The Many Uses of Coconut Flour
A barrage of comments to our post on low-carb thickeners confirmed that while coconut flour is terrible for thickening sauces, it does serve other purposes. Our last post on a Primal flour – almond meal – went over well, so I figured the time was ripe for a look at coconut flour.
Coconut flour is simply dried, ground up coconut meat. Most likely you’ll be buying it online or from a specialty grocer, like Whole Foods or a food co-op, but you’ll occasionally come across highly processed, ultra-white coconut flour. Stay away from this. The good stuff will be like actual coconut – slightly cream colored, rather than bone white. You can make your own at home with a food processor, but without a grain mill you’ll probably have issues getting a “floury” consistency. If that’s okay with you, have at it.
Whether you’re making your own or buying it pre-made, always make sure your coconut flour is unsweetened. Pretty much all that you’ll come across is unsweetened, but it’s always worth it to make sure.
Apparently, defatting is one of the major steps in making it, so coconut flour doesn’t have much of the delicious, hearty coconut fat left over. It’s too bad, but understandable when you realize you’re dealing with a dry flour designed for baking. That’s pretty much my only qualm with coconut flour, as everything else looks good. According to my just-bought bag of Aloha Nu organic coconut flour, 2 tablespoons of the stuff contain:
1.5 g fat (1 g saturated fat)
10 g carbs (with 9 g fiber, bringing the net carb count to a measly 1)
2 g protein
Those are pretty great stats, especially when compared to the glucose-boosting powers of “normal” flours like wheat or white. Less hearty than almond meal, but also less heavy and closer in texture to the other, forbidden flours (if that’s what you’re going for). Coconut flour can be used to bake, but be forewarned that it’s very dry and doesn’t stick together well (hence its uselessness as a sauce thickener); avoid this problem by adding eggs to the mix, which allows it to bond and form batter. I’ve also had success using it in a light egg batter for fried coconut chicken. I’d assume it would work equally well for shrimp or fish.
Okay, onto a few recipes.
Coconut Bread
I’m not a big baker, but I can appreciate those who are. For those budding Primal bakers who still miss bread, why not try to make some with coconut flour? Slightly sweet and fairly light (as opposed to the denser breads made with almond meal), this coconut bread should do the trick.
Ingredients:
6 eggs
1/2 cups ghee (or butter)
1-2 tablespoon honey, depending on taste
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cup coconut flour
Method:
Preheat your oven to 350. Whisk it all together, or blend in a food processor until all lumps are gone. Grease a bread pan with butter or coconut oil and pour your batter in. Bake for 40 minutes.
If we split it up into six servings each slice will, according to FitDay, have:
30.9 g fat
13.2 g carbs (9 g fiber)
8.35 g protein
Coconut Pancakes
Drizzle these with honey and berries, wrap up some bacon and eggs for a Primal breakfast burrito, or just eat them plain. These things are incredibly easy to make.
Ingredients:
4 eggs
1/4 cup coconut flour
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 pinch nutmeg
1 pinch cinnamon
1 tablespoon honey
1/4 cup coconut milk (full fat)
Method:
Mix these ingredients and let them sit for five minutes. Oil or grease up your pan and heat over medium heat. Pour about a 1/4 cup of batter for each crepe, allowing each side to brown before flipping it.
Without accounting for toppings or cooking fat, FitDay says the whole batch amounts to:
37.2 g fat (20.9 g saturated)
42.2 g carbs (19.4 g fiber)
30.6 g protein
Coconut Crusted Chicken
This doesn’t even require an ingredient list. Simply take your chicken pieces (or shrimp, or fish), season them with salt and pepper, dunk them in an egg bath (just scrambled up raw egg), then dredge them in coconut flour, then back in the egg bath, and then coat with dried coconut flakes. After that, it’s just a matter of frying them in oil (use coconut) or sautéing them in some butter. Crunchy, delicious, and low-carb.
Any Primal bakers out there with good tips or recipes? Let me know in the comments section!
