This naturally sweetened, dairy-free coffee creamer is a healthy alternative to store-bought creamers! It’s vegan, gluten-free, paleo-friendly, refined sugar-free, and only requires 4 simple ingredients. A quick and easy way to spruce up your morning coffee without the artificial flavours and preservatives!
Let’s talk about the mini panic attack I had at Costco the other day. Or rather, the three mini panic attacks I had at 3 different Costcos over the past week or so.
See, Costco is where I pick up my dates. My big, sweet, juicy, relatively inexpensive dates. And before your mind goes there, I should probably clarify that I’m talking about fruit here, not men.
Dates are my everything. Ev.ry.thing. After bananas, they’re easily my favourite thing to snack on, as well as one of my favourite ingredients to use in recipes. Bites, bars, smoothies, [soon-to-be] cookies, and now, coffee creamer… which brings me back to the panic attacks at Costco.
I promised you guys a recipe for my date-sweetened coffee creamer this week, and there I was out of dates. To say that I go through a lot of them is a bit of an understatement, and those suckers can be pricey. Fortunately, I found some good ones at Costco for a pretty decent price. Unfortunately, either everyone in Edmonton suddenly decided they loved dates or the truck carrying them took a wrong turn and ended up in Alaska, because I could.not.find a single tub at any of the three Costcos I went to.
Cue mini panic attack (x3)… made worse by the fact that I find shopping at Costco a little stressful to begin with. Lots of people, lots of stuff, lots of trying to decide if I really couldn’t use 12L of maple syrup, because I know it’s a lot but damn is that a good price. But I digress. The point is, I had to take my business elsewhere. But the next time I see my beloved dates in stock, I’m buying enough to last me through the Armageddon… especially now that I’m kind of addicted to adding them to my coffee. Not whole, obviously, but as a sweetener in the non-dairy coffee creamer I’ve been making lately…
I go through phases with my coffee. Sometimes I like it black. Sometimes with some foam. Sometimes with just a splash of almond milk. And sometimes with a splash of something a little more fancy.
That last one has been a bit of a rarity until now, though, because… have you ever taken a look at the ingredients list on those flavoured creamers? Hydrogenated oils, artificial flavours, colours, preservatives. Like… really?!? I don’t want that stuff in my coffee, much less in my body. So I made my own healthier coffee creamer at home…
Coconut milk, water, dates, and vanilla. That’s it. Only 4 ingredients in this ridiculously simple, healthy, and delicious dairy-free coffee creamer. Coconut milk for creaminess, dates for sweetness, and a splash of vanilla for a little extra flavour. Easy, peasy. And the best part is that it really is easy, peasy. All you have to do is toss all the ingredients in a blender or food processor, and voila! 5 minutes and you’ve got yourself a week’s plus supply of healthy coffee creamer.
No, no, wait. Scratch that. The best part is the fact that there’s something magical about the combination of these ingredients that adds the biggest kick to your cup of coffee. I kind of reached the point where my morning cup wasn’t having much of an effect on me anymore, but my morning cup with a splash of this creamer? Boom. I’m flying.
I’d love to know if you make this recipe! Leave a comment and rating down below to let me know what you think, and subscribe to our mailing list to receive new recipes in your inbox!
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Dairy-Free Coffee Creamer
- Total Time: 5 mins
- Yield: 2 cups 1x
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (90 g) of dates, pitted
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) hot water
- 1 1/2 cups (360 ml) light canned coconut milk*
- 1/2 Tbsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Add the dates and hot water to a high-speed blender or food processor. If your dates are a little dry, allow them to soak for 10 – 15 minutes so that they’ll be easier to blend. Otherwise, process oh high until the dates have broken down and turned into a smooth paste, scraping down the sides of your blender as necessary.
- Add the coconut milk and vanilla extract, and continue processing until everything is well combined and the mixture becomes smooth.
- Transfer to an airtight container. You can run the creamer through a fine mesh strainer to ensure no bigger pieces of dates remain, but it shouldn’t be necessary with a high-speed blender. Store in the fridge for up to a week. Creamer will thicken as it sits.
