How to Make Homemade Coconut Butter Easily

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Follow these simple instructions about how to make Easy Homemade Coconut Butter right in your very own kitchen.

Once you see how easy (and inexpensive) it is, you’ll never think about buying it again!

This Homemade Coconut Butter is sooo easy - you'll never think about buying it again! It's used in many dairy-free recipes, and also tastes great as a spread, or plain on a spoon :)

Have you seen coconut butter in recipes and wondered what it is?

Or have you seen it on the shelf in your local health food store and wondered how you can ever afford to use it?

I’ve been in both situations at different times in my life.

I saw a great recipe one day that I really wanted to try and then read “coconut butter” as being one of the ingredients.  What?  I have coconut and coconut oil in my pantry, and know about coconut flour, coconut sugar, and even coconut manna…but not coconut butter.

So of course I quickly looked online to see where I could get it and how much it would cost.

Well–giant pause– it cost a mere $13.99 for a “giant” 16 oz. container on the first site I checked :-(.

Now, I don’t pay $13.99 a pound for much of anything, let alone something that is made entirely of —  (reading the ingredient list)– COCONUT!  That’s it?!

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Which is Best for Making Homemade Coconut Butter–Food Processor or High Speed Blender?

Well, it took me back to the day when I was trying to find milk substitutes for baking since my oldest was diagnosed with a life-threatening allergy to dairy and I saw oat milk on the shelf.  You guessed it — the only ingredients in the oat milk on the shelf at Whole Foods were oats, water and a little sweetener and sea salt.  (Sounds of my “you-can-make-this-yourself” mind churning)

So what did I do next?  Of course I tried to see if there was a way that I could make it myself —

Well, I found a post about making it in a food processor.

The post said it took about 12 minutes of whirring coconut in the food processor.  I don’t mean to be the bearer of bad news but — I have a seriously strong food processor.  A Viking Professional (yes I bought it refurbished).  This machine makes quadruple batches of my Savory Hummus a joy, yielding a creamy smooth product in about 1 minute.  So I figured that if any food processor was going to be able to make coconut butter, mine would.

I put about 1 pound of shredded, unsweetened coconut in my processor and let it run–and run–and run– and nothing much seemed to be happening.

That’s when I thought that I’d rather have my food processor than my coconut butter.  So I gave up.

For awhile.

Fast forward several months and I was at it again.

This time — victory!!  For me and all the frugal folks out there.  Here’s how to do it.

Now, brace yourself, because if you don’t have one, you will need a Vitamix (you can also order one on Amazon).  I suppose that this might work in a regular blender, but I don’t have one anymore.

And though the price of the Vitamix is a little steep, once you see how easy they are to clean, and whip up a lot of coconut butter and:

Other Great DIY Pantry Staples

you’ll see how quickly your financial savings will cover the cost of a Vitamix or Blendtec pretty easily!

How Much Can You Save?

One 16 oz. jar of coconut butter costs approximately $13.99.  One pound of medium unsweetened coconut costs me (I purchase from Country Life Natural Foods) approximately $1.75.  That’s more than an 87% savings.

Azure is another great place to save on healthy food.

I have always said that whole, real foods do not have to cost a lot of money. 

How to Use

– Spread it on sweet crackers, or just on bread.
– Use in recipes calling for coconut butter, of course.
– Eat it with a spoon. Straight. My oldest LOVES it like this.
– As a frosting (it will need some sweetener and will get quite hard, but it can still work as a stiff frosting.)
– As a fat substitute in recipes. It does need to be softened first and will make your recipe a little stiffer than otherwise.
– As a substitute for nut butters in many recipes.

(Note:  For those of you who would like to make a go of making coconut butter in your food processor, please try it and let me know what happens.  I just would encourage you to keep an eye on your machine so that you don’t burn it out.)

Storage

Coconut butter keeps really well and will likely store just fine in your pantry for several months. Most likely you won’t have it around that long, however.

