77 Best Coconut Milk Recipes for Desserts, Curries, Soups, and More
Looking for coconut milk recipes? You've come to the right place. Coconut milk is central to many of our favorite dishes from India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brazil, the Caribbean, and around the world. (Plus so many more recipes inspired by those places.) There are lovely ways to add coconut milk to your meals from dawn to dusk, whether you're making Baked Eggs With Coconut Milk and Cilantro, Prawn Moilee, or Coconut Flan With Coffee Caramel. Coconut milk makes rice and other grains creamier, beautifully offsets the bitterness of hearty greens, and adds richness, flavor, and fragrance to braises and curries. (Which canned coconut milk is best? We tasted our way through 16 brands to find out there, too.) Make the most of this wonder ingredient—read on for 77 of our best coconut milk recipes.
Photo by Andrew Purcell, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Carrie Purcell1/77Coconut–Key Lime Sheet Cake
Photo by Noah Fecks and Paul Wagtouicz2/77Ultimate Green Curry (Gaeng Khiaw Wan Gai)
This green curry from chef Hong Thaimee can start with homemade or storebought green curry paste, plus coconut milk, Thai basil, eggplant, and chicken thighs.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle4/77Coconut-Braised Chickpeas With Sweet Potatoes and Greens
This easy chickpea and coconut milk recipe gets a drizzle of yogurt and a sprinkle of slivered almonds and cilantro leaves.
5/77Prawn Moilee
A light, fragrant and utterly delicious south-Indian-style curry, packed with juicy prawns and tempered with coconut milk. Our editor Lauren Joseph named this recipe “the best thing she cooked” last year.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Sophie Strangio, Food Styling by Monica Pierini6/77Ginger Turkey Meatballs with Coconut Broth and Noodles
This Thai-inspired recipe was written with the family in mind: Three options for plating mean that it can appeal to an array of palates. Start with a simple, savory noodle and meatball bowl, then add a gingery coconut broth and spicy red curry paste as you wish.
14/77Coconut Beef Curry
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Katherine Sacks15/773-Ingredient Creamy Coconut-Lime Ice Pops
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Molly Baz20/773-Ingredient Fudge Pops
Sweet, creamy coconut milk and a pinch of salt? Store-bought fudge pops could never. The chocolate flavor here depends entirely on what kind of cocoa powder you use—here's our guide.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Rhoda Boone21/77Spiced Coconut Chicken and Rice
This punched-up chicken-and-rice dish, made in the Instant Pot, is inspired by mulligatawny soup, with curry spices, creamy coconut milk, bright ginger, and fresh lime juice.
Photo by Gentl & Hyers, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, Prop Styling by Kalen Kaminski25/77Aromatic Wilted Greens With Coconut Milk
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, prop styling by Brian Heiser, food styling by Rhoda Boone26/77Coconut Milk Custard With Strawberry-Rhubarb Compote
Photo by Gentl & Hyers, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, Prop Styling by Kalen Kaminski27/77Coconut Chicken Curry With Turmeric and Lemongrass
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Beatrice Chastka, Food Styling by Olivia Mack Anderson28/77Coconut Milk French Toast With Pineapple Syrup
Photo by Ted Cavanaugh, Chelsea Cavanaugh, Food Styling by Michelle Gatton29/77Alfajores With Coconut Dulce de Leche
Looking for a baking project? These South American honey-almond cookies are delicious, thanks to a coconut dulce de leche filling and a colorful coconut topping.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Katherine Sacks30/77Matcha White Hot Chocolate
This grown-up hot chocolate swaps white chocolate in for dark, but that's not the only upgrade: The richness of the chocolate and the coconut milk is offset by bitter, earthy matcha—which also gives it a bit of caffeine.
Photo by Alex Lau33/77Tiki Cantaloupe-Coconut Cocktail
Whether summer is here or you're just trying to wish it into being, this is the easy cocktail for you: an immensely refreshing combination of puréed cantaloupe, coconut milk, and tequila. Garnish with mint sprigs and lime wheels.
Photo by Alex Lau35/77Coconut Rice and Peas
From a Caribbean restaurant in Oakland, California, this recipe is short on ingredients but long on flavor. Feel free to use canned beans if you don't have time to soak dried beans.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Dawn Perry37/77Ginger-Coconut Chicken, Eggplant, and Tomato Skewers
Photo by Marcus Nilsson, Prop Styling by Amy Wilson, Food Styling by Frances Boswell39/77Coconut Milk–Braised Chicken
Photo by Alex Lau, Prop Styling by Megan Hedgpeth, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich43/77Curried Chickpea and Lentil Dal
This coconut milk recipe is a perfect canvas for punchy, crunchy toppers like toasted coconut and mustard seeds with turmeric oil and a zingy chutney. The dal is vegan but full of hearty protein thanks to the chickpeas and lentils.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Alex Brannian, Food Styling by Anna Hampton49/77Shrimp Poached in Coconut Milk with Fresh Herbs (Yerra Moolee)
No matter what food is cooked in it or what spices are added, coconut milk never loses its distinct sweet flavor. Instead, it enriches all the other flavors. The spicing here is intentionally kept very subtle, so that the natural flavors of the shrimp and the coconut milk can be relished to their fullest.
Principle Food Photography © 2011 by Tara Donne53/77Frozen Coconut Yogurt with Cinnamon
Everyone loves frozen yogurt—and you can make a batch of this silky, sugar-free coconut dessert at home with Greek yogurt and a few pantry staples.
Photo by Joseph De Leo56/77Coconut Rice Pudding Pie
Here's another one of our favorite coconut milk recipes for dessert. The sesame-stick-crumb crust gets a thick layer of coconut milk caramel that provides a sweet-and-salty, crunchy-and-chewy base for creamy layers of coconut rice custard and rum whip.
Photo by Joseph De Leo, Prop Styling by Sophie Strangio, Food Styling by Monica Pierini57/77Sweet Potato Bowls With Kale and Chickpeas
Photo by David Malosh, Prop Styling by Cindy DiPrima, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich58/77Coconut Cod Chowder With Seasoned Oyster Crackers
Photo by Marcus Nilsson, Prop Styling by Kalen Kaminski, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich59/77Coconut Creamed Greens
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell66/77Coconut Shrimp Pancakes with Fresh Herbs
Who doesn’t love a plate-sized pancake for dinner? Here, the protein-rich savory pancake is made with a chickpea flour and coconut milk batter and studded with bacon, scallions, and turmeric-spiced shrimp. Top it off with fresh herbs and crunchy mung beans and it’ll gain a permanent place in your weeknight rotation.
Photo by Michael Graydon & Nikole Herriott, Prop Styling by Amy Wilson, Food Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich68/77Coconut Rice Noodles with Ginger and Turmeric
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Prop Styling by Beatrice Chastka, Food Styling by Kat Boytsova69/77Coconut Custard and Rhubarb Tart
Chris Gentile71/77Dairy-Free Chocolate Layer Cake
Canned coconut milk has two roles to play here, adding richness to the cake and standing in for cream in the ganache. This is an oil-based cake, too, which means it comes together in one bowl: All you've got to do is whisk.
Photo by Bao Minh Nguyen73/77Malaysian Chicken Curry with Buttermilk Beer Beignets
This coconut milk-laced dish starts with Yeo brand Malaysian curry powder, which you can purchase online.
76/77Coconut Rice Pudding
