"Versatile coconut milk can add creamy texture to soups, rich flavor to sauces and is the perfect substitute for heavy cream in any of your favorite savory dishes. If you’re wondering about other pareve milks like soy milk and almond milk, they are just too thin to use in place of rich heavy cream so go for the good stuff and stock your pantry with canned coconut milk..... It’s really as easy as shaking a can of full fat coconut milk, opening it up and substituting measure for measure with the heavy cream in any recipe....
Boxed coconut milk drink is exactly what it sounds like. It’s a drink. It’s often watered down and filled with additives like carrageenan, guar gum and other sweeteners and should be avoided for all cooking and baking"
See entire explanation @ Joy Of Kosher