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Home ยป How to Make Coconut Shreds and Flakes

How to Make Coconut Shreds and Flakes

by Adrienne 26 Comments Published December 8, 2015 Updated: Oct 07, 2020

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Coconut is VERY healthy for us – and extremely versatile for dairy-free and grain-free recipes! But, it can get expensive. Here's how to make your own coconut shreds and flakes to save money and stay healthy! There's no sugar added, great for low-carb and grain-free baking.

We eat a LOT of coconut in our home.

Coconut Butter, Coconut Shreds, Coconut Flakes.

But I NEVER thought that I would be sharing how to make your own Shredded Coconut.

Coconut is VERY healthy for us – and extremely versatile for dairy-free and grain-free recipes! But, it can get expensive. Here's how to make your own coconut shreds and flakes to save money and stay healthy! There's no sugar added, great for low-carb and grain-free baking.

Before I get to that, why do we eat so much coconut?

Several reasons.

Why We Love Coconut

1. Food Allergies.

We started drinking alternative dairy-free milks soon after my oldest son's birth.  Early on he was diagnosed with a life-threatening allergy to dairy so milk was quickly out of the picture.  We didn't have enough money to purchase ready-made dairy-free milks, so I started making oat milk, Homemade Rice Milk, Homemade Almond Milk, and our current favorite, Homemade Coconut Milk.  And you can use the Coconut Milk to make this Pumpkin Spice Creamer and Dairy-Free Condensed Milk too.

Literally, I think that we make coconut milk about 3-4 times per week.  We love the frothiness when it's first made, and it adds a lovely richness to hot drinks.  And tastes great as the base for shakes and smoothies.

2.  Coconut for Dairy-free cooking & Gluten-Free and Grain-Free Baking.

Though we aren't strictly grain-free, when I look back at our diet over the past few months, we basically are grain-free with few exceptions.  Whereas rice used to be a staple in our diet, more and more it's not on our dining table at all.  We've all been on various special diets over the years, from paleo to AIP (autoimmune paleo) to GAPS, to gluten-free, to candida diet....and coconut has been a staple in all of them.

Coconut flour is a great flour to bake with. It's a bit rough if you can't have eggs, but these Coconut Chocolate Chunk Macadamia Cookies and these Breakfast Cookies are proof that it can be done.

And coconut milk is perfect for all kinds of dairy-free ice cream like Chocolate Almond Chip, Mint Chocolate Chip, Lemon Poppyseed, and Mocha Chip ice creams.

Coconut shreds and flakes are great in so many recipes.  I list some of our favorites for you below.

3. Coconut is Low Carb.

I don't personally espouse a very low-carb diet exclusively (see this post for why I think carbs have been an important part of my healing), but I think that our culture consumes way too many carbohydrates and that it is a contributor to so many of our health problems including candida, diabetes, and more.  Coconut is a great way to ditch some of the carbs.

Why I Started Shredding Coconut

Anyhow, typically I just buy my coconut already dried, but recently something funny happened.  I have hired out my photography to one of my former guest writers, Naomi Huzovicova.  She lives in Slovakia and has a lovely blog called Almost Bananas where you can see her chronicle some of her life in that beautiful country.

Well, I asked if she could take some photos of some new recipes that I am working on for flavored coconut chips, and she mentioned that they didn't have coconut flakes in Slovakia.

What's a girl to do?

Well, Naomi and I found a way to make this work and just had to pass this fabulous information on to you all.

It's so easy that even if you have access to coconut flakes and shredded coconut / coconut shreds, you might just want to do this for a fun project.   Plus, my boys LOVE fresh coconut so much -- I know they would be happy for any excuse to buy some. As in 2, or 4, or a dozen....

How to Use Homemade Coconut Shreds and Flakes

You can use these Homemade Coconut Shreds and Flakes anywhere you would use coconut. Here are some of our favorite recipes:

Homemade Coconut Butter
No-Bake Coconut Delights
Coconut Truffles
Chocolate Mint Bars
Chocolate Nests
Caramelized Toasted Coconut Chips
Honey Bunches of Oats Coconut Chips

There are simply loads of great recipes to choose from!

