Coconut aminos is a savory seasoning sauce that has become a popular substitute for soy sauce in gluten-free, paleo, and Whole30 diets. This condiment is made from aging coconut tree sap and has an umami quality with a slight sweetness.
What is Coconut Aminos?
If you’re on the Whole30 or Paleo diet, you might have noticed that coconut aminos are on the “yes” list. Coconut aminos is a sauce made from the nectar of the coconut blossom, commonly referred to as the sap. The sauce is made from tapping the unopened flowers of a coconut tree, then fermenting the resulting nectar with a little bit of salt added.
Taste
It’s dark, thick, salty and slightly sweet–you can think of it as a syrup with high umami qualities, thanks to the fermentation process breaking down the proteins into flavorful amino acids, like glutamate. I’ve found the savory notes to be less intense, but still flavorful.
Since it comes from a coconut tree, it’s soy-free and gluten-free, with a taste profile that makes it an ideal substitute for soy sauce.
Health benefits of coconut aminos
The health benefits of coconut aminos are wide-ranging. It’s ideal for those with gluten allergies or intolerances, soy allergies or intolerances or those looking to complete Whole30 or live by a Paleo diet. It also comes with a reduced risk for heart disease, diabetes, and colon cancer when compared with soy sauce, thanks to the lack of MSG, GMOs and phytoestrogen and phytic acid.
Coconut aminos is also jam-packed with 17 amino acids, potassium, vitamin C and vitamin B and scores low on the glycemic index. It’s low calorie–just five calories per teaspoon.
Cooking with coconut aminos
Cooking with coconut aminos is easy, especially when you have soy sauce in mind.
- Marinade: It works well as a marinade for any meat or fish, especially tougher textures and flavors like beef, pork, and shrimp.
- Sauce: Mix it with ginger, garlic, and cornstarch or arrowroot powder to make a stir-fry sauce and cook it in a wok with protein and vegetables.
- Seasoning: Combine it with sushi for a different kind of dipping sauce, or use it in place of salt when cooking up soups.
- Dressings: Combine it with lemon, vinegar and olive oil for salad dressings.
As you can imagine, the possibilities are endless, mainly when thinking up Asian-inspired dishes. You can buy it online or find it at most health food stores–even Whole Foods and Target carry it! Have you ever cooked with coconut aminos before or are you a newbie? Let me know in the comments!
Popular on Amazon
Here are a few of the most popular Coconut Aminos products listed on Amazon.com
- Coconut Secret
- Coconut Secret 3 Pack (Original, Garlic, Teriyaki)
- Bragg Liquid Aminos
- Big Tree Farms Coco Aminos
Some of the links above are affiliate links, which pay me a small commission for my referral at no extra cost to you!
Sharrie says
I’ve been using coconut aminos for a couple years now. I love it! I rarely touch soy. Unless it’s organic and basically not at all. Glad to find out it has 17 amino acids.
Sharrie Tall
David says
Just for clarity the Bragg Liquid Aminos are NOT fermented and ARE made from soybeans. So they are much closer to a soybean soy sauce than a fermented coconut aminos that is made from much more expensice coconut flower sap. The process is acid hydrolysis and is a chemical breakdown of the soybean proteins so it is also a much more industrial process comapred to the slower natural fermentation used to make Tamari and coconut aminos. Any other product sold as liquid aminos is likely also mad with soybeans and using a chemical hydrolysis method.
Danny Dann says
which amino acids does it contain?
carole giancola says
what is the lysine arginine content
Alisa says
I am a newbie. I wanted to make a dipping sauce for wontons and Korean dumplings without soy or loads of sugar. I mixed the coconut aminos with pineapple juice (at least the sugar is from the fruit) and a splash of black sesame seed oil. It was so good that I used it to steam my chicken and cilantro mini wontons from Trader Joe’s. I poured it all in a bowl and topped it with chopped green onion and fresh cilantro. It was so delicious!! Now, if I could find a wheat free wonton or dumpling, I would be in heaven.
Felycia says
That’s the question which brought me here. I see that in 4 months nobody has answered this but I shall study until I find the answer and when I do I shall return.
salvatore costello says
I cannot eat anything with glutamates in it.
Maybe Coconut Aminos do not have MSGs…but I ate it the other night and I got sick, so it must be some kind of glutamate.
My 2 cents.
Felycia says
She stated in the article that it does contain glutamate. That’s the only amino which was specified.
Debbie Bustetter says
Is it important to buy coconut aminos organic or can I save the money and buy non-organic?
Jessica Gavin says
It would be okay to use non-organic coconut aminos.
Bessie says
I am a newbie brought a cook book that use amino oil n I didn’t know what it was but will be using soon to try out these dishes in the paleo foodie cook book
Jessica Gavin says
I can’t wait to hear what you think about using ingredients and what recipes you try.
Frank says
I was disappointed using it as a soy sauce substitute. I found it too sweet. Are any of the brands less sweet?
Christine says
I find the Trader Joe’s brand to be less sweet than Coconut Secret, although it is still a little bit sweeter than I would like. I usually add some fish sauce to it (Red Boat is my preferred brand) and that helps it to seem a little more like soy sauce.
I recently heard that the Bragg Coconut Aminos are not as sweet as Trader Joe’s, but I haven’t tried them yet.
felix says
Braggs is much less sweet. I love it and think it’s the closest one to soy sauce.
Kym Pierce says
Hi, I”m a newbie as well. I’ve been using a coconut amino I found at Walmart. It’s a “Better Body” brand. My question is, are all coconut aminos created equal? The ingredients were only salt and coconut syrup. The sugar content were 6 per serving. I found it left me craving sugary foods. You said here that the coconut aminos are sweet so I’m wondering if there’s a difference.
brenda says
which of the 3 brands of coconut aminos tastes the best?
coconut secret, braggs or big tree?
Thanks,
Brenda
Melinda says
Hi, I have to adhere to a low histamine diet. Any ideas on replacements for soy sauce that’s aren’t fermented?
Jessica Gavin says
Hi Melinda- I didn’t see any options for a non-fermented soy sauce like products. I know that mushrooms can give a nice umami flavor, or even dried shiitake to add into your foods.
Mark Ó Dochartaigh says
I once took sliced mushrooms and put salt over them and let them sit for a few hours. It was non-fermented and gave a soy sauce like liquid which was quite tasty. It left the mushrooms rubbery and bereft of flavor though, so I only did it once.
Jessica Gavin says
What kind of mushrooms did you use? I often think that dried shiitakes would be a good way to get umami flavor with the concentrated mushroom notes.
Jackie says
Hi Jessica. I am a newbie. I was looking at a recipe that included soy in the item list, but in the directions it said to add the coconut aminos…which led me to research…
This is an exciting find, as we are aging and dealing with age-related issues. Can’t wait to try it
Jessica Gavin says
Yes, I really like the coconut amino product from Trader Joes. I find it to taste sweeter with a balanced savoriness compared to soy sauce.
Paul says
Me too! Great product and will recommend to everyone.
Kristina says
Do you know what the 17 amino acids are?