Coconut Butter Recipe – 3 Steps to Bliss

crunched by Crunchy Betty on July 28, 2011
filed under Household, Natural Beauty Recipes

Forgive me, internet, for I have sinned.

Today I was going to talk about the merits of making your own dishwasher detergent. Instead, I did that. That up there. That stuff that looks like homemade coconut butter.

And it was pure, unadulterated, sinful bliss. So, dear internet, yea though I don’t walk through the valley of dish racks, I believe you’ll forgive me when I tell you how easy it was.

In fact, it’s hard to even call this a coconut butter recipe, when it has one ingredient: Coconut.

3-Steps to the Coconut Butter Recipe of Your Dreams

Remember how easy homemade coconut milk was? Remember that? This is even easier.

First, you need dried, shredded (unbleached, unsweetened) coconut.

And then you put however much of it you want into your food processor.

Of note: Three-ish cups of shredded coconut yielded a little more than a cup of coconut butter for me.

Then, you turn the food processor on.

And leave it on.

And on.

(For about 15 minutes.)

You can scrape it down if you want to/need to every so often (I did). Or not, if your food processor, or blender, seems to be doing a fair job of not letting it creep up the sides. It can be tricky like that.

So, anyway.

You’ve let it go. And first it becomes kinda this dry mush. Then, it liquifies.

Once it’s started liquifying, you can turn it off if you want “chunky” coconut butter (more like grate-y). That’s what my first batch was. It was good and a little chewy.

Or, you can let it go until it’s smooth as silk.

And then:

You are done.

And I challenge you to not eat spoonfuls of it immediately. It is so delicious. It. is. so. delicious. I can’t even begin to put words to it.

It’s thick and creamy and rich and a little sweet and nutty and better than peanutbutterohmygosh.

The word is, there’s no refrigeration necessary (though I’d keep an eye on it after a couple of weeks, just in case). It does solidify pretty quickly in cold temperatures, though my first jar “softened up” in about two minutes when I sunk the jar into some hot water.

What Should You Do With Your Homemade Coconut Butter?

You should eat it.

By the spoonful.

If that sounds a little too decadent, here are some other ideas:

Not good enough for you?

Here’s more!

Mix coconut butter together with cashew butter and chocolate.
Add a spoonful or two to your smoothies for an extra healthy kick.
Mix it together with yogurt for breakfast.
Put coconut butter on a slice of bread with honey and make a sandwich.
Slather it in your hair before you shampoo and leave it in for 5-10 minutes for a super luxurious pre-shampoo conditioner.
Mix a little water and coconut butter together and satay your Thai dish in it.
Blend it together with some cocoa powder and then add it to warm milk for an ultra-rich coconut hot chocolate.

Every once in a while, something comes along that makes me a little sad.

Sad to have not known it before this day. Sad to think of all the years past without it there.

This coconut butter recipe is one of those things.

But now it’s here.

And my life is whole.

Your coconut and your butter; it comforts me.

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tiffani

Okay. Now I must go buy a food processor. I have lived nearly 30 years without one and now you have convinced me that I NEED one. So I can make coconut butter. I am definitely going to try that recipe (and I’ll make coconut milk while I’m at it:)
- http://www.makeitbakeitbuyitfakeit.blogspot.com Stephanie
  
  I went longer than you without having one… “I have a knife and a cutting board, why do I need another gadget?”. :P
  
  Get one if you can! You will find so many things to make with it, it will amaze you.
- Lauren @ DessertsByLauren.com
  
  I only just got a food processor like 2 weeks ago! I’m sooooo glad I did!!!!
TLE

OMG!!! Its so just in time! Was going to ask you how the creamy coconut can be better utilized to moisturize w/o the shreddy mess and here i see a perfect recipe to slather and snack sinfully… THANK YOU THANK YOU! ;D
http://www.woodwifesjournal.com Sharon

:) Smiling just thinking about it! Together…with chocolate…or nutella…mmmmm!
http://www.gen321.wordpress.com gen321

*teary eyed* Crunchy Betty, where have you been all my life?! This sounds so good! What do you think about mixing it with some brown sugar for a body scrub? Oh, Oprah! Now I have to try to find unbleached coconut!
http://foodembrace.com Andrea

Love coconut butter! I started making some last year and it’s amazing. :D I like adding it to warm oats for some coconuty goodness. And you’re right, it does take a long time in the food processor but so so worth it.
kimelah

I’ve always liked coconut, the SMELL!!! But now that I’m using coconut milk for milk shakes, and coconut oil for deodorant and toothpaste and COOKING, I am IN LOVE with COCONUT!
I’ve been looking for coconut butter but have yet to find it. But, OH LOOK! I don’t have to! I can MAKE IT!! :D
So THANK YOU!!
http://toxicbeautyblog.com/anti-aging-systems/anti-aging-systems-reduce-wrinkles-naturally/ Robin

I adore coconut. I drink and cook with the oil and also use it as a skin moisturizer. I never knew it was so easy to make coconut butter and in fact, last night was telling my boyfriend, how come you never hear about coconut butter?? Then you put this post up today…..weird……I happen to keep a bag of organic unsweetened coconut flakes on hand so this will be made shortly. Keep these awesome posts coming.
- Maggie
  
