Sweet Coconut Bread
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This gluten-free Sweet Coconut Bread is moist, delicate, and, most importantly, packed with coconut flavor! Decorated with a simple powdered sugar glaze and toasted coconut, it’s a perfect sweet breakfast, snack, or dessert.
Why you’ll love this recipe!
Coconut bliss 🥥 – Made with toasted shredded coconut and a whole can of coconut milk, this quick bread is exploding with the tropical flavors coconut fans obsess over.
Gluten-free! Oat flour gives the bread a lighter texture and keeps it gluten-free.
An easy sweet treat – Between the simple steps, the refreshing coconut, and the sweet glaze on top, this quick bread is going down as one of my favorite summer treats.
Table of Contents
If you couldn’t tell by my vegan coconut cake and buttery coconut bars, I’m a huge fan of coconut-flavored goodies. But this gluten-free Coconut Bread just might be my new favorite treat. I demolished the entire loaf in 24 hours the first time I made it, and I’d happily do it again!
It’s surprisingly easy to make with a few simple, gluten-free ingredients and comes out of the oven with a light, delicate texture and the most magnificent tropical flavor. If you’re a fan of coconut, you’re definitely going to want to try it!
Absolutely love this coconut loaf! I like to stay away from AP flour and oat flour works great in this recipe. Nice texture, great coconut flavor – thanks for this!
– Karen
Coconut Bread Ingredients
Oat flour – Use my oat flour recipe to make your oat flour from scratch. It’s so easy—just blend 2 cups of gluten-free rolled oats into a powder, and you’re done! Or make a double batch and use the extras in these oat flour cookies or these oat flour pancakes.
Coconut milk – I added in a can of full-fat coconut milk, but light coconut milk would be just as good.
Shredded coconut – Opt for unsweetened shredded coconut to keep the sweetness in check. We’re baking most of it inside the bread, then sprinkling the rest on top.
This list is to provide further clarification on a few of the ingredients. See recipe card below for the full ingredient list.
Variations
- If you’re using sweetened shredded coconut, I’d recommend omitting the glaze to prevent the bread from tasting too sweet.
- Flour substitutes – Try using 1 3/4 cups of all-purpose flour or a quality gluten-free baking flour instead of oat flour.
- Egg-free option – I found that regular eggs give this naturally delicate bread a great structure. You can technically use 3 flax eggs as an egg-free substitute, but just know that the texture will be slightly different.
- Add-in ideas: Feel free to fold a 50-50 blend of shredded coconut and chocolate chips, chopped nuts, or dried fruit into the batter.
How to Make Sweet Coconut Bread
Step 1: Combine dry ingredients. Stir the oat flour, baking powder, and salt together in a medium bowl.
Step 2: Mix wet ingredients. Whisk the melted butter and sugar together, then stir in the eggs, coconut milk, and vanilla.
Step 3: Finish the batter. Gently stir the dry ingredients and some of the toasted coconut into the wet ingredients until just combined. Transfer the batter to the prepared bread pan.
Step 4: Bake. Bake the coconut bread until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set it aside to cool completely.
Step 5: Glaze. Meanwhile, whisk the powdered sugar and milk together to make the glaze. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled coconut bread and sprinkle with the remaining toasted coconut. Slice, serve, and enjoy!
Erin’s Tips and Tricks
- Take the time to lightly toast the shredded coconut in a dry skillet over medium heat or on a baking sheet in a 350ºF oven for 5 to 10 minutes or until they’re golden and fragrant. It’s the key to intensifying the coconut flavors!
- Is your coconut milk a little chunky? Pour it into a bowl and whisk it until it’s smooth before mixing it with the rest of the wet ingredients.
- The glaze makes this bread a little bit sweeter. If you don’t want it super sweet, simply omit the powdered sugar glaze.
My Pro Tip
Let It Cool Completely
The most important thing to remember is to allow the bread to cool completely before slicing and serving. Because oat flour gives it an incredibly delicate texture, slicing it while it’s still warm will cause the loaf to crumble and fall apart.
Coconut Loaf FAQs
Personally, I find coconut flour to be one of the most finicky gluten-free flours. It absorbs moisture very differently from oat flour, so substituting it would require changing the entire recipe. Stick with oat flour for the best results!
You can use a 9×5 bread pan instead, but the bread might take a little longer to bake. Keep an eye on it and test it with a toothpick around the 60-minute mark.
Storage
Room temperature: Wrap the loaf in plastic wrap or store it in an airtight container to keep it fresh for up to 3 days.
Refrigerator: You can also store the covered coconut bread in the fridge for about 1 week, but it will dry out faster.
