Make your favorite cup of coffee even better with our delicious and simple homemade Paleo Vanilla Coffee Creamer that’s completely vegan and keto friendly!
I am picky about my coffee, just like I’m picky about the jeans I wear. It takes me a while to find the right pair of jeans, sometimes I’ll try on 20 pairs before I find the pair that fits me just right.
Coffee and creamers are about the same way for me. I used to not be a big coffee drinker until recent years, but I have grown to be quite particular about my coffee and dairy free coffee creamer and milk.
Nothing ruins a good cup of joe like icky dairy-free milk that’s too sugary or too watery, so I am pretty picky about my milk and creamer, too. I usually use unsweetened almond milk in my coffee along with a great naturally sugar free creamer.
I love brewing my own high quality low-acid coffee and adding a great sugar free and dairy free Vanilla Coffee Creamer. Give me some homemade cold-brew coffee or fresh roasted Dark Canyon Coffee with dairy free milk and creamer and I’m set!
For me, taste matters when it comes to coffee. It’s not just about the caffeine buzz (I drink decaf these days anyway). It’s about enjoying the flavor, so I make sure that what I add to my coffee is just as high quality as the coffee itself.
Making homemade coffee creamer
A great quality coconut milk can make coffee taste pretty awesome, so I whipped up some homemade Vanilla Coffee Creamer made with just a few ingredients and canned coconut cream. This coffee creamer is keto friendly, paleo, dairy free, vegan, all natural, has only 4 ingredients, and can be made in 5 minutes.
For this recipe, I used a canned coconut cream (not to be confused with cream of coconut, which is sweetened), but you if you don’t have access to canned coconut cream, you can use a can of coconut milk that has separated and use the solid cream at the top of the can.
I like blending the cream and water (or non dairy milk if you choose) because it lets me adjust the thickness of the creamer, but if you’re in a hurry you can just use full-fat canned coconut milk that hasn’t separated and add your vanilla and stevia drops to it. It just might not be as thick as you like.
Why make your own coffee creamer?
Making your own allergy friendly and low carb kitchen staples is great so you don’t have to go searching for them in stores (we live in a smaller town and don’t always have a great variety of allergy friendly products here).
Plus, when you make your own coffee creamer, you can control exactly what goes into it! Your own homemade creamer won’t have thickeners or anything artificial unless you choose to add it yourself.
You can use almond milk, hemp, or oatmilk in this instead of water to make it a bit thicker if you like as well.
If you want more flavor varieties, you can add cinnamon, or different flavored extracts instead of vanilla (like orange, maple, or rum flavor).
These days I even bring my cold brew coffee and non-dairy creamer with me on trips. I add my cold brew coffee to a big Nalgene water bottle and make sure our hotel has a fridge. Much tastier, more allergy friendly, and less expensive than buying coffee each day!
Use room temperature coconut cream and water to help everything mix together well, cold coconut cream might separate and appear to curdle.
Vanilla Coffee Creamer (Dairy Free)
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup solid coconut cream* room temperature
- 3/4 cup room temperature water* more or less depending on how thick you want the creamer
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/4-1/2 teaspoon liquid Stevia with vanilla to taste (I used NOW Better Stevia liquid)
Instructions
- In a small blender or NutriBullet, blend together the solid coconut cream, water, vanilla, and stevia until well blended.
- Add more or less stevia to taste, and add more or less cream for thickness
- Store this in a sealed container or jar in the fridge and stir as needed to address any separation
- Enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
I recently re-did the photos on this blog post from May 2015, here’s one of the old photos:
Sarah Jane Parker is the founder, recipe creator, and photographer behind The Fit Cookie. She’s a food allergy mom and healthy living blogger based in Wyoming. Sarah is also an ACSM Certified Personal Trainer, ACE Certified Health Coach, Revolution Running certified running coach, and an ACE Certified Fitness Nutrition Specialist
Jeri S says
I have been making a version of this creamer for several years and I love it. The difference is I heat the full can of Thai Kitchen coconut milk on the stove with 2 Tbsp of unsweetened almond milk and 1/2 tsp cinnamon. Once it’s heated to right before boiling, remove from heat and add 1 Tbsp vanilla extract and 1 Tbsp maple syrup, which I will be omitting to follow Paleo. Let it cool, store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to one week. I add different spices like pumpkin pie spice to change things up. Would it be okay to use the entire can of coconut milk, heat it like I normally do and omit the water altogether?
Sarah Jane Parker says
Hi Jeri, I bet that would work in this recipe! Let me know if you try it and how it turns out for you 🙂
Kayla says
Mine curdled as I was blending! 🙁 really bummed. All ingredients were chilled. What am I doing wrong? Any tips?
