The Best Coconut Cream for Vegan Desserts

By Elaine Gordon · Published Aug 7, 2024 (Updated Sep 9, 2025)

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In my quest to find the best coconut cream, I tested and reviewed 20 different cans of both coconut milk and coconut cream. The differences were remarkable, ranging from super runny to rock solid (crazy, right?). Below are my results, including my top recommendations for the perfect coconut cream for vegan desserts.

A spoon scooping coconut cream from a can of full-fat coconut milk.

There are few things more disappointing while preparing a vegan dessert than seeing that your coconut cream you've refrigerated overnight doesn't fit the bill. It may have failed to solidify, solidified too much, or simply didn't produce enough cream.

Coconut cream is the key ingredient for no-bake vegan desserts. These desserts require a soft-yet-solid cream that holds together well and will not melt into mush when sitting at room temperature. Whether I'm making these sweet and tangy lemon bars (a reader-favorite!), coconut whipped cream or any of my vegan ice creams, the quality of the coconut cream has a huge impact on the final product!

I've narrowed down my favorite brands over the years that generally yield consistent creams, but decided it was time to start with a clean slate and put all of them to the test. It was an eye-opening experiment for me that proved that choosing the right brand makes all the difference in creating the perfect vegan dessert!

Note: This post is not sponsored. I have partnered with Sprouts in the past on sponsored blog posts and sponsored reels. I will be partnering with Cha's Organic in the near future for two sponsored recipe reels. The Cha's Organics partnership was a partnership I pursued after this test because I loved their brand's mission, values and products. But this blog post is not sponsored by either brand.

What is Coconut Cream?

Coconut cream is a combination of coconut flesh and water. It is a solid, fatty white mixture that is thicker than coconut milk (which contains more water and less coconut flesh).

There are two easy ways to get coconut cream from a can. One is to simply buy a can of coconut cream, and the other is to refrigerate a can of full-fat coconut milk overnight. The solid coconut cream will float to the top, leaving the coconut water at the bottom (which can be saved for smoothies).

Before this test, I've never had good results with canned coconut cream. The consistency was never right and therefore I had resorted to scooping the cream out of refrigerated cans of full-fat coconut milk.

Berries and Cream Vegan Popsicles — *^{vegan coconut whipped cream}*

The Test

I bought 19 cans from multiple brands and refrigerated each one overnight for the same amount of time. I then judged based on taste, texture, "scoop-ability," color, ingredients and amount of usable cream produced.

Many brands sell cans of both coconut milk and coconut cream so I compared those as well. All are unsweetened and full-fat (lite or milk from a carton don't work for creamy vegan desserts).

You can see the full behind the scenes videos of me testing each brand on my Instagram stories here. It has all my raw commentary and reactions as I opened each can and shared my thoughts.

Below are the brands I tested in alphabetical order (and I tested multiple varieties within certain brands):

Cha's Organics
Goya
Let's Do Organic
Native Forest
Nature's Greatest (added September 2025)
Simple Truth Organic
Sprouts
Thai's Kitchen
Thrive Market
Trader Joe's
Wegmans
Whole Foods 365

The Results

Below are my rankings and analyses of the cans I tested. I analyzed each through the lens of how they would work for vegan desserts. Some that ranked lower would be great for other types of recipes but just not vegan desserts.

19. Goya Coconut Milk

Pros: None.
Cons: No cream floated to the top. It was a thick, curdly and chunky milk. Contains preservatives.
Verdict: Definite no.

18. Trader Joe's Organic Coconut Milk

Pros: None.
Cons: The can was basically all liquid with no coconut cream (see below photo for the spill!). Desserts would fall apart if using because none of it solidified.
Verdict: Do not recommend. It is unfortunate because I used to use their cans all the time but had to stop a few years ago due to the cream no longer solidifying. I'm assuming they changed the recipe.

17. Whole Foods 365 Organic Coconut Cream

Pros: None.
Cons: Nothing solidified as it was entirely liquid.
Verdict: This would be excellent for a savory Thai recipe or soup but definitely not for a no-bake vegan dessert.

16. Let's Do Organic Heavy Coconut Cream

Pros: Yields a lot of coconut cream (1 cup) - almost the entire can.
Cons: The texture was very meaty rather than smooth and creamy. It also was very flaky and broke apart easily. The texture was also inconsistent where some spots were really hard and others were a little softer. Not easy to scoop out of the can.
Verdict: Do not recommend. The texture is the most important factor and was way too hard.

15. Native Forest Premium Coconut Cream

Pros: Solidified great with the right texture and color.
Cons: It is a tiny can and yielded slightly less than ½ cup. Guar gum added.
Verdict: Definitely not my first choice. The coconut cream is good but it doesn't produce enough and also includes guar gum.

14. Thrive Market Organic Coconut Milk

Pros: Regeneratively grown, no guar gum added - just coconut extract and water.
Cons: The cream was rock solid, which would make it extremely difficult to work with if making coconut whipped cream. It was extremely difficult to scoop out of the can.
Verdict: Do not recommend. It might be okay to for making vegan ice cream because a blender would easily break it up, but I'd rather use a softer cream if given the option.

