Coco Bread – a popular staple bread in Jamaica and other parts of the Caribbean made primarily with flour and coconut milk, then slightly sweetened just to tickle your tastebuds. Buttery, slightly sweet with a spot on firmness on the outside and softness on the inside. Great for breakfast, lunch, snacking or even as dinner!
Whoever invented these Jamaican Coco Bread must have been a serious sandwich lover! It’s firm enough to hold any filling you could possibly think of while still giving you that notable softness on the inside that we all love in a bread. And did I mention that it is shaped to form like a folded bread so you can easily fill it?
Hats off to the brains behind this bread. You’re truly a food genius! You’ve just earned a new big fan!
What is Coco Bread?
If the Americans have these Easy Dinner Rolls, well the Jamaicans have their Coco Bread. Although it’s not pointed out straight on why it was named as such, it could probably because it’s primarily made with flour and coconut milk just like this popular Samoan Coconut Bread Rolls a.k.a Pani Popo. Perhaps we all could agree on how coconut milk makes an incredible basketful of buns and rolls.
What Does Coco Bread Taste Like?
Think of Hawaiian Sweet Rolls, but a little bit denser. Coco bread is buttery and slightly sweetened with a note of coconut milk. But if you’re on the sweeter side of the spectrum, feel free to adjust the sugar.
Coco Bread Ingredients
You don’t have to worry. In fact, you’d probably have all the ingredients waiting to be taken out of your pantry. All you need are just 8 SIMPLE INGREDIENTS and you’re off to make a big batch of this for weekend sandwiches or lunches.
Here’s an overview of what you’ll be needing:
- coconut milk
- unsalted butter
- sugar
- egg
- salt
- rapid rise yeast
- unsalted butter
Can You Make It Ahead of Time?
Absolutely! In fact, I have some already frozen in my freezer. I’m just going to reheat a few of them on Saturday morning and BAM, hearty Jamaican breakfast on my table!
What I do to make it ahead, is to bake them as directed below. Then leave them to cool down completely and line in a single layer on a parchment-lined sheet pan and flash freeze for an hour or until hard enough to touch. When already frozen, transfer them in a freezer-safe container bag, label and freeze for up to 2 months.
How To Reheat Coco Bread?
When ready to serve again, reheat your frozen coco bread by placing them snuggly in a baking dish or in a baking sheet pan, brush with melted butter and bake until warm enough for about 7-10 minutes in a 350°F oven.
What To Serve with Coco Bread?
You may enjoy these easy homemade coco bread as it is, like I do, or pair with any of the following:
….and a whole lot more. Feel free to enjoy it just the way you’d like to enjoy your sandwich. I’m pretty sure you could come up with a whole bunch of lists. 😉
More Jamaican Recipes to Explore
- Jamaican Beef Patties
- Brown Stew Chicken
- Ackee and Saltfish
- Jamaican Easter Spice Bun
- Callaloo
- Jamaican Jerk Chicken
Other Bread Recipes that You’ll Love
How To Make Coco Bread
Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper, spray with baking spray. Set aside. In a medium bowl combine Coconut milk, sugar, salt, and butter. Heat in the microwave for about 30 seconds or more, until butter melts. Do not let it boil or overheat. Pour into a large mixing bowl, add yeast, mix. Then add the egg.
Stir in flour to form a soft dough, err on the side of less flour. Soft dough results in tender coco bread. Turn dough on a lightly floured surface and knead for 3-4 minutes. Place dough in a greased bowl, turning once to coat the dough. Cover loosely with a clean cloth and let it rise in a warm place for 1 to 2 hours or until doubled. 
Punch the dough down. Transfer dough to a lightly floured board or surface. Cut the dough into about 10 equal pieces and roll each dough into a ball.
Roll each piece with a rolling pin to about 6-7 inch diameter and about ⅛-¼ inch thick. Brush the surface of the dough with melted butter, then fold the dough in half and brush again. Place onto dough on prepared pan and repeat with remaining pieces, until done. Let it rest for about 10-15 minutes.
Bake in a 350 F preheated oven for about 15-20 minutes, or until nicely browned on top. Remove from the oven and let cool for about 5 minutes. Brush again with butter, if desired. Serve warm or allow to cool. You may freeze when cool and reheat in the oven.
Coco Bread - a popular staple bread in Jamaica and other parts of the Caribbean made primarily with flour and coconut milk, then slightly sweetened just to tickle your tastebuds. Buttery, slightly sweet with a spot on firmness on the outside and softness on the inside. Great for breakfast, lunch, snacking or even as dinner!