Sarah Jane Parker says
Hi Kayla! I think it could be that the fat in the coconut milk is trying to separate because it’s cold and coconut milk separates easily when it’s cold. So it’s probably best to blend this together at room temperature and once it’s all blended, then store it in the fridge. I’ll add a note to that in the recipe card since I think a few other people had that problem as well.
Gabby says
Love this recipe!! Curious on if I could substitute the coconut cream for anything? I am not a huge fan of the flavor, so just wondering if there would be anything else I could use? Thanks!!
Sarah Jane Parker says
Hi Gabby! You could try using the Silk heavy whipping cream instead of the coconut cream. It’s not quite as thick, so you’d probably end up using less almond milk. It has coconut milk in it, but it doesn’t have the taste of coconut cream, it has a pretty neutral taste.
Megan says
Good morning! I can’t wait to try this recipe. Can I use swerve sweetener in place of the stevia drops? It’s all I have in the house currently. Thanks!
Sarah Jane Parker says
Hi Megan! You should be able to use Swerve in this recipe fine, you’ll probably want to use the powdered Swerve to make sure it dissolves completely in this recipe. You can start with a Tablespoon, taste test, then add more if needed.
Courtney says
So easy and delicious!
Sarah Jane Parker says
Thank you Courtney!
Libby Swann says
Hey there! Great recipe! Wondering what you do with the rest of the coconut cream, watery part? Didn’t want to just throw it out if there is something else I can try! Thanks!!
Sarah Jane Parker says
Hi Libby! You can use it in place of water in some recipes, like you can add it to smoothies 🙂
Allie says
I am looking forward to trying this, new to keto and don’t want to give up creamer! How long does this keep? Thanks 🙂
Sarah Jane Parker says
When I’ve made this, I’d say this keeps for about 4-7 days. If you don’t think you’ll use it all up within a week, I’d cut the recipe in half. Hope that helps! 🙂
Grace Thumser says
I just tried this recipe in my nutribullet & it curdled/separates. Did I overblend or have to keep blending? Thanks!
Sarah Jane Parker says
Hi Grace, did it separate right after you blended it or did it separate later (like a day or so) after you made it? If it separated right after you blended it, it probably needs to be blended more, and make sure that your ingredients are either cold or room temperature and not hot. If it separated after a day or so, this is normal, so you’ll just want to shake it or blend it again to keep it smooth.
Allison says
Is there a certain brand of canned coconut milk or coconut cream that you recommend? My creamer always has a “gritty” texture to it when I make it.
Sarah Jane Parker says
Hi Allison! I usually use Thai Kitchen canned coconut milk and cream. Another good option is the new Silk heavy whipping cream that would work good, along with the Silk half-and-half, both are dairy free.
JoAnne M says
I’m so excited to try this recipe. I love my coffee and usually use sugar free vanilla creamer. I’m trying to go keto and didn’t want to give up my creamer. Do you have a recipe for a keto friendly vanilla chai spice creamer? Thank you in advance!
Sarah Jane Parker says
Definitely come back and let me know what you think of it! I don’t have one that’s a chai spice creamer yet, but that’s a great idea. I’ll have to add that to my list of recipes to make!
Christine Benick says
I just made this for the first time and I love it! I had my fresh cup of coffee waiting. I made pumpkin with pumpkin pie spice spice blend extract and it was perfect. I also bought maple extract and can’t wait to try that one. We do not like any type of sugar substitute but I didn’t want the grainy sugar so I put in a half teaspoon of a natural vanilla coffee syrup that we have and that did the trick. Just enough sweet and the vanilla balanced out the pumpkin spices perfectly. This one is a little runny so I’ll use less water for the next batch. It really is trial by error until you see what you like. I’m going to have to buy stock in Cream of Coconut now. Thank you! Wonderful recipe.
Sarah Jane Parker says
Thank you for your kind words Christine, I’m so glad this worked great for you! I love your idea of maple flavoring I’ll have to try that one for sure 🙂
Jules Shepard says
This was honestly what a just got online to find! I’m over store-bought creamer and want to make my own! LOVE this recipe!
Sarah Jane Parker says
Thanks so much Jules! I made a pumpkin spice version of this, and I want to add other flavors of creamer, like chocolate 🙂
Dana says
I honestly would have never thought to make my own coffee creamer! (I have no idea why; it never crossed my mind.) I love swapping certain store-bought things for from-scratch. I can’t wait to try this. Sounds so delicious!
