Colombian cocadas (cocadas colombianas) are chewy coconut candies made by cooking freshly grated coconut with sugar or panela until thick, then spooning the hot mixture into small mounds that set as they cool. The classic white version, cocada blanca, adds coconut water, milk and cinnamon. On Colombia’s Caribbean coast you will find them in dozens of flavors, from dark panela to pineapple, arequipe and guava.
Colombian Cocadas at a Glance
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What are cocadas?
A cocada is a coconut candy, and the name simply means “made of coconut” (from coco). In English, cocadas are usually called coconut candies or coconut sweets. Unlike coconut macaroons, Colombian cocadas contain no egg whites or flour and are never baked: the coconut is cooked in syrup on the stove until the sugar binds it, which gives them a dense, chewy center and a slightly crisp outside.
In Colombia they are a Caribbean-coast sweet first. Coconut palms line the coast from Cartagena to Santa Marta and Barranquilla, and cocadas are sold from glass jars in corner stores, from trays on the beaches and, most famously, by the candy sellers of Cartagena’s old city. You will also find packaged cocadas in supermarkets across the country, and they appear on every list of traditional Colombian desserts.
A good homemade cocada should hold its shape when you pick it up, taste clearly of fresh coconut, and be sweet without being sticky. The recipe below gives you the classic cocada blanca, with exact cues for when to stop cooking so you get that texture every time.
Cocadas blancas vs. cocadas de panela
Colombian cocadas come in two basic families, depending on the sweetener. Most other flavors are built on one of these two bases.
| Cocadas blancas (white) | Cocadas de panela (morenas or negras) | |
|---|---|---|
| Sweetener | White sugar | Panela, Colombia’s unrefined cane sugar |
| Liquid | Coconut water and milk | Water or coconut water |
| Spices | Cinnamon stick, sometimes lime zest | Cinnamon and cloves |
| Color | Ivory to pale gold | Caramel brown to dark mahogany |
| Flavor | Milky, fresh coconut | Deep molasses and caramel |
| Also called | Cocadas de leche (when made with more milk) | Chancacas, especially when pressed into a pan and cut in squares |
Types of Colombian cocadas
Walk past a candy seller’s tray in Cartagena and you will see a whole spectrum of cocadas, from ivory to almost black, some studded with fruit and some dyed pink. These are the ones you are most likely to meet, with the change you make to the base recipe for each.
Cocada blanca
White coconut candy
The everyday classic: coconut, coconut water, sugar, milk and cinnamon. Pale, milky and chewy.
Make it: the recipe below, as written.
Cocada de panela
Cocada morena or negra
Made with panela instead of white sugar, so it is darker, firmer and tastes of caramel and molasses.
Make it: swap the sugar for 8 oz (225 g) grated panela and add 2 cloves.
Cocada de arequipe
Coconut with dulce de leche
Coconut cooked with arequipe, Colombia’s dulce de leche, for a softer, fudgier, toffee-colored candy.
Make it: cut the sugar to 3/4 cup and stir in 1/2 cup arequipe for the last 5 minutes.
Cocada de leche
Milk cocada
Richer and creamier than the blanca, with more milk cooked in. Some cooks use coconut milk for an even deeper coconut flavor.
Make it: replace the coconut water with whole milk or canned coconut milk.
Cocada de piña
Pineapple cocada
Tangy and golden, with bits of pineapple cooked into the coconut. One of the most popular fruit flavors on the coast.
Make it: use pineapple juice instead of coconut water and add 1/2 cup finely chopped pineapple.
Cocada de guayaba
Guava cocada
Pink, fragrant and a little tart, made with guava pulp or guava paste melted into the syrup.
Make it: melt 4 oz cubed guava paste into the syrup before adding the coconut.
Cocada de maracuyá
Passion fruit cocada
Bright and sour-sweet. The acidity of the passion fruit cuts the richness of the coconut.
Make it: replace half the coconut water with strained passion fruit pulp.
Chancacas
Pressed panela squares
The panela mixture pressed into a pan and cut into squares or bars once firm, instead of being dropped into mounds.
Make it: make cocadas de panela and press into a lined 8-inch pan; cut after 2 hours.
Where cocadas come from: Cartagena and the palenqueras
Coconut and cane sugar both arrived on Colombia’s Caribbean coast during the colonial period, and the coast’s sugar mills and coconut groves made candy-making a natural cottage industry. Over the centuries, cocadas became especially tied to the Afro-Colombian women of the region, who made and sold sweets as a source of independent income.
The palenqueras. The women in bright dresses who walk Cartagena’s streets with bowls of fruit on their heads are palenqueras, from San Basilio de Palenque, a village about an hour southeast of the city that was founded by people who escaped slavery in the 1600s. UNESCO proclaimed Palenque’s cultural space a Masterpiece of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity in 2005. Palenquera cooks are known for a long list of hard sweets, including cocadas de leche, cocadas de panela, coconut with pineapple, coconut with arequipe and passion fruit cocadas.
