Healthy Homemade Coffee Creamer
Posted Mar 17, 2019, Updated May 12, 2024
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This Healthy Homemade Coffee Creamer Recipe is easy to make with 4 ingredients, and it’s even more delicious than store-bought creamers!
A good friend once said to me, “drinking tea is like getting a friendly handshake, but drinking coffee is like getting a warm hug.” It’s so so true.
I look forward to the warm embrace of a good cup ‘o joe every morning with my breakfast. I do like a touch of sweetness and creaminess in my coffee, which is why I created this homemade coffee creamer recipe.
It tastes amazing but has no artificial ingredients, preservatives, etc.
If you’re a creamer user like me, you will love that this Paleo Vanilla Coffee Creamer is just slightly sweet but adds a wonderful, deep, complex, vanilla flavor to your coffee!
Healthy Coffee Creamer: Ingredients & Substitutions
As always, I recommend making this recipe exactly as written! But here are a few substitutions that are possible.
- Coconut milk: lite works well, but full-fat is best.
- Almond milk. The almond milk is added to this recipe to ensure that it doesn’t solidify when stored. In this case, any other nondairy milk can be used in place of almond milk.
- Coconut sugar: Maple syrup or honey may be used in place of some (or all) of the coconut sugar.
- Vanilla beans: If you want to make this quicker and easier, substitute 1 teaspoon vanilla extract for the vanilla bean. Add the extract once the sugar is dissolved and you remove the mixture from the heat.
How to Make Coffee Creamer
Let’s walk through the steps in making this healthy vanilla coffee creamer and don’t forget to watch the video.
Begin by putting the ingredients (except for vanilla beans) into a small saucepan and whisking to combine.
Next, warm the mixture until it just begins to boil then remove the pan from the heat. Be very careful not to actually let it boil, because it will result in a big mess!
Next, scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean and stir them into the warm paleo coffee creamer mixture. Then add the whole vanilla bean pods.
After the vanilla beans and pods are added, cover the pot, and let it sit for 30 minutes for the vanilla bean flavor to really infuse into the healthy coffee creamer.
Choose a large glass jar and place a fine mesh metal sieve over it. Strain the vanilla coffee creamer into the jar and discard the vanilla bean pods.
How to Deseed a Vanilla Bean
To remove the seeds from a vanilla bean, follow these instructions:
- Cut the bean in half (as pictured below).
2. Carefully slice each piece of the vanilla bean lengthwise with a very sharp knife. Make shallow cuts that do not go all the way through the pod.
3. Use a small spoon and scrape out the seeds on the inside of the bean.
4. Stir the spoon with the vanilla seeds into the coffee creamer mixture and repeat with the remaining pod pieces!
Using Vanilla Extract
If you use vanilla extract instead of vanilla beans, I still recommend gently warming the ingredients on the stovetop and whisking them until the mixture is smooth.
However, if you use vanilla extract you do not need to use a strainer or let the mixture sit on the stovetop for 30 minutes to infuse! Simply whisk it in!
Store
Store the homemade creamer in a glass jar with a lid in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.
Freeze
Pour the healthy coffee creamer into an ice cube tray and freeze until hardened.
Transfer the frozen cubes of creamer to an airtight container or bag. Remove one or two cubes at a time to use in your morning coffee. I do recommend warming the frozen homemade coffee creamer in the microwave in your coffee mug before adding the coffee so that it doesn’t cool it off.
Homemade Coffee Creamer Recipe FAQs
If you’re curious about the benefits of making your own coffee creamer, check out this article from Prevention Magazine, where this very recipe was featured, “5 Worst Things in your Coffee Creamer – And What You Should Use Instead.”
While some store bought varieties are not good (at all), this homemade paleo coffee creamer IS totally healthy! It’s dairy-free, refined-sugar free, vegan and paleo! It adds the perfect flavor and creaminess to your coffee without sacrificing health or taste! PLUS it is only 4 ingredients and is crazy easy!
Absolutely! We use coconut milk or coconut cream in this recipe and it turns out amazingly creamy and ultra delicious! Coconut milk is my favorite base for coffee creamer!
