Adding cream to a cup of coffee can completely transform its taste, transforming a bitter cup of black coffee into a mild, creamy, and smooth brew. While you can never go wrong with traditional coffee creamer to lighten your brew, plenty of delicious coffee creamer substitutes that serve a similar purpose are on the market.
Some coffee drinkers may choose alternatives to specific diets, such as dairy-free or vegan diets. In contrast, other coffee lovers may choose coffee creamer substitutes to avoid unhealthy additives in many of today’s coffee creamers. Regardless of your reasons for steering clear of coffee creamer, the overwhelming number of coffee creamers in stores can quickly become overwhelming. Here’s how to choose the best coffee creamer substitute for your preferences.
Plant-based coffee creamer substitutes: Nut milk creamers
Plant-based nut-derived milk, such as almond or cashew milk, provides a creamy alternative to traditional dairy milk and creamers. While you can undoubtedly use traditional plant-based milk to cream your coffee, alternatives made specifically for coffee, such as Silk’s Sweet & Creamy Almond Creamer, help improve the texture and creaminess of your coffee.
Products like Silk’s plant-based coffee creamer substitute contain natural ingredients that thicken coffee, like dairy milk, such as Gellan Gum. Califia Farms Almond Milk Creamer comes in fun flavors like Caramel Macchiato and French Vanilla. This means you don’t have to give up the variety and excitement often associated with dairy-based coffee creamers. Not only are alternatives like these dairy-free, vegan, and ideal for those who are sensitive to dairy, but they’ll also help you cut down on calories added to your cup of coffee through creamer.
If you’re allergic to almonds or don’t love the taste, plenty of coffee creamer substitutes are still available. Other popular nut milk blends include cashew, hazelnut, pistachio, or walnut milk. You may also find plant-based milks that blend multiple different nut milks to create a full-bodied, creamy flavor for your coffee. While many of these plant-based nut-derived creamer substitutes are healthful, it’s always important to read the label on every product and watch for unnecessary ingredients such as hydrogenated seed oils.
Brain-boosting coffee creamer alternatives
While many people cut out traditional dairy coffee creamer due to dietary restrictions, others may opt for coffee creamer substitutes that provide more nutritional value, such as mushroom coffee creamers or keto coffee creamers.
Mushroom coffee creamers
Mushroom coffee creamers, such as Laird Superfood Creamer or Four Sigmatic’s Mushroom Creamer, are easy-to-use, powdered products that blend seamlessly into hot or cold coffee.
These products contain blends of adaptogenic mushrooms that enhance mental focus and provide a natural energy boost. These coffee creamer alternatives boost your day, and their non-refrigerated, self-stable packaging is easy to take on the go while traveling. Some mushroom coffee creamers may contain powdered MCT oil as a base, yet others contain powdered coconut milk.
Keto coffee creamers
Inspired by the popular bulletproof coffee, many low-carb and keto dieters use coffee creamer substitutes with saturated fat to help enhance ketone production. One option is to add butter to coffee, which can help your body enter a state of ketosis and burn more fat for brain fuel.
Medium-chain triglycerides, also known as MCT oil, can be used in coffee, either in liquid or powdered form, to help you stay full while intermittent fasting and give you more energy. Butter and MCT oil can be added to either hot or cold coffee as a creamer substitute; however, they may blend better into hot coffee.
Other plant-based creamer alternatives
Nut-based milk, like almond milk, has been used as a coffee creamer alternative for years. However, coffee drinkers have recently discovered new plant-based creamer alternatives, such as oat or coconut milk.
Oat milk
Oat milk first became popular as a coffee creamer around 2018 and was soon adopted as a staple ingredient many coffee shops now offer. Popular oat Milk creamers, such as Coffee Mate’s Natural Bliss Oat Creamer or Chobani’s Oat Barista Milk, are now widely available at most grocery stores.
For those who find almond milk too thin to use in coffee, oat milk provides a creamier, heavier texture that can mimic traditional milk. Since oat milk creates a foam similar to cow milk, it is often used in handcrafted coffee drinks like lattes as an alternative to dairy milk.
Coconut milk
Coconut milk can also serve as a coffee creamer substitute, adding a slight hint of sweetness and creaminess to your cup of coffee. Sweetened condensed coconut milk can be used as a dairy-free alternative to heavy cream for sweetened coffee drinks like lattes and macchiatos.
Blends of coconut and almond milk, such as Califia Farms’ Coconut/Almond Better Half, provide a plant-based, lower-calorie alternative to half-and-half for your coffee. Coconut milk also contains healthy levels of MCT oils for energy and adequate levels of lauric acid to improve heart health.
