Caramelized Coconut Chips
This is barely a recipe, but my kitchen experiment – Man! I really want something salty-crispy right now. I wonder what would happen if I toasted these things then sprinkled them with salt? – yielded such surprisingly irresistible results, I feel compelled to share.
I’m not sure if you’ll compliment or curse me after you’ve tried these. I’m ready for either response (and both!).
Salty, sweet, crispy, and luscious with coconut fat, these chips are great on their own as a snack (eat them alongside some cold grilled chicken and fresh, raw veggies, and you’ve really got something) or sprinkled on top of savory dishes like rogan josh, coconut curry, curry fried f’rice, or coconut-almond green beans… even mixed into a quickie shrimp salad (cold salad shrimp, homemade mayo, fresh parsley, a squeeze of lime juice).
Caramelized Coconut Chips
Ingredients:
1 cup unsweetened coconut chips
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
pinch cinnamon
Directions:
1. Mix the sea salt and cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside.
2. Heat a non-stick pan over medium-high heat for about 2 minutes. Add the coconut flakes and distribute evenly so they form a shallow layer in the bottom of the pan. Stir frequently – they begin to crisp and turn brown pretty quickly. This step took me, like, 3 minutes maybe, so pay attention! When the flakes have reached an appealing level of toastiness, remove from the heat.
3. Sprinkle the hot coconut flakes with the salt-cinnamon blend and toss until evenly seasoned. Allow to cool, then store in an air-tight container.
UPDATE:
If you can’t find coconut chips near you, you can buy them online. (I pay about 40 cents per ounce at my grocery store.)
Bob’s Red Mill @ Amazon (54 cents per oz.)
Let’s Do Organic @ Amazon (39 cents per oz.)
Bayside Candy @ Ebay (21 cents per oz.) (Thanks for the link, Mom!)
Tags: coconut
59 Responses to “Caramelized Coconut Chips”
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THIS is the kind of recipe I LIKE!! Simple & few ingredients. I cannot wait to try it!
Right?! Three ingredients = easy peasy.
Amazing – just tried these, added slivered almonds and paprika. a bit more savory snack. THANK YOU!
Kimee
Nice one! I’d say this might work if I toast the coconut flakes in the toaster oven as well?
Jos, you can toast coconut in the toaster oven. Spread the flakes in a thin layer and bake at 300F for 15-20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes. Enjoy!
Hi Mel, about to try this (and time how long it takes) now.
will post back with results.
Excited to try it.
It took me about 5 minutes to get to the desired brown-ness, which thanks to you, I realize I left out of my post. Be sure to let me know how yours turn out!
This took only about one minute. It was pretty tasty. I also added a little vanilla extract.
I would make it again but I would do more cinnamon.
Vanilla extract is a great mod — I bet almond extract would be tasty, too.
I was torn about the amount of cinnamon and decided I wanted the salt to be the predominant flavor, but you could really go sweet with vanilla or almond extract, kick up the cinnamon to about a 1/4 teaspoon, and add a dash of nutmeg. And then add some pecans. But that sounds like a recipe for delicious disaster
Where do you get the coconut flakes? All I can find in my teeny town is very dry, very small shreds. I need to order them from somewhere.
Sounds YUMMY!
Hey, Bethann. I find the flakes at my regular ol’ grocery stores here – both in packages and in the bulk section. I did some poking around online and found these. Both look like good options — and the price isn’t bad, based on the bulk quantity. I pay about 40 cents per ounce, and the Bob’s is 54 cents per ounce. Let’s Do Organic is 39 per ounce.
Bob’s Red Mill
http://amzn.to/l3GLnM
Let’s Do Organic
http://amzn.to/kqsAJQ
My weakness is popcorn. As soon as I sit down to watch a movie I start craving popcorn. Well I tried this today and and as soon as the coconut started browning, I got a lovely whiff of a popcorn kinda smell. This is great and my little boy loves it too. Thanks.
Amanda, popcorn is my favorite food! And you’re right, these coconut chips are a great stand in. Glad you and your son like them!
HoLy CoCoNuT, Batgirl!!! Mel, YOU are a GENIUS. Simply put.
Such subtlety, and yet it has a real wow factor. Genius. Oh, delicious genius. Keep ‘em comin’ lady!
Oh, my! I love when you call me a GENIUS!
