Google homepage. All this subscribing to this, that, and the other thing boggles my mind but your stuff captured my attention so I wanted to be able to find you again easily and that worked. (Amazing.)
I want to try this coconut butter idea; I live in Michigan and all I have to use is my OLD blender (like, seriously, I think it’s older than you) or the semi-recent food-processor so we’ll see how this goes!
Ooh I hope it works for you!
Just made this in my vita. I’m so happy!!!! it worked, now my vita wasn’t a waste of money. YAY!!!
Hi Katie, I have a beautiful fresh coconut on my counter…could I use it for the coconut butter? Or must it be the shredded bagged variety?
Sorry, I don’t know.
I haven’t had any success with fresh coconut.
I’m at a high altitude, and I used my food processor but could not get this recipe to work. Bummer. :/
Is a vita mix the same thing as a blender? If not, what’s the difference? I’ll look up a magic bullet, never heard of that either.
I just realized that this calls for unsweetened coconut, and the bag I bought yesterday is the sweetened kind…like for baking. Do you think that would make a huge difference in my results? Has anyone else made this with the sweetened coconut?
Sorry, I don’t know.
I would really like to try this, but all I have is a blender. Based on some comments, I’m not sure the blender will do the job. (Sorry for commenting a year later. I have been looking through your recipe archives. I am new to the blog, but like what I see so far.)
Some people have had success in a blender. Honestly, I think it has more to do with outside air temp than anything else, because it really does seem to be a hit or miss recipe for some weird reason!
Can you use fresh grated coconut instead of dried?
i tried to make this in my food processer but the coconut never made butter so i added some warm water to it and it became the texture of marshmellow fluff, maybe my coocnut was dry? next time ill try soaking it before i blend
Your blog has changed everything for my family. Every recipe I make, we love. It has been like an answer to prayers. Thank you.
I put about 3/4 cup of shredded coconut in my blender and gradually spun it up to Liquify setting and had it on for over five minutes and all I ended up with was very finely shredded coconut. It did not become ‘butter’ consistency, so I ran the blender several more minutes, but there was no change. Since I already have coconut oil in congealed form (like the consistency of lard), I added a rounded tsp. of it to the coconut and blended it for a few minutes. The mixture wasn’t appreciably different from before I added it. (The congealed coconut oil becomes liquified when heated.) So, the final outcome is that I still don’t have ‘coconut butter,’ and don’t know why it didn’t come out as you described. Can you give more information on making one’s own ‘coconut butter?’ I would like to make it at home, but something’s missing for me, since it just didn’t come out as expected.
I made the homemade version, but it hardened overnight into a pretty solid block. Any suggestions?
Gently warm it. The best way is to heat the oven, then turn the oven off and put the coconut butter in the cooling oven for just like 5 minutes.
For all your Blendtec readers, I just tried this on 10th speed in my Blendtec and it turned out wonderfully! It only took 1 minute! Thanks for the recipe- it’s blowing my mind!
unsweetened coconut from a bag? Do we rehydrate it first? I know this is probably a dumb question, but I just started using coconut. Made your Frosting shot today yum.
Nope, no need.
Hi Katie! I have a question for you. I live in Ireland, and the standard shredded coconut here is dessicated coconut… which is very very dry. I have used American shredded coconut while in the States, and I noticed that it tends to be very moist compared to anything I can find here… I was wondering if that was the case with the coconut you use? If so, I’m thinking it may be necessary to soak my coconut in water to rehydrate it before trying this recipe out. Thanks!
<3
Sorry, I really don’t know
.
Hi Katie,
Can you tell me how many ounces of coconut you used and how much butter than made?
I use a Let’s Do Organic bag– the entire bag. Sorry, I’ve never measured how much results.
Is it possible to make with fresh coconut? I live in the Philippines and can go the market and they will “grate” a coconut for me with fresh shreds (sort of) coconut. Maybe I’ll just try it and let you know.
If not, this might not work for me. The only coconut other than fresh that I get is dessicated which I don’t think would work. But again….maybe. 
Do try and let me know! Maybe google and see if someone has done it before online?