- 1 cup (240ml) coconut milk
- 2-3 tablespoons (25g-37.5g) sugar
- 4 tablespoons (56g) unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon (5g) salt
- 1 envelope (or packet) or 2 ¼ teaspoons rapid rise yeast
- 1 large egg
- 3 ½ - 4 cups (437.5g-500g) all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons (42g) or more unsalted butter , melted
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Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper, spray with baking spray. Set aside.
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In a medium bowl, combine coconut milk, sugar, salt and butter. Heat in the microwave for about 30 seconds or more, until butter melts. Do not let it boil or overheat.
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Pour into large mixing bowl, add yeast, mix. Then add the egg.
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Stir in flour to form a soft dough, err on the side of less flour. Soft dough results in tender coco bread.
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Turn dough on lightly floured surface and knead for 3-4 minutes.
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Place dough in a greased bowl, turning once to coat the dough. Cover loosely with a clean cloth and let it rise in a warm place for 1 to 2 hours or until doubled. Punch the dough down.
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Transfer dough to a lightly floured board or surface. Cut the dough into about 10 equal pieces and roll each dough into a ball.
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Roll each piece with a rolling pin to about 6-7 inch diameter and about ⅛-¼ inch thick.
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Brush the surface of the dough with melted butter, then fold the dough in half and brush again. Place onto dough on prepared pan and repeat with remaining pieces, until done.
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Let it rest for about 10-15 minutes.
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Bake in a 350 F preheated oven for about 15-20 minutes, or until nicely browned on top.
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Remove from the oven and let cool for about 5 minutes. Brush again with butter, if desired.
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Serve warm or allow to cool. You may freeze when cool and reheat in the oven .
- Please keep in mind that nutritional information is a rough estimate and can vary greatly based on products used.
Tried these and my family loved them. Thanks for the easy to follow recipe.
Thanks. Glad it worked out well for you
Made these for the first time. I doubled the quantity as I knew my family would like to partake. Great recipe, they came out well. Can’t wait to make another batch! ( Don’t think I’ll tell anyone )so I can freeze some.
Hahahah. Don’t worry, I won’t tell ;). Glad you loved it, Andria!
I am very excited to find your website…and this recipe! Also excited to see you have a recipe for Jamaican patties. In Jamaica,,, “Patty and Coco Bread” goes hand in hand. Patties usually have a very flaky crust…do you know how I could make the crust a little flakier? I am definitely going to try both your recipes…it will make me feel like I am back home in Jamaica!
Hi Zoya! Welcome to my blog :). It is great to have you here. I can’t wait for you to try out these recipes.
In order to have a flakier crust, you can add a little more butter and take out an equivalent amount of milk. Do let me know how this works out for you.
Great recipe!
I made a few alterations, instead of commercial yeast, I used a sour dough and followed all else as directed. Came out amazing. They were fluffy with a nice complex taste.
I’m an avid bread maker and love that I was able to recreate a flavor of my childhood. Yes another person the Bronx, Champion Bakery will always be the best spot for a patty and a bread.
I tried it, and it look amazing.. its a perfect sandwich bread.. its the first time im baking bread, and im quite happy how it turned out.. i change something in the recipe though.. instead of 1 cup coconut milk, i put half thick coconut milk and half full cream milk.
Amazing!! I am so glad you got it right the first time around Natasha! Way to go! Thanks for the feedback.
Mine came out a bit mis-shsped, but j was very happy for a 1st try. Didn’t have quick rise yeast so used the one you activate with liquid. Worked well but I had to knead it a leave it twice. Will make more again today. Thank You.
Hi Maureen. I am so glad this worked out well for you! As long as it tastes good we won’t mind that it is a little misshapen 🙂 !
Something went wrong for me and it came out flat and dense. The dough rose the first time but after I divided and rolled it up it never came back to life. Flavor was good. My fault no doubt but not sure where I went wrong. Ended up with more of a pita than a sandwich. Would love to give it another shot.
Hi Matt. Sorry to hear you had some trouble with your Coco Bread. There are a good number of reasons why it didn’t rise the second time. Next time make sure it is in a warm enough place and you might need to give it a little more time to rise before baking it. I hope this helps!
Can I use canned coconut milk?
I’ve only got dry active yeast so do I activate it in the warm milk first before adding to the dry ingredients?
Can’t wait to try this hoping to honor the Caribbean cuisine
Yes you can. The milk must be warm enough to help the yeast dissolve- between 108F – 110F degrees; Stir frequently , if needed until it dissolves and bubbles up.
Hope this helps.
Loving this so much. It’s the first time I’m seeing a recipe with coconut so I will definitely give it a try.
Hi Joleisa,
Do let us know how it works out for you. Thanks.
