Creamed coconut

One US cup of creamed coconut weighs between 224 and 256 grams (7.9 to 9 ounces), depending on how the cup is filled and which source measured it. That range is the answer; a single number would not be. Every figure behind it is below, with the method each source used.

Coconut products compared: cup weights side by side, the source behind each, and why they differ.

TL;DR: 224-256 g/cup (0.95-1.08 g/mL). Whole ground coconut sold under three interchangeable names — creamed coconut (UK/Caribbean), coconut butter (US natural foods), and coconut manna (Nutiva's trademark) — packing at nut-butter densities. Not the same as coconut cream (liquid, ~284 g/cup), cream of coconut (sweetened Coco Lopez-style, ~283-312 g/cup), or coconut oil (extracted fat only).

Creamed coconut is dried whole coconut meat ground to a semi-solid paste. The product carries all of the coconut's oil and fiber together — typically 60-68% fat and roughly 30% coconut fiber plus 2-4% water — which puts it in the nut butter family both functionally and on the scale. It solidifies below about 75°F (24°C) into a firm white block, softens to a spreadable paste at warm room temperature, and melts to pourable liquid at pan heat. The oil often separates from the fiber during storage the same way it does in an unstirred jar of natural peanut butter; stirring or briefly warming the container in hot water re-integrates it.

The naming is a persistent source of confusion. In the UK and Caribbean cooking tradition — where the product is used to enrich curries, stews, and rice dishes — it is almost always called "creamed coconut," typically sold as a hard block wrapped in foil (Let's Do Organic, Grace, Maggi). In the US natural-foods market, the same product is sold in jars as "coconut butter" (Artisana, Kevala, Georgia Grinders) or "coconut manna" (Nutiva's trademark). All three names describe the same thing: whole ground coconut, single ingredient. Grace's Jamaican block, Nutiva's US jar, and Artisana's raw organic jar are interchangeable in a recipe within the density band published here.

Producer density data spans a 14% range that reflects both particle-size differences (finer grinds pack denser) and moisture-content variability in the source coconut. Nutiva Coconut Manna lists 1 tablespoon = 14 g on the label, extrapolating to 224 g/cup or 0.95 g/mL. Grace 100% Creamed Coconut Classic sits at 1 tablespoon = 15 g, or 240 g/cup. Artisana Coconut Butter lists 1 tablespoon = 16 g, or 256 g/cup. All three describe near-identical single-ingredient products. Physical prediction from composition (0.92 g/mL for coconut oil times 0.68 plus 0.6 g/mL for coconut fiber times 0.32) gives about 0.82 g/mL or 193 g/cup — lower than any producer figure, suggesting the solidified paste packs denser than the theoretical calc because the oil fills gaps in the fiber matrix rather than forming discrete phases.

Do not confuse creamed coconut with the three adjacent coconut products already in the database. Coconut cream (284 g/cup, KA) is the thick fat-rich layer that separates from the top of unsweetened coconut milk — a pourable dairy-cream substitute in the liquid category. Cream of coconut (283-312 g/cup, wide-range withheld) is the sweetened Coco Lopez-style product for piña coladas, usually 50% or more added sugar. Coconut oil (existing entry, fat) is just the extracted oil with all coconut solids removed. Creamed coconut alone contains the full ground coconut, oil plus fiber. When a Caribbean or Thai recipe calls for "coconut cream," check whether the original recipe language is UK/Caribbean (creamed coconut, the paste) or US/Thai (coconut cream, the liquid) — the two are not interchangeable on the same volume, and the density differs by roughly 15-25%.

For baking, creamed coconut substitutes 1:1 by weight for other nut butters in cookies, frosting bases, and no-bake bars, delivering coconut flavor with a similar body to almond or cashew butter. For savory Thai and Caribbean curries where the original recipe specifies a block quantity ("half a 200g block") or a specific brand, weigh the amount rather than measuring by volume — the 14% brand-to-brand density spread propagates directly into a noticeably wetter or drier finished sauce.