This recipe makes it crazy easy to make your own rich and creamy homemade vegan coffee creamer.  You can make soy, almond, coconut, or any plant-based creamer that you like in flavors like vanilla, almond, hazelnut, and more. 

Vegan coffee creamer being poured into a colorful coffee cup.

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You can make it as sweet as you like with any sweetener you choose, and best of all, you will never need to buy soy creamer again!

❤️ Why you’ll love this recipe

  • It’s easy to make with a few simple ingredients.
  • It’s vegan, gluten-free, and nut-free!
  • You can make it with any plant-based milk that you want!
  • You can make any flavor creamer like almond, vanilla, or hazelnut!

Most of the time I simply use soy milk in my coffee, but I occasionally treat myself to store-bought vegan coffee creamers like silk creamer or barista blend. 

I purchased some on our last road trip to have something to dilute that bad gas station coffee. I happen to notice how simple the ingredients were, and thought that I could easily make this at home!

Fiddling with proportions a little, I made it taste just like the store-bought creamers and I was surprised by how easy it was to make!  Now I could enjoy flavored plant-based creamers for a fraction of the price!

🥛 Choosing your plant-based milk

All of the following are good choices to use when making homemade vegan creamer.

  • Soy milk
  • Almond milk
  • Coconut milk
  • Cashew milk
  • Oat milk
  • Coconut milk or coconut cream
  • Hemp milk

📖 Variations

You can flavor your soy creamer with any flavor that you like.

  • Vanilla
  • Almond
  • Hazelnut
  • Caramel
  • Peppermint
  • Plain Unflavored

✨ Methods

I have used 2 methods to flavor and sweeten the dairy-free creamer and they both work equally well. 

Method 1 to flavor and sweeten:  Add 1 tsp of flavored extract (like vanilla extract) plus 2 tbsp. of sweetener (like sugar or agave) to plant-based milk.

Method 2 to flavor and sweeten: Add 2 tbsp of flavored coffee syrup instead of the sugar and extract.

A colorful coffee mug filled with coffee with soy creamer added with a glass jar filled with vegan creamer.

✨ Choosing your sweetener

You can leave out the sweetener completely if you want or use anything that you like to sweeten the creamer.  It’s really just up to your preference and taste.

All of the following are good choices to sweeten your creamer:

  • Vegan Sugar
  • Agave
  • Maple Syrup
  • Coconut Sugar
  • Stevia

Note:  The amount of sweetener that I suggest makes it taste similar to the flavored soy creamers that you would buy in the store, but if you would like it less or more sweet, please adjust the recipe accordingly.

*Remember, if you use method #2, you will not need additional sweetener.

❔How to make it rich and creamy?

Real cream has fat in it, so it gives your coffee a creamy mouthfeel and cuts the acidity of your coffee.

To help your vegan coffee creamer have the same effect as traditional creamer, you need to add some fat. I like to use refined coconut oil since it has almost no flavor. 

❓Why use lecithin?

If you were to simply add fat to milk, the fat would just separate and float to the top.  So, if you use this method, you must also use lecithin in your creamer.  Lecithin is an emulsifier that will bond the plant milk to the oil and prevent it from separating.

You can find lecithin at many health food stores or vitamin shops or order it from Amazon.  (It’s great to have for homemade dressing and I use it in my homemade vegan butter recipe too.) It comes in both liquid and granules.  The liquid form devolves better than the granules and will need less stirring to mix.

A glass bottle full of homemade vegan soy creamer next to a cup of coffee.

🧈 How to make it fat-free

You do not have to add oil to the creamer.  It still comes out well that way too, just not quite rich.  Simply omit the oil and lecithin from the recipe.

🥄 How to make vegan coffee creamer

Step 1 – Measure out cold soy milk or any other plant-based milk, extract, the flavor of choice, sweetener, lecithin, some tapioca starch, and oil (if desired), and put it into a saucepan.

Step 2 – Mix the starch into the milk before turning on the heat.

Step 3 – Turn the heat to medium and stir frequently with a whisk until it comes to a slow boil.

Four pictures showing the steps for making your own soy creamer or other vegan coffee creamers at home by mixing plant based milks, flavorings, sugar, and tapioca starch and heating it on the stove top.

Step 4 – Let it boil for a few seconds while continuing to stir and then turn off the heat.

Step 5 – Store in an airtight jar or bottle for up to 5 days.

🥣 Tapioca starch

The tapioca starch (aka tapioca flour) is added to thicken the creamer.  It gives it more of the consistency of dairy creamer.  Tapioca has a nice consistency, but you can also use corn starch or potato starch instead if you prefer.

👩🏻‍🍳 Pro Tips

  • Since most coffee syrups already have a lot of sugar, you shouldn’t need additional sweeteners.
  • Some flavors are hard to find as extracts.  If you can’t find the flavor you want in an extract, look for it in coffee syrups. Coffee syrups come in nearly any flavor that you can think of!
  • If using the added fat method, be sure to stir the oil and lecithin well to emulsify them.
  • Put into an airtight jar while still warm.  If you let it sit and cool, a film will form at the top of your creamer.

☕ Why does soy milk curdle in coffee?

Have you ever noticed that soy milk or almond milk curdles in your coffee?  It is not the creamer that makes this happen, it is the acidity level of the coffee, therefore, this homemade creamer will probably act in a similar way.

If you have this problem, you need to switch the brand or type to a coffee with lower acidity, not switch to vegan creamers. 

Tip – If you can’t get coffee with lower acidity, let your coffee cool off a little before adding the cream, this will help it not curdle as much too.

A close up of coffee with homemade coffee creamer in it.

🌟 More vegan recipes

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📋 Vegan coffee creamer recipe

Homemade vegan coffee creamer made with soy milk being poured into a cup of coffee.
5 from 11 rating

Homemade Vegan Coffee Creamer

Yield: 8
Prep: 2 minutes
Cook: 3 minutes
Total: 5 minutes
Author: Monica Davis
Flavored vegan coffee creamer made with your choice of plant based milk and flavoring.
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Ingredients

Basic Vegan Creamer Ingredients:

  • 1 cup soy milk, or any plant based milk
  • 2 tbsp vegan sugar, or agave, maple syrup or any sweetener of choice
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract, or any other flavored extract
  • 1/2 tsp tapioca starch

For full fat version

Instructions
 

  • Measure out COLD soy milk or any other plant-based milk, extract, the flavor of choice, lecithin,  sweetener, some tapioca starch, and oil (if desired). Combine all in a sauce pan.
  • Mix the starch into the milk before turning on the heat.
  • Turn the heat to medium and stir frequently until it comes to a slow boil.
  • Let it boil for a few seconds while stirring constantly and then turn off the heat.
  • Store in an airtight jar or bottle for up to 5 days.

Notes

  • You can also use coffee syrups to flavor the creamer.  For this method, use 2 tbsp of syrup and omit the extract and sugar.
  • If using the added fat method, be sure to stir the oil and lecithin well to emulsify them.
  • Put into an airtight jar while still warm.  If you let it sit and cool, a film will form at the top of your creamer.
Serving: 2tbsp, Calories: 43kcal, Carbohydrates: 4g, Fat: 2g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Sodium: 15mg, Potassium: 42mg, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 120IU, Vitamin C: 2.2mg, Calcium: 43mg, Iron: 0.1mg
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