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 you so much for sharing this recipe, so delicious! Just out of curiosity, do you know how long this lasts in the fridge?
Is there a reason the ingredients have to be heated on the stove? That they can’t just be mixed (if using extract)? Sorry for the silly question 🤪
Often times the coconut milk needs to be warmed to be able to be incorporated with other ingredients…however if yours is 100% a liquid then by all means you can just stir it together! The heating is mostly to combine the ingredients and infuse the vanilla bean flavor into the creamer!
Hi! How long does this last for in the fridge?
where do I buy vanilla beans?
I purchase them from Costco during the holidays. However you can find them online!
The recipe looks absolutely gorgeous, thanks. I though that a Paleo diet encouraged sugar free? Am I wrong?
Hey James! The paleo diet doesn’t include any refined sugars. Natural sugars like honey, maple syrup, coconut sugar, etc. are approved!
The photo looks beautiful and the recipe seems gorgeous as well. Thanks for taking the time to put it together.
Thank you!
Is the heating process only to dissolve the sugar and bring out the vanilla bean? Or does it somehow alter the coconut cream to make the texture better? I’m planning to make it with only coconut cream and a couple drops of vanilla extract, and I’m wondering if skipping the heating step will make it keep separating when I refrigerate?
Homemade paleo coffee creamer is so great! Thank you very much for sharing this information with us. I accidentally ran into this blog and tried it. Just two words: Thank you! 😀 Very tasty, absolutely delicious. I like to drink after lunch especially. Have you been able to make from the first time?
I used it as base for the ingredients I had on hand. My daily coffee doesn’t have anything added, but on occasion, I enjoy a little flavor and not a lot of sweetness. I used 1 can evaporated coconut milk (omitted sugar and salt since these were already added to the evaporated milk) and the vanilla bean. It’s a much milder flavor than what the store bought creamers are but just enough for me and only 2 ingredients!!!! 😀. I enjoyed it in my hot coffee today and I look forward to adding it to my cold brew later this week!!!! Thanks for suggestion!
Thank you so much for stopping by and letting me know you enjoyed this recipe! Sounds like you made some helpful, quick and easy substitutions that everyone in this community can benefit from, so thank you for sharing!!!
Yumm! Delicious easy recipe with only 4 ingredient..HOW cool – I love coffee so much yet I am on diet … LOL …So Finding over there something called “Healthy Coffee Creamer” as I can’t skip it ..It’s okey If it sugarless…But I want a few cup daily …. It Looks so Delicious..I must give it a try ! .. Thank you so much Laura 🙂