Here’s Everything You Can Make With A Can Of Coconut Milk

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Coconut milk is a lifesaver. It’s cheap, it’s relatively healthy and it makes everything creamy. There’s usually some kind of sale on coconut milk, too, so you can buy a bunch and save it for a rainy day. Anytime you need to make a quick dessert or an easy marinade, coconut milk will come to your rescue. Here are the best ways to use it.

Overnight Oats

Anyone who’s into meal prepping should make overnight oats part of the weekly routine. You can use any kind of grains or nuts you have and the coconut milk will turn your oats into a creamy snack overnight. Try these coconut latte overnight oats for some extra fiber in the morning. Or if you’re a banana person, try these banana and coconut overnight oats with chia seeds and shredded coconut.

Curry

Coconut milk and curry balance each other out in the best way. If you’re new to the world of curry and you don’t want too much heat, coconut milk helps to dilute the spiciness. Here’s an easy vegan coconut curry that uses coconut milk for the broth and as a way to flavor the quinoa base. And this Thai chicken coconut curry uses red curry paste and only takes 20 minutes to make. Pro tip: Anytime you’re making curry, keep other ingredients like coriander, ginger, cilantro and lime juice on hand.

Broth

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Whether you’re making a noodle soup or a broth for mussels, coconut milk is ideal. Anytime you need something with extra body and you don’t have chicken or vegetable broth on hand, you can mix coconut milk with water to make a base for a soup or anything else that needs a flavorful broth.

This Thai chicken coconut soup is light and fresh and packed with aromatic flavors. Or for a comforting vegan lunch, you can make a big batch of this lemongrass coconut noodle soup. And it might seem complicated, but mussels are one of the easiest seafood dishes to make. Give this steamed batch of mussels with coconut sweet chili broth a try for your next summer dinner party.

Marinade

Coconut marinades are extremely underrated. Marinating your chicken or eggplant in a bath of spices and creamy coconut milk will give you all of the juicy results. Go for a coconut-lime chicken or these coconut rum-grilled shrimp. Make sure you give the marinade some time to work its magic. If you don’t have a few hours to let it sit in the fridge, at least give it a half hour, covered, in a cool spot.

Dressing

You can easily make a creamy alternative to any salad dressing with a can of coconut milk. Here’s a coconut milk ranch dressing made with shallots, apple cider vinegar, dill and basil to use as a dip or dressing for your salad. Or for a superfood-packed dressing, stir up this six-ingredient avocado and coconut salad dressing.

Rice

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Anytime you want to add a little sass to your rice, use coconut milk instead of (or in addition to) water. This recipe for basmati rice with coconut milk and ginger is the perfect side dish for any occasion. The rice will absorb all of the coconut milk throughout the steaming process and it’ll end up being fluffier and creamier than it is when you just use plain water. You can also go the dessert route with sweet coconut milk sticky rice and mangoes.

Whipped Cream

Whip up some coconut milk whipped cream in 10 minutes for a quick dairy-free addition to your dessert. Just make sure that your can of coconut milk has been in the fridge overnight. Here’s a two-ingredient recipe for coconut whipped cream that only calls for full-fat coconut milk and some kind of sugar. Add a few dollops of coconut cream on top of fresh strawberries or spread a layer on top of a chocolate pie.

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