This is the best vanilla homemade coffee creamer you’ll ever have! Rich and decadent, you’ll love adding this slightly sweet, thick, and yummy creamer to your morning cup of coffee.

Drinking coffee is my favorite part of the morning! And I like my coffee with a bit of cream and a bit of sweetness. But I don’t want the additives and thickeners typical in store-bought creamer.
Enter homemade coffee creamer.
Rich and decadent, it’s made from only 4 simple real food ingredients. It’s perfect when you’re ready to swap for a better coffee creamer.
I can whip it up in about 3 minutes, and it tastes WAY better than Coffee Mate coffee creamer!
HOMEMADE COFFEE CREAMER RECIPE
My homemade coffee creamer recipe starts with whole milk and heavy whipping cream. The ratio I have below gives me just the right amount of creaminess. It’s a liquid celebration of the morning poured into my coffee mug! It’s also:
- Rich and creamy
- Thick and delicious
- Full of slightly sweet vanilla flavor
- Adaptable to all my other favorite seasonal flavors
- Similar in cost to commercial coffee creamers
- Quick and easy to make – no cooking!
HOMEMADE CREAMER INGREDIENTS
There are only 4 simple ingredients in coffee creamer from scratch…nothing too fancy, and MUCH better than store bought creamer. Plus, there’s one optional ingredient to take this from yummy to absolutely amazing!
- Whole Milk. You can use any milk, including skim milk, but the closer you get to whole milk, the more creaminess you’ll achieve. See dairy-free creamer options below!
- Heavy Cream. I like using heavy whipping cream over half and half, again for the creaminess factor.
- Maple Syrup. A great substitute for sugar in drinks. See below for other sweetener options.
- Pure Vanilla Extract. This gives you that classic French vanilla flavor. Here’s how to make Homemade Vanilla Extract.
- Vanilla Bean Powder. Completely optional, but totally worth the splurge if you plan to make creamer for coffee regularly.

VANILLA FOR HOMEMADE COFFEE CREAMER
This recipe calls for vanilla extract, which is just that: extract of vanilla in a liquor base. You can adjust it to your liking, but be careful when adding more. There’s a fine line between more vanilla and that liquor aftertaste. Trust me on that one.
You can also use a vanilla bean to make your own coffee creamer by scraping out the insides with the tip of a knife. Give your coffee creamer a sweet, warm, and rich flavor!
BUT…the secret to this amazing homemade vanilla coffee creamer recipe is vanilla bean powder. It gives it the sophisticated taste of French vanilla coffee creamer. It is optional if you don’t have it or can’t find it.
I inherited vanilla bean powder from my mother-in-law, who was given some by a neighbor. I think she got it at Williams Sonoma. You can buy it on Amazon here, and while the price is a bit hefty, that bag will go A LONG way.
My jar is 1.5 oz, and it’s lasted me nearly a year. It would likely last me longer if I hadn’t made so many vanilla bean scones over the holidays!
Even still, if vanilla bean powder is too much of a splurge for you, skip it for now.
HOW TO SWEETEN HOMEMADE COFFEE CREAMER
I chose to sweeten this DIY creamer with maple syrup instead of honey because I think the flavor of maple syrup simply tastes better in this recipe. I like honey, but it doesn’t taste good with milk in my opinion.
The recipe calls for 1 Tablespoon because I’ve been drinking my coffee sweetener-free for so long, but you can add more if you’d like, a ½ Tablespoon at a time.
Some other homemade coffee creamers call for Sweetened Condensed Milk, but I prefer to keep it simple with this recipe.
HOW TO MAKE COFFEE CREAMER HOMEMADE
Follow these instructions:
Step 1: To make coffee creamer homemade, combine milk, syrup, vanilla, and vanilla bean powder in a mason jar with a lid and shake like crazy.
Step 2: Add heavy cream and stir gently until well combined. You can also add everything in a small bowl and whisk well.
If you want a thinner creamer, use less cream and more milk. Feel free to adjust the ratio until the consistency is just right for you.
Step 3: Store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week – the homemade creamer recipe is generally good until the expiration dates on your milk and cream. Swirl the mixture gently before pouring it into your favorite beverage – enjoy!
Use homemade coffee creamer in hot coffee, iced coffee, or even in oatmeal!

