Here's How Long Coconut Milk Is Good For After Opening
Coconut milk is incredibly versatile, as delicious in Thai-inspired soups, as it is in rice and curries, or even moist and fluffy cakes. It's also fast-becoming one of the most popular plant-based cow's milk alternatives, offered at Starbucks since 2015 (try a coconut milk latte) and Dunkin' as of 2021. It comes in both shelf-stable cans and refrigerated cartons, and once you open either you have a finite amount of time before it can start to go bad.
Coconut milk, once opened, is good for up to 10 days, as long as it stays refrigerated and isn't left out for more than two hours at a time; this is true for both canned and carton milk. For cartons, you can simply replace the cap tightly and securely after using it and place it in the fridge. Canned coconut milk, however, should be covered. You can keep it in its can and place a square of plastic wrap over it, secured with a rubber band, but an even better way to store it is to move it to a mason jar or other airtight glass container with a tight-fitting screw-on lid.
How to tell when coconut milk has gone bad
Like dairy milk, coconut milk can absolutely go bad, and depending on how you stored it and handled it, it can spoil before your 10 days are up. One of the first things you might notice when dealing with bad coconut milk is the smell. The normal scent is light and sweet, but if you open your container and smell sourness, it's likely time to pour it out.
Its normal texture, too, is smooth and creamy, so if you hear clumps of something inside the carton, that's not a great sign; pour some out just to check, but fresh coconut milk should not have curdled or separated, either. Additionally, if there is any mold floating on the surface (or clinging to the insides of the container — it's good to check!) dump it down your drain immediately.
Even shelf-stable coconut milk can go bad before it's opened, so if you bought some cans to keep in your pantry, watch for any bulging or swelling. That means that bacteria has somehow gotten inside and started to give off carbon dioxide, which is what makes the can bulge.