Making your own Homemade Caramel Coffee Creamer will make every cup of Joe a coffee house copycat. You will no longer yearn to visit expensive (and delicious) drive thru when you make this delicious cup at home for a fraction of the cost. No promises on calorie savings!
The idea of DIY creamer has piqued my interest for quite some time. I can easily go through multiple bottles of coffee creamer in a week, since I’m a pretty heavy coffee drinker. At about $3 a pop, that’s $24 per month just on coffee creamer alone. So I decided to make it myself to see if I could save a few dollars.
I am always on the hunt to DIY anything I can and saw this post from 365 Days of Baking and felt inspired to make my own version but using caramel! I made a few tweaks because the tutorial was for vanilla creamer and I wanted to create a caramel coffee creamer. It was also too sweet for my taste, so I added a bit more milk.
Overall, I love making my own creamer at home. Just in case you’re wanting to try as well, I thought it would be a good idea to answer some of the most common questions that people have about making their own DIY creamer.
☕ Ingredients
Sweetened Condensed Milk – This is typically purchased in the baking aisle at your grocery store. I have made the mistake (more than once) and bought evaporated milk instead of this. Just be careful when you are purchasing.
Torani Syrup – I find this in the coffee aisle at the grocery store. They aren’t that expensive, and best of all, a little goes a long way!
If there is another flavor you prefer, give it a shot! Torani has several flavors to try out including sugar free options. If you have a Homegoods or World Market near you, check them out for the syrups as they generally have smaller packs. You can try 3-4 different ones without committing. This also helps you make several different kinds of coffee flavorings without a huge commitment.
🍽️ Instructions
Step One: Add milk to a container. I repurposed a plastic jug, but I think I would use a pitcher next time to make it easier to pour.
Step Two: Add a can of sweetened condensed milk.
Step Three: Add vanilla extract and the Torani caramel syrup.
If you have never attempted it, make your own homemade vanilla extract. It is super easy and a LOT less expensive that buying it in the store.
Step Four: Stir extremely well. The sweetened condensed milk will settle to the bottom, so stir and stir!
You’re done! Pour a little into your coffee and enjoy your own homemade creamer!
💰 Cost Savings
The biggest expense in this recipe is the sweetened condensed milk. In order to lower the cost, you can make your own.
You do save a little money by making it yourself, but if you’re only doing this from a cost-saving perspective, it’s really not worth it. With that said, I do think this tastes incredible and I love being able to customize the taste to my preference. I also like the fact that I know exactly what goes into the recipe.
💡 Recipe FAQ
You can! If you want to swap out the sweetened condensed milk for evaporated milk, it can be a great way to make creamer for coffee. The taste will be a little bit different but it’s still really, really good.
While making your own creamer is a great choice, you can always use almond milk as a substitute. If you’re looking for a specific taste and flavor, you can pretty much substitute in a wide variety of flavors as well. Almond milk is lactose free. I don’t find it quite as creamy as milk-based creamers, but I really appreciate the lower calories.
Too much of anything is unhealthy. If you’re worried about the ingredients that you’re drinking multiple times throughout the day in your coffee, this is where making a healthy coffee creamer at home can be a great choice.
The simple sniff test is one way that you can easily find out if your homemade creamer is no longer good. If it smells sour, throw it out. If you’re pouring the creamer and it’s curdled, it’s no longer any good. And if you pour it into your coffee and it doesn’t mix in right away, there’s a good chance that it’s past its prime and needs to be tossed out.
Homemade Caramel Coffee Creamer
Ingredients
- 14 oz Sweetened Condensed Milk
- 18 oz Milk
- 1 tbsp Vanilla Extract
- 2 tbsp Torani Caramel Syrup
Instructions
- Pour milk into container. You can reuse an old coffee creamer bottle if you have one on hand.
- Add can of sweetened condensed milk.
- Add vanilla and caramel syrup.
- Stir very well as the sweetened condensed milk will rest at the bottom if you don't.
- Pour into your coffee.
- Stir, taste and adjust the ingredients to your liking.
Notes
Nutrition
Hi!