  Word to the wise… I made coconut butter with coconut flakes the other night. It took me about two hours. TWO HOURS! Other than that, it worked fine. But I will be using shredded coconut from now on…
mamie

that is FREAKING DELICIOUS. i really do want to eat it with a spoon.
TankGirl9008

Ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygod! I’m making this…I am, really, dear lord! Ok, so do you think fresh coconut would do the job? I haven’t been able to find any unsweeted shredded coconut locally, but there are always regular old coconuts at the store!
M

I’m wondering if I could mix the coconut butter with melted beeswax for a super-rich hand cream. Anyone have any opinions? I’ve tried shea butter but I’m allergic to it (dry, itchy cracked hands became drier, itchier, and more cracked – evidently it’s similar to latex in composition and can be irritating for some folks), but I would like something rich to slather on my hands.
- Crunchy Betty
  
  Probably not. It doesn’t “sink in” like a moisturizer does, so I’m not sure it would ever leave your hands if you did that (you could do that, then put on gloves, and leave it on overnight, though). You could, however, mix coconut oil and beeswax (but if you did that, I’d throw in cocoa butter too) for a super rich hand cream. Yum.
http://themommybowl.com Deanna

Silly girl. I’ve been doing this forever. :)
sugarcoatedbeth

Where are you buying this coconut? I don’t think I’ve seen it in my stores. Though I just moved yesterday and supposedly there’s a good health food store by here so I’ll check them out. A blender will work well also? I don’t have a food processor so the blender would be ideal. :)
- X
  
  You can find huge bags of it in Indian groceries.
- Jacqueline Davis
  
  I got mine by the pound at Whole Foods and it was a really great price. :)
http://www.makeitbakeitbuyitfakeit.blogspot.com Stephanie

I KNEW you would work chocolate in there somewhere! Those strawberries… yowza!
Rebecca

Tropical traditions has really good prices on really good unsweetened coconut. I buy the plastic bags (much cheaper than the buckets, which are a MONSTER to open) and transfer it to glass jars for storage. They always have some sort of deal going on too. Last week was $5 off shipping.
http://www.tropicaltraditions.com/
Brianna

I just opened my freezer to grab my coconut to make this and noticed I have a lot of unused nuts (hee hee). I then proceeded to make coconut, macadamia, almond, pecan, walnut, cinnamon butter. It’s good. Real good. I have to go eat now.
Trisarahtops7

Not going to lie, I made this (literally) immediately after reading this post. And it was amazing. And easier than it should have taken to make something that tastes as good as this does.
Becky

Yum! Good stuff. I read this last night and now I’ve made 3 batches. : ) Littlest daughter just wanted to eat a whole batch plain- no spoon necessary, fingers did just fine. And no, I did not let her eat the whole thing!
It made GREAT coconut smoothies too! We do smoothies every single morning, so this will make a delicious (and nutritious! I’m excited about getting all that coconut into my kids!)addition to the list.
Since finding this site I knew I needed to stock up on coconut. Glad I did!
http://www.heathereatsalmondbutter.com Heather Eats Almond Butter

Um, you seem to have left out the photo with instructions for cleaning out the food processor when you’re done. My method involves lots of finger swipes…and maybe a few licks. Just remove the blade first. :)

So glad the recipe worked for ya, and yes, we both missed out on years of coconut butter, but better late than never, right?

Loved the coconut butter/chocolate dipped strawberries by the way. YUM!
X

How long would this take in a Vita-Mix?
http://lulalola.com Lula Lola

I am so excited about trying this! I had no idea!
Sam

Ok, I hate to do this, I mean usually when I do this a little peice of me DIES INSIDE, but this deserves an OMG. And I mean it! O. M. G.
I have this NEED to leave work RIGHT NOW and go to Whole Foods to buy coconut and make coconut butter and eat it till I pass out!
Thank you Crunchy Betty for bringing this recipe (is is really a recipe with just one ingredient? hmmmmmmmm?, anyways) to light!
http://www.styleessentials.com Lisa D Liguori

You are amazing! Simply amazing! I am so excited to try this. Makin that hand creme too!
http://noteasytobegreen.wordpress.com Jennifer

Wow. That sounds so good! I’ve put off getting a food processor for ages (I press my poor blender into service instead), but I think I might have to cave for this recipe. Thanks for sharing!
Margie

My coconut butter yummy goodness is not getting past the little gritty bits stuck together with oil stage. I’ve been processing this all morning for a few minutes and then scraping it down, and it’s just not liquifying. I accidentally bought the sweetened variety, is the sugar keeping it this way??? I just want some yummy goodness…. :-(
Beth

It takes hardly any time in a VitaMix, I mean seriously fast, like less than a minute if I remember correctly and I think it would work better/faster in almost any decent blender than in a food processor. Unless a food processor is all you have. Then it’s definitely faster than a blender.
- Lauren @ DessertsByLauren.com
  