El Portal de los Dulces. In Cartagena’s walled city, the arcade beside the Torre del Reloj on the Plaza de los Coches has been lined with candy sellers since 1921. Their tables hold rows of glass jars filled with cocadas alongside alegrías (puffed millet with panela and coconut), bolas de tamarindo, caballitos de papaya and muñequitas de leche. If you visit, it is the best place in Colombia to taste many cocada flavors side by side.
Today the same sweets are made all over the country, and cocadas often show up at Christmas next to Colombian Christmas dishes like natilla and buñuelos. On the coast they pair naturally with other coconut classics such as arroz con coco and limonada de coco.
Ingredients for Colombian cocadas
- Grated coconut: the heart of the recipe. Freshly grated coconut from a mature brown coconut gives the best flavor and texture; one large coconut yields about 3 cups. Frozen grated coconut is an excellent shortcut. Unsweetened dried shredded coconut also works if you soak it first (see the table below).
- Coconut water: use the water you drain from the coconut and top it up to 1 cup with bottled coconut water, such as Iberia pure coconut water. It deepens the coconut flavor far more than plain water.
- Sugar or panela: white sugar for cocadas blancas, grated panela for the dark version. The sugar is what holds the candy together, so do not cut it by more than a few tablespoons.
- Whole milk: a splash of milk makes the blanca creamier and softer. Skip it for a cocada that is all coconut.
- Cinnamon stick and salt: the cinnamon perfumes the syrup without coloring it, and a pinch of salt keeps the sweetness from tasting flat.
- For the arequipe version: a jar of Colombian-style dulce de leche, such as Colombina dulce de leche.
How to make Colombian cocadas
The method has only one tricky moment: knowing when to stop cooking. Everything else is stirring. The full quantities are in the recipe card below.
1. Crack and grate the coconut
Pierce two of the coconut’s “eyes” with a screwdriver and drain the water into a cup. Wrap the coconut in a towel and tap it hard around its equator with the back of a heavy knife or a hammer until it splits. Pry the white meat away from the shell with a butter knife and grate it on the coarse side of a box grater; there is no need to peel off the thin brown skin for cocadas de panela, but trim it for a whiter cocada blanca. Using frozen grated coconut? Thaw it and squeeze out any extra liquid.
2. Make the syrup
Combine the coconut water, sugar, cinnamon stick and salt in a wide, heavy saucepan. A wide pan matters: the mixture reduces faster and more evenly, and it is less likely to scorch. Bring it to a boil over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves, then let it boil for 5 minutes.
3. Add the coconut and milk
Stir in the grated coconut and the milk, return to a boil, then turn the heat down to medium-low. At first it will look like wet coconut floating in milky syrup.
4. Cook it down to the right point
Keep simmering, stirring often, for 20 to 30 minutes. As the liquid evaporates the bubbles get bigger and slower, and you will need to stir almost constantly for the last few minutes so the bottom does not catch.
- No liquid pools in the pan when you tilt it.
- The mixture is glossy, sticky and starts pulling away from the sides as one mass.
- A spoon dragged across the bottom leaves a clean path that stays open for 2 to 3 seconds.
- For drier, crumblier cocadas like the ones sold in jars, cook 3 to 5 minutes longer, until the mixture just starts to look matte instead of shiny.
5. Spoon into mounds
Take the pan off the heat and fish out the cinnamon stick. Working quickly while the mixture is hot (it stiffens as it cools), drop heaped tablespoons onto a parchment-lined baking sheet using two lightly oiled spoons, and nudge each into a rough mound. Leave the rough edges: they turn slightly crisp, which is part of the charm.
6. Let them set
Leave the cocadas at room temperature for about an hour, until they are firm enough to lift off the paper. Do not put them in the fridge to speed this up; they set best in open air.
Fresh, frozen or dried coconut?
Colombian cooks use fresh coconut, but you can make very good cocadas with the alternatives if you adjust for moisture.
| Coconut | Result | How to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Fresh grated | Best flavor and the classic chewy texture | Use as written: 3 cups from 1 large coconut, plus its water |
| Frozen grated | Almost as good as fresh, much faster | Thaw, squeeze lightly and use the same 3 cups |
| Unsweetened dried shredded | Good, slightly drier and more uniform | Soak 2 1/2 cups (200 g) in the coconut water plus 1/4 cup water for 20 minutes, then add with its liquid |
| Sweetened flaked | Too sweet and often will not set | Not recommended for this recipe |
Cocada troubleshooting
Cocadas around Latin America
Nearly every coconut-growing country in Latin America has its own cocada, and they are not all the same thing. If you are searching for a cocada recipe and the results look nothing alike, this is why.
One more to know: in Venezuela, a cocada is not a candy at all but a thick, ice-cold coconut milkshake sold at the beach. You will find it among our Venezuelan sweets.
How to store cocadas
- Room temperature: in an airtight container for up to 1 week. Drier, crystallized cocadas keep for up to 2 weeks.
- Refrigerator: only if your kitchen is hot and humid, which makes them sticky. Let them come to room temperature before serving.
- Freezer: up to 2 months, in a single layer and then bagged. Thaw on the counter.
Colombian cocadas FAQ
What is a cocada in English?
