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How to Substitute Unsweetened for Sweetened Coconut

March 18, 2014 by Laura 42 Comments

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How to substitute unsweetened for sweetened coconut? It may not be an earth-shattering problem. Still I needed the answer.

I had all the ingredients for my favorite granola, except for sweetened coconut and didn’t want to go to the store before making a batch. During my search for a stray bag of sweetened coconut that I might have bought and saved for a “rainy day,” I discovered that I had the remains of a container of unsweetened or natural coconut.

How to substitute unsweetened for sweetened coconut?

Substitute unsweetened coconut for sweetened if you know the conversion recipe.

Unsweetened coconut is typically used in savory dishes such as curries or other Southeast Asian sauces. It is also great combined with breadcrumbs or on its own as a coating for shrimp or chicken baked or fried.

However, unsweetened coconut is too dry for most sweets. Also, the sweetness associated with coconut doesn’t come out in a baked dish if you just add more sugar or honey to the recipe without actually sweetening the coconut itself.

Transforming unsweetened into sweetened coconut required more than just additional sweetener. 

I found what seemed to be a great solution on Food.com – mix the coconut with simple syrup. Remember the simple syrup sweetening method from candied ginger? It worked perfectly for my granola and I could not tell the difference between this batch with home-sweetened coconut and the original version, which used store-sweetened coconut. My home-sweetened coconut is on the left below, with the unsweetened version on the right.

Comparing unsweetened and sweetened coconut.

For home-sweetened coconut, the ratios are 1 tablespoon of water to 1 teaspoon of sugar for every ¼ cup of unsweetened coconut. My granola calls for ¾ cup of sweetened coconut, so this description uses that serving size.

For a cup of sweetened coconut, you would use 4 tablespoons (¼ cup) of water and 4 teaspoons of sugar.

How to Sweeten Natural or Unsweetened Coconut (so You Can Substitute Unsweetened for Sweetened Coconut in a Recipe)

Serving – ¾ cup 

Ingredients

  • 3 tablespoons water
  • 3 teaspoons of sugar
  • ¾ cup unsweetened or natural coconut

Equipment

  • Small pot
  • Measuring spoons
  • Measuring cup
  • Spoon
  • Spatula
  • Waxed paper or cookie sheet (optional)

Preparation

Put the water and sugar in a small pot. Gently bring them to a boil. Stir until the sugar dissolves.

Add the coconut and stir until the simple syrup/sugar water is totally absorbed into the coconut. To dry the coconut slightly (not necessary if you’re using it in a recipe like granola that adds liquid in a later step), spread the now-sweetened coconut out on waxed paper or a cookie sheet for 20-30 minutes.

Turning unsweetened coconut into sweetened.

Drying coconut that I had turned from unsweetened into sweetened.

Success! 

Granola containing unsweetened coconut substituted for sweetened. I’m going to try this method on the coconut in my Chocolate Coconut Pecan Bars and my Almond Coconut Cake too. Maybe even my gluten-free Coconut Almond Macaroons. What coconut recipes do you love where this substitution could work well?

Filed Under: Archives, Ingredients, Kernels of Wisdom Tagged With: coconut, how to, substitute

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Comments

  1. Shelley says

    December 4, 2014 at 10:53 pm

    Yours was the first result that came up when I googled the topic, and I’m glad it did – this worked perfectly. Thanks!

    Reply
    • motherwouldknow says

      December 9, 2014 at 3:52 am

      Delighted to be of service. And thanks for stopping by to let me know.

      Reply
    • Dina C. says

      January 23, 2024 at 3:05 pm

      Awesome! Thanks so much for the instructions! I’m attempting to make a keto version of 7-layer bars, and am having to create my own sugar-free version of the key ingredients.

      Reply
      • Laura says

        January 27, 2024 at 4:05 pm

        Dina, Delighted to help.

        Reply
  2. Cherie says

    December 16, 2014 at 4:58 pm

    Thank you! You helped save my christmas nainaimo bars!