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Homemade Healthy Coffee Creamer Recipe
Ingredients
- 13.5 ounces coconut milk
- 2 Tablespoons Almond Milk (unsweetened, vanilla)
- 3 Tablespoons coconut sugar
- ⅛ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ vanilla bean
Instructions
- Shake up a can of coconut milk then pour it into a small saucepan.
- Add almond milk and stir to combine.
- Add the coconut sugar & a pinch of salt, whisk to combine.
- Cook over medium-low heat until the mixture just starts bubbling and sugar is dissolved (don’t let it boil or you’ll have a coconutty mess all over your stove)!
- Cut the vanilla bean in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. Add seeds to the milk mixture and stir.
- Put the whole vanilla bean into the pot and cover with a lid.
- Let the mixture sit for at least 30 minutes, or until cooled to room temperature.
- Using a fine mesh strainer, strain your creamer as you pour it into a glass jar. Discard beans.
- Store in a glass jar with a lid in the refrigerator! Give it a shake before adding it to your favorite coffee!
Video
Notes
- Coconut milk: lite works well, but full-fat is best.
- Almond milk. The almond milk is added to this recipe to ensure that it doesn’t solidify when stored. In this case, any other nondairy milk can be used in place of almond milk.
- Coconut sugar: Maple syrup or honey may be used in place of some (or all) of the coconut sugar.
- Vanilla beans: If you want to make this quicker and easier, substitute 1 teaspoon vanilla extract for the vanilla bean. Add the extract once the sugar is dissolved and you remove the mixture from the heat.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Thank’s so much for this recipe. I just made it and It tastes delicious!!! I can’t wait to try it tomorrow morning. I didn’t have vanilla beans so I used 1 tsp of vanilla.
Hi Laura, Even I have experienced the same with store-bought non-dairy creamer and was looking for a recipe for preparing the creamer and stumbled across your site. It looks like I can find lot of information on your site. I love coconut because of its numerous health advantages and I would love to try Paleo Vanilla Coconut Coffee Creamer. Thanks for the great recipe and will definitely try this sometime.
I’m having the same problem as another commenter where the top layer hardens after I put in the fridge 😕 I made sure not to boil. I’m using a can of Trader Joe’s full fat coconut milk. I wonder what the difference could be?
Hey Anna! I am so sorry I have no idea why that would happen! I have even used Trader Joe’s varieties when making this! I recommend the freezing trick. Freeze it into individual portions and then take one out at a time for your morning cup of coffee!
Hello! Thanks for this recipe. I made this yesterday and it turned rock hard in my fridge. What did I do wrong? I have to microwave it to give it a shake… Thanks
Hey Stacy! That is definitely strange! I usually have to shake it up but never have to microwave it! It’s possible you let it thicken a tad too long on the stove and cooked out a little too much moisture! Here’s a tip: once you take it out of the fridge and get it back to liquid form, pour it into an ice cube tray and freeze. Once they’re completely frozen, transfer the cubes of creamer to a freezer-friendly container. That way every day you can just pull out one portion and let it thaw while your coffee is brewing. I do this if I don’t think I’ll finish the creamer quickly and love it! Then if you choose to make it again, cook it for a little less time!
You know what though I used honey that could be why its hardened too. Still the fats settled right on top in a thick layer Lol. Ill try the ice tray idea. Thank you!
It most likely hardened because of the milk. When u put coconut milk in the fridge the cream rises and hardens at the top
Looks yummy to me, hope it’ll taste the same. I’m definitely going to try this one because I’m also fed up with that store-bought creamer. Those thing aren’t natural at all. Thanks for the recipe though.
Thank you Edna! I make this all the time, couldn’t live without this recipe! 🙂
This looks amazing. I’m a HUGE hazelnut junkie so I’m going to try using hazelnuts instead of the vanilla bean. I really hope it works.
Hey Amy!! How did the hazelnuts turn out?!
Is everyone using full fat coconut milk or has anyone tried reduced fat?
You can use reduced fat but it will be less creamy and you may need to add more to your coffee if you like it on the light side!
Is there a difference between coconut sugar and coconut palm sugar? My mixture is brown looking. Thanks
They are the same thing! If you used a variety of coconut sugar that was darker brown your mixture might be brownish. Also if you use vanilla extract instead of beans the same thing could happen. Either way it should still taste great!