What Else Can I Use Coffee Creamer For? 15 Top Ideas

If you have been using your favorite creamer for your brew, you’re missing out. Here we answer the question: what else can I use coffee creamer for?

Ideally, coffee creamers are meant to sweeten your daily dose of a cup of joe. However, what if I told you you can use your creamer, preferably French vanilla, caramel, or Irish cream to prepare other dishes. As if that is not enough, adding these creamers to the other dishes will explode your taste buds and give you an unforgettable experience.

So, are there other uses of coffee creamers? Yes, there are several different uses for creamers other than preparing your liquid fuel. In fact, where a recipe calls for using milk you can substitute the milk with a creamer. The creamer adds a unique flavor into your dish. There are so many dishes you can try out; but before you do, we have compiled for you 8 recipes that can help you put your coffee creamer to good use and achieve richness in taste uniqueness and flavor.

Keep reading to find out more about these 8 recipes for coffee creamers, types of coffee creamers, the best coffee creamer, and the best option between liquid and powdered coffee creamer The article will also highlight the health risk of taking coffee creamers and their alternative healthier substitutes as well as other coffee creamer associated questions

coffee, milk, cream
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Other Uses For Coffee Creamers

As mentioned above, long gone are the days where coffee creamers were confined to coffee drinkers. Whether you are coffee junkie or not, you can use creamer to add a flavor profile to the food you love from pies, ice creams, icings or fresh fruit to name but a few.

However, if you are an amateur in the kitchen and you are looking for a guarantee of good flavors without having to mess up, here are 8 recipes you can try out using coffee creamers.

You might also be wondering can you put cream cheese in coffee.

1. Mix With Hot Chocolate

coffee, hot chocolate, cup

Indeed, just as they can flavor coffee, coffee creamers can also mix with hot chocolate to provide a lovely flavor. There are several varieties of sweetened coffee creamers. They include eggnog, peppermint, and pumpkin spice that you can add on to your hot chocolate.

After mixing the cup, you can add a splash or the creamer as you adjust the amount to suit your taste. These creamers are great for kids who would want to experiment with different coffee creamer flavors combined with hot chocolate.

2. Splash Over Some Fresh fruit

For many people, mixing fresh fruit with some cottage cheese or yogurt is their idea of a scrumptious and ideal breakfast. You can however also achieve a similar pairing of flavors by splashing or soaking the fruit is refrigerated coffee creamers.  You may notice that some flavors do not pair well with fresh fruits but others taste divine when splashed with some coffee creamer. Many coffee creamers pair deliciously with bananas and peaches.

3. Add To A Waffle Or Pancake Batter

 With a half cup of creamer or even with a few extra teaspoons, you can create a mixture and add it into your package or waffle batter mix. You can opt for flavored creamers like the buttercream, cinnamon, or mocha to give the batter a light hint of flavor.  After making the mixture, you can then proceed to press the waffle or fry the pancake as usual.

It tastes much better than the regular unflavored batter mix. You will enjoy the creamer’s taste, which is subtly infused into the waffle or pancake but you will have tasty aromas wafting around your kitchen while preparing your meal.

4. Add To Tea

irish tea vs english tea
An Irish-style tea break with soda bread

For many years, there has existed some feud between coffee and tea enthusiast. Most people would be very skeptical about mixing their favorite cup of tea with some coffee creamer. What they do not know is that you can add a splash of creamer to your hot cut of tea to boost the flavors.  Creamers are especially appropriate for people who enjoy black and orange tea. This is because such tea varieties tend to have a bitter taste that the creamer can balance.

Want to learn more? Read our guide

Can you Put Coffee Creamer In Tea?

5. Thickening Pudding

If you are having a problem with a thin pudding, creamer may come in handy. After adding a creamer, the thickness of your pudding is boosted without having to add dairy products to it. It is also recommended for vegan pudding.

6. With Mashed Potatoes

If you would like some extra creaminess on your mashed potatoes, you can add some coffee creamer as an alternative to milk. With just a cup of unflavored coffee creamer, you can make some nice creamy mashed potatoes that kids would enjoy.

The combination of mashed potatoes and coffee creamers is also suitable for people who suffer from allergies to dairy products. This is because several varieties of the refrigerated creamers are lactose-free

7. Add To A Cake Icing

Whenever you find yourself with some leftover coffee creamer, you do not necessarily have to dispose of it. You could use it instead to make a two-ingredient icing on a cake. Whether flavored or unflavored, you can whip the creamer with powdered sugar to make some delicious icing. The two-ingredient icing works great on sweetbread as well.