Coconut is VERY healthy for us – and extremely versatile for dairy-free and grain-free recipes! But, it can get expensive. Here's how to make your own coconut shreds and flakes to save money and stay healthy! There's no sugar added, great for low-carb and grain-free baking.

For those on the Trim Healthy Mama plan, this recipe fits in as an "S."

Homemade Coconut Shreds and Chips

Easily make Homemade Shredded Coconut or Coconut Chips using simple kitchen tools and either your oven or a dehydrator.
5 from 1 vote
Print Rate
Course: Dressings, Seasonings, etc., Snack
Cuisine: AIP, Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Keto, Low-Carb, Paleo, THM, Vegan, whole30
Keyword: DIY shredded coconut

Ingredients

  • Fresh Coconut

Instructions

  • Break open coconut with hammer. Remove the hard outer shell. Peel the soft outer shell with a vegetable peeler.
  • Grate the fresh coconut meal according to desired result. Use small holes for fine shreds, normal big holes for typical shredded coconut, and use the grater slicer for chips. Alternatively, for the chips, peeling with vegetable peeler makes a cleaner and more attractive chip -- but it is a bit thicker.
  • Dry in oven or dehydrator. We dried the small and medium shreds in a 100 - 125 F convection oven (40 - 50 C) for 2 hours (small) to 3 hours (medium). For the chips, you can also use the oven, but we dried them in a dehydrator for approx. 6 hours.
Tried this recipe?Mention @wholenewmom or tag #wholenewmom!

You could, of course, use the oven at a higher temperature to dry out the coconut chips / shredded coconut, but you won't have a raw final product with the enzymes intact.

Isn't this great?  Now if you live in Slovakia (or some other place) that doesn't have coconut chips, you can make them yourself.

Or, if the only coconut available to you is coconut treated with icky sodium metabisulfate preservative, here's your answer.

Will you try it :)?

Do you love coconut?
What is your favorite way to eat it?

Photo credits: Naomi Huzovicova

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About Adrienne

Adrienne Urban is the Founder and Owner of Whole New Mom. She has a background in research, journalism, insurance, employee benefits, financial markets, frugal living, and nutrition. Seeking a better life for herself and her family, she uses research and consults with many physicians and other practitioners to find solutions to the variety of issues they have dealt with including life-threatening food allergies and thyroid and adrenal concerns. WholeNewMom.com is the result of her experiences and knowledge gained throughout the process. Posts are reviewed and verified by the Whole New Mom team.

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    Recipe Rating




     

  1. Avi

    April 09, 2019 at 6:24 pm

    Hello!

    So, I'm from Kenya.. We have desiccated coconut and plenty of fresh ones.. But no flakes (Sweetened or unsweetened)

    I've had to to use dedicated coconut for Macaroons.

    Now, I'm a baker and want to try a German Chocolate Cake and other desserts along those lines (like German Chocolate French Macarons) and also try Macaroons the right way..

    I'm just wondering.. Will the flakes remain white? I've tried sun drying some in the past but they browned ????? will the methods you've mentioned keep that from happening?

    Thanks!

    Reply
    • Adrienne

      April 13, 2019 at 9:38 am

      Hello there! If you use a dehydrator they will not brown. Hope that helps and best wishes.

      Reply
    • Adrienne

      April 13, 2019 at 9:38 am

      You would not want to dehydrate at a high temperature, however.

      Reply
  2. Charley

    January 17, 2019 at 5:20 pm

    5 stars
    We love coconuts too! We live in Florida where coconuts are aplenty! I've been toasting coconut flakes as long as I can remember. I simply throw a bunch of chunks in a blender and end up with mostly flakes, and a few chunks. Toss them through a colander to separate the smaller pieces from the larger chunks. The chunks I will "blend" again with another batch. My problem was, whenever I tried to dry the flakes they ended up toasted. Toasted coconut is great, but I don't always want it toasted for recipes. I simply could not just dry them out. I've learned to, not only lower the temperature of the oven, but place a pan on the shelf above the coconut so it isn't being toasted from above. It's quick and easy!

