Fall

Coconut Quick Bread

May  1, 2015
4.4
7 Ratings
  • Prep time 10 minutes
  • Cook time 45 minutes
  • Makes 1 standard loaf
Author Notes

When life gives you key limes, make...key lime curd and then this coconut quick bread to eat with it. Barely adapted from the Wednesday Chef. —Alexandra Stafford

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 1/4 cups milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 2 1/2 cups flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 lime, zested
  • 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 5 ounces (1 1/2 cups) unsweetened, shredded coconut
  • 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Directions
  1. Heat oven to 350° F. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, milk and vanilla.
  2. In a medium bowl, whisk together 2 1/2 cups flour, baking powder, lime zest, and salt. Add sugar and coconut, and stir to mix. Make a well in the center, and pour in egg mixture. Gradually mix with dry ingredients until just combined. Add melted butter, and stir until smooth. Do not over-mix.
  3. Line an 8 1/2- by 4-inch loaf pan with parchment paper. (You may need to prepare a mini loaf pan or other small vessel in the same manner.) Pour batter into pan, making sure it isn't filled more than 3/4 full. Bake until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, 1 to 1 1/4 hours, but start checking after 45 minutes. Cool in pan 5 minutes, remove bread from pan, and finish cooling on a rack.
  4. To serve, cut into 8 to 10 thick slices. If desired, toast lightly and spread with butter or lime curd.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • Drury
    Drury
  • Krispyecca
    Krispyecca
  • Brandi Muehlethaler
    Brandi Muehlethaler
  • Sally
    Sally
  • Evain Hom Chan
    Evain Hom Chan
I write the blog alexandra's kitchen, a place for mostly simple, sometimes fussy, and always seasonal recipes. My cookbook, Bread Toast Crumbs is available everywhere books are sold.

50 Reviews

ShirleyTemmle March 19, 2022
I'm looking forward to making this for my daughter! She loves coconut with chocolate. Can I add chocolate chips to this recipe?
 
Drury September 2, 2020
This is a great recipe. I substituted unsweetened coconut milk for the regular milk and it enhanced the flavor in a beautifully subtle way. After 45 minutes, the cake wasn't done but I think I should have taken it out a bit before the 1 hour mark as it was a tiny bit dry.
 
Krispyecca April 17, 2020
Heavenly! Made this with sweetened coconut—even in non-quarantine times, unsweetened coconut is hard to find in the South—and cut sugar to 3/4 cup as the author suggested in an older post below.
 
Jared March 27, 2020
I made this quick bread today (during Covid-19 quarantine) because I wanted to try and use up some coconut flour and use less regular flour. I used 2 C flour + 1/2 C coconut flour. I also added a teaspoon of coconut essence and 1/4 tsp almond essence. I should also add that I bake at 12,000 ft and there were no issues with rise. We'er stuck in the house but eating well!
 
Jared March 27, 2020
I made this quick bread today (during Covid-19 quarantine) because I wanted to try and use up some coconut flour and use less regular flour. I used 2 C flour + 1/2 C coconut flour. I also added a teaspoon of coconut essence and 1/4 tsp almond essence. I should also add that I bake at 12,000 ft and there were no issues with rise. We'er stuck in the house but eating well!
 
phoenix December 2, 2019
For those wondering about coconut flour - I tried it last night because I had some in the pantry I forgot about. I did some research and because coconut flour is gluten and grain free, you can't substitute 1:1. The recommendation I came across is for every 1 cup of flour, substitute 1/4 to 1/3 cups of coconut flour. I went with 1/4:1 and because it's super dense and absorbs a lot of liquid, I also ended up adding an additional egg (which helps it rise) and ~3/4 cups of milk (I eyeballed the additional milk) because the consistency with the egg/milk as written in the recipe was really dry. I baked it for an hour and it turned out pretty well, although rather crumbly when I cut it today to serve. Taste-wise, it was very coconut-y so definitely give it a try keeping in mind that you'll probably have to tweak it before you get the perfect ratios. Happy baking!
 
Ofunne O. July 25, 2018
Would this work with oat flour?
 
lsm May 24, 2018
I made this today. My kitchen smells amazing. And the bread tastes so good. Toasted, French toast, or just plain. I used a 9 by 5 bread pan. The bread crowned and cracked on top. Thank you for a Wonderfull recipe.
 
Kathy May 16, 2018
Had only sweetened coconut so I used that and reduced sugar by 1/2 c. Also used half ap flour and half white whole wheat. We liked result a lot but are used to lower sugar eating. Will try recipe again sometime as written for comparison. Adding some almonds or pecans sounds good too. Based on other comments the recipe is quite adaptable!
 
Brandi M. May 11, 2018
Ugh! My husband got sweetened coconut instead of unsweetened and I do not feel like going around town to find unsweetened. Any ideas on how I could proceed with sweetened (cut back on the sugar?)? Or should I wait until I have a chance to get unsweetened?
 
Alexandra S. May 12, 2018
eh, I would just go for it. Maybe cut the sugar back by 1/4 cup? I'm bet it will turn out great.
 
Alexandra S. May 12, 2018
I bet :)
 
Sally April 14, 2018
I used half almond flour/half white flour and coconut milk instead of reg. Milk.....delicious.
 
pattiebrown52 March 5, 2018
Ali, this looks wonderful. I am definitely trying this week. Thanks for the share.
 
Alexandra S. March 5, 2018
Hope you like it Pattie!
 
lekha March 5, 2018
Thanks Alexandra! Since I live in the UK, I will need to find what is available.
 
