Shelf Life of Coconut Flour: How to Store Coconut Flour Long Term

Coconut flour has really grown in popularity in the last few years since it’s a healthy and gluten-free alternative to traditional flour. But this is not everyday flour, so you may have coconut flour kept in your pantry for months and even years before it is all used up. In this article, we will go over the shelf life of coconut flour.

Before getting started, you should know the longest possible shelf life of coconut flour is 2-3 years when kept in a freezer. But if kept in its original packaging and opened, it does not last more than 3-6 months.

Read on to learn more.

Shelf life of Coconut Flour

The shelf life of coconut flour is 2-3 years when stored properly. The shelf life depends on how the coconut flour is stored and the brand. Still, we recommend using the coconut flour within 2 years for the best quality. Still, if you freeze coconut flour, it can retain its quality for longer, closer to 3 years.

Also, keep in mind the shelf life of coconut flour changes based on its exposure to environmental aggressors such as heat, oxygen, light, pests, and moisture. So a bag of unopened coconut flour lasts longer than an opened bag since it has not been exposed to any environmental aggressors.

Unless you intend to use up your coconut flour in the next few months, we suggest keeping an unopened bag of coconut flour in the fridge or freezer so that it can be preserved for a long time.

Once opened, coconut flour has a much shorter shelf life of 3-6 months. It absorbs moisture and oxygen in the air, which causes it to go rancid.

So some of the ideal storage locations for coconut flour would be a pantry, fridge, or freezer.

Why Does Coconut Flour Go Bad?

To ensure coconut flour can reach its max shelf life, you need to reduce exposure to oxygen, moisture, heat sources, pests, and light. These environmental aggressors will make flour go bad before its best-by date.

Fortunately, coconut flour be protected by storing it in an airtight container stored in a cool and dark place. By simply storing coconut flour properly, it can reach its max shelf life of 2-3 years.

How to Tell if Coconut Flour has Gone Bad?

Baking with bad coconut flour won’t allow the dough to rise and can ruin a recipe. So, it is best to avoid using them. Lucky for us, there is a 3 step method to find out if your coconut flour has gone bad. And it is simply following your sense of sight, smell, and taste.

• Sight: Look for signs of moisture, discoloration, or holes in the bag. Anyone of these signs is an indicator the flour has gone bad. If it looks fine, go on to the next step.
• Smell: Flour that has gone bad has a foul smell to it. Since coconut flour is high in fat, the rancid oils emit a sour and bitter smell. You will know immediately if it has gone bad. If you are still unsure whether the coconut flour is good or not, go on to step 3.
• Taste: Use the coconut flour to bake something small. Coconut flour that has gone bad will not rise, and if it does, it will taste bitter. This will be a clear and obvious sign the coconut flour has gone bad.

If you suspect your coconut flour of having gone bad, you should dispose of it immediately. Because once spoiled, coconut flour will not only ruin a dish, but it also lacks nutritional value. So there is no real benefit to eating or cooking with coconut flour.

How to Store Coconut Flour

If you want to store coconut flour long-term, it needs to be kept under the right conditions so that it can reach its max shelf life.

As we already mentioned, flour needs to be protected from heat, moisture, light, and pests. These environmental aggressors are the main causes of flour going bad before its expiration date.

Ideally, coconut flour should be kept in the dark, dry place with limited exposure to oxygen. So, its recommended coconut flour is kept in an airtight container with oxygen absorbers or silica gel packets. This should protect it from most environmental aggressors.

Knowing the difference between oxygen absorbers and silica gel packets is very important if you live in a hot climate.

Pro tip: If you are looking to preserve store-bought coconut flour, I suggest moving it into a different container. Once opened, the original packaging is not as effective in preserving coconut flour.

Where to Store Coconut Flour

Once you know how to store coconut flour, you should think about where to store coconut flour.

• Pantry: A pantry is an effective place to store coconut flour because it protects it from light exposure. But pests can get into your pantry, and the flour can heat up in warm months. Also, at room temperature, pantries are not as effective at preserving food as in colder temperatures, such as fridges or freezers.
• Fridge: A fridge can protect flour from heat, pests, and light. For this reason, simply storing coconut flour in a fridge can extend its shelf life from 6 months to over 1 year.
• Freezer: Similar to a fridge, a freezer will limit exposure to heat, light, and pests, but the cold temperature is more effective in preserving flour long-term. If you freeze coconut flour, it can be preserved for 2-3 years, depending on the brand of coconut flour.

Pro tip: You should consider keeping coconut flour in mason jars, mylar bags, or food-grade buckets. These three types of containers are best for preserving flour.

What is Coconut Flour?

Originally made by the people of Southeast Asia and Polynesia, coconut flour is made from grounding dried coconut meat. It has grown in popularity because people view it as healthy alternative to traditional wheat flour. And the reason for this is that coconut flour is gluten-free, high in fiber and protein, as well as grain-free and nut free.

Coconut flour is mainly used in baking and can give a recipe a sweet and nutty aroma. It pairs well with strong flavors such as chocolate, bananas, and spices.

Since coconut flour lacks gluten protein to hold the flour together, other foods are often used when baking to stop the baked goods from crumbling. Eggs are good at holding coconut flour together. But if you’re hoping to make an egg-free item, we suggest using bananas or apple sauce to hold the product together.

Nutrition Facts

Coconut flour is made from ground-dried coconut meat, so it has a higher amount of fats and protein than other flours. Here is a breakdown of the macronutrients in coconut flour.

Alternatives to Coconut Flour

Traditional flours are mainly made from grinding grains like wheat or corn. But in recent years, alternative flours have become very popular because they are gluten-free, high-protein, healthy alternatives to traditional flours.

Some alternatives you should know about are:

• Almond flour
• Chickpea flour
• Soy flour
• Flax meal
• Cassava flour
• Tapioca flour
• Cornmeal
• Arrowroot flour
• Cornstarch
• Rice flour

Almond flour is likely the closest alternative to coconut flour since it is a sweet, high-fat flour often used in baking.

Summary

Coconut flour in its original packaging has a shelf life of 9 months, but once opened, coconut flour lasts 3 -6 months. This is because exposure to oxygen and other environmental aggressors makes flour go bad before its expiry date.

So to best preserve coconut flour, you should use a storage method that helps protect the flour from environmental aggressors and extend its shelf life.

By simply storing coconut flour in a fridge, it can stay fresh for over a year. And by keeping it in a freezer, it can stay fresh for 2-3 years.

Coconut flour should be kept in airtight containers such as mason jars, mylar bags, or food-grade buckets so it’s well preserved.

But if you ever suspect that it is going bad, it’s best to dispose of it because baking with expired coconut flour can ruin a recipe and reduce the nutritional value of the coconut flour.

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