HOMEMADE CREAMER RECIPE VARIATIONS
The classic homemade vanilla coffee creamer is so yummy, you’d be perfectly content drinking that in your morning brew. But if you like variety, you can switch things up with different coffee creamer flavors.
- Make different flavors of coffee creamer by using a different extract.
- Almond extract
- Hazelnut extract
- Peppermint extract
- Add other ingredients to mix up the flavors even more!
- Cinnamon
- Cocoa powder
- Pumpkin Pie Spice or pureed pumpkin
- Ginger
- Salted Caramel Sauce for a caramel coffee creamer
- Or do a combination of flavors for your favorite seasonal coffee creamer recipes!
- Peppermint mocha creamer, anyone?
- What about cocoa powder and hazelnut extract for a Nutella-inspired creamer?
- How about ginger, molasses, and cinnamon for your own gingerbread coffee creamer?
- You can also make dairy free coffee creamer!
- Substitute almond milk, canned lite coconut milk, or oat milk for the whole milk
- Swap out the cream with full-fat canned coconut milk
THE BEST COFFEE CREAMERS FOR MACRO TRACKING
It’s no secret that calories in beverages can add up quickly and are honestly often a waste of your calories. But if you like your coffee with cream or flavor, homemade coffee creamer is going to be your best option!
Not only do you control the quality of the ingredients, but you also control the amount (and type) of sweetener, and you can customize it to fit into your day.
Use lower-fat milk or half-and-half instead of cream to keep your fat in check. Or stick with the decadence of heavy cream, but make sure you accurately measure the portion you put into your coffee cup!
Because coffee is something you likely have every day (or pretty close), and most people generally take their coffee the same way every time, it’s an easy one to figure out once and repeat to track nutrition accurately. Plus, that means you can make it fit with your daily macros without much effort!

HOMEMADE COFFEE CREAMER FAQS
Is coffee creamer bad for you?
Store-bought coffee creamers contain a lot of unnecessary and bad-for-you ingredients, including hydrogenated oils, one of our top ingredients to avoid. Homemade coffee creamer is made with only 4 real food ingredients, making it a much better choice for your morning cup of coffee!
What are the ingredients in coffee creamer from the store?
Coffee Mate coffee creamer ingredients vary slightly depending on the flavor, but you will typically find water, sugar, oils, natural and artificial flavors, and a variety of additives and thickeners – in other words, too many ingredients for a simple coffee creamer.
Is it cheaper to make homemade coffee creamer?
Usually no. It may depend on the price of ingredients in your area, but I’ve found the cost of homemade to be about the same as commercial. In this case, I make my coffee creamer homemade more for the quality of the ingredients.
MORE DELICIOUS COFFEE DRINK RECIPES
- Peppermint Mocha
- Cinnamon Dolce Latte
- Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamer
- Pumpkin Spice Coffee Blend
- Gingerbread Latte

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Homemade Coffee Creamer
This is the best vanilla homemade coffee creamer you’ll ever have! Rich and decadent, you’ll love adding this slightly sweet, thick, and yummy creamer to your morning cup of coffee.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 3/4 cup 1x
- Category: Beverages
- Method: Mix
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- ¼ cup whole milk (62g)
- ½ cup heavy cream (119g)
- 1 Tbsp maple syrup (20g)
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract (13g)
- ¼ tsp vanilla bean powder
Instructions
- Combine milk, syrup, vanilla extract, and vanilla bean powder in a mason jar and shake like crazy.
- Add heavy cream and stir gently until well combined.
- Store in the fridge for up to 1 week. Swirl the mixture gently before pouring it into your favorite beverage – enjoy!
Notes
This recipe makes ¾ cup (12 Tablespoons).
Make different flavors of coffee creamer by using a different extract. Substitute almond extract, hazelnut extract, or even peppermint extract!
You could even add a little cinnamon or cocoa powder or Pumpkin Pie Spice to mix up the flavors even more!
And it’s so easy to make dairy-free with canned coconut milk. Just swap out the cream with full-fat canned coconut milk and canned lite coconut milk for milk.
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