Coconut Milk Can Size Converter

Why "one can" of coconut milk isn't one fixed amount

Coconut milk is sold in more can and carton sizes than almost any other pantry staple, because there's no single global canning standard behind it. US brands typically can coconut milk at 13.5 fl oz (roughly 400 mL), though a few use 13.66 or 14 fl oz instead. UK and Australian supermarket coconut milk is almost always exactly 400 mL, while a handful of premium Australian brands (Ayam among them) use a smaller 270 mL can. Thai brands like Chaokoh sell both a small 165 mL can and a standard 400 mL can side by side, and Aroy-D's UHT cartons come in five different sizes — 165, 250, 400, 500 and 1000 mL — depending on how much you need. A recipe that says "1 can of coconut milk" could mean anywhere from about 0.7 to 4.2 cups depending entirely on which product the recipe writer had in front of them.

Unlike fish sauce or palm sugar, coconut milk doesn't need its own density figure for this kind of conversion — its density is close enough to water's that converting between milliliters, cups and tablespoons works the same way it would for any other cooking liquid. The complexity here is entirely about picking the right starting can size, not about density or packing. Once you know the actual volume of the can or carton you're holding, the cup and tablespoon figures follow standard volume conversion.

If your recipe specifies a can size directly (for example, "one 400 mL can"), use that exact figure rather than guessing from whatever's in your pantry — a Thai recipe calling for a 400 mL can and a substitution of two small 165 mL cans (330 mL total) will come up noticeably short.

Where coconut milk shows up in Thai cooking

• Green Curry — coconut milk forms the base of the curry, often split into a thicker portion for frying the paste and a thinner portion to simmer the dish.
• Mango Sticky Rice — coconut milk (usually sweetened and salted) is poured over sticky rice and fresh mango as the finishing sauce.

Match your can or carton size above, then scale to however many cups or tablespoons your recipe needs.

Frequently asked questions

Why do coconut milk can sizes vary by country?

Canning standards differ by region. A "standard" can in the US is usually 13.5 fl oz (about 400 mL), UK and Australian cans are almost always exactly 400 mL, and Thai and Vietnamese brands commonly sell a small 165 mL can alongside a 400 mL one. Some premium Australian brands use a smaller 270 mL can instead.

Is coconut milk the same density as water for measuring?

Close enough for cup/tablespoon/milliliter conversions. Coconut milk's density is near enough to water's that this tool converts volume to volume directly, unlike an ingredient such as fish sauce or palm sugar where weight and volume diverge meaningfully.

My recipe calls for "1 can" of coconut milk, how many cups is that?

It depends on the can. Most standard 400 mL cans (UK, Australia, Thailand) hold about 1.7 cups, and the common US 13.5 fl oz can is almost the same. Smaller cans — a 165 mL Thai can or a 270 mL premium Australian can — hold roughly 0.7 and 1.1 cups. Pick your exact can size from the dropdown above for an accurate figure.