If you would like to make the icing thicker and creamier, add more sugar and less creamer to the mixture. Adding more creamer and less sugar can make a thinner mixture.  It is an easy and simple method of making cake icing.

8. Mix With Cream-based Soups

With some unflavored coffee creamer, you can easily stretch the creaminess of soups just a little further. These kinds of coffee creamers are scrumptious with soup made from cheese, mushroom, potato, or broccoli. To make a great soup, add two cups of water (desired amount) then towards the end of heating slowly whisk the mixture.

9. Making Choccolate Truffles

rhubarb, truffle, chocolate

You can also use creamers to make truffles. If you are looking to make 4 Truffles here is the recipe

  • Melt 1/3 of fine chops of dairy-free chocolate. The chocolate can be sweet or dark
  • Add 1/8 of dairy-free creamer.
  • Whisk the mixture until it is smooth. Allow it to sit for about 2 hours

Scoop the mixture and roll it into balls. You can coat the balls with a coating of your likings like coconut sugar or cocoa powder to strike the balance between bitter and sweet

10. Mock Italian Soda

Place some ice cream in a glass and fill it with juice to ¾. Add I tablespoon of dairy-free creamer. Add a straw into your drink and enjoy the drizzling mind-blowing cold drink.

11. Making Smoothies And Shakes

strawberry smoothie, kefir, the drink

We all want our smoothies thick. However, making thick smoothies will require more milk and dairy products, which sometimes may exceed our budget. So do you result to a watery smoothie or do you just reduce the amount of the smooth you blend?

Well, the good news is you do not have to do any of that when you have a coffee creamer. All you need is add creamer to your blend and voila you have the perfect thick creamy smoothie. Fir cream use, it is recommended you use the nut pod Vanilla unsweetened cream.

Creamers can also be sued for making non-dairy shakes.

12. Tender Healthier Biscuits

Did you know you can make healthier biscuits using that remaining creamer? Have you been thinking of displacing it, don’t. Here is a recipe to make better biscuits using creamers.

  • Place I cup of whole flour wheat in a dish
  • Add 2 teaspoons of baking powder
  • Add salt, sugar, or any other sweetener to an amount of your liking but be careful not to overdo it.
  • Add 2 tablespoons of coconut oil and whisk the mixture until a coarse meal forms
  • Add ½ cup of dairy creamer and stir until the mixture comes together perfectly. You can also skip the sweeteners and use creamers alone
  • Turn the dough into a flat mat and cut the dough into the shape of biscuits you want.
  • Place the pieces on a line-baking sheet and bake for 450F for about 10 -15 minutes.

13. Mixed With Hot Cereals

Yes, you had better believe it. You can combine flavored or regular coffee creamers with your favorite morning hot cereals. Be it cream or wheat, granola, oatmeal or even malt-o-meal, you can make a scrumptious breakfast with extra flavor.

To pull this off, you only need to add some extra water or milk to let the creamer dissolve and act as a substitute liquid. If you would like to experiment with coffee creamers on a wide range of cereals, consider going for the vanilla flavored kinds. They are versatile enough to go well with most cereals.

14. Cream Frozen Drink

It may sound like we are discouraging the use of creamers in coffee, we are not. Have no doubt it is one of the best experiences of using creamers you will enjoy. In fact, ideally, creamers are best used with coffee.

Creamers can be used to make different types of sweet iced coffee. Adding brownies to the iced drink will just blow your mind. Try it!

15. French Toast Casserole

This is one of the creamy delicious drinks you can have on your breakfast menu. For the ultimate experience prepare it a night before and let it sit in the oven overnight. The recipe for this drink is flexible and can be used with any ingredient you want. When it is ready top it with spiced streusel crunch and enjoy the feel of magic in your mouth

Types of Coffee Creamers

Creamers are dairy-free offerings that are added to a normal cup of coffee to alter and improve the flavor. As aforementioned creamers have evolved into different varieties. They include vegan, non-dairy, non-dairy flavored, and different types of milk creamers.

These creamers are available as refrigerated liquids, coffee powders, and many other forms.  These products are not even cream and many people often dismiss them as coffee whiteners.

