For a coconut snack you can serve without any preparation, choose a plain plant-based dessert or a coconut drink. Keep culinary coconut milk for a recipe you make at home. The word “mild” isn’t enough to distinguish between these options: compare how they’re used, their ingredients, sugars, saturated fat and the portion you plan to serve.
If you want to avoid cooking during the holidays, look at plain plant-based desserts and coconut drinks. VEGE’s coconut yoghurt-style pots and coconut drink are examples of these two distinct options.
Culinary coconut milk can be used in a recipe with fruit or cereal. The amount you use matters: the Kara and Bio Village culinary coconut milks featured by Auchan and E.Leclerc contain 15 and 16 g of saturated fatty acids per 100 ml respectively.
If a short ingredients list or organic ingredients guide your choice, check the product description too. Kara and Bio Village coconut milks have short ingredients lists, but they’re cooking ingredients, not ready-to-eat desserts.
For holiday snacks, first decide whether you want to serve a dessert, pour a drink or make a recipe. Then compare the labels of products intended for the same use. “Mild” on its own tells you nothing about the sugar content or how concentrated the coconut is.
| Criteria | What to check | Who is it for? |
|---|---|---|
| Ready-to-serve snack | The product description (“dessert” or “plant-based speciality”), the pack size and the portion served. | If I want to prepare a snack quickly, a product that’s ready to serve meets my needs; around 36% of consumers prioritise this convenience. |
| Homemade recipe | Coconut extract, saturated fat per 100 ml and storage instructions after opening. | If I’m putting together a snack with fruit or cereal, I want to decide how much coconut milk and which extra ingredients to use. This is the top priority for around 29% of consumers. |
| Coconut drink | The product description (“drink”), coconut content, sugars and ingredients list. | To go with a solid snack, I’m looking for something to drink rather than a cooking ingredient; around 21% of consumers prioritise this use. |
| Short ingredients list or organic | The ingredients list and organic claims, without assuming these alone determine the taste. | When comparing products of the same type, I mainly want to know what’s in the recipe. For around 14% of consumers, this is the main criterion. |
A drink, a plant-based dessert and culinary coconut milk aren’t used in the same way. The VEGE drink featured by E.Leclerc contains 3.2% coconut extract, while the Kara culinary coconut milk featured by Auchan contains 64%.
First check the product description on the packaging, then compare ingredients and nutritional values with products intended for the same use.
A “no added sugars” claim doesn’t necessarily mean the product contains no sugars: naturally occurring sugars may still appear in the nutritional information.
Check the “of which sugars” line and the ingredients list before choosing a dessert.
Auchan and E.Leclerc’s product pages list 15 g of saturated fatty acids per 100 ml for Kara Bio coconut milk and 17 g per 100 ml for Tables du Monde respectively. These milks are described as cooking ingredients.
If you choose one for a homemade snack, measure how much you add to the recipe rather than treating it like a coconut drink.
According to Anses, ordinary plant-based or animal-based drinks cannot replace breast milk or infant formula for babies.
When feeding a baby, don’t choose an ordinary coconut drink instead of these milks.
The range featured by E.Leclerc includes plain coconut yoghurt-style pots in a pack of four 100 g pots, and a coconut drink in a 1 L carton.
The 20 cl Kara organic coconut milk featured by Auchan is a cooking ingredient for sweet or savoury recipes.
E.Leclerc features Bio Village organic coconut milk in a 200 ml carton.
The Tables du Monde coconut milk featured by E.Leclerc is a cooking ingredient in a 200 ml carton.
Carrefour features Alpro Coco Nature plant-based dessert in a 350 g pot.
These products are coconut milks to use in a snack prepared at home. If you’re looking for a plant-based dessert or a drink to serve straight away, choose that format first rather than culinary coconut milk.
Image unavailable
A coconut milk to consider as an ingredient for a small homemade recipe, not as a snack to serve straight away.
The product name indicates an organic UHT version with 17% fat in a 200 ml pack.
Image unavailable
This coconut milk is for people making a recipe rather than looking for a ready-to-eat coconut snack.
The product name indicates an organic version in a 400 ml pack; check how much your recipe needs.
Image unavailable
This pack is suitable if you need an ingredient for several homemade recipes, provided the quantity works for you.
The product name indicates 18% fat and six 250 ml units; these aren’t six pre-portioned snacks.
No. The word “mild” doesn’t tell you whether the product is a drink or a cooking ingredient, or what its nutritional values are. To choose, read the product description, ingredients list and nutritional information, then consider how you’ll serve it.
A plain plant-based dessert or coconut drink is more suitable for serving straight away than culinary coconut milk. Still, check the pack size and portion: an individual pot, a large tub of dessert and a carton of drink aren’t intended for the same use.
No. Anses says that ordinary drinks, whether plant-based or animal-based, can’t replace breast milk or infant formula intended for babies.
Follow the instructions for the product you’re using. For its 20 cl organic coconut milk, Auchan’s product page says to keep it in the fridge and use it within three days of opening. Check the label on a different product before using the same timescale.