13. Sprouts Organic Coconut Cream

Pros: None.
Cons: Very liquidy as it did not solidify at all. There weren't even any chunks in the coconut water. Contains guar gum.
Verdict: Definitely do not recommend for vegan desserts. It would be good for adding to a savory dinner though.

12. Trader Joe's Organic Coconut Cream

Pros: Yielded over 1 cup.
Cons: Very hard. It was chalky, flaky, broke apart easily and not at all creamy. It also wasn't quite as white as other coconut creams and had a slightly beige tint.
Verdict: Do not recommend. It might work for blending into vegan ice cream but definitely not for any desserts that don't use a blender.

11. Thai's Kitchen Organic Coconut Milk

Pros: None.
Cons: It was all liquid - not even a solid layer on top. Also contains guar gum.
Verdict: Similar to the Trader Joe's brand, I used to buy this all the time but had to stop. It would be excellent for a curry or other savory dinner but not for a vegan dessert recipe.

10. Sprouts Regular Coconut Milk (Not Organic)

Pros: This had the perfect solid-yet-soft consistency where the shape of the cream actually had the ridges from the can after scooping it out. It also yielded a lot!
Cons: Contains guar gum, not organic.
Verdict: I was pleasantly surprised by this can and would definitely recommend.

9. Cha's Organics Coconut Milk Premium

Pros: Fair trade and non-GMO. Just organic coconut and water as ingredients.
Cons: It only partially solidified and had the consistency of yogurt.
Verdict: I would not recommend for vegan desserts, however I would definitely use in dinner recipes. It yielded 1 cup of cream but it just isn't solid enough for desserts.

8. Cha's Organics Coconut Cream

Pros: No fillers or gums. Fair trade and non-GMO. Beautiful color and ½ of the can was coconut cream.
Cons: Scooping was a little hard and it flaked a little bit.
Verdict: Not for vegan desserts. I would love to use this in other recipes though!

7. Thai's Kitchen Unsweetened Coconut Cream

Pros: Really good quality - the perfect texture, good color and yielded a lot. It scooped out very well and had a wonderful creamy consistency.
Cons: Contains guar gum and is not organic.
Verdict: Definitely recommend - a total 180 from their coconut milk!

6. Wegmans Organic Coconut Cream

Pros: I loved the texture as it was super creamy. It was really good quality and about ¾ of the can was cream with very little water.
Cons: Contains guar gum.
Verdict: Highly recommend! I was thrown off initially by how small the can was, but almost all of it was full of usable coconut cream.

5. Sprouts Organic Coconut Milk

Pros: Great consistency and scoops out easily. Solid yet creamy and easily whippable. Yields about 1 cup of coconut cream.
Cons: Contains guar gum.
Verdict: I love this brand of coconut milk and is normally my go-to for buying at the store. The taste and texture are great. My only complaint is the use of guar gum.

4. Whole Foods 365 Organic Coconut Milk

Pros: Great consistency - creamy yet holds its shape well. It yielded a little more than ½ cup of coconut cream.
Cons: Contains guar gum.
Verdict: I recommend this brand. Other cans produce more cream but the quality is very good.

3. Simple Truth Organic Coconut Milk

Pros: Creamy, easy to scoop and beautiful white color. It yielded over 1 cup of coconut cream.
Cons: Contains guar gum.
Verdict: This was one of the better cans I tested and I highly recommend. It would work great in vegan dessert recipes.

2. Native Forest Organic Coconut Milk

Pros: Good quality coconut cream at the top, great texture and white color. No guar gum added.
Cons: Not enough cream in the first can (only yielded ¼ cup). However, I tested a second can which yielded much more (more than ½ cup).
Verdict: Highly recommend but would chill multiple cans as a backup in the event the first doesn't produce enough cream.

1. Cha's Organics Coconut Whipping Cream

Pros: The perfect texture! Very easy to scoop out, holds its shape well yet is incredibly creamy. It also yielded 2 full cups! No preservatives or gums. Fair trade and non-GMO.
Cons: None.
Verdict: This would be the absolute best for making creamy coconut whipped cream. The secret is that they add tapioca starch to the cream - I will definitely consider adding this to other desserts!

NEW #1 Pick: Nature's Greatest Coconut Milk (Updated September 2025)

Pros: The absolute perfect texture! Very easy to scoop out, holds its shape well yet is incredibly rich and creamy. It yields 1 full cup! No can opener needed. No preservatives, fillers or gums. Only ingredient is coconut! Organic, non-GMO and no monkey labor.
Cons: None. It is perfect.
Verdict: This would be the absolute best for making creamy coconut whipped cream and any no-bake vegan dessert.

Disclosure: I was gifted four, 12-pack cases of coconut milk from Nature's Greatest but this post is not sponsored by them.

I really enjoyed the challenge of finding the best coconut cream and hope you found this review useful! If you'd like me to review any other staple ingredients for vegan cooking please let me know in the comments below or @eatingbyelaine.