Sarah Jane Parker says
Thank you Dana! Homemade creamer is the best 🙂
Daniela says
I can’t do diary, and I miss creamer terribly, so I’m delighted to see this recipe. It’s so easy too! It’s hard to find coconut cream where I live, but I will give it a try with the thick cream that forms on top of the canned coconut milk I usually buy.
Sarah Jane Parker says
HI Daniela! You can definitely use the thick cream from the top of canned coconut milk, that’s what I used to do as well. I also order it online from Amazon or Vitacost as well.
Tracy says
This was exactly what I was looking for! I love a vanilla creamer but have been trying to go dairy free but also wanted to make my own. This is perfect. Thank you!
Sarah Jane Parker says
Awesome, thanks Tracy!
Marisa F. Stewart says
You are so very clever. I simply love the idea of making our own creamer. I have to admit we’ve been buying our creamer but I imagine homemade would be so much better and tastier. We love our coffee with creamer so I’m pinning this recipe and getting the necessary ingredients.
Sarah Jane Parker says
Thanks Marisa! Homemade creamer is definitely a healthier option 🙂
Jenni LeBaron says
Coconut cream is the perfect choice for coffee creamer because it gives that great creamy mouthfeel and blends up well with coffee. I also totally agree that nothing ruins a good cup of joe like a bad creamer that has way too much sweetener, so I like that this recipe lets the coconut milk to all the heavy lifting and the additional sweetener can be adjusted for preference. Great coffee creamer recipe!
Sarah Jane Parker says
Thank you Jenni!
Tina says
I feel ya girl! It may take you 20 pairs of jeans to find the right one and sometimes it takes me 20 years, seriously. While I drink my coffee black, my hubby loves a good flavor cream. Your recipe sounds delicious and I am going to try this out on hubby. I have found coconut cream in Mexican markets, it’s pretty common. Looking forward to this:)
Sarah Jane Parker says
Thank you Tina!
Sandra says
After looking at the list of ingredients of coffee creamer, I stopped buying it. I usually use heavy cream, but love coconut, so I’m excited to give this a try!
Sarah Jane Parker says
Thanks Sandra! Let me know how you like it 🙂
Jules Shepard says
I’m always happier when I make my own creamer! Thanks for the reminder!
Sarah Jane Parker says
You’re welcome Jules! 🙂
Gloria says
I have not tried to make coffee creamer. After reading this post, I think that needs to change. I know I would totally enjoy this in my coffee morning, afternoon and after dinner too.
Sarah Jane Parker says
It’s definitely a fun way to get healthier coffee creamer, you can customize the flavors easily!
laura tyler says
I love to drink homemade coffee which made by my husband. i will definitely tell him about your recipe. Hope we will enjoy this coffee together.
Willie Murphy says
Yum! I am definitely going to try this!! I actually was just thinking the other day about making some sort of homemade coffee creamer; I usually just buy the vanilla one at the store, but I was thinking it would be a healthier option to try and make my own (since I am not a fan of drinking coffee with no creamer or anything!) Can’t wait to try it! Thanks for sharing!
Veronika says
That recipe looks really simple! I hadn’t thought about making my own creamer. I’m also a really picky person, but I’ll give this a shot!
Sarah Jane says
Thanks Veronika! Let me know what you think of it 🙂
Sarah Grace says
I love making homemade coffee creamer, but have never used coconut cream! mmm 🙂
xoxo Sarah Grace, Fresh Fit N Healthy.
Sarah Jane says
I have never made my own creamer before this! I usually use unsweetened almond milk. What do you use to make your creamers?
Tara | Treble in the Kitchen says
yum yum yum!! I didn’t know you were a Recipe ReDuxer too!! Love this recipe!! 🙂 Good coffee creamer is SO important and this looks amazing!
Sarah Jane says
Thanks Tara! I have been doing the Recipe Redux for about a year I think, it’s fun! Definitely gets me a bit more creative with my recipes 🙂
Shawna says
I remember jeans shopping with you once 😉
If I used the canned full fat coconut milk, would you not add the extra water in the recipe? At which point it would be one can of coconut milk with the vanilla and stevia? How long will this last in the fridge?
Sarah Jane says
If your coconut milk is not separated but is homogenous, then you wouldn’t want to add any water to it. I like using the separated cream so I can adjust the thickness of the creamer by adding more or less water to it. I think this would last 1 to 1-1/2 weeks. I have noticed that canned coconut milk can get moldy in the fridge so you probably would want to write the date you made it on the container
Shawna says
Thanks! I have had bad luck with canned coconut milk going moldy too. I’ll give this a try after vacation 🙂