Vanilla Coffee Creamer

Someone is pouring homemade French vanilla creamer into a mug of coffee.

5 from 1 vote

You only need 3 ingredients for this all-natural, chemical free, and 100% homemade French vanilla coffee creamer. You can easily make it dairy-free with your favorite plant based milk.

Prep Time5

Bake Time5

Steeping Time30

Total Time40

Recipe Author Lynn April

Servings: 16 Tablespoons

Ingredients

▢ 1 cup (240mL) half-and-half¹
▢ 2 whole vanilla beans^2,3 split and de-seeded
▢ ¼ cup + 2 Tablespoons (75g) granulated sugar
▢ ¼ cup + 2 Tablespoons (90mL) water

Need to keep track of your ingredients?Check out my Printable Ingredient List!

Instructions

Pour the half-and-half (or whatever you are using) into a small saucepan. Set aside.
1 cup (240mL) half-and-half1
Using a sharp knife, split the vanilla beans³ in half, scrape out the seeds, and put everything into the saucepan with your half-and-half. If you are using a vanilla bean alternative, simply pour it into the half-and-half.
2 whole vanilla beans2,3
Heat the mixture over low heat until it just starts to steam. Turn off the burner but leave the saucepan on the burner while it cools. Allow beans to steep for 30 minutes.
After the 30 minutes, remove the pods with a fork or tongs. Strain the vanilla infused half-and-half through a fine mesh screen fitted with cheesecloth or a coffee filter (you do not need to do this step if you have used vanilla extract or vanilla paste). Set aside.
In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine granulated sugar and water and heat until sugar is just dissolved, about 2-3 minutes.
¼ cup + 2 Tablespoons (75g) granulated sugar, ¼ cup + 2 Tablespoons (90mL) water
Remove from heat and combine with vanilla infused half-and-half in a vessel you can easily pour from. Stir until combined. Store in a covered container in the refrigerator and use within 2 weeks, shaking well before using. Creamer freezes well, up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator.

Notes

Half-and-half: you can actually use any kind of milk, cream, or plant-based milk here. My preference is half-and-half or whole milk, but you can use your preference. Just be sure it is unsweetened.
Vanilla beans: be sure you're finding a good deal on vanilla beans (the grocery store is not the place to do that). My favorite places are Beanilla or Amazon.
Vanilla alternatives: in order to keep the cost lower or in order to make this with ingredients you already have on hand, you can also use vanilla extract or vanilla paste. Use 1 Tablespoon of either in place of the beans, and proceed with steeping the half-and-half as directed.

Nutrition Disclosure

All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.