Photo Courtesy of Netrition.com
Further Reading:
Primal Energy Bar Redux: Making a Better Bar
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Posted By: Mark Sisson
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I have been making my own flour by pulsing coconut in the food processor. Works pretty well and i know what i am getting (unlike buying it in the bag). It is grrrrrrrrreat for baking but work of warning… it is very VERY dry, so plan accordingly.
The SoG
I’d never even heard of using coconut flour. Thanks for the ideas. They all sound tasty!
Cheers,
Adam
Definitely trying the chicken… i’m worried my love for bread might surface slightly if i try the coconut bread or pancakes.
Coconut shrimp or chicken, i love this idea, i’ve just got to try it, sounds awesome!!
I just posted a recipe for a primal gfcf coconut flour cake with coconut oil frosting.
http://www.nourishingdays.com/?p=1156
On a related note, coconut flakes + curry powder = deliciousness. I’ve also taken to using arrow root as a thickener recently, just make sure you wash your pans soon after cooking. That stuff turns to cement.
Thanks for covering this topic! I’ve been experimenting with coconut flour for a few months now and I love its soft, rich texture. Recipes almost always need more liquid to compensate for the dryness of the flour.
Emily
from the Healthy Eating, Naturally blog
Lots of coconut flour recipes at the Simply Coconut website: http://www.simplycoconut.com/coconut_recipes.htm
This looks excellent, I have some organic coconut flour so I will try this recipe. Thanks you
I use a cup of hazel nut meal with 1/4 cup coconut flour and melted butter to make pie crusts (just like a gram cracker crust!). Bake at 350 for 5-7 minutes, cool and then add filling of choice! Delish!!
With almond meal I get lighter texture when I sift the almond meal first and save the bits that are too big for other purposes.
I made coconut chicken for dinner tonight with coconut flour and unsweetened coconut. Seasoned chicken breasts with curry powder. Yummmmmm!
Yeah, I think the coconut chicken needs a seasoning– curry might be good. I made it last night and it was a little bland. I liked the textured, but it needs a little something.
Has anyone made tortillas from it? If so, I’ve definitely got to track it down, because I sure do love stuff wrapped up in tortillas!
I have quite a few coconut flour dessert recipes, and a savory recipe for english “muffins” at my blog:
healthyindulgences.blogspot.com
You cannot make coconut flour at home though. As you said, it has the fat pressed out. Unsweetened coconut ground in a food processor will not work the same way in recipes.
Wow, this is great info for gluten-free folk like me. I’m going to order this stuff real soon and try your bread recipe (yes, I still miss the stuff). Thanks!
Is this stuff okay to use
http://www.bobsredmill.com/product.php?productid=3681&cat=0&page=1
Thats the only type I can find locally..
Thanks!
I have here a box of Organic Creamed Coconut: fat 65.4g/100g, protein 7.5g, carbs 9.2g. This either comes in a solid block which you grate, or in sachets which you open and then grate.
Makes a killer combination with hot chillies. Yum, I think I’ll have some tonight: fried cashew nuts, sesame seeds and prawns with some coloured peppers, garlic, chillies and ginger root with creamed coconut and sesame oil. Also works with chicken. Or chicken *and* prawns . . .
I got hold of some Bob’s Red Mill coconut flour, and I made two of the recipes.
First, I made the coconut bread. It seemed pretty dry when I put it in the pan, but I didn’t want to mess with the recipe since I wasn’t sure what it should be like. It came out dry, all right; I probably would have choked to death if I didn’t have water at hand! It was fantastic for sopping up the extra sauce in the cauliflower with alfredo sauce I had later on.
Then, I made the pancakes without the cinnamon and nutmeg, since my husband can’t stand those spices, plus I wanted a more neutral flavor so I could try them out as a tortilla/bread substitute.
They were great! The consistency is very similar to cornbread, so I was inspired to wrap them around some all-natural hot dogs, along with ketchup and mustard and pickle relish. It was a very satisfying substitution for corn dogs.
