How to Dry Coconut As a Snack Food

By: Joshua McCarron

Visage/Stockbyte/Getty Images

Coconut has many uses in the medicinal, cosmetic and culinary worlds, and adds a distinct aroma and flavor recipes of all kinds. Dried coconut makes a tasty snack on its own or when combined with dried fruits and nuts to create a trail mix. You can buy dried coconut in virtually any supermarket, but to avoid preservatives and get the best quality, make it yourself.

Step 1

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Step 2

Press an ice pick into one or two of the eyes in the coconut and drain any liquid into the sink.

Step 3

Place the coconut on a baking sheet and put the baking sheet into the oven for about 20 minutes. Remove the coconut from the oven and tap the shell in several places with a hammer to crack it.

Step 4

Lower the temperature of the oven to 200 degrees Fahrenheit.

Step 5

Remove as many pieces of the shell as you can by tapping it with the hammer. Use a sharp knife to separate the remaining sections of meat that are still attached to the shell. Score the meat in a criss-cross manner and detach it from the shell, as an alternate method.

Step 6

Use a vegetable peeler to slice away any brown shell tissue that is still attached to the meat. Once the meat is clean, slice it into thin pieces or grate it. Spread the pieces in a shallow baking pan.

Step 7

Place the pan into the oven and let the coconut dry for roughly two hours. Stir it occasionally to ensure that it is drying evenly. Remove it once it is dried, cool it at room temperature, then store it in an airtight container for snacking.