How To Toast Coconut

Sweet coconut is yummy, but toasted sweet coconut is a whole other kind of good! If you are like me, and love coconut, then this little tutorial on how to toast it is for you. Just a few minutes in the oven turn those tasty flakes into nutty, golden, rich shavings.

The first thing to do is grab a bag of sweetened coconut flakes – any size will do. Next, line a baking sheet with tin foil or parchment and spread out the coconut in as much of a single layer as possible.

Set your oven to 325 degrees. Once the oven comes to temperature, place the pan on the rack and set your timer to 3 minutes. Unless you are a really, really diligent person, setting the timer is a MUST! The coconut cooks quickly and can burn before you know it. After the timer goes off, gently stir the flakes with a fork and cook for another 2 minutes. Yes…set the timer again.

Lastly, all you do is take the pan out of the oven and let the coconut cool. Once you’ve done this bit of magic, you can make something delicious like this amazing Pineapple Coconut Poke Cake.

There are lots and lots of recipes that you can use toasted coconut in. I’m thinking, fruit salad, chicken salad, cookies and ice cream. Yeah, I’m dreaming about an ice cream creation that’s loaded with nuts and toasted coconut. So, there you have it ~ toasted coconut that’s ready for all your special recipes in less than 10 minutes!