Great recipe! Mine didn’t come out as soft as I had hoped – did I have it in the oven for too long?
Sorry to hear that Clara. Did your dough rise and double in size before you shaped it? It’s a very crucial step.
I’m going to try this. It will be my first time ever making bread though. Any tips?
Hi Tenika! I am so excited for you!! You know, just follow the recipe as closely as you possibly can and have fun while doing it. If you have any difficulties, just hit me up and I will get back to you as soon as I can. Happy Baking :)!
Hi I tried making this yesterday and my bread did not rise because I used active dry yeast can I activate the yeast in water and still use it in the recipe?
Yes you can. When making bread make sure you place it in a warm place. Also do not use hot water- hot water kills the yeast. If all else fails – heat up the oven for about 10 minutes – turn it off – open the doors for a few minutes . Place the covered dough in the oven -this always helps .
I am going to try and make this today but its my first time using yeast. will using the active dry yeast (activated with water) instead of the rapid rise yeast make a big difference?
You it wouldn’t make a difference as long as your your yeast is alive and not stale.
One of you last set of pictures .. Pic 1 .. what’s going on there? Did you fold over the dough?
Hi Manny. Pic 1 on the last set shows a rolled out dough ball – to about 6-7 inch diameter. Then I brushed it with melted butter before I fold the dough in half (pic 3, last set).
Hey there Imma! What a lovely recipe and i did try it with curry goat inside and it kind of worked, except I should have strained off some the gravy. In this present crisis I cannot get hold of coconut milk. Will coconut juice do instead? Well done again!!
Of course you can use coconut juice as an alternative. Keep in mind the consistency may be slightly less thick, however, it shouldnt make that much of a difference. I am happy you tried it out. 🙂
Can I use normal milk (cow milk) for this recipe?
Absolutely. Feel free to switch it up.
I grew up on these in Bronx !!I ve been trying to find them ever since. I made them this weekend and my family loved them. Sooo good!!
Awesome! Glad to hear that you guys like it as much as I do. Happy weekend!
I grew up on these in Bronx !!I ve been trying to find them ever since. I made them this weekend and my family loved them. Sooo good!!
DELICIOUS! Made these this morning, will be making more this Friday, they way I’m eating them.
Awesome! I’m making this one too for tomorrow. 🙂
Brilliant!!!!!!!!!!
The bread is a pure blissssss, thanks for sharing
You’re welcome. So happy that you like this. 🙂
Lovely recipe! Would you be able to put some fish or meat inside before baking ?
Hi. I haven’t tried that method tho with this recipe. But I’d be curious to know if it works for you. Thank you.
Can you make this as a loaf?
You sure can.
I have just tried this. It’s amazing i only had salted butter in so used that and omitted the salt but I found it needed the salt so will get some unsalted butter in for next time. Bang goes my diet.
So happy that you like this, Pearl. I also made a batch yesterday. We simply love it! =)
Whooo! This is bad for my diet. I used to eat these with the jamaican beef patty in it…..so delicious. I mastered the patty and now with this recipe for coco bread, I’m doomed!!!
Thank you for the wonderful work you do with these recipes.
They sounds delish, I am a fan of most breads and will for sure make these soon. Thanks for amazing recipes.
You’ll surely love this, Linda. Please do let me know how it turned out for you. Enjoy!
I’ll definitely try this recipe. Thanks
Yes, please. This is a great weekend baking inspiration.
Thanks for the recipe. I’ll definitely try this.
Thanks for the recipe!! Would coconut oil work in place of the butter for a dairy free version. I’ll experiment but just curious if you knew of a dairy free way to make it.
Yes , it would work for sure.
Thanks am definitely going to make it this weekend
Yes, please. Enjoy!
Thank you for posting this recipe. I am a Jamaican and this is one of my favorites. I am so excited to be able to make my own. I can’t wait! These look amazing! I must note here that in Jamaica coco bread is almost always eaten with Jamaican patties as a sandwich for lunch (although, as you mentioned, it can be eaten with anything)….absolutely delicious!!
They are delicious with a Jamaican beef patty and cheese. One of my favorites!!!
They look and sounds delicious. I will try and make them over the weekend
Yes, please. So Excited for you to try this!
Thanks for the post, I will be making these as they are addictive…………LOL. I’m a nurse and most of my staff are Jamaicans and they love to spoil me with your treats, curry goat, jerk chicken,beef patties in cocoa bread nd the Easter sweets. I should be heavier but the steps I do daily saves me 🙂 Anyway I have always wanted to try no excuse now as your instructions look easy enough. Won’t they be surprised when these show up for break. Hugs from HHH staff.