  I have a vitamix, but my coconut never turned to butter. It just got oily and kinda sat there. So I boiled 3 cups of water and tossed it in and pulsed it to make coconut milk. I didn’t want to waste it. I had it in there for a while. I tried it in my food processor too. Strange.
http://www.bryassoapbox.com Diane

OK this is probably a silly question, but this yummy sounding Coconut butter, can that be used as a lotion base? You know like Shea Butter, Almond Butter, Coco Butter etc.??
http://www.loveveggiesandyoga.com Averie

Thanks for the link to my Chocolate Coconut Cashew Butter. I also just made homemade Samoas Bars with shredded coconut flakes…your use of flakes looks…amazing. Wow, just lovely!
Wallee_21

I tried this and didn’t think is great without sugar. And for everyone attempting this with a blender – make sure you’ve got one that will liquefy like a food processor, otherwise you’ll need to add some water to get it to liquefy.
Rockyandjanine

Wanna know what makes it even better? Pop it in the microwave for 30 seconds or so. It will start to brown, then you have toasted coconut butter. Pour in some melted dark chocolate, then you have the best fudge you have ever tasted!!
Gelen

what kind of blender should i use? is it ok to use an ordinary one?
zoe

Should I be doing something differently? I ran the dessicated coconut in the food processor for well over 15 minutes, likely more than 30. I didn’t have a big problem with “side creep” but I’ve not gotten anything but a dried course powder. After reading the previous posts, I moved it to the jug liquidiser, where it made a lovely snow globe. I’ve been scraping down the sides continually, but after 10 minutes it still doesn’t show any signs of turning to butter. Has anyone mastered this? Or was it just easier for everyone else (except Lauren who gave up and made milk, which I did *before* starting the butter)? If I add water, will it make butter or a big mess?

Thanks,
Zoe (newbie)
- Rachel Ramey
  
  I think maybe the desiccated coconut has more of the fat/liquid removed than regular dried, shredded coconut? (I have bags of both, and the desiccated stuff is…almost powdery compared to the regular.)
Tiffany

I’m not sure how I could have gotten it wrong… I tried this recipe today in my processor… and it got to the part where it reduced, and started getting “some” moisture to it as it condensed… but it never did anything beyond the just starting to break down stage… i left the processor on to almost the half hour mark… still didnt go anywhere near how good yours looks:( I seem to be having the same problem as Zoe…
Simplydi

I just discovered coconut butter a few days ago. I’M IN LOVE!!! So I’ll be trying this recipe for sure. Thanks for posting it.
Pip

I don’t think I could trust myself with this in my kitchen. I have no self control. One taste, and I think I’d probably want to eat the entire jar, and I would ! But thank you for the great idea, and what an easy thing to do. One day I will.
: )

i am salivating.
I literally put coconut on everything, every single day. this recipe is a dream come true.
Victoria

Does this work on a blender?
Lytlejoc

I just made this and I might end up strapping the jar to my belt so I can have it wherever I go. It’s like peanut butter, but coconut… and so much better! I slathered it on my homemade banana bread and sweet Lord, is it delicious.
Barb Tedesco

I processed it until the little shreds were screaming STOP ALREADY. Never got butter :( My food processor was an inexpensive one from Walmart. Maybe I just need more a higher powered one? I even added a little bit of coconut milk … and while yummy – wasn’t butter. It is still a winner in my book for my smoothies !! Thanks
http://eef-etc.com/ Erin

I had the same problem a few others did too. I used coconut flakes (didn’t know there was a difference) and it never really liquified. After an hour I thought my food processor was about to overheat so I turned it off. I ended up with less than a cup of almost-liquid (form 3 cups of coconut) and it turned into a rock in the jar I put it in. It gets smoother after a few seconds in the microwave, but it’s not butter… thinking about tossing it back in the processor with a banana and maybe some coconut milk…
Lisa

How long is this good for?
http://www.facebook.com/phoenix2000 Ysanna John

I recently made cocnut milk and oil,almond milk and avocado oil and butter.This one sounds super.I will try it this weekend.
Averie Cooks

your coconut butter looks so awesome! and thanks for the linky love to my site at the bottom of your post :)
MicheleFalcone

I tried raw coconut butter for the first time last week (had a cocoa one awhile back. Will definitely have to try making my own as well. I came up with a fun recipe, for chocolate coconut butter candies – all raw ingredients. Check it out!

http://www.shortgirllongisland.com/2012/08/coconut-butter-chocolate-candy.html

Michele
short girl, long island
Karrie

And now IIIIIIIII am whole. THANK YOU!
http://twitter.com/Rareblacpearl Anna Marie

LOVE LOVE LOVE THIS! OMG, it’s 9:25 at night and I’m headed out to buy lots of shredded coconut, then I’m staying up all night to make batches upon batches of it. So super excited! I have a great many plans for this…..
http://www.facebook.com/sninxer Sarah Skippy Goodenough-Wheatl

I used desicated coconut and the flesh of one green coconut.. after food processor was on 30 mins and it was still dry granulated I added the “milk” from the green coconut and it worked a treat.. when nice and buttery but with a bit of text still