So, you may probably be wondering, what are the building components of creamers? Simple, creamers are made from oil, a thickener, and sugar or artificial softener. Some companies try to create healthier creamers for consumption however many largely make their creamers with non-dairy products. Thus, it is important to check the ingredients before purchasing the product.

Dairy-free Creamers

Vegan creamers

For those who people committed to a vegetarian lifestyle but would still want to enjoy some delicious creamer with their drink, there are vegan-friendly options available. These creamers are a lactose-free and healthier alternative to dairy creamers. They range from almond, soy to coconut creamers

  • Almond Creamers: these varieties of vegan creamers feature almond milk as the base and available in a variety of flavors.  The most renowned company that produces top-notch quality almond creamers is Califia Farms. They even offer Mexican flavor and Irish cream flavors.
  • Soy Creamers: These vegan creamers utilize soymilk for the base.  This ingredient is considered the most nutritious and healthy plant-based milk. The Silk Company produces the best soymilk creamers.
  • Coconut Milk Creamers:  These creamers replace dairy ingredients in favor of coconut milk as the creamers base. They are also a healthy non-dairy alternative for having coffee or adding to other meals. Coconut Cloud is the main company that carries coconut milk creamers.

Keto Creamers

There is no reason that ketogenic people should forgo coffee creamers. There a variety of keto-appropriate and low-carb creamers that they can enjoy with their breakfast.

  • Almond and coconut milk mixture:  This kind of mixture happens to be vegan and gluten-free. It does not feature any sugar or carbs making it great for keto people.
  • Superfood creamers:  These creamers offer some additional and helpful ingredients to complement the keto dietary needs. These creamers also lack gluten and dairy additives.
  • Keto Specific Cacao Creamers:  these varieties of keto creamers are made from a combination of ghee, MCT oil, and coconut oil. They have no carbs and are rich in fat.

Flavored Non-dairy Creamers

These types of creamers are best for lactose-intolerant individuals who cannot handle milk in their diet. They may be lactose-free, but they feature proteins derived from milk. This makes them unideal for vegan people. Several companies produce these types of creamers.

International Delight:  This a popular brand that specializes in the production of non-dairy products that are flavored. They offer their creamers in different quantities including single-serve sizes, quarts, and pints. They also offer different flavors with the choice of selecting fat and sugar-free options.

Coffee-Mate: This brand of coffee creamers offers its products in three different forms. They can be either concentrated, liquid or powdered. With over 20 different flavors, you can get their creamers in sugar and fat-free options as well.

Normal Coffee Cream

Milk cream also makes great a great addition for a cup of coffee who those who prefer the carbs and calories normally present in the cream. The taste and consistency of your coffee will depend on the level of calories and fat in the milk for the cream you choose.

Half-and-half cream: This type of cream contains 12% fat, 50% cream, and 50% milk. It is significantly thicker and sweeter than normal milk. It is also the thinnest creams available. It is great for balancing the thickness of your coffee.

Light Cream: This cream option features 20%, which is slightly higher than the half-and-half cream.  The cream also produces a thicker texture in a cup of coffee.

Light Whipping Cream:  With 30 % fat content, this is a slightly thicker and heavier cream. This cream helps thicken the consistency of a beverage.

Whipping Cream: This cream has 35% fat with even milk fat than the aforementioned creams.

Heavy cream: With 38% of fat, this is the thickest cream you can add to your cup of coffee. It may be rich in flavor but you should use it minimally.

How to Make Homemade Coffee Creamers

Preparing Coffee creamer can easily be made at home. What you need is to grab the ingredients: sweeteners and flavors, of your choice.

It is recommended you prepare a creamer a night before the time you want to use it. With that, you will have your creamer fresh and chilled. The following is a step-by-step guide:

Step 1: Add 2 cups of milk in a pot

Step 2: Add 2 teaspoons of a sweetener of choice, it could be sugar or honey

Step 3: Add a flavor of your choice, including mocha, hazelnut cinnamon among others.  The amount of flavor you use will depend on how much flavor you want or your taste buds

Step 4: Simmer the mixture under some medium heat as you constantly mix them together. When the mixture begins to steams slightly remove it from the heat.

Step 5: Allow the creamer to cool by placing it in a refrigerator overnight.

Step 6: Serve your creamer with your favorite liquid fuel. Stay Caffeinated!

