Coconut Milk Coffee Creamer

Making your own homemade coconut milk coffee creamer is super easy—and only requires a few pantry ingredients! Typical coffee creamers, especially flavored ones, contain thickeners (like carrageenan), artificial flavors, and additives to keep the ingredients from separating and settling. But not this one!

I've been making my own dairy-free coffee creamer for years. I keep a few staple ingredients on-hand and leave the unwanted additives behind. This is a dairy-free recipe that allows you to swap, add, or omit any ingredients to fit your taste.

For years, I used different variations of coconut milk creamer. But I was always disappointed in the lack of offerings at the grocers. After a lot of testing, I created the best coconut milk creamer recipe that stores easily and tastes better than store-bought!

Dairy-free coffee creamer

How you take your coffee is a personal preference, and I prefer to keep my coffee ritual the same. If you like it sweet, you might take it with honey, agave, or maple syrup. Or, you might enjoy some spices like cinnamon or cardamom. No matter how you prefer your dairy-free creamer, there’s a variation of this dairy-free recipe to make it right for you!

How to make homemade coffee creamer

UPDATE: I used to make homemade condensed milk, but I've updated this recipe to reflect the use of coconut condensed milk (not previously found in stores). If you don't have access to this product, you can still follow the original recipe, which I'll include below. (Luckily, making condensed coconut milk is very simple!)

Making your own condensed coconut milk is easy: all you need is coconut milk, canned coconut cream, and your choice of sweetener. Coconut milk won’t scald the way dairy milk will, so you won't get the “film” that occurs when regular milk reaches 180 degrees.

Coconut cream is composed of coconut water, coconut milk, and coconut “meat.” At room temperature, the fat will become stable and separate from the water. However, if you heat the coconut cream, the components will become homogenized, even after refrigerating.

Heating coconut cream and sugar will create a consistency similar to canned sweetened condensed milk, but you can control the sugar content. (Yes, you can make this condensed coconut milk sugar-free!).

Brown sugar will give the condensed milk a more profound, complex sweetness and a richer color. Meanwhile, using honey, sugar, or agave will keep the color light and give it a brighter sweetness profile.

Once the cream and sweetener bubble, simmer on low and whisk for about 15 minutes. You can remove the pot from the heat (or turn off the heat if you’re using a gas range) and add the coconut milk. The heat from the condensed cream will allow the milk to blend nicely.

Agave nectar substitutes:

• ⅓ cup honey
• ⅔ cup sugar in the raw
• ⅔ cup light brown sugar
• ¼ cup pure maple syrup

Is coconut cream the same as coconut milk?

There are many variations of coconut milk: canned coconut cream, canned coconut milk, canned light coconut milk, carton coconut milk, carton light coconut milk, and so forth.

However, coconut cream and coconut milk are not the same due to the fat content of coconut cream. Because coconut cream on its own is too rich and heavy, I like to make my own condensed coconut milk using a blend of coconut cream and milk.

How to make condensed coconut milk

•  ½ cup canned coconut milk (for condensing) and stir in another 1 ½ cups canned coconut milk
• ¼ cup coconut cream (for condensing) and 1 ¾ cup canned light coconut milk
• ½ cup canned coconut milk (for condensing) and 1 cup light coconut milk or carton of full fat coconut milk

Homemade flavored coffee creamer

The fun part about making this creamer is adding your own custom spices and flavors. I originally created this recipe as a homemade dairy-free pumpkin-spice coffee creamer, but you can adjust it seasonally or by preference.

Try these coffee creamer flavors

• ½ teaspoon cinnamon + ¼ teaspoon nutmeg + a pinch of ground clove
• ½ teaspoon cardamom + orange zest
• Simmer cinnamon sticks and star anise in the creamer over low heat before straining out
• Swap vanilla extract for vanilla beans (scrape beans from pod using a knife and add directly to your pot)

How to store homemade creamer

As long as you’re a regular coffee drinker, keeping your creamer fresh shouldn’t be a problem. Once cooled, transfer the creamer to a 16-ounce mason jar with a lid. Because this creamer is homemade and natural, it’s normal to see some settling of the spices. Prior to use, simply give the mason jar a nice swirl or gentle shake.

How long will homemade coffee creamer last in the fridge?

If you’re following the recipe measurements, one batch of creamer should last for two weeks. If you’re omitting the sweetener, it will keep for up to 10 days.

How to make coffee creamer with dairy

Want to use dairy to make this coffee creamer recipe? No problem! Simply swap out two ingredients and skip the sweetener.

Dairy coffee creamer ingredients

• ¼ cup sweetened condensed milk
• 1 ¾ cup evaporated milk or half-and-half
• Bring condensed milk to a light simmer (on low) and stir in the spices
• Remove from heat and add the milk
• Lightly whisk until combined and let cool, storing in an air-tight container

How to make Bulletproof coffee with coconut milk coffee creamer

There’s one coffee ritual that I’ve followed for years, and that’s making my coffee “Bulletproof.” If you haven’t heard of Bulletproof coffee, also known as butter coffee, it’s the act of blending your coffee using a milk frother or blender with ghee, MCT oil, coconut oil, or butter.

And, while Bulletproof Coffee or butter coffee typically calls for anywhere from one to two tablespoons of ghee and MCT oil, I swap this for ½ teaspoon of unrefined organic coconut oil and ½ teaspoon of Kerrygold butter.

Print