Okay, finally found someone else as mad about raw desserts. especially chocolate ones, as I am! Thank you for sharing your recipes. I can be found in my kitchen for the rest of the day if you happen to be looking for me… Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Have you ever had Thai Mango Sticky Rice?? (If not, you NEED to try it!! It’s sooo yummy) It seems like it would be right up your alley
(Also, you should totally make a yummy vegan recipe for it 
)
I just made this in my food processor (: I was reaching for the Artisana when I remembered this post. Yay for saving $9! Only thing: I wish it was a tad sweeter. Any suggestions? I was thinking a bit of added sugar or agave?
Either would be good!
Hi Katie,
What’s the difference between coconut butter and the solids from a can of coconut milk? Do you think refrigerating coconut milk and then skimming off the solids would work the same as coconut butter? Thanks for your input!
FYI- your recipes literally make my world a better place : )
Sorry, they’re not the same. Cnut butter is more the texture of peanut butter. Look at premierorganics.com
Okay, so I made this in my Ninja blender. Took a LONG time! And lot’s of pushing it back down. My roommate was concerned by the noise and asked if the blender was getting ready for take off!! So, it’s done and I put it into a tupperware container with a lid. I came back the next day and the stuff was HARD. Is it supposed to be creamy like peanut butter? Or is it like coconut oil which is solid until you heat it up? I’m not too sure how to go about using it as it is all a solid square block inside my container. Perhaps use a spoon or knife to saw off a portion and soften it in the microwave? Or throw the whole container in there? I want to make the sugar free chocolate fudge or your fudge cake. Thoughts? First off, is my consistancy correct? I used organic unsweetened dried shredded coconut. Hmm….
Depending on your air temperature, coconut butter can be solid just like coconut oil. I’d recommend putting it in a warm oven (i.e. heat the oven, then turn off, then stick the coconut butter in there for a few minutes). If you microwave, it’ll just burn.
i just made this! we’re on a tight budget and can’t get real coconut butter. i want to make more CCK recipes and many of them call for it. i put the shredded coconut in my food processor and blended it for about 5 minutes. i had to add about 1/4 cup coconut milk and then blended it for 5 more minutes, occasionally opening the food processor to scrape the coconut shreds down toward the blades.
this really worked! it was actually buttery! i’m so excited to have this new ingredient at such a low cost!
Hi Katie.
I love your recipes and I have marked heaps of them to try.
I tried the homemade coconut butter.. But all I got was very fine coconut powder, and a very hot processor.
The coconut I am using is dessicated (Finely chopped and dried). It is all I could find other than buying an actual coconut.
Is this what you are using? Or do you get a fresher shredded coconut product
I tried it with fresh coconut and it didn’t work either.
I was going to try desiccated today and after your post will probably just chalk it up to not being able to make this here. (I live in the Philippines and have coconuts in my backyard and still won’t be able to have coconut butter.) Ironic isn’t it.
Thanks Marla, I live in Qland Australia, and coconuts are easy to get here as well, It seems that the coconut in USA is a lot moister than we get.
I tried adding some coconut oil and that took the powder to a paste, but not what creamy like I expected to get.
I have never seen the Artisan Coconut butter here in Australia.
Nope, I use the shredded stuff too. As I said, sometimes it doesn’t work for people and I can’t explain why except to guess it has to do with climate.
I tried making the coconut butter twice. The first time I used a food processor and the second time I used a blender. Both times, it took forever. I did a little research and discovered that other people had the same problem making coconut and other nut butters. The solution was to add a small amount of oil. Maybe my machines are not powerful enough on their own; maybe my coconut is extra dry; or maybe both. I do know that once I added a small amount of coconut oil, it blended up much better.
Is a vitamix or food processor needed? We have a *pretty* good blender, but that’s it. I was also thinking of buying a magic bullet soon… Would that do it? No money for a vitamix here!
It depends more on the climate of where you live than the blender. Some people have reported success in cheap blenders… others can’t even get it to work in a vitamix!
Hey, I was just wondering. I tried reading through the comments but there are so many
Do you need to refrigerate the butter after making or can it sit on the counter? Thanks, Jenni
no need to fridge
Hi there,
Just wondering if the picture with the blender is the end result? Is that what it should look like? Mine is definitely not spreadable, it’s just finer coconut. I was so excited about this and I so badly want to get it to work, do I just have to keep mixing for longer?
Thanks
It should have more of a peanut butter-type consistency. Smooth. Either blend longer, or unfortunately it just doesn’t work for some people and I don’t know why
.
You think this would this work with sweetened, non-organic coconut?
← Previous Comments
{ 35 trackbacks }