There is no need to keep it in the fridge, and in fact, if you do, you will have hard time eating it since it gets incredibly hard at low temperatures.

Recipes Using Coconut Butter

Here are some tasty recipes to use your Homemade Coconut Butter in.

3 Ingredient Shortbread Crisp — (this really uses only 3 ingredients. And none of them is a packaged mix. Don’t those “3 ingredient” recipes drive you nuts when one ingredient [or more] is a mix that has a gazillion ingredients?!?!

Coconut Truffles — 3 recipes for tasty simple healthy candies

Chocolate Avocado Truffles — Super easy and delicious. And healthy. You won’t believe these are made with avocado!

Hand getting Homemade Coconut Butter out of a jar
Shredded Unsweetened Coconut for Homemade Coconut Butter
Coconut Before Blending
Making Coconut Butter in Vitamix
Coconut Butter in Blender
Homemade Coconut Butter
Finished Coconut Butter

Recipe Notes

After having trouble with this working sometimes and not working at other times, I have a few tips to help you get PERFECT coconut butter anytime.

  1.  Start with less coconut.  This works more consistently if you start with only about 4 cups of shredded coconut.  Make that into a butter and then add 1 cup of additional coconut at a time, blending to a butter with the addition of each cup.
  2. Make sure that your blender is COMPLETELY dry.  Even a little bit of water makes things problematic.

It’s as simple as that!

And how creamy and sweet tasting!  It will come out of your Vitamix quite warm and runny, but it will harden up as you let it sit.  If you need to speed up the process, just put it into your fridge or freezer (or outside if it is winter :-).)

Your coconut butter will become spreadable around 76 degrees, but you can use a knife or apple corer to get it out of the jar if it is colder than that in your home (it sure is in mine in the winter).

NOTE:  Occasionally, for some reason, the coconut butter just doesn’t make coconut butter.  I have really despaired of this in the past but we’ve managed to eat it anyway.  However, if that ever happens to you, just add a few things to the blender and you can have these fabulous No-Bake Coconut Cookies instead!

Special Diet Notes

For Those With Nut Allergies: Note that coconut is not actually a nut, but some allergy groups classify it as such since it’s something that more people are becoming allergic to.

THM: For those on the Trim Healthy Mama plan, this recipe is an “S.”

coconut butter in a jar with two coconuts on the side

Easiest Homemade Coconut Butter

This Homemade Coconut Butter is so easy and delicious! Used in many paleo recipes, it makes a great spread or is great right off the spoon!
5 from 5 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Dressings, Seasonings, etc.
Cuisine: AIP, Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free, Keto, Low-Carb, Paleo, THM:S, Vegan, whole30
Keyword: homemade coconut butter
Prep Time: 1 minute
Cook Time: 3 minutes

Ingredients

Instructions

High Powered Blender Instructions

  • Put the coconut (and coconut oil, if using) into the Vitamix (or other high-powered blender).  Of course, you can try to use less.  I just found that this is a great amount to get it blending well in the Vitamix to produce a wonderful consistency quickly.
  • Turn the motor of your Vitamix on and quickly work the speed up.  Run the machine on High while using the tamper to keep the coconut moving through the blades (or follow directions for your blender)
  • Run the machine on high for about 1 minute.
  • After a brief rest, process the coconut on High again for up to 1 minute until it is of the desired consistency.
  • Pour into a glass jar for storage.

Food Processor Instructions

  • Put the coconut shreds (and coconut oil, if using) into a food processor.
  • Turn the food processor on and process until the shreds make a butter, taking breaks as needed for the machine to cool.

Notes

  1.  Start with less coconut.  This works more consistently if you start with only about 4 cups of shredded coconut.  Make that into a butter and then add 1 cup of additional coconut at a time, blending to a butter with the addition of each cup.
  2. Make sure that your blender is COMPLETELY dry.  Even a little bit of water makes things problematic.

Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is merely an approximation. Optional ingredients are not included and when there is an alternative, the primary ingredient is typically used. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts since they have been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.

 

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314 Comments

  1. I bought my Vitamix at Bed, Bath and Beyond with 20% off coupon. So it took $100 off of $500 Vitamix.

  2. I didn’t read much of the comments so sorry if this is a repeat.

    If the coconut isn’t FRESH I can see that as being the reason for it not working. Shredded coconut drys out fairly quickly.

    1. Hi Carol. I’m not sure what you mean. The coconut is supposed to be very dry. If there is moisture in the blender it doesn’t work. Let me know if I am confused.

      1. Although I made dried shredded coconut from fresh coconut, it is still can’t replace the dried shredded coconut that u bought from supermarket?

    1. 10 pounds of coconut, you mean? I order more than that and we haven’t had issues w/ it spoiling but it won’t last forever. We use it for Homemade Coconut Milk, Coconut Butter and other treats.

    1. It’s actually better to store it at room temp – it will be REALLY hard if stored in the fridge. Enjoy!
      !

  3. I wonder whether adding some coconut oil to the dessicated coconut might give it a bit more grip so that it would break down better. Unlike nuts which aren’t, the coconut is dehydrated so it would be harder to break it down.

  4. I just tried to make this “Easy Recipe” in my Vitamix and it was an epic failure! All it seemed to be doing was cooking the coconut. Not only that but I spent 20 minutes trying to get my shredded coconut to turn into butter and burnt the cupcakes I was making it for. I guess that works out perfect since I didn’t get coconut butter out of this anyway. :*( What did I do wrong????

    1. Oh no! I am so sorry. I just updated the post. I have been working on this for awhile and I think the new instructions should help. I hope to redo the image / images and share with everyone again soon. Let me know how it goes.

  5. I just used my vitamix, trying to use one (7 oz.) package of let’s do organic coconut and it was NOT working. After like 10 minutes of pushing the coconut down, starting, pushing it down, etc…I finally dumped another package of coconut in there and within two minutes it was done. Nice 🙂 🙂 🙂

  6. My Vitamix did not work for coconut butter. At all. As in, it choked and overheated and started to smell like it was burning and just was generally not good. (Same deal as with your food processor: I decided I’d rather keep the Vitamix than have the coconut butter!)

    You’re the first person I’ve ever heard talk about making it who did NOT use a food processor, so I’d think most food processors should work. (I don’t own one, so I haven’t been able to try again.)

    1. I will be doing an update on that post – you can email me if you’re interested / desperate :).

  7. Would love to make these cookies for my daughter for school, being a nut-free school I would have to make these with coconut butter, but do not have a Vitamix. would this work in a food processor or a Mistral Gourmet Whizard? If not how else can coconut butter be made?

    1. It should work in the food processor but it takes a lot of time. I am sorry but I don’t know about the M. Whizard – I haven’t heard about that. Hope it works for you!

      1. Yes it does. I always make my coconut butter using my Cuisinart food processor. As a matter of fact the reason I bought it was to make coconut butter. It takes about 8 – 10 minutes, stopping periodically to scrap the coconut off the sides of the food processor.

  8. What about using a ninja? I’m like a lot of people who cannot afford a vitamix. Thanks from Emmett, Idaho

  9. recipe sounds simple if it were all there,like all other incomplete recipes out there,yours is the same incomplete,may be obvious to you but not to someone who has never heard or made it before,this may sound like a stupid question but, i want to get it right,so, HOW MUCH BUTTER?
    a recipe normally list all ingredients not half, can you list it for me please

    1. Hi there. I am sorry for taking so long to respond. I have been so busy. The only ingredient is the coconut – does that help?