Really enjoyed your post and have saved your blog on my fav’s. wanted to ask have you tried Konjac glucomannan flour as a thickener? Offered from the company that makes Miracle Noodle. Net carb free and some good fiber.
Anyone use coconut flour in one of those bread making machines?
bought some of this yesterday. mixed 50/50 with garlic powder, little salt and pepper and used as breading for frying calamari in lard. good stuff!
Inspired by dragonmamma’s hot dog wraps, I decided to make some “hamburger buns” from the pancake recipe. Instead of the spices recommended I added a touch of salt and some Old Bay Seasoning. I also sprinkled some hemp seeds on them as they cooked. After frying the pancakes in coconut oil, I realized I had not included the coconut milk in the recipe. Oops. No wonder the batter seemed kinda thick.
Surprisingly, even without the coconut milk, they turned out great. Just manually spread the batter out when it hits the pan. I agree that they do have a cornmeal pancake texture but without the grit and they made a very nice hamburger bun. Recipe with out the coconut milk made 4 hamburger sized pancakes.
At our cook-out on the 4th of July I made the coconut pancakes again but this time included the coconut milk. Oddly they turned out about the same as when I left out the coconut milk but of course the raw batter was not as thick and it made more pancakes. They were a hit at the party and were especially good wrapped around the hot dogs. Yum.
I noticed that some of the recipes are made using baking powder. My husband is severely gluten intolerant (celiac). He has been told he cannot tolerate corn because of its gluten content.(some celiacs apparently can-but he cannot) Any suggestions of what can be used in its place?
Despite being GF and Kosher, Calumet baking soda still has corn. We have the same dietary limitations as you, and here’s how we make our baking powder:
1 part baking soda
2 parts cream of tartar
2 parts tapioca starch
Mix well. Use as you would the store-bought.
Val, I googled “gluten in baking powder” and the first hit I got said: “Calumet baking powder is gluten-free and certified Kosher…”
Sharon: Yay, I’m thrilled that I made an eating suggestion that somebody likes!
They also go great with curry dishes as a chapati/naan substitute for soaking up the sauce.
I’m a monster coconut lover… it’s my favorite food on the planet, hands down.
I’ll share my coconut pancake/waffle recipe, because most of the recipes I’ve seen contain high numbers of eggs compared to mine (for the record: I love eggs, too, but I prefer a coconut-dominant flavor rather than an egg-dominant flavor to my pancakes & waffles).
1 can (15oz) coconut milk
3/4 cup shredded coconut
2/3 cup almond meal
1 or 2 eggs (one is plenty for waffles, you may want to go to two for pancakes, or if you like ‘em eggy)
tiny bit of salt
tiny bit of baking powder
and, if you’re doing them, vanilla and coconut extracts (1/2 tsp and 4-6 drops, respectively)
Amazing. Seriously. If you make waffles, let them cook a long time until they’re crispy. Enjoy!
Thanks for the recipe, Adam. Sounds great. I’ll have to try it. Cheers!
You’re welcome! I eat these pretty much every day. And, like you’ve mentioned, once you’re away from sweeteners, you don’t miss the syrup/honey/agave or whatever most people put on pancakes and waffles these days.
These are so good, they don’t even need butter. But who am I to stop anyone from adding some? (I once learned the cardinal rule of cooking from an organic chef… “When in doubt, add mo’ butter!”
I’m allergic to coconut, but really love baking. I still want to go primal…Any suggestions?
Try ground nuts (almonds, e.g.) instead.
Last night I tried the coconut bread recipe, but I used a half cup of applesauce instead of the ghee/butter and omitted the honey.
(I also adjusted the temp to 325 because I was using a dark pan, but I used about the same time: 38-39 minutes.)
It was delicious! The taste and texture were lovely; it was all I could do not to eat the whole batch all at once. It smelled really good while baking, too.
It made a great dessert with a little apple-sweetened blackberry spread.
Thank you, Mark; you’ve really helped me satisfy my bread cravings!