Easy Coconut Milk Recipes

Coconut milk (and cream!) is one of my favorite ingredients to cook with. Rich, creamy and sweet, it works in everything from smoothies to soups to desserts to curries. If you have a can sitting in your pantry, these easy coconut milk recipes are full of delicious ways to put it to good use.

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I always keep a can of coconut milk in the cupboard. It's an easy way to add richness and flavor to curries, soups, sauces and drinks, and it works beautifully in both sweet and savory recipes. I've brought together some of my favorite ways to use it below, including plenty of easy dinners as well as breakfast, dessert and drink ideas.

What is coconut milk?

Coconut milk is made by combining grated coconut flesh with water and straining it to create a rich, creamy liquid. It's different from coconut water, which is the clear liquid naturally found inside a coconut. Coconut cream is thicker and richer than coconut milk.

What's the difference between lite and regular?

Lite coconut milk contains the same ingredients as regular coconut milk, but it contains more water, so it is thinner and less creamy and rich. For creamy curries, soups and sauces, I prefer to use regular, but lite can work when you want a lighter consistency.

What's the best coconut milk to buy?

For most of these recipes, canned full-fat coconut milk will give you the richest flavor and creamiest texture. Check the label and look for one with a high percentage of coconut and a short ingredient list. Coconut milk sold in cartons as a drinking milk is much thinner and isn't usually a good substitute in curries and creamy sauces.

Coconut Milk Breakfast & Smoothie Recipes

Berry Oat Smoothie with Coconut Milk 

A Berry Oat Smoothie with Coconut Milk is the perfect start to your morning. Fresh ingredients make for a nutritious, easy and tasty vegan breakfast that’s ready in 5 minutes.

Easy Beet Smoothie - A Cold Busting Drink

This easy beet smoothie is packed full of vitamin C for a cold busting and tasty drink. Just 5 minutes to make and a handful of ingredients to help boost your immune system.  A vegan smoothie packed full of nutrients.

Healthy Breakfast Quinoa with Coconut Milk and Apples by Andie Mitchell

A good morning starts with a hearty meal, like this warm, healthy breakfast quinoa with coconut milk and apples. It’s wholesome, sweet, filling, and only 275 calories. 

Coconut Banana Steel Cut Oatmeal by Tastes Lovely

Delicious coconut banana steel cut oatmeal, made with coconut milk and sweetened with coconut sugar. Topped with toasted coconut flakes and pecans. A healthy and flavorful vegan and gluten free breakfast that is refined sugar free. Make a big batch and reheat throughout the week!

Coconut Milk Soup Recipes

Thai Meatball Soup with Rice Noodles

This Thai meatball soup is sure to warm your body and soul on those chilly days. Made with seasoned turkey meatballs, this coconut milk based soup is loaded with fresh veggies and rice noodles to keep you feeling full and satisfied.

Roasted Sweet Potato & Butternut Squash Soup

Roasted Sweet Potato & Butternut Squash Soup is packed full of spicy Thai flavours. The combination of ginger, garlic, lemongrass and red chilli’s take this soup to another level. The addition of paprika gives adds a depth to each spoonful and helps create that beautiful colour.

Coconut Cauliflower Soup by Rhubarbarians

Coconut cauliflower golden soup with kefir recipe! A healing, turmeric golden milk soup with creamy cauliflower, sweet coconut, and tangy kefir. So much goodness in one bowl!

Best Ever Tom Kha Gai Soup by 40 Aprons

This tom kha soup recipe (or Thai coconut chicken soup) is absolutely perfect. Rich and creamy yet tangy and salty, this Thai coconut chicken soup recipe is filling but light and positively bursting with flavor. The very best tom kha gai recipe I’ve ever made or tried. With Whole30, paleo, and vegan options, too. 

Coconut Milk Seafood Recipes

Thai Mussels

Mussels are such a great shellfish, sustainable, cheap, quick to cook and freaking delicious.  The natural saltiness of the mussels deeply flavours the Thai sauce that they are served in. The flavours in these Thai Mussels work so well together, I guarantee you won’t just cook them once!

Poached Cod in Coconut Milk

This super quick and easy meal is perfect for the days when you are running short on time. Made in one pan on the stovetop, this poached cod is cooked in coconut milk for a flavorful dish made with just a handful of simple ingredients. Ready to serve in just 20 minutes.

Tapado Recipe by Beyond Mere Sustenance 

Tropical flavors abound in this easy and healthyish Tapado Recipe! Make it on your stove top, or speed up the process using your Instant Pot. Either way, the dish is replete with fresh fish and shrimp, plantains, sweet potatoes, in a savory and delicious coconut broth!

Thai Red Curry with Shrimp, Pumpkin and Spinach by Everyday Delicious

Thai red curry is one of our favorite dinners. Delicious, crispy and juicy shrimp, in an aromatic sauce with a tender and sweet pumpkin/squash and spinach. It‘s really quick to make and packed with flavor.

Easy Coconut Fish Curry by Tara Teaspoon

Homemade doesn’t have to mean hard work! Coconut Curry Fish is a quick and tasty take on a classic Sri Lankan dish using supermarket basics.

