Coconut milk is a plant milk extracted from the grated pulp of mature coconuts. The opacity and rich taste of the milky-white liquid are due to its high oil content, most of which is saturated fat. Coconut milk is a traditional food ingredient used in Southeast Asia, Oceania, South Asia, and East Africa. It is also used for cooking in the Caribbean, Central America, northern parts of South America and West Africa, where coconuts were introduced during the colonial era.

Coconut milk is differentiated into subtypes based on fat content. They can be generalized into coconut cream (or thick coconut milk) with the highest amount of fat; coconut milk (or thin coconut milk) with a maximum of around 20% fat; and coconut skim milk with negligible amounts of fat. Coconut cream can be dehydrated as coconut milk powder, with a far longer shelf life. This terminology is not always followed in commercial coconut milk sold in Western countries.

Coconut milk can also be used to produce milk substitutes (sometimes differentiated as "coconut milk beverages"); these products are meant for drinking, not cooking. A sweetened, processed, coconut milk product from Puerto Rico is also known as cream of coconut, but is distinct from coconut cream and is not interchangeable. It is used in many desserts and beverages like the piña colada.

In a 100 milliliter (ml) portion, coconut milk contains 230 kilocalories and is 68% water, 24% total fat, 6% carbohydrates, and 2% protein (table). The fat composition includes 21 grams of saturated fat, half of which is lauric acid (table).

Coconut milk is a rich source (20% or more of the Daily Value, DV) of manganese (40% DV per 100 g), with no other micronutrients in significant content (table for USDA source).

Coconut milk is a relatively stable oil-in-water emulsion with proteins that act as emulsifiers and thickening agents. It is opaque and milky white in color and ranges in consistency from watery to creamy. Based on fat content, coconut milk is divided into different subtypes generally simplified into "coconut cream", "coconut milk", and "coconut skim milk", from highest to lowest respectively. Coconut milk and coconut cream (also called "thin coconut milk" and "thick coconut milk", respectively) are traditionally differentiated in countries where coconuts are native based on the stages of extraction. They are also differentiated in modern standards set by the Asian and Pacific Coconut Community (APCC) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). However, the terminologies are not always followed in commercial coconut milk (especially in western countries) because these standards are not mandatory. This can cause confusion among consumers.

The Asian and Pacific Coconut Community standardizes coconut milk and coconut cream products as:

The Codex Alimentarius of the FAO standardizes coconut milk and coconut cream products as: