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.
I am not a fan of sweet coffee, so am wondering if I can just omit the coconut sugar and still get the same great results.
I use the over-the-counter unsweetened coffee creamer, so am hoping to find a healthy version of it. This sounds delicious, but just don’t want the sweet taste.
I think you totally can leave out the sugar and just infuse some coconut cream or milk with vanilla beans and it would taste amazing!
Does this creamer froth well in the Nespresso frother? In the area where we live, the food distributor discontinued coconut creamers of any kind!!! And part of our morning matcha ritual is the amazing frothy coconut creamer. I hope yours froths!!
Can you use refrigerated unsweetened coconut milk?
Can you use an alternative sweetener like monk fruit or stevia?
Hi, do you have a dry version of your homemade coffee creamer.
Thank you😊
Oh my heavens this is divine. I’m not staying away from dairy so I used regular organic milk and made as directed with the vanilla bean, I may never go back!!
Recipe is for 15 oz can of coconut milk. I can only find 13.66 everywhere (the shrinkage of product to control pricing!) does that affect the creaminess or anything of the recipe for less coconut milk? I know it sounds dumb, but I really want a creamier version than any homemade I’ve made so far.
I fixed that in the recipe! When I first published this years ago the cans must’ve been different! But I just pulled one out of the pantry and it’s 13.5 oz!
Thanks for sharing this recipe. I just made this last night. I used the coconut cream in the can. I didn’t have any coconut sugar so I used Stevie and erythritol blend and used vanilla extract. It was so good. I have been ordering nutpod and it’s only made with 4 ingredients and it maybe healthy this recipe tastes so much better. I think I might just make it instead. Super easy to make. I will have to check out your other recipes. 😀
I just made some creamer using unsweetened vanilla almond milk, stevia and Nectresse (monk fruit) because the after taste of Stevia is not that great and pure vanilla extract. It turned out pretty good but not as creamy as I like…then I found your recipe!
My question is can I just heat and add some coconut milk to it to make it creamier? I actually reused a plastic container from store bought creamer to store it but will I need to put in jar if I add the coconut milk? Sorry, guess I had two questions! 😉
I can not wait to make this creamer! If using pure vanilla extract instead of the vanilla beans, would the mesh strainer be necessary to use? Thanks for sharing a much healthier way to enjoy coffee.
If you use vanilla extract you do not need to strain the mixture!
Didn’t think so, thank you!