Freezer: The bread and individual slices freeze well for up to 2 months. Wrap them in plastic wrap, then transfer them to a freezer bag and freeze.
More Sweet Bread Recipes
If you made this recipe, be sure to leave a comment and star rating below. Thanks!
Sweet Coconut Bread
Ingredients
- 2 ¼ cups oat flour
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ cup butter, melted and cooled
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 eggs, room temperature
- 13.5 oz canned coconut milk*
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 ¼ cup shredded coconut, toasted – use 1 cup in bread and ¼ on top
For the glaze:
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp milk, or more as needed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line an 8×4 bread pan with parchment paper, leaving a 1” overhang for easy removal.
- First, melt the butter in a microwave-safe bowl and allow it to cool to room temperature. At the same time, toast the coconut. Add shredded coconut to a medium skillet and heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally until golden brown; transfer to a small bowl.
- In a medium bowl, stir the oat flour, baking powder and salt together.
- Once the butter has cooled, whisk the butter and sugar together, then add the eggs, coconut milk and vanilla and whisk until smooth.
- Pour the dry ingredients into the wet, along with 1 cup of the toasted coconut, and gently stir until just combined. Transfer the batter into your prepared bread pan, then bake for 60-65 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Remove bread from the oven but leave it in the bread pan. Transfer the bread pan onto a wire rack and allow the bread to cool completely before removing and slicing.
- For the glaze: Whisk the powdered sugar and milk together until smooth. Drizzle the glaze over the bread, then sprinkle with the remaining toasted coconut. Slice and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
YES YES YES to everything coconut! I love the smell, the taste, and I even have a body spray that is coconut! 🙂
I’m a new-ish coconut lover and a forever bread lover, so I can totally see how this was gone in a day! It looks delicious! And I think I’ve always believed it’s not worth spending money on cheap clothes. I bought maybe two things at Forever 21 and they both lasted about 2 wears before falling apart –> not worth it. One thing I’m working on, though: not apologizing for everything. It’s such a reflex, and it’s totally not necessary most of the time!
Couldn’t agree more with the spending money on clothes! I go into Forever and I am tempted, BUT always think about how mad I am after I wash it and it has either a) shrunk or b) the side seams get all twisted… which is probably one of my pet peeves! Glad you could still find some useful stuff in the “shit I’m almost 30” findings 😉
And this coconut bread looks absolutely perfect! I used canned coconut milk in a lemon coconut bread last year, maybe I’ll have to bring that back and dig up the recipe!
Canned coconut milk is the best and OMG Forever 21 clothing shrinks all.the.time. I remember in college my friend bought a dress to wear out and she was only able to wear it one time because after she washed it it was CRAZY short. Talk about a letdown.
COCONUT LOADDDED! Looks friggin moist and tasty!! 🙂
HAHA it is friggin moist even though I hate that word so much. It’s fitting for this I suppose.
I’m 3 months away from turning 30 and I seriously need to list out 29 (slash 50) habits to break before catapulting into real adulthood, ha! Point 5 is definitely legit…this bread looks BOMB! I’m all about the triple coconut action and it looks soooo moist and delish! Perfect for brunching on this weekend.
Ha! I think some habits stay for life and that’s probably ok. And thanks–this bread IS bomb.
I’m not much of a coconut fan myself. But this looks amazing!!
Ahhh man–you must convert to a coconut fan! I’m kidding.. there are so many things that people are obsessed with that I just can’t get on board with i.e. yogurt.
THAT GLAZE. It looks amazing! I just made a coconut flour bread last weekend and I am a huge fan of baking with coconut flour now – I love the flavor it adds!
Thanks Brie!
#4. YES. Something I really really am working on right now. And something else? Saying sorry for everything. “Sorry to bother you”….NO CHRISTINA! lol, this looks absolutely divine. Dying over that dripping glaze
Thanks Christina! Saying no is a beautiful thing. Actually, I’ll teach you to say no but you need to teach me to say yes more often, deal? OH and about the sorry thing… someone could ram their cart into me at the store and I’m like omgomgomg I’m so sorry!!! <--why
so i’m 32 going on 33 in the next few months. Those habits… yes, break them. except number 5. LOL! pass me the bread. please?
HAHA never break #5.
First of all, the bread looks amazing. Second, I love that list. I try to never have my phone out at the dinner table or when I’m with other people. I also have a rule that when I walk in the door from work I can’t be on my phone. I want to give my full attention to Riley and the pets when I get home!
That’s a great rule and I agree–it’s just rude to be on your phone in certain moments. Thanks Kelly!