Coconut Butter – What is it? Where do I buy it? Can I make my own? Is it the same thing as coconut oil? And how on earth do I use it?
Bring out the mittens? In Texas summertime, it’s considered a cold front if the temperature doesn’t reach 100 degrees. Today, therefore, we’re experiencing a cold front. It’s only going to be 99. The sweltering weather is bad for almost everything: growing plants, running outdoors, paying your air-conditioning bill… However, there’s one thing you can do really well in the heat:
Make homemade coconut butter!
It took me just 10 minutes to make an entire jar’s-worth of coconut butter yesterday. Then I spent much more time chasing the capricious light all around my little house, trying to photograph said coconut butter.
Repeatedly eating my props didn’t help. 😕
This stuff is dangerous.
I can go through a jar of homemade or Artisana coconut butter in less than a week.
My favorite way to eat it is to spread it into candy molds, freeze, and eat what I call “Coconut Melties” straight from the freezer. Or spread the coconut butter on banana bread or stir it into oatmeal… I love that too. Here is a link to all of my coconut butter recipes:
70 Healthy Coconut Butter Recipes
Coconut Butter & Coconut Oil FAQ
Over and over, I’m receiving the same questions regarding coconut butter and coconut oil.
While I try to answer as many of these questions as I can in the comment section, I understand why no one would want to read though the overwhelming number of comments (many of which are repeats) to see if a particular question about coconut butter has been answered. To make it easier, I’ve rounded up the most-frequently-asked coconut butter questions and am posting the answers all in one place.
Tip: Did you know that if you press “control f” you can search for a key word on any webpage? This trick has saved me a lot of time, and I wish more people knew about it!
1. Can I make my own coconut butter?
Yes! You can find the easy recipe here: How To Make Coconut Butter.
2. Is there a difference between coconut oil and coconut butter?
There is definitely a difference between the two. Think peanut butter vs. peanut oil. One is thick and smooth, while the other is liquid at room temperature. Coconut butter includes the meat of the coconut, while coconut oil does not.
3. Can I use coconut oil whenever a recipe calls for coconut butter?
It depends on the recipe. Many recipes that call for coconut butter won’t be the same if you substitute coconut oil. Some readers say they’ve successfully made my fudge recipes with the oil instead of the butter, but I wouldn’t recommend it for best results. Coconut butter will yield a much richer texture. Same thing with the candy or peppermint bark recipes I’ve posted.
However, it is fine to use in the famous Coconut Crack Bars.
4. How do I melt hardened coconut butter?
Coconut butter is strange. Depending on the climate (temperature and humidity), it can be smooth, liquidy, rock-hard, or even crumbly. It also burns very quickly, so I’d caution against trying to microwave the jar, at least for anything longer than 15 seconds. A few options: You can stick it in a warm (not hot) oven for a few minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 F and stick the coconut butter inside immediately after turning the oven on. Take it out after five minutes–the oven will never actually get up to 350 degrees. Often, after I’ve cooked something, I’ll turn the oven off and then stick the coconut butter jar into the oven as it cools. Or you can make a water bath (I haven’t done this, but I know others have). Or, if you only need a small amount, you can take some out and place it on a candle warmer. If it’s too dry, I like to melt a little virgin coconut oil and stir it into the coconut butter to get it smooth again.
Or… just come to Texas. 
5. My attempt at homemade coconut butter never turned into butter. What did I do wrong?
Maybe nothing. I’ve never encountered problems making homemade coconut butter, and it works for many others as well… but for some reason (it might have to do with climate), a few readers aren’t able to achieve the buttery spread. For best results, be sure to use a whole bag so there’s enough to blend smoothly. Also, if it’s not getting smooth, add a little melted virgin coconut oil to the blender.
6. When making coconut butter, can I sub ____ for the shredded coconut?
I’ve only tried this with Let’s Do Organic brand unsweetened coconut shreds or unsweetened coconut shreds from the bulk aisle of the grocery store. So I don’t know if works with sweetened coconut shreds, reduced-fat coconut shreds, or fresh coconut.
7. How do you store coconut butter?
Store homemade coconut butter in a sealed container or glass jar. There is no need to refrigerate it, and the coconut butter will last for at least a few months in the pantry… that is if you don’t eat it all first! Mine lasts for about a day. Seriously, I might have an addiction…
8. Where can I buy coconut butter?
While coconut butter used to be hard to find, it’s now widely available even in regular grocery stores. Look in the natural food section of most grocery stores, or try the nut butter aisle of Whole Foods or your local health food store. You can also find it online at stores like Vitacost, Thrive Market, iHerb, Swanson, and Amazon. Brands that sell coconut butter include Artisana, Maranatha, Nutiva, Nikki’s, and Dastony.
Links Of The Day:
(The original version of the internet famous recipe!)
I’d like to warn everyone NOT to make it in a regular blender, I tried that one time and it was a huuuuge mess….
That was my other problem the last time I tried to make it, other than using sweetened coconut. It was impossible to clean and had a really weird texture. Especially because I added some milk to try to get it to blend. XD
Don’t add milk. that binds it up and makes it harder to both make and store. Add coconut oil. Nut butters are Powders suspended in oil. add oil if you w
Coconut shreds are dried. nut butters are not liquids even though the oils act like liquids oils are not liquids. they are warm solids. so nut butters will bind up if liquids like milk are added. they absorb the liquids into the dry powdery solids and swell.