So glad you like the coconut chips! I think I’m going to go make another batch right now
O-M-G… These are freaking DELICIOUS!! I LOVE them!!
Thank you SO much for the quick and easy recipe!!
Ditto on the DELISH. WOW. So simple, so good. I was always just ate my coconut flakes – plain – not even toasted. Now I know what I’ve been mising! I haven’t had cinnamon toast or cinnamon toast crunch (!) in years – but that’s exactly what they made me think of.
Melissa –> never hesitate to post the easy ones, those are often some of the BEST!
Annette & Janet –> Thanks for the comments. Good to know these almost UN-recipes recipes work for you!
[...] I was in the mood of something crispy, so I tried to toast some coconut flakes after I saw Melissa from The Clothes Make the Girl posted her Caramelized Coconut Chips recipe. [...]
[...] article: frozen foods on the road recipe: carmelized coconut chips [...]
I’ve made these four times in four days. They are simply incredible. They definitely hit that sweet-crunchy-crispy-salty-popcorny spot. YOU are amazing!
YOU are so nice. Good to hear you like the coconut chips!
This is so bad! As if I am not already addicted to coconut chips!!
I know; I’m sorry! And you’re welcome
Don’t sell yourself short, this is TOTALLY a recipe, and it’s an amazing one at that. Loved it!!!
Thanks, Allison! Glad you like them!
Read it, instantly made it, half way through polishing off the bowl when I think no – whole30, just make it a little snack. Thanks, this is awesome. I think my wee one will appreciate this as a popcorn substitute too!! Really enjoying your blog and recipes!
Glad you like them and yes! I have to set limits for myself about how many I’ll eat
I found a little bag in my work desk drawer yesterday, and I was really happy. Nice surprise!
Mel,
Couple o’ hints. Buy a Benriner Mandoline slicer at either Sur La Table or Wil/Sonoma, cheep and works like a razor on meth.
Break up your coconut into chunks about the size of a deck of cards and slice the chips yourself: from .40/oz to about .01 per ounce if you swallow the cost of the slicer.
Then SLOWLY fry them in EV Coconut oil and you’ll have uniform, twice-as-mouthgasmicly-crispy chippies. Love is a many splendor ed thing, ‘aight?
That sounds like a kickass idea and also, dangerously tempting. Like, I’d be making them every night. But now that you’ve planted the seed, I’ve got to try it.
psssst… try Chinese Five Spice Powder and sea salt when they’re still hot.
I’ve been playing with other spices — thanks for the tip on five-spice!
I made these last night. Today, I’m sitting at my desk gnawing on celery sticks, thinking about the leftovers sitting in a container on the counter at home. So reminiscent of the buttery popcorn I love and miss…thanks for this fantastic idea.
Thanks for commenting, Rachel!
Popcorn is on my top 5 list of favorite foods, so yes, having these around is very helpful. And so much healthier. Really glad you like them!
I made these today… I already loved coconut flakes, but MAN! I ate the whole serving right then – they weren’t even cooled yet! They reminded me a little bit of potato chips, except 1000% better. Thanks for sharing this gem!
Glad you like them! They really save the day for me when I’m jonesing for a salty snack.
ARE YOU KIDDING ME WITH THIS?! This is one of the best snacks ever!! This is DELISH and ridonkulously easy!! The only complaint I have is I am going to eat all of it in one sitting.
YAY! Glad you like them!
Holy crap, these are good. They definitely have a popcorn/potato chip vibe. With the cinnamon, they remind me of cinnamon sugar pita chips, which I haven’t had in maybe two years. I love recipes like this that are more of a hack or survival skill!
[...] These caramelized coconut chips [...]
This sounds amazing! Just wondering, if you make it with vanilla, are you talking about grated vanilla, or liquid? If liguid, do you mix it with the salt and toss it with the coconut, or coat before testing? Thanks!
Honestly, I’ve never tried adding the vanilla extract. That was a reader suggestion, but I’ve been using the original recipe above. I’m not sure at which step you could add the vanilla without making the chips mushy.
If you’d told me a month ago that I would be loving carmelized coconut flakes as a snack, I would have called you crazy. But we’ve made these a few times now and they are totally addictive. My own personal twist is a batch with smoked paprika, cumin and freshly ground smoked sea salt. I also want to try a batch with Spike, but not entirely sure if Spike would be Whole 30 compliant as it contains yeast. Thoughts?