Best Coffee Creamers In The Market

For the last few years, hazelnut and French vanilla have been the popular coffee creamers. These days, however, you can easily get choice paralysis when looking for some well-flavored creamer to add to your daily dose of caffeine

There are varieties of coffee creamer flavors available in grocery stores today. Whether you want to delight your palate with coffee that tastes like an alcoholic beverage (minus the liquor), a dessert, or a Popsicle, you can have whatever you want. 

These flavors vary according to the season and are usually associated with specific holiday dessert themes. The most common coffee creamer flavors you are likely to get are; Caramel, Chocolate and Mocha, Toffee, Sweet Cream, Creme and Amaretto, Vanilla and French Vanilla, Cinnamon and various spice mixtures as well as Hazelnut and other nut flavors.

Coffee Creamer Company has also contributed to the growth of coffee creamer flavors. They have constantly been engaged in brand wars leading to the creation of wonderful and some rather weird flavors. Whether you are trying to boost your diet or just looking to experiment with coffee creamer varieties, there are many options to consider.

 The common brands that specialize in Coffee creamers include Carnation, Nestle, Coffee-Mate, and International Delight. There is also a non-dairy, vegan coffee creamer named SOWN Organic Oat Creamer that has become popular in recent years.

Some companies stand out from the rest by consistently working to come up with new and amazing flavors. Below we have highlighted International Delight and Coffee-Mate, who are the two major players in the coffee creamer industry are offering.

International Delight

When this company introduced liquid-flavored coffee creamers that could be potion-controlled, they created an entirely new class of food products. Since then marketers have been portraying International Delight products as a luxury. It sure did taste like that, because this company has been steadily growing over the years.

These coffee creamers are produced in nine different flavors. The most popular versions even have reduced sugar and fat-free versions. International delight flavors include:

Fat-Free Coffee Creamer Flavors: Fat-free French Vanilla, Fat-Free Irish, Fat-free Cinnamon Hazelnut, and Fat-Free Amaretto

Original Flavors:  Amaretto, Vanilla Toffee Caramel, Cinnamon Hazelnut, Hershey’s Chocolate Caramel French Vanilla, Hazelnut, Southern Butter Pecan, and Vanilla Hazelnut.

Low Sugar Flavors: Reduced Sugar French Vanilla and Reduced Sugar Hazelnut.

International Delight creamers are sold in self-portion control sizes, quarts, and pints. For the portion control sizes, you can store the creamer simply on a shelf until the next use.  However, the pints and quarts of coffee creamers should be refrigerated. International delight is a type of non-dairy creamer. It is made from solidified milk (sodium caseinate).

International delight is a great creamer to include in your daily cup of coffee. The varieties of available flavors are especially suited for an office environment.  With just a couple of sweet and flavored coffee creamers, you can easily satisfy the different tastes of both the customers and employees without having to brew a different pot of coffee.

Coffee-Mate Coffee Creamers

Ever since its inception, Coffee-Mate has been the biggest and largest producer and distributor of coffee creamers. It has enormously expanded its business over the past few years and now caters to a huge percentage of the world’s population.

In a bid to take better care of their customer’s needs, Coffee-Mate even goes a step further than other brands. They regularly organize contests to allow their customers to pick the next limited-edition flavors to be produced. This company offers 20 different flavors including:

  • Special Edition– Vanilla chai spice, Pralines Crème, and Blueberry Cobbler
  • Seasonal– Pumpkin Spice, Peppermint, Mocha Eggnog, and Gingerbread
  • Flavored- Amaretto, Chocolate Raspberry, Hazelnut, Toffee Nut, Vanilla Nut, Cinnamon Vanilla Crème, Vanilla Chai Spice, Coconut Crème, Vanilla Crème, French Vanilla, Hazelnut, Crème Brule, Irish Crème, and Vanilla Caramel

It is, however, important to note that besides flavors, coffee creamers differ in many other ways.  Coffee-Mate has introduced different varieties to cater to different dietary needs. Their innovation in the creamer’s chemical structure and their packaging has made possible the production of alternative versions of the popular flavors.

They now feature sugar-free and fat-free alternatives for those people keen on watching their weight.  Many creamer versions from this company have 0% trans-fat. The coffee creamers are also available in concentrate, liquid, and powdered forms. Powdered and individual serving varieties do not require refrigeration and thus, can easily be stored on a shelf. The liquid creamers should, however, be refrigerated. You can also purchase Coffee-Mate coffee creamers in different sizes.

Liquid Vs Powdered Coffee Creamers

Coffee creamers exist in either Powdered or liquid forms. To determine the type of coffee creamer to buy, you first need to consider their storage method.