Ginny Collins is a passionate foodie and recipe creator of Savor and Savvy and Kitchenlaughter. Indoors she focuses on easy, quick recipes for busy families and kitchen basics. Outdoors, she focuses on backyard grilling and smoking to bring family and friends together. She is a lifelong learner who is always taking cooking classes on her travels overseas and stateside. Her work has been featured on MSN, Parade, Fox News, Yahoo, Cosmopolitan, Elle, and many local news outlets. She lives in Florida where you will find her outside on the water in her kayak, riding her bike on trails, and planning her next overseas adventure.
Looks so amazing! I can’t wait to try this! Thanks so much for linking up at Thursday STYLE!
Jazmin,
thank you so much for the link love!! I’ve been dying to make some different flavors, but just haven’t gotten around to it yet. Caramel is one of my favorites and definitely on my to-do list!
Thanks again and I wish you an amazing 2014!
Just curious as to the cost of this recipe. Trying to get an idea on the savings.
Due to the cost of living in my area, I’m not saving an incredible amount of money since milk is over $4 per gallon here. But if you live in a lower cost of living area, I do think there would be considerable savings.
Sounds great, but worried the sweetened condensed milk will make it too sweet? Going to have to play with this and see what I can do to make it less sweet.
The sweetened condensed milk did make it quite sweet. I’m still trying to find a workaround myself while still maintaining the creamy consistency.
Did you do the cost comparison? Curious as to how much you are saving by making your own.
I don’t think you save a lot, but if you run out of store bought or just want something without corn syrup and chemicals, this recipe is AWESOME!!
Sounds yummy! Can’t wait to make this and start saving money. My husband likes Italian Sweet Cream. I gotta get creative with that one. Thanks for sharing!
Awesome! Caramel is just what I use. I can’t wait to try it!!!
Sounds Great. Do you know how to make Cream Brulé?
Tried it, LOVED it!
Will never buy store bought creamer again.
Thanks so much
What about using a chocolate syrup for a chocolate caramel creamer?
Okay, that looks simple enough! But I want Pumpkin Spice creamer; my girls use a LOT!! I’m assuming I would still use some vanilla, but what then? Pumpkin pie spice mix?
Thanks for your help and the recipe!
I haven’t tried adding a pumpkin element to this. But I did do some research for you and found that Torani has a pumpkin spice syrup. If you used pumpkin pie spice (the powder), I have a feeling that the powder might float to the top or your cup once you add your coffee. So I think it might be safer to just swap out the caramel syrup for the pumpkin spice syrup.
If you do try it, please let me know how it turns out – I’d love to try some myself!
I don’t use any kind od coffee creamer, but my husband drinks a litle bit of coffee with his creamer…he prefers hazlenut….but the reason I am commenting is, I have to disagree with you on the vanilla, NOTHING can compare to pure Vanillas extract…the imitation (cheap) does not even come close to real vanilla….I make my own…a fifth of good grade vodka with 8 split vanilla beans and allow to sit for 6 weeks….It is the best vanilla you will ever taste…and anything that calls for vanilla, it has to be good or the end product is well, less than a quality product..now I am going to make my hubby some hazel nut coffee creamer…he goes thru this stuf like crazy!!!!
It’s awesome that you make your own vanilla! It sounds like a time intensive but rewarding process. 🙂
I would love to make my own vanilla, but vanilla beans are VERY EXPENSIVE! I can’t even IMAGINE how much 8 of them would set you back ~ almost makes a trip to Mexico cost-effective! 🙂
Actually, if you try ebay, the vanilla beans are quite affordable.
Just make sure you choose a seller with a good reputation.
There are different GRADES, please look up the type that suites your purpose.
The lower grade is fine for making extract.
10 beans can run less than $10, and that should include shipping too.
How do you make Hazelnut? I too prefer that flavor.
This is sooooooo WONDERFUL, I wish I knew this years ago, Thanks!
I found this last week and tried it! I love it! Thank you so much for the recipe!
I use a ton of coffee creamer too! This is a great way to save money. This post would fit in perfectly with Frugal Crafty Home Blog Hop’s theme & our readers would love to see this. I’d love it if you linked this up to our hop. Just click on “Carrie This Home” next to my picture and that will take you right to the hop.
Thank you and have a great day!