Alexandra S. March 5, 2018
Ahh, sure! I don't do a ton of gf baking, but I have great results with cup4cup. It's Thomas Keller's brand. I order it on Amazon. I'm sure you have great options where you are, however, so just use what you can find!
 
lekha March 5, 2018
Is gf gluten-free? So, what proportion of GF Flour to Coconut Flour?
Thanks.
 
Alexandra S. March 5, 2018
yes. I would find an all-purpose gf flour like Cup4Cup, and use it 1:1 in place of the all-purpose flour.
 
lekha March 5, 2018
Can I use coconut flour instead of plain flour?
 
Alexandra S. March 5, 2018
I don't think so. Coconut flour is gluten-free so, you would need to make some other adjustments to the recipe. If you're looking to make this gf, I would simply use a gf all-purpose mix.
 
Evain H. October 16, 2017
Anyone try with coconut flour yet?
 
MalamuteMom October 11, 2017
Has anyone tried to make a Gluten Free version of this? I and my family have Celiac. Unlike wheat based flours, there is no such thing as All Purpose Gluten Free Flour :( Is it supposed to be light and fluffy like a cake, or more dense like a Banana Bread or zucchini loaf?
 
Dawne September 2, 2017
This was fantastic and was easy to make. It's what others have commented on, somewhere between a bread and a cake. I really like it toasted with butter! I will be making this again...
 
Kate V. August 23, 2017
This IS quick and tasty. I had spare buttermilk, so I used that, and substituted oil for butter. It's not really a cake and not really a bread, not sweet or savoury. Very interesting. I'm having it with salted butter for lunch with a cup of tea: perfect!
 
Alex T. March 21, 2017
I did try this yummy recipe with coconut milk (instead of milk), and it is super, very delicious.
 
Alexandra S. March 21, 2017
So happy to hear this!
 
Stephanie L. October 16, 2017
When changing to coconut milk did you change the measurement - I want to try with almond milk?
 
Lisa March 21, 2017
Followed recipe exactly. It turned out such a delicious with perfect sweetness coconut bread. Amazing!
 
Alexandra S. March 21, 2017
Yay!
 
Alex T. December 23, 2016
I wonder if i use coconut milk instead of regular milk, I will try it and post the result.
 
Celia L. October 31, 2016
Baked this as mini loaves and came out great ! Toasted the coconut before adding it and it deepened the flavor, I believe.
 
Alexandra S. March 21, 2017
Fantastic!
 
Alma B. July 15, 2016
I just prepared this recipe and the result was amazing! I was amazed as how fast and easy was to make this cake. The results are great and even more considering the effort. Totally recommend.
 
Alexandra S. July 16, 2016
So happy to hear this, Alma!
 
Maggie July 28, 2015
Please, any chance of metric or imperial measurements???? Many thanks, I know it is a pain, but would like to try this recipe as well. Xx
 
T June 7, 2015
Hi Everyone! Has anyone tried this using coconut flour?
 
Lynn May 17, 2015
Will this work with whole wheat flour?
 
Alexandra S. July 28, 2015
I would try using 1 cup whole wheat flour to start — I worry that 2.5 cups of whole wheat flour might make it super dense.
 
Es May 16, 2015
You can find shredded unsweetened coconut in the ethnic freezer section of your market. I find it in the Indian foods and Goya section of my freezer.
 
Nicole O. May 13, 2015
Sooo yummy. I made this last night and sub eggs for Bob's Red Mill egg sub. due to hubs allergies. I just finished a slice for breakfast...and I'm mad I only brought 1.
 
Alexandra S. May 13, 2015
Nice! So happy to hear this.
 
Nicole O. May 13, 2015
This recipe is so awesome. I made this last night but did Bob's Red Mill egg sub. due to hubs allergies. It came out so perfectly. I just finished a slice for breakfast.
 
Alexandra S. July 28, 2015
So happy to hear this, Nicole! Great tip re egg sub.
 
ChefJune May 12, 2015
Your Other Mom: shredded unsweetened coconut doesn't look like much, but it tastes wonderful and it is so much better for any and all coconut recipes than that chemical-laden sweetened stuff in the grocery store. Whole Foods sells several kinds of shredded, unsweetened coconut, including in the bulk department, where I usually get it because I buy it by the pound for my "famous" Coconut pound Cake. But many stores these days are carrying this item. Id on't think you'll have to go to a health food store to find it.
 
Your O. May 11, 2015
RE: shredded coconut. Where to you find unsweetened shredded coconut? I can find only 2 kinds: flaked/sweetened (in every grocery store) or dried shredded, looks like fingernail clippings (just looks like that. I'm OK w/it if that's what to use... like dried mushrooms look like something good to eat...!)
 
cj May 11, 2015
i+usually+get+mine+at+whole+foods+(bob's+red+mill+brand)+or+target+(http://www.target.com/p/let-s-do-organic-100-organic-shredded-coconut-unsweetened-8-oz/-/A-14771160).++
 
NazNyc May 8, 2015
Anyone try making this with coconut milk instead ?
 
Asa M. May 11, 2015
Yes. I used coconut milk, coconut sugar and coconut oil (4 T. of coconut oil, 2 T. apple sauce) instead of butter. Came out good; the lime zest is awesome. I'll try again with butter, as it came out kind of chewy.
 
NazNyc May 12, 2015
Hi Asa,
I decided to just make it myself and try it with unsweetened coconut milk. That was the only thing I changed. It came out pretty good. Kind of like in between cake and a bread. Right out the oven with some butter - was delicious. There was too much for the loaf pan, so I put the rest in a buttered ramekin and it baked off like a great muffin.