17 Recipes You Can Make With That Can of Coconut Milk in Your Pantry

Surely you’ve bought a single can of coconut milk when you’re cooking Thai or baking a coconut dessert, but we’d like to make the case for this being a pantry staple, maybe new to you if you don’t already keep a stack of these cans on hand. Coconut milk adds its particular flavor profile, of course, but also a full-bodied richness and subtle sweetness that goes well in soups, braises and sweet confections. If you’re new to the stuff, keep in mind that you’ll want to look for cans labeled “coconut milk” and not “coconut cream”—the latter is a can of only coconut fat, while the former contains a bit of each. (Cream of coconut is another product still; it’s a sweetened coconut milk meant for beverages—think of it as the non-dairy counterpart to sweetened condensed milk.) Inside, the fat tends to separate and solidify, so either shake the can well before using, or take a page from Jet Tila and use the coconut fat for sauteeing—yum.

If you’ve ever wanted to try your hand at an authentic and complex Thai curry, let Jet Tila be your guide. Backtracking: “Complex” in flavor only; Tila, here, employs a panang curry paste, so you’re not starting entirely from scratch, but he knows the crucial inclusions (makrut lime leaf and Thai basil) that will make it taste as it should. In addition, note the insider trick of deliberately not shaking the can of coconut milk so that you can spoon off the solidified coconut cream and use it as your cooking fat.

The comments section says it all: This flan is a hit. Like most flans, the custardy creaminess is its selling point, the flavors subtle and silky. This one, however, has an added textural delight of shredded coconut. Best of all, making it is simpler than traditional flan, due to the use of store-bought caramel.

Corn and coconut have a natural affinity for each other, and in this smoky, sweet and savory chowder, layered with complexity from poblanos and lime, their best attributes really come forward. It will adapt to whatever season you’re in: Go with frozen corn in the winter, or cut the kernels from the cobs and simmer those cobs right in the broth in summer. Also noteworthy: This is a dairy-free chowder.

Though the “greens” (here, spinach and chard) get top billing, this recipe is so much more than that. A delightful side that can also function as a full meal on its own, this curry combines lentils, along with pomegranate seeds, toasted almonds and fresh mint. Serve over rice to round it out.

Coconut has real staying power, which helps in the context of a breakfast bowl. Here, it lends some appealing richness (and an immunity boost) to a healthful bowl, which also gains protein, fiber and omega-3s from chia seeds. Plenty of fresh fruit mingles with the tiny seeds, which burst appealingly in the mouth.

Lest you wish to wake up in the morning to an ode to coconut (or maybe pair one with your afternoon tea), these scones will fit the bill. Baked with shredded coconut, coconut extract and coconut milk in the batter, then drizzled with a coconut glaze, they simply don’t come more coconutty than these. An addition of chopped pecans adds a subtle textural complement.

There are hundreds, perhaps thousands, of preparations for mussels, but dare we say this version should be in the top five? With a Thai-style broth, layered with fish sauce, green curry paste, lemongrass and yes, that milk we’re talking about today, it provides a base that is irresistible even before the mussels go in. After they do? It takes on that sweet-briny flavor of the sea that will require many, many loaves of crusty bread (or stop beating around the bush and just put spoons out).

The French have blancmange and the Italians have panna cotta, but Puerto Rico has tembleque, a semi-solid coconut pudding named for its jiggle (“tremble”). Here’s a significant difference however: While those European confections use milk and gelatin for the texture, this version is not only vegetarian but vegan, using coconut milk as its liquid and cornstarch for solidification. But its real selling point is that distinctly tropical scent.

Here, coconut milk lends its velvety richness to simply-poached chicken breast, which is then assembled into a delightful rice bowl. Toasted cashews and thinly-sliced watermelon radish add crunch and freshness. Assembling is straightforward; make it once and you’ll return to these techniques again and again.

There’s a lot going on here, in a good way. If you took German chocolate cake, that milk chocolate treat with coconut and pecan frosting, and you crossed it with the latest craze for salted caramel chocolate everything, you’d come up with this. It’s a showstopper of a cake, where every little twist and turn that goes into it just really works.

Cabbage and coconut might seem an odd couple at first glance, but Alex Guarnaschelli coaxes out the vegetal sweetness of the former and uses them as delightful wrappers for the protein-rich parcels within. Chickpeas, tomato and rice simmer in the spiced, gingery sauce and are wrapped inside cabbage leaves for a dish that calls to mind a Southeast Asian curry. Leftovers? Lucky you—these only taste better the next day.

Eggnog, move over: this classic Christmas sip deserves to be as ubiquitous as the nog, even if it hasn’t made its way into any carols. Even anti-noggers should give coquito a try, as beyond that they are both creamy white Christmas drinks, the similarities end there. A little sweet and deeply coconutty, coquito goes down smooth and easy.

Sunny Anderson’s technique for using coconut milk as the braising liquid for a pork loin will be a revelation. First, smoked salt and paprika are rubbed into the loin for deep seasoning, then the pork gets a sear for a meaty crust. Finally, the coconut milk simmers the pork to perfect tenderness, and lends its richness to the finished dish.

“Tres leches” typically refers to the three different varieties of milks used in this Latin-American sweet, usually sweetened condensed, evaporated and regular. Here, though Katie Lee’s motivation was to create a non-dairy version, she has also hit on the ideal dessert for a coconut lover. Toasted shredded coconut on top really underlines the tropical flavors.

Coconut and tomato are very complementary, something you sometimes get a little sample of in the context of a coconut curry. But Valerie Bertinelli’s soup makes the pairing the main event, playing up that intersection of umami tomato and decadent coconut with a little heat from fresh ginger and red pepper flakes. Keep coconut milk on hand and this can become your pantry staple when the cupboard’s nearly bare.

There are few meals that wouldn’t be improved by switching out their regular rice for coconut rice. You can find versions of it from Southeast Asia through the Caribbean and out to Hawaii, with lots of stops in between. The coconut flavor is subtle, but the aroma will draw you in every time.