Find out how to make coconut flour at home! A cheap, easy, and nutritious DIY. Plus check out some tasty and healthy ways to use it!
A grain-free favorite.
If you’ve been living grain-free for any amount of time, you’re probably familiar with coconut flour. It’s highly absorbable, soft and fluffy (my kids love playing in it), and can be turned into all sorts of delicious treats. Plus, it’s super easy to make yourself!
That’s right friends. Though you can buy coconut flour in pretty much any grocery store now, I still choose to make it at home. It’s cheap and easy, and is actually a byproduct of making coconut milk. Which is also cheap and easy.
Nutritional benefits of coconut flour.
If you’re wondering why coconut flour would be a good choice, lemme tell ya… Not only is coconut flour grain-free and nut-free (that’s right, coconut is a fruit, not a nut), it’s also high in fiber, protein, and healthy fats!
Coconut flour has high levels of MCTs (medium-chain fatty acids) which help regulate your metabolism, is low in carbs (so safe for diabetics and keto-ers), and has been shown to help lower bad cholesterol and triglycerides.
How to make your own coconut flour.
Now that you know how awesome coconut flour is for you, let’s dive in to making some! To start with, make yourself a batch of homemade coconut milk. You’ll need a blender, 1 cup of unsweetened, shredded coconut, a quart of filtered water, and a large piece of an old, clean t-shirt or a tea towel.
First, put the water and coconut in the blender and puree it on high for a minute (I use the ‘whole juice’ setting on my Blendtec). Then place the t-shirt over a quart-sized bowl and pour in the coconut milk. Gather up the ends and press with your hands to get all the milk out, leaving the pulp inside the t-shirt.
Pour the coconut milk into a jar and store in the fridge for all sorts of deliciousness. Scoop the leftover coconut pulp onto a baking sheet and spread out fairly evenly. Turn on your oven to its *lowest* setting, or if your oven has a dehydrate setting, use that. Place the coconut pulp in the oven and let it dry out for about 8-10 hours, until it is no longer wet at all (this is important! you don’t want moldy coconut flour!).
When it’s dry, put the coconut pulp into a blender (make sure your blender is completely dry) and pulse until it’s a fine powder. I use speed 10 on my Blendtec for 1 minute.
Store your flour in a sealed container. You don’t have to keep it in the fridge. It will keep for months in a cupboard.
In the recipe card I’ve linked to some of the products from my affiliate partners that I like to use. Purchasing through these links won’t cost you anything extra. Thanks!
Homemade Coconut Flour
Free from grain, gluten, eggs, dairy, and sugar.
Equipment
- blender (I use a Blendtec, but a high-powered blender is not necessary)
- large piece of clean t-shirt or a tea towel
- baking sheet
- oven
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut
- 1 quart filtered water
Instructions
Put the water and coconut in the blender and puree it on high for a minute. Place the t-shirt over a quart-sized bowl and pour in the coconut milk. Gather up the ends and press with your hands to get all the milk out, leaving the pulp inside the t-shirt. Pour the coconut milk into a jar and store in the fridge.
Scoop the leftover coconut pulp onto a baking sheet and spread out fairy evenly. Turn on your oven to its *lowest* setting, or if your oven has a dehydrate setting, use that. Place the coconut pulp in the oven and let it dry out for about 8-10 hours, until it is no longer wet at all.
When it’s dry, put the coconut pulp into a blender (make sure your blender is completely dry) and pulse until it’s a fine powder. Store in a sealed container. You don’t have to keep it in the fridge. It will keep for months in a cupboard.
Delicious ways to use coconut flour.
If you’ve never used coconut flour before, please note that you *cannot* just trade it out 1-for-1 with any other gluten-free or grain-free flour. It is a very thirsty flour, and has practically no binding properties. So you need very little flour and lots of eggs (usually).
Please also note that homemade coconut flour is not as packed as store-bought, since it hasn’t been packaged. So you will probably need 3-4 tablespoons more homemade than store-bought.
Breakfasts
Banana Lemon Chia Seed Muffins (pictured above)
Cinnamon Crumb Keto Coffee Cake
Hot ‘N Creamy Pumpkin Flax Cereal
Savory Pumpkin Muffins with Apple & Sage
Entrees/Sides
Crispy Coconut Pan-Fried Salmon
Desserts
Chewy Peanut Butter Coconut Cookies
Chocolate Coconut Flour Cookies
Crock-Pot Cinnamon Roll Coffeecake
Dark Chocolate Banana Coconut Cookies
Dark Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting
Easy Paleo Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
Keto Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread
No-Bake Banana Walnut Brownies
Paleo Delicata Squash Brownies
Paleo Lemon Poppyseed Bundt Cake
Perfectly Easy Coconut Flour Brownies (pictured above)
Whoa, so cool! Never knew you could make coconut flour at home and it’s a lot simpler than I thought! I’ll have to try this.
It’s so easy, Jean! I hope you get to try it!
I love using coconut flour. I never in a million years thought about making my own, thanks for the idea!
You’re so welcome! I hope you get to utilize it, Heather!
I buy a lot of coconut flour, so this was an interesting read. I’d never have thought I could make my own!
I hope you try it out, Cynthia!
I love coconut flour. I am so shocked that I can make it at home!
I must get organized and try this. Thanks Raia!!
You’re so welcome, Carol!
I’ve made coconut milk many times, but I haven’t made coconut flour with the pulp yet. I’ll try this next time!
Good job making your own coconut milk, Annemarie!
Thank you for this easy to follow method! So easy to make!
You’re so welcome! I hope you get to use it!
This must make gf baked goods so amazingly delicious and moist — over store bought coconut flour. I’m going to give it a try!
I hope you like it, Jennifer!
Can I use the coconut nut itself instead of the store bought.
I have never tried it that was, but I would guess it can be done. It might just be a lot more work. 😉
How much flour does this recipe make?
It makes about 1/2 a cup.
Hi Raia,
I have made Coconut Milk (with fresh coconuts… of course…. as I am from the Tropics) on lots of occasion and always throw out the pulp in my backyard for the birds…now i will try making my own coconut flour with the pulp…..instead of buying from the Supermarket which is expensive….Thank you Raia
God Bless
SpiceMama
I hope you find it useful, Alison! I have never tried making coconut milk from fresh coconuts – I bet that is even more delicious!