Prawn Kare Lomen (Copycat Recipe) by Sprinkles and Sprouts

Spiced prawns, a rich spicy coconut broth, ramen noodles, fresh beansprouts and shredded cucumber. This Prawn Kare Lomen is amazing! Packed with fresh flavours, it is definitely a dinnertime treat! A great wagamama copycat recipe that you can easily make at home, especially now it has been removed from their menu!

Vegan & Vegetarian Coconut Milk Recipes

Vegetable & Chickpea Thai Green Curry

Wonderfully aromatic and fragrant, this veggie loaded chickpea Thai green curry is simple to make and perfect for a warming weeknight meal. Sweet, spicy and full of flavor, this one pot dinner is a must make!

Chickpea and Spinach Curry with Coconut Milk

This easy, one pot chickpea & spinach curry is packed full of flavour for a great, no fuss weeknight dinner.  Inspired by Indian cuisine, this healthy vegan curry is quick to make and also perfect for meal prep.

Green Lentil Daal

This green lentil daal recipe is Indian inspired and packed full of tasty spices.  It’s ready in less than 45 minutes, made in one pot and perfect for meal prep.  It also happens to be vegan, so it’s perfect for your meat free Monday!

Curried Roasted Eggplant with Smoked Cardamom and Coconut Milk by Bojon Gourmet

This curry is my current favorite use for the Asian varieties of eggplant. Adapted from Nigel Slater, it has all the spice of a traditional baingan bartha, but with the feel of a hearty stew. 

Creamy Coconut Garlic Mushrooms by It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken 

Spoon this over mashed potatoes a tofu steak, or whatever sounds yummy to you, and don’t be surprised when you go for seconds, and thirds, and lick the spoon, and your fingers, and the pan, and the stove… ok don’t lick the stove.

Chicken & Meat Recipes with Coconut Milk

Chicken Poached in Coconut Milk

Delicious, flavorful and so tender, this is one tasty Thai inspired dish. Chicken poached in coconut milk is simple and easy to make in one pan and bursting with fresh flavors.

Creamy Tomato and Turmeric Chicken

Creamy Tomato and Turmeric Chicken is an easy skillet recipe and perfect for a quick and tasty weeknight meal. Chicken is marinated and cooked with a coconut milk sauce for a flavorful curry like recipe with Indian influences. A simple 30 minute recipe that the whole family will love.

Beef Panang Curry

This Thai beef panang curry is a delicious one pot meal that's perfect for a easy weeknight dinner. This Thai red beef curry is made with peanuts, coconut milk and red curry paste and is ready within 30 minutes. Easy to make, this beef and peanut curry is great for meal prep, batch cooking and freezer meals.

Beef Curry Stew with Coconut Milk

This Beef Curry Stew is slow cooked in the oven for a deep and rich flavour. An easy one pot meal that’s perfect for meal prep and freezer meals. Cooked in Indian Spices and coconut milk to warm your soul.

Chicken Coconut Thai Curry

Chicken Coconut Thai Curry is an easy and tasty weeknight meal. Chicken is marinated in coconut milk and spices, breaded, and cooked in a sweet and spicy curry sauce. A dairy free and low carb dinner. You are going to love this one pan healthy meal!

Crispy Chicken Satay with Peanut Sauce

This recipe for crispy chicken satay with peanut sauce can be made on the BBQ or in the oven. It can be eaten hot or cold, on it’s own as an appetizer, or as part of a main meal.

Coconut Milk Dessert Recipes

Coconut Truffles with Brazil Nut or Almond Butter by Pinch Me I'm Eating

Chocolate covered coconut truffles with Brazil nut or almond butter are a rich, decadent, and easy gourmet dessert perfect for parties (or for treating yourself)! Best of all, you can make them in advance!  

Chocolate Coconut Ice Cream with Macadamia Nuts by Karen's Kitchen Stories

This chocolate coconut ice cream with macadamia nuts is such a chocolatey, creamy, and crunchy treat.

Drinks with Coconut Milk

Coconut Mocha

Skip the line at your local coffee shop, and make this delicious and creamy coconut mocha at home in minutes. This vegan chocolate and coffee drink is perfectly cosy and warming, and feels like a real treat!

French Hot Chocolate with Salt by Champagne Tastes

This decadent, vegan-friendly Salted French Hot Chocolate (Chocolat Chaud) is a European-style hot cocoa that’s made with dark chocolate, whole milk & cream (or coconut milk & coconut cream), and topped with flavorful gourmet salt.

Pineapple Coconut Rum Cocktail by Jessica In The Kitchen

This Pineapple Coconut Rum Cocktail is only 5 ingredients and the perfect summer drink! So yummy and so refreshing, it’s a taste of the Caribbean!

Coconut Chai Hot Toddy by Running to the Kitchen

This coconut chai hot toddy is made with a generous splash of dark rum, spices and creamy coconut milk for the perfect cozy holiday drink.

I love hearing from you!! If you have tried any of these recipes or have one to share with me, be sure to drop a comment below!

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