The Best Coconut Cream for Vegan Desserts (2024)

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
• Simple Truth Organic
• Sprouts
• Thai's Kitchen
• Thrive Market
• Trader Joe's
• Wegmans
• Whole Foods 365

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 Organic 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.
• 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!