Cocada translates as coconut candy or coconut sweet. The word comes from coco, Spanish for coconut.
What are Colombian cocadas made of?
Grated coconut and sugar or panela, cooked together until thick. Cocadas blancas also use coconut water, milk and cinnamon; many flavored versions add fruit, arequipe or coconut milk.
Are cocadas the same as coconut macaroons?
No. Macaroons are baked and bound with egg whites. Colombian cocadas are cooked on the stove with no eggs or flour, and the sugar syrup is what holds them together. Baked cocadas from Mexico, Peru and Chile are closer to macaroons.
Why are my cocadas sticky?
They were not cooked long enough, or the kitchen is very humid. Cook until a spoon leaves a clean path across the bottom of the pan, and store finished cocadas airtight.
Can I use sweetened shredded coconut?
It is not recommended. Sweetened flaked coconut already contains sugar and humectants that keep it moist, so the cocadas come out too sweet and often never set. Use fresh, frozen or unsweetened dried coconut.
Are cocadas gluten-free?
Yes. Traditional Colombian cocadas contain only coconut, sugar or panela, liquid and spices, with no flour. Check the labels of any packaged add-ins, such as arequipe.
Where can I buy cocadas in Colombia?
In Cartagena, head to the Portal de los Dulces on the Plaza de los Coches or buy from a palenquera in the old city. Elsewhere, look in bakeries, corner stores, beach vendors and the candy aisle of any supermarket.
Colombian Cocadas Recipe
Colombian Cocadas (Cocadas Blancas)
Chewy Colombian coconut candies made the Caribbean-coast way: fresh grated coconut cooked with coconut water, sugar, milk and cinnamon until thick, then spooned into mounds to set. Makes about 16 cocadas.
Ingredients
- 3 cups (about 250 g) freshly grated coconut, from 1 large mature coconut, or thawed frozen grated coconut
- 1 cup (240 ml) coconut water, from the coconut or bottled
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) whole milk
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
- Get ready. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly oil two tablespoons. If you are using a fresh coconut, drain the water (save it for the recipe), crack the shell, pry out the meat and grate it on the coarse side of a box grater. Thaw frozen grated coconut and squeeze out any excess liquid.
- Make the syrup. In a wide, heavy 3-quart saucepan, combine the coconut water, sugar, cinnamon stick and salt. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring until the sugar dissolves, then boil for 5 minutes.
- Add the coconut and milk. Stir in the grated coconut and milk and bring back to a boil. Lower the heat to medium-low.
- Cook it down. Simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring often at first and almost constantly at the end, until no liquid pools in the pan, the mixture turns glossy and sticky, and a spoon dragged across the bottom leaves a clean path for 2 to 3 seconds. For drier, crumblier cocadas, keep stirring 3 to 5 minutes more until the mixture starts to look matte.
- Shape. Remove the cinnamon stick. Working quickly while the mixture is hot, drop heaped tablespoons onto the parchment, about 2 inches apart, and nudge each into a rough mound with the second spoon. You should get about 16.
- Let them set. Cool at room temperature for about 1 hour, until firm enough to lift off the paper.
Notes
Coconut: 3 cups of grated coconut is about the meat of one large mature coconut. Frozen grated coconut (sold in Latin and Asian markets) works just as well. To use unsweetened dried shredded coconut, soak 2 1/2 cups (about 200 g) in the coconut water plus 1/4 cup extra water for 20 minutes, then continue with step 2, adding the soaked coconut and its liquid in step 3. Do not use sweetened flaked coconut; the cocadas will not set properly.
Cocadas de panela (morenas): replace the sugar with 8 oz (225 g) grated or chopped panela and add 2 whole cloves with the cinnamon.
Cocadas de arequipe: use 3/4 cup sugar and stir in 1/2 cup arequipe during the last 5 minutes of cooking.
Cocadas de piña: replace the coconut water with pineapple juice and add 1/2 cup very finely chopped fresh pineapple with the coconut.
Storage: keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the refrigerator in humid weather. They freeze well for up to 2 months.
More Colombian desserts and sweets
- 21 Traditional Colombian DessertsThe full list, from natilla to postre de natas
- ArequipeColombia’s dulce de leche, and how to make it
- Colombian ObleasCrisp wafers sandwiched with arequipe
- Brevas con ArequipeCandied figs filled with dulce de leche
- Mazamorra PaisaCorn and milk dessert served with panela
- Latin American Cookies and SweetsConfections country by country
For savory dishes from the same coast, start with our guide to traditional Colombian food, or browse every recipe in our Colombian food section.
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Jorge Garcia is the founder of AmigoFoods, where he has spent over 20 years helping readers discover authentic Latin American and Spanish cuisine. Raised in a Cuban-American household, Jorge learned to cook at the hands of his mother and grandmother, carrying forward generations of family recipes. That heritage, backed by his family’s four-generation history in the Latin food industry, inspired him to launch AmigoFoods in 2003. With more than 1,000 published articles on recipes, ingredients, and food culture, Jorge’s mission is simple: make authentic Latin cooking approachable for home cooks everywhere while honoring the traditions behind every dish.