Powdered Coffee creamers

They exist in a stable form in normal room temperature and can be stored in a cupboard. These type of creamers do not require refrigeration once they are open

Liquid Coffee Creamers

Liquid coffee creamers require constant refrigeration once they are opened. There may be more room temperature stable alternatives but they work better in high volume environments.  Liquid creamers do not tend to last for more than a month after opening.

What Are The Health Risks Of Consuming Coffee Creamers?

While Coffee creamers may thicken, reduce bitterness and add flavor to the coffee,   over time they can have repercussions on one’s health. 

Unfortunately, most industrial coffee creamers that you can readily get a grocery store are very unhealthy. They tend to contain a higher level of fats, chemicals, and calories that lead to weight increase.  This also includes fat-free and sugar- free options.

A typical creamer can have as much as 40 calories. Flavored creamers pose a higher health risk to those who have more than a cup of coffee or add a spoon of sugar to their beverage.

Healthier Alternatives

We have highlighted some great healthy options that can add some flavor to your coffee, minus the excessive calories. They are do-it-yourself recipes, which you can easily make at home with common homemade ingredients.

Apple Cider Vinegar

Do not be quick to dismiss this mixture before you try it. When combined with apple pie spices and a few drops of bitter, Apple cider vinegar adds a wonderful flavor to your cup of coffee. This mixture is excellent when added to iced or hot beverages.

Coconut Cream

Many may argue that coconut scream has a similar quantity of calories as the regular cream. While this is true, this cream is a great alternative for people who have a hard time digesting dairy products.

Coconut cream goes well with iced tea.

The cream does not even require a sweetener, but you can always sprinkle some cinnamon and orange ginger to make it extra bright and spicy.

Cinnamon

Fresh cinnamon can create a sweet taste that helps smoothen the bitter taste that the coffee may have. This plant also features anti-inflammatory properties, which are an added health bonus.

Fresh and organic cinnamon may cost slightly more than the industrial-grade one, it is worth the price. The mass-produced industrial cinnamon often contains fillers, thus reducing their health benefits.

Cacao and Honey

All chocolate sweets are made from an unsweetened extract from the cacao plant. Some of the extracts may have some sugar added, thus it is important to check the ingredients before buying some. By adding a half-teaspoon of honey, a teaspoon of coffee and honey, you can create a tantalizing cup of coffee.

What Else Can I Use Coffee Creamer For? FAQS

Is it okay to add sugar into coffee mixed with coffee creamer?

Many people are of the habit of adding a teaspoon or two of sugar to accompany coffee creamers. This is, however, a wrong method of taking coffee, as many health experts would agree. When you serve the right amount of coffee, it can provide health benefits to a person.

Coffee contains antioxidants that help fight diseases as well as help one stay focused and feel energized. However, adding things like sugar plummets the nutritional value of the coffee. When done repeatedly, this habit will eventually make you increase your sugar intake. If you are the kind of person that does this, try as much as you can to wean yourself off the habit.

How can you fight coffee creamer addiction?

Coffee creamer addiction is a health issue that affects most Americans. This addiction has contributed to the high prevalence of diseases such as diabetes and heart attacks. It also hinders many people from achieving their healthy lifestyle goals.

Fortunately, with enough commitment, you can beat the addiction. The best way to do this is by eliminating added sugar from your coffee. It will allow your mouth to adjust to a brew with less sugar. You can also replace coffee creamers to plain, unsweetened normal milk. If you cannot make coffee without sugary flavors, plant extracts such as cinnamon, hazelnut, caramel, and vanilla, among others can work as alternatives.

What Is The Shelf Life Of Coffee Creamers?

Many dairy creamers that require refrigeration always highlight the product’s expiry date. Sometimes your coffee creamer can survive on a shelf for as long as a week but that is as far as it can go. You should always check for the information label, which shows how long it can last after opening.

 The same also applies to unrefrigerated creamers. They tend to last longer and can retain their good quality for at least two weeks once the creamer is opened. When unopened they can remain edible for even longer. This is because they contain several preservatives that help it extend its longevity. However, it is best not to take a chance. Always check the label for any specifics that the producers might have highlighted.

Author

  • Aisling O'Connor

    Aisling is an Irish food and drinks writer and journalist fueled by coffee and herbal tea. She followed up her journalism degree with nutrition studies. Find Aisling on LinkedIn.