    Reply
    • motherwouldknow says

      January 22, 2015 at 5:17 pm

      Cherie, Glad you found the tip helpful.

      Reply
  3. Elaine Grace says

    December 17, 2015 at 10:42 am

    thank you. was really stuck, couldn’t get to the store for sweetened coconut but had unsweetened. your recipe worked like a charm. another great save for you and me lol

    Reply
    • Laura says

      December 29, 2015 at 10:12 am

      Fantastic Elaine. Glad I could help.

      Reply
  4. Rhonda says

    March 11, 2016 at 1:35 pm

    Thank you so much, I had 5 bags of unsweetened coconut (my husband had bought them) so now I can make my macaroons. Thank you so much for sharing your wisdom.

    Reply
    • Laura says

      March 16, 2016 at 4:04 pm

      Rhonda, So glad I could help. I’ve enjoyed using unsweetened coconut in my granola ever since I discovered this tip.

      Reply
  5. Cheri Doehrmann says

    April 3, 2016 at 5:32 pm

    Thank you for this tip! I and some of my family members are diabetic so using sweetened coconut is not an option! I made a coconut cake for Easter using unsweetened coconut mixed with granulated stevia and no one could tell the difference (I also used sugar free cake and sugar free icing!) It was wonderful and everyone thought it was the best cake ever! Thank you again for saving the day!

    Reply
    • Laura says

      April 4, 2016 at 12:31 pm

      Cheri, So glad I could help. Yes, I’ve used unsweetened coconut many times now, and sweetening it (with sugar, stevia or another sugar substitute) seems to work so well that it’s impossible to tell the difference once the coconut is used in a recipe.

      Reply
  6. Anaïs Maxine Albertsen says

    July 14, 2017 at 1:58 pm

    Wonderful recipe! I was wondering if you had metric measurements for us Brits?

    Reply
    • Laura says

      July 17, 2017 at 7:02 pm

      Many thanks Anais. At the moment, I don’t have an automatic converter on the site, but I’m working on it for the near future. In the meantime, here is a converter for shredded coconut http://convert-to.com/623/shredded-desiccated-coconut-conversion-with-nutritional-facts.html The 3/4 cup shredded, unsweetned coconut is about 70 grams. Hope that helps.

      Reply
  7. Barb says

    August 28, 2017 at 4:08 pm

    This is just what I was looking for. I’m currently in the middle of Hurricane Harvey and found a recipe using sweetened coconut, and it’s not something I keep in the pantry. I do always have unsweetened, though, so I get my comfort food without having to leave the house.

    Reply
    • Laura says

      August 28, 2017 at 9:09 pm

      Barb, So glad I could help. Hope you and those you love are all safe from the awful after-effects of Hurricane Harvey.

      Reply
  8. Melissa says

    October 26, 2017 at 5:44 pm

    Would this work well with the bigger, chunkier coconut flakes? Or just the finely shredded coconut?

    Reply
    • Laura says

      October 28, 2017 at 3:14 pm

      Melissa, I’ve never tried it with the bigger, chunkier coconut flakes, but in theory I think it should work. If you try it, let me know what you think.

      Reply
  9. Bruno says

    February 16, 2018 at 11:36 am

    Hi Laura – great post. I could only get unsweetened coconut here in Germany and I was following a US recipe so your very precise instructions to convert the unsweetened coconut to the sweet stuff really saved my guests from a dessert with hard coconut.

    Reply
    • Laura says

      February 18, 2018 at 5:53 pm

      Bruno, Glad I could help. Hope your guests enjoyed what I’ll bet was a wonderful dessert.

      Reply
  10. Todd says

    June 4, 2018 at 9:29 am

    Thanks for the great tip. I figured a simple syrup would work, I just didn’t know how much to use.

    Reply
    • Laura says

      June 18, 2018 at 11:19 am

      Todd, Glad to help.