Notes
* Depending on how creamy you want your creamer, you can replace up to half of the canned coconut milk with a non-dairy milk of your choice. Or, you can sub it out entirely and add 1/4 tsp. of xanthan gum to thicken it up.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
Looking for a healthy snack to have with your coffee? Try one of these!
Strawberry Banana Oat Bars
Banana Oat Greek Yogurt Muffins
Soft and Chewy Protein Granola Bars
Blueberry Almond Oat Bars
Chocolate Banana Minute Muffin
Dates…who knew….now I need to go find me some and test this out…..
I get my dates at Costco too. They are fantastic!
I make cashew milk that I have been using to make lattes recently and I throw some cinnamon and dates in the milk to make it fancy. It makes a fantastic latte…especially with some honey!
I love this post. I love everything about it from the banana to the date love, to the black background in the pictures, and the clean and delicious coffee creamer. This makes me happy. Also, the Hubby picked up a giant bag (they come in bags now!) of dates at Costco. He said he really had to dig to find them too. If not, I would have been panic attacking right there with you.
Oh and you easily use up all those liters of maple syrup. No problem.
I love how you have so much faith in me. You know I’d probably end up chugging them straight from the bottle 😆
Costco is my go-to source for dates too. I actually just stocked up on them there. Well, my mom did for me. I don’t have my own membership so I just make her lists of what I need every so often lol. I go through a lot of dates, bananas, oats, and almond butter. Pretty sure you and I are in the same boat there haha.
Love the idea for this coffee creamer!
Not many healthy recipes have impressed me as much as this one lately. This looks sooooo good!!! And really really clever way to spruce it up, Amanda. I haven’t bought dates in a while because of moolah but i really shouldn’t let that discourage me, especially if it means taking care of our family’s health. 😀
Wow, how do you come up with the innovation to create all these recipes? When did you start experimenting? This looks really tasty, even though I don’t drink coffee. Can you drink it straight?
I honestly just take ingredients I love and combine them together to see if they work 😆 And you can definitely drink it straight. I do!
Oh my goodness I cant even tell you how happy and excited I am to try this out. I can’t have soy or dairy because of my son and I LOVE coffee, but plain almond milk never cuts it for Me.
I didn’t even know creamer was a THING until I came over here- Also Persian Dates > costco dates > any dates.
Also…I want to drink this by the bottle.
Confession: I totally drink this from the bottle.
I’ve frequently thought about making my own creamer but never carried through with it. Maybe you’ve inspired me to do that! Haha we will see. It looks really good though.
For me personally I go through a lot of store bought coffee creamer and coffee. I haven’t had dates in years but maybe I’ll try them out again.
I am back, miss me? lol…I never take over 24 hours off from my computer but I must admit, it was nice even though I was sick. This recipe is awesome and creative- definitely something I would use in place of skim milk. I like my coffee plain with just a drop of skim. I should try this instead.
Of course I missed you! I kind of had a mini freakout when I didn’t see a post from you in my reader on Friday 😛
“My big, sweet, juicy, relatively inexpensive dates” if had been talking about men, you’d be my rockstar, hahaha 😀 😉
Hi there!
Your site really helped me get thru my gluten free trial! Thank you!!
I found dates at COSTCO.COM and had some delivered this week!!!
I have been looking for them in the warehouse since late last year. One recent trip to Costco, I accidentally bought figs instead. As a result, I have continued looking for dates so I could make some of your recipes, like this one.
I made some of your yummy. no bake chocolate fig newton bars based on your no bake vegan oatmeal fudge bars recipe. I liked them so much, I plan to make them with the figs again, intentionally this time! lol Anyway, great photos! I really like reading your blog and making some of the recipes. Congrats on your personal progress managing your health and food. You are so very pretty! Beautiful coloring with glowing skin!