    Reply
    • Adrienne

      January 17, 2019 at 6:15 pm

      Great tips!!! I think toasted coconut tastes like candy--it's amazing! I think you would like these: https://wholenewmom.com/recipes/honey-bunches-of-oats-coconut-chips/ ๐Ÿ™‚

      Reply
    • Yajayra Resendiz

      December 03, 2019 at 1:48 pm

      Hellooo could you tell me what temperature ?

      Reply
  3. Lynley

    December 18, 2018 at 9:31 pm

    Can you add the coconut milk in the coconut to the milk you make from the shredded coconut

    Reply
    • Adrienne

      December 19, 2018 at 11:07 am

      That liquid is coconut water--not coconut milk. You could add it for sure, but it will just water down the coconut milk. Many people drink it as it is.

      Reply
  4. JP

    August 03, 2018 at 10:12 pm

    How do you toast the bigger shaved coconut flakes? Thx

    Reply
    • Adrienne

      August 04, 2018 at 4:08 pm

      Hi there. You can use an oven or pan. I added two links in the post to a few great recipes for toasted chips - you can do it in a pan or oven.

      Reply
  5. Sandra

    May 25, 2018 at 8:58 am

    Where do you buy your chips in bulk?
    Thanks,

    Reply
    • Adrienne

      May 25, 2018 at 8:59 am

      I have bought from Azure mostly but I see that Country Life Natural Foods has them now. I bet Nuts.com does and others.

      Reply
  6. Happiness Afia

    April 26, 2018 at 9:58 am

    Wow thanks for this opportunity, i was thinking of a way to do coconut flakes.

    Reply
  7. Marleen

    November 07, 2017 at 12:21 am

    Am I the only one who is left with brown shreds? And they are not burnt but just not white anymore? I used an oven by the way, any hints on what to do to keep them whiter?

    I live in a coconut land haha but shreds are sooo hard to find, so really hoping I can make my own.

    Reply
    • Adrienne

      November 07, 2017 at 8:30 am

      Not sure - how low does your oven's temp go?

      Reply
  8. Robyn

    August 14, 2017 at 11:33 pm

    I don't understand how your supposed to peel the soft putter shell. My coconut I just bought is hard like a baseball. Or am I'm not readying this correct?

    Reply
    • Adrienne

      August 15, 2017 at 12:48 am

      After you break the outer shell, there is a soft inner one that you need to peel. I'll try to make it more clear. Thanks and hope it works well!

      Reply
  9. Sage

    July 12, 2017 at 10:01 pm

    Thanks for sharing. My sister was vaccine injured and is unable to have eggs. A lot of good recipes here!

    Reply
    • Adrienne

      July 13, 2017 at 1:34 pm

      Thank you and welcome!

      Reply
  10. rekiyat

    March 26, 2017 at 7:00 am

    How do I make coconut chips that Will stick together

    Reply
    • Adrienne

      March 26, 2017 at 10:37 am

      Do you mean like this? https://wholenewmom.com/recipes/homemade-coconut-chips-like-dang-brand/

      Reply
  11. Shinelle

    August 07, 2016 at 2:14 pm

    What would be the expiration date for the homemade coconut shreds/flakes and where can should I store them to keep them fresh?

    Reply
    • Shinelle

      August 07, 2016 at 2:15 pm

      Meant to say where should I store them?

      Reply
    • Adrienne

      August 07, 2016 at 2:33 pm

      Hi Shinelle. I can't make claims about that since of course everyone's preparation could be different but my dried coconut lasts a long time at room temp. If you have room in the fridge, freezer, or could do vacuum sealed bags that would be best. Hope it works well for you!

      Reply
  12. Carol

    December 08, 2015 at 11:46 pm

    More than that, coconut shreds are a great base for so many recipes. For making Coconut Butter, these No-Bake Coconut Delights, Coconut Truffles, this

    oops...leaving sentences unfinished again! ;-{

    Reply
    • Adrienne

      December 09, 2015 at 12:49 pm

      Yikes, Carol. Good catch! I've been multi-tasking too much for sure. Fixed now with more great recipes added :).

      Reply
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