This thick, creamy coconut whipped cream is entirely dairy free, with just three ingredients and the same texture as real homemade whipped cream!
The best coconut whipped cream
Did you know that you can make your own easy homemade whip cream from a can of coconut milk?
You just need one can of coconut milk, optional sweetener of choice, and that’s it!
The resulting whipped cream will blow you away with how luxuriously rich and creamy it tastes.
Prepare to shake your head and wonder, “How can this possibly be vegan?!”
Also try this Coconut Ice Cream
Vegan whipped cream recipe
Just one or two ingredients, and you are on your way to the perfect coconut milk whipped topping.
This dairy free cream is good for serving with pies, cakes, fresh strawberries or sliced fruit, pancakes, waffles, or milkshakes.
It also makes a great frosting for cupcakes or topping for any of the following nondairy ice cream recipes:
Step by step video
Coconut whipped cream benefits
There’s no heavy cream, no dairy, no eggs, no sugar, and no gums, stabilizers, gelatin, or cornstarch required for the recipe.
And it can be gluten free, low carb, paleo, whole30, cholesterol free, and keto friendly.
The cream whips up just like dairy whipped cream and can be substituted in most recipes that call for Cool Whip or heavy cream.
Shown above, on top of myVegan Pecan Pie
Coconut Milk Whip Cream – FAQ
What kind of coconut milk?
Use either full fat canned coconut milk or coconut cream.
The recipe will not work with reduced fat coconut milk. It also does not whip with carton coconutmilk beverage found the refrigerated section of the grocery store from companies like Silk, Califia Farms, Almond Breeze, and So Delicious.
I cannot highlight strongly enough the importance of using full fat coconut milk, because this is the only option that will form stiff peaks when whipped.
Do you have to chill it first?
I usually like either storing a can in the fridge to have on hand when needed or chilling the coconut milk overnight, because the results will be thicker and non runny.
But if you open the can and the cream inside is already super thick (see the photo below) you can skip the overnight refrigeration and simply freeze for about 10 minutes before whipping it up.
Try not to shake the can at any point, because you want to keep the cream on top separate from the watery part underneath.
Leftover Coconut Milk? Make Chocolate Truffles – 2 Ingredients
What if the coconut cream isn’t whipping?
It’s rare, but every now and then you may encounter a can of coconut milk that is chalky and rock hard or simply won’t whip or firm up.
Coconut milk brands I’ve had the most success with for making coconut milk whipped cream include Whole Foods 365, Sprouts, Thai Kitchen Organic, Trader Joes, Native Forest, and Nature’s Charm Coconut Whipping Cream.
Can you make different flavors of whipped cream?
You absolutely can! Try adding a few drops of almond or pure peppermint extract, a sprinkle of cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice, 1/2 tsp of instant coffee, or 1 tsp of lime, orange, or lemon zest.
Or add a scoop of peanut butter or half a banana for a delicious mousse-like dessert.
Make it chocolate by using the following recipe for Vegan Chocolate Mousse.
How to make coconut whipped cream
Start by chilling a can of full fat coconut milk or cream in the fridge overnight.
Once it’s cold, open the can and transfer just the thick and creamy part to a bowl. Either discard the rest or save it for another recipe.
With either a stand mixer or hand beaters (or a fork if it’s all you have), whip with the sweetener and optional vanilla extract until stiff peaks form.
Coconut Whipped Cream
Ingredients
- 1 can coconut milk or coconut cream (13.5oz)
- 2 tbsp powdered sugar or stevia to taste
- 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract (optional)
Instructions
- *Be sure to read through the FAQ listed above in this post. And if you’re a visual learner, you might find it useful to check out the video above showing how to make the coconut whip cream.Chill coconut milk or cream in the fridge overnight. Once cold, open the can and transfer only the thick and creamy part to a bowl. (Discard the watery part, or save for another recipe.) Using either a stand mixer or hand beaters (or a fork and a lot of arm strength), whip the cream with your sweetener and optional vanilla until it forms stiff peaks like real whipped cream!View Nutrition Facts
Video
Notes
Ways To Use Whipped Cream
Could I use this to frost a small 2 layer 6 inch cake? Or will it be too runny?
great recipes even for candida yeast infection for people that have that with just a few
adjustments because of any type of sugar or yeast
I made this and LOVE the taste and simplicity. I used pure Almond extract instead of vanilla. But I have a question how long can you keep it in fridge and also can you freeze it for later use?? Thank you. I love all your ideas and recipes.
Thanks for sharing. Can I freeze or how long i can keep refrigerated?
How strongly does this taste of coconut?
Delicious! Not vegan but we are dairy free, so we put it on top of the traditional Christmas desserts for a dairy free treat!
Does it taste like coconut?? Thanks!
This did not work. Filled recipe exactly.
Hi Gina, what brand of coconut milk did you use, and was it full fat or lite? This is just a basic coconut whipped cream recipe that can be found all over the internet, so it definitely does work. But as the post mentions, every now and then you can come across a bad can that either doesn’t have enough fat or is rock hard. Can you explain more about what was the issue with yours?
Fyi, Goya definitely DOESN’T work for this. Seems like any with guar gum get too hard in the fridge. Unfortunately that was the only coconut cream available in my closest grocery store. If you’re making a cake, this can be used to do a poke cake. I smashed the hard bits as much as possible, poured the whole can in (plus a shot of coconut rum) and used an immersion blender on it. Becomes a consistency like a thin pudding.
Well, I used one of the recommended coconut milk brands, refrigerated over night and the results were an epic failure. It was runny even after following some tips of adding more powdered sugar and a thickening agent. Popped into fridge for a few hours even – still runny and unusable. Too bad because the flavor was good.
I’ll try again just for experimental purposes.
Hi Elle, this coconut whipped cream recipe is pretty basic, and you can find versions of it all over the internet, so it definitely does work if you want to try again and hopefully get a better can :). It sounds like you just got a bad can. Unfortunately that can happen!