I’m not familiar with Spike, and I’m not sure about yeast, but I’m guessing NOT Whole30 approved. Will ask M&D to find out for sure.
WOWOWOWOOWOWOWWWW!! So delicious! Now I can pack a little zip loc with these for the movies and snack right along with everyone else! THANKS!
[...] toasted it for a snack. A-mazing by the way! I got this simple recipe (I upped the cinnamon) from The Clothes Make the Girl blog. It is a great replacement for chips or popcorn, and can be made savoury, salty, or sweet-ish [...]
[...] and I’ll let you know how they turn out. I am expecting nothing less than nibbley perfection. Here‘s the link to Melissa’s site to get the recipe. While you’re at it, stay on the [...]
These are great! Have you tried them with cocoa powder and a bit of cayenne? I’m going to do that next time. Your blog rules.
That sounds like a really tasty spice combo… maybe a little paprika?!
Cocoa and cayenne would be yummy. Cinnamon and cayenne sounds awesome too. What should I make next. Hmmmm…..
[...] favorite snack that I’ve been having lately is this Coconut Chips! I’ve made it the original way (salt and cinnamon) and garlicky flavor (salt & garlic [...]
[...] these coconut chips might just get you out of a [...]
Yummy!! I was actually too lazy to flip open your cookbook (saw the recipe yesterday) and had the laptop opened for a crockpot dinner recipe already. This is yummy!! Great snack
[...] is darn good. If you want to switch it up and try something different, check out this recipe for Caramelized Coconut Chips. The only thing I changed to channel my inner Tony the Tiger was to add some Vanilla Powder instead [...]
Just made these for the first time and they are good. A little toooo good. I’m gonna have to keep myself from buying too much shredded coconut to keep myself from making this all the time!
Okay, this is dangerously Y.U.M. I’ve made it about 180 times since my copy of Well Fed arrived. Okay maybe not quite 180, but almost. But seriously — ONE cup??? — I eat one cup waiting for the batch to COOL. So I double the recipe. AND I’ve discovered an AMAZING addition: CACAO NIBS! (organic, of course) To my double batch, I add 2 Tablespoons. The slightly bitter slightly sweet nibs complement the coconut/salt/cinnamon perfectly AND ramp up the Crunch Factor. Plus they give you lots of good anti-oxidants! I may have to be put in physical restraints…
Woot! That sounds like a dangerously delicious mod to the recipe
I think I curse you after trying this recipe. So yummy I’m very thankful I only made a small handful instead of 1 cup. I am savoring them as slowly as I possible can to make my snack last.
I didn’t read all 50 comments above so maybe this sort of thing has already been mentioned…I first made the recipe exactly as you suggested OH YUM!!! THANK YOU…filled a void in my life, no doubt…
what I want to share is that the second time I added garam masala and a bit of salt…that was really wonderful too…
I’m going to go in a strictly savory direction now with various powdered spices…I can imagine the variations are endless…
like garlic and cayenne and salt…yeah…that sounds good (though I can’t eat cayenne these days due to a sensitivity to nightshades…I still dream…someone else try it!!)
Made these tonight, my 4 year just screamed “I CAN’T stop eating these!”
Delish… Thanks!
I made these delicious coconut treats for PaleoFX and they are GONE already! Guess I’ll have to make more! Thank for the recipe Melissa!
FYI, Melissa: when I attempted to google this recipe, the first results were from notorious recipe stealing site itspaleo.com. Just thought you ought to know!
I discovered that baking the flakes and toasting them creates a much more uniform browning and crisping! I will not longer use a pan on the stove…just FYI
I spread them out thin on a cookie sheet in the oven for a few minutes at 350 degrees.
ah…sorry…just found that you did say that in the comments earlier…dawned on me after I posted it…anyway…thanks again…loving playing with this recipe.
[...] Caramelized Coconut Chips from The Clothes Make the Girl* [...]
I think my tongue has a crush on these! My husband and I demolished a whole batch last night, oops! Totally satisfying–can’t wait to try some fun mods.
I’m sorry, but you must be the devil!! These are crazy yummy!! It’s like popcorn(which I’ve missed terribly) only better!
So glad y’all are enjoying these. Thanks for letting me know!