      Reply
  11. Elisabeth says

    June 8, 2018 at 11:55 pm

    Can this be stored for any amount of time, or do I need to use it fast after it is sweetened. I have
    5 lb of unsweetened coconut and I am wondering if I should store it as is and just write directions for sweetening it on the box and do it as I need it. Does it get moldy if sweetened and stored. Thank You so much
    Lisa

    Reply
    • Laura says

      June 10, 2018 at 3:44 pm

      Elisabeth. Interesting question to which I don’t know the answer. I like your idea to store it “as is”, with directions for sweetening as much as you need on a “sweeten as you go” basis. Sounds sensible to me.

      Reply
  12. Jaci says

    June 21, 2018 at 10:47 am

    THIS time I’ll Pin it 😉

    Sweetened coconut is not to be found in Cuenca, Ecuador. Lots and lots of fresh and dried.

    Thanks.

    Reply
    • Laura says

      June 21, 2018 at 11:17 am

      Jaci, So interesting to know about not being able to find sweetened coconut. Now that you know how to sweeten the unsweetened variety, the unavailability of the other won’t matter:) Glad to help.

      Reply
  13. aurore george says

    August 19, 2018 at 12:22 am

    Thanks for your recipe! It was exactly what I was looking for, and perfect for both recipes this weekend.

    Reply
    • Laura says

      August 21, 2018 at 10:32 am

      How wonderful. So glad it helped.

      Reply
  14. Veronica says

    June 1, 2019 at 3:00 pm

    Will it be the same for fresh coconut? Here in Panama we only can get it fresh from the coconut! (Let me tell you it is an all afternoon job to get the meat out if the coconut and grate it….) ugh! I freeze it in zip lock bags.

    Reply
    • Laura says

      June 3, 2019 at 10:56 am

      Veronica, That’s a great question. I don’t know the answer because I’ve never gotten fresh coconut here in the mid-Atlantic US. I certainly think it’s worth trying the proportions I gave. If you do, hope you’ll let us know what happens. And maybe you can teach me how to open a fresh coconut and get the meat out – sounds like an adventure.

      Reply
  15. Elaine says

    October 14, 2020 at 10:22 am

    Thank you so much for this “recipe”. I live in Ecuador and sweetened dried coconut is not available here. I’m making a coconut cake for a friend’s birthday dinner. Her husband says it’s her favorite. And she’s from the south, so I knew it had to be a homemade cake, not a boxed one. It was easy peasy. Thanks so much!!!

    Reply
    • Laura says

      October 28, 2020 at 7:32 pm

      Hope your friend had a joyous birthday celebration. You’re such a kind friend to make her a favorite like coconut cake – and to go to the trouble of figuring out how to do that when sweetened coconut is not easily available.

      Reply
  16. Wendy says

    December 19, 2021 at 2:27 pm

    Omg. Here in central Ontario Canada and there is no sweetened coconut on the shelves. Supply issues! This will save my Hello Dollies. Thanks!

    Reply
  17. Sandi says

    August 1, 2022 at 9:22 am

    Thanks for the recipe, I can’t give my granddaughter anything that is not organic so I have to use non sweetened coconut when we make macaroons together, she’s 5. I’ve used the unsweetened sugar in the past and they were terrible I didn’t know what to do to fix it.. this is great. This is our rainy day project for today.

    Reply
    • Laura says

      August 3, 2022 at 5:26 pm

      Sandi, Hope you enjoyed your day with your granddaughter and baking together. Glad I could help.

      Reply
  18. Tad Davis says

    January 13, 2024 at 3:59 am

    Thanks! I can’t actually buy sweetened coconut here in Tbilisi and wanted to make some coconut macarons! Worked perfectly!

    Reply
    • Laura says

      January 27, 2024 at 4:09 pm

      Tad, Delighted to help. I have friends who used to live in Tbilsi but I doubt that they ever made macaroons:)

      Reply
  19. Brenda says

    August 22, 2024 at 3:27 pm

    Worked exactly as recipe said and so tasty!! Easy as could be! Not sure I’ll ever buy sweetened again! Thank you for helping me!

    Reply

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