  10. I tried this with a “fresh” coconut with my Blendtec. Do not attempt, it was a big waste of time. The “fresh” is in quotes because I bought two coconuts from Whole Paycheck, and one of them was bad. So maybe the other one was getting ready to go bad. Anyway, it looks like it’s the cookies for us.

    1. UGH! So sorry. It would be a totally different product as the unsweetened coconut is dehydrated. I think I need to make cookies too actually so you’re in good company.

      1. I tried making coconut butter in my Vitamix once before and it didn’t work. I bought a jar and just ran out (my toddler loves it on mashed sweet potatoes), so I was going to buy more, but you’ve inspired me to try making it again. I’m really glad I found this, because I bought a massive bag of shredded coconut at Costco, and I was a little worried I couldn’t use it all before it expires. I actually prefer coconut flakes. 🙂

        1. It lasts pretty long and you cd put it in the fridge or freezer too. I am going to need to redo this post – start w/ 4 cups and then make that into butter and go from there adding 1 cup at a time. Works much better!

    2. Did the cookies work out with fresh coconut in the blendtec? I am trying to figure out what I can make with these two fresh brown coconuts, that is easy.

  11. Hello, I made it yesterday and left it out of the fridge but it became solid and it’s not cold at all in my house..
    Why did it happend?

    1. Hi there. It turns solid at a pretty normal temp. May I ask why you linked to another site’s coconut butter? Just wanted to make sure I wasn’t missing anything. Thanks!

      1. I did?I’m really sorry..I guess I made a mistake looking around for the recipe…
        Thank you for your answer and for your recipes

  12. Thought I might mention this in case some people are not using organic coconut so as to save money. A while back in the Asian countries, the coconut trees started to die in the plantations. It was becoming epidemic and they could not find a way to fight it. It was a fungus of some sort I believe. They finally found that injecting formaldehyde into the tree killed the fungus. This is a regular occurrence now, to do this. However, it is not allowed for use in the producing of organic coconuts.

  13. I haven’t read the comments all the way down, so perhaps I’m repeating things, but I too had difficulty making this work with my VitaMix. I am using the 5200 series (previous to current model as of Oct 2014) with a wet container. I used 7 cups of dried unsweetened coconut that I purchased from the bulk bin at Whole Foods. It also turned brown on me and never liquified and I had to add about a tablespoon of coconut oil to salvage it. It pretty much now has the same consistency as my commercial coconut butter except mine is now tan colored. I also experienced that it made my container leak. The last time this happened to me, I called vitamix and they sent me a new container since it is still under the 7yr warranty. This is my almost brand new container now, so I was bummed. This time, I just stuck a wooden spoon in the blade and hand torqued the black ring on the bottom and it doesn’t leak now. I could have torqued it with a wrench to help it be tighter. So far so good. I think I will try again with my branded bulk coconut from the buying club and if it doesn’t process in a couple minutes I will stop. I think it all depends on the fat content and if you find a product that works, stick with it. The bulk bin at Whole Foods might change. Good luck!

    1. I have a new method I am trying out and hope to post about soon – and hopefully will make a video too! Thanks!

  14. Hi Jessica

    I am just wondering if you live in Michigan
    because I also order from Country Life Foods.
    I live in Fowlerville and have been enjoying reading so many
    If your posts and recipes. I haven’t made anything yet
    But I really want to!!

  15. I make “Monkey Butter” with coconut butter. 14 oz crushed pineapple (I grow my own pineapple) about 4C sliced bananas (I grow my own), I cup coconut powder (I made my own) 1 1/2 c coconut butter 1 1/2 T lemon juice (used bottled but would have used real if I had on on hand). Cook and kinda stir/mash with a whisk. As it continues to cook it starts to thicken nicely, no need even for pectin. I put it in recycled containers and freeze. It has to be frozen or left in the fridge once opened. I have a friend who uses this mixed with tapenade as a salad dressing or on fish!

  16. Did you use the dry container or wet container on your vita mix when making the coconut butter.

    Regards

    Deborah