I live in Georgia… it was over 110 yesterday 🙁
but this means that my coconut butter was nice and soft. haha.
Coconut butter is so delicious 😀 sometimes it’s hard to control myself around it. I’ve said before that if I were to die tomorrow, one of my biggest regrets would be never getting to eat a jar of coconut butter in one sitting… haha. I’ve always restrained myself because I know that I wouldn’t be able to move afterwards 😛
Hey Katie, do you know if the butter can go bad? I don’t put mine in the fridge ’cause it said on the jar to leave it at room temp, but I’m worried about it spoiling…
No need to fridge it. It lasts for months un-fridged :).
YAY!!! Thanks!
That was my question! Thanks for posting! 🙂
According to Tropical Traditions who says His wife is Filipino , the people of the Philippines dry their coconut meat to preserve it and coconut butter is made from DRIED coconut meat. it is more shelf stable than peanut butter since coconut oil is higher in saturated oils that are more stable in higher temperatures. peanut butter might only last 3 or 4 years on the shelf, the coconut butter should last 5 or more.
I love making my own coconut butter! it is very testy, though, because each batch comes out differently. Once I made the mistake of buying low-fat shredded coconut, and it did NOT work!
Hey, I live in Hurst and I walked out this morning to 90 degrees and it felt breezy and cool to me! Hahaha 🙂
Can you use the Magic Bullet to make coconut butter? Also, would you suggest toasting the coconut a little for a nuttier taste?
Sorry, I haven’t tried it in a Magic Bullet so I really don’t know. Report back if you do try!
Don’t know about the MagicBullet, but I know some people have been using the NutriBullet for this.
I have made it in a magic bullet, but it does take quite a bit longer and a short cup full of coconut only equals a large baby food jar sized batch of coconut butter.
Erika… that sounds like a perfect portion! I have a jar of coconut butter, but now I know why my jar is hard and crumbly and not smooth and spreadable like I’ve seen in pics. THANKS KATIE! I’m going to try the magic bullet method to see if a I get a better consistency w/homemade butter.
I actually just made Coconut Butter for the first time, using the Magic Bullet. I didn’t find that it even took the full 3 minutes to make. Actually mine turned out a bit runny, not thick.. Is that normal ? And if not, will it thicken up in time ?
It is probably runny due to the heat created by the friction when blending/processing. It should thicken up nicely if you place it in the fridge for awhile!
This is great infromation! I always thought they were the same! My coconut oil is solid at room at room temperature though, and I can only get it liquidy if I melt it. Is it just mislabeled?
Nevermind, I think I understand now!
Yep, that’s totally normal — it melts somewhere around 78 degrees, but below that temp it looks a lot like the butter! It’s often less uniform in texture from solidifying unevenly, though (at least mine is). It only takes 20-30 seconds to melt a full jar in the microwave with the lid off. Hope that helps!
Thanks!
Thanks for the info! I never knew the difference! 🙂
Check out my latest recipe @ bakingblissful.blogspot.com
Great info….So I tried the control F just to check it out…now all the letter f’son your page are highlighted…how do I get rid of that??
As soon as I posted my question…gone, so never mind lol 🙂
Katie, thank you SO much for this! If you Google ‘difference between coconut butter and coconut oil’ you get no decent results! Finally, all my questions answered! =D
I want to do this right away! I can’t afford t buy real coconut butter so this is great for those who are penny-pinching.
Wonderful tip! I didn’t know making coconut butter was that easy. I must try this!
This is so helpful Katie! you’re the best thanks,for all the tips. I hope it cools down for you soon. 🙂
Um, this might seem really stooopid but when Katie says “Shredded, unsweetened coconut” does this mean what we call here (Australia) “dessicated coconut” (which is dried and in fine shreds – generally unsweetened) or is it raw, shredded coconut (a product that doesn’t exist here)? Should I buy a coconut and get to it with a grater (or what you guys call a “shredder”) ? Talk about lost in translation! I don’t know what you guys have in the states – and coconut butter and oil is (I’m guessing) just as expensive here as it is in the USA – ’cause it’s mighty pricey! xxx
Not stupid at all, different countries have different names for things! “Desiccated unsweetened coconut” should work for making coconut butter, I believe it’s the same thing as our “shredded unsweetened coconut”. 🙂
Thanks Katy xx
This is such an educational post! I love it. Coconut is crazy. I mean, look at how versatile it is. I drink coconut water on occasion (amazing). Occasionally, I freeze a can of light coconut milk and process it into ice cream. I drink Almond Breeze Coconut Almond milk, but I haven’t made coconut butter or used coconut oil because I don’t really get it…The tutorial is very helpful, since most websites just assume everyone knows what coconut butter/oil is. Thanks for the overview!
Unfortunately, homemade coconut butter didn’t work for me here. I live in high altitude (5,500 ft), and our climate is very dry. After 5 minutes, it was still just shredded coconut, although it was very fine! I tried to slowly add a few drops of water to see if that would help it whip up and make up for our lack of humidity, but it didn’t work. Oh, well!
Did you try adding some neutral flavored oil (like coconut)? Also, I have a 10 year old Black and Decker food processor that I use to make the coconut butter. It requires a little patience with scraping and definitely takes more than 5 minutes.
Did you try adding a small amount of neutral flavored oil after about 5 minutes (like coconut oil)? I have a 10 year old Black and Decker food processor that I use to make the coconut butter. It takes a little patience and scraping and definitely takes more than 5 minutes. I think you need a Vita-Mix for good results so fast.