Aww thank you so much for the sweet comment, Kristina! I hope you’re having a wonderful weekend 🙂
excuse me while i run to costco! wow, must try this! question, does it still froth at high heat? my cashew creamer didn’t… sadness
I actually never tried frothing mine. I normally just add a splash of this and then top the whole thing with almond milk. Will try tomorrow and get back to you 😛
Oh my gosh! I need this coffee creamer in my life NOW!
I definitely love black coffee, but I tend to splash a little fancy cappuccino from the machine (LOL.. so fancy) before I fill ‘er up. At home, I put my protein powder in it which makes it taste pretty amazing. Cinnamon roll protein powder + pumpkin spice coffee = good combo.
I always sneak into Costco to “look around to see if I want to join” if I want a free lunch. LOVE samples.
I’ve heard about the protein powder in coffee thing! I seriously have to give it a go…
I gotta admit – before I read your clarification – my mind DID go THERE! Haha – my daughter is always checking out The Boys when we go to Costco – even though my mind is always on the dates too! Their dates really are so fresh!
Speaking of fresh – what a fresh idea this is – I am blown away – dates, coconut milk, vanilla and water??? Dang lady – this is just plain BRILLIANT on so many levels! IMO – you should start selling this stuff!
Have a wonderful weekend!
My goal this weekend is to make those muffins and strawberry bars! Maybe the creamer too now. Thank you!
Just whipped this up with cashew milk! So good!!!
Oh my gosh, the same thing happened to me a few weeks ago! I couldn’t find dates anywhere and it was driving me nuts! I wonder if there was a date shortage or something.
I love them just as much as you do and I think the idea to make a naturally sweetened coffee creamer with them is brilliant! I only like coffee with creamer but most of the flavored options are full of junk so I just nix it altogether. But this could definitely sway me back on the coffee train!
Omg please don’t say that. I wouldn’t be able to cope! I’d probably be willing to give up coffee sooner than I’d be willing to give up dates.
I love dates (alone, with almond butter, with dark chocolate, etc.), but I’d never have thought they could be used for coffee creamer! That’s super creative!
O this is fabulous! I drink my coffee black, but still 😉
I have also been there before…running around to 5 different grocery stores looking for dates. Terrible, terrible. Something not terrible=this creamer and these photos! Love.
I am pretty intrigued by this recipe since I’ve never made my own coffee creamer, much less with dates! I can imagine that they lend that perfectly sweet touch, though. Must try 😯
I’ve recently become obsessed with dates…. please tell me you have some delicious date ball recipes! 🙂 And those strawberry banana oat bars… DELICIOUS! Love love love your recipes 🙂
Sure do! These are a few of my favourites:
http://www.runningwithspoons.com/2014/09/15/vegan-oatmeal-fudge-bars/
http://www.runningwithspoons.com/2014/04/11/no-bake-double-chocolate-fudge-protein-bites/
http://www.runningwithspoons.com/2014/05/20/chocolate-chip-oatmeal-date-balls/
Costco can definitely be stressful, but it is also one of the BEST bargains around for produce and other healthy staples!
Oh my word Amanda this looks amazing! we don’t have creamers in the UK – milk is the only thing people put in their coffee – but I want, nay, need this in mine!
Oh and I too had that happen to me once, Costco was out of dates! I literally had a tantrum in the middle of the store – yup just like a 3 year old!
You’re definitely not missing out on the creamers! Looking at the ingredients on those always makes me die a little inside…
This sounds amazing and I love the fact that it’s dairy free!
I love dates too, and they’re great for long runs. That’s actually when I first discovered them, was at the Whistler 50 mile ultra! They’re killer.
I’ve been wanting to make my own coffee creamer for awhile. I’m so glad you shared this recipe. I’m sorry about the Costco incident. I hope they have more when you back next time!
This looks amazing!! I’ll definitely be using almond milk though, even though I don’t have xantham gum.
It works perfect with almond milk too! It doesn’t come out -quite- as creamy, but the sweetness is definitely there.
Yum! I usually buy the terrible-for-you flavored creamers, but I had no idea how easy it was to make your own.
I haven’t been to costco in forever, but it stresses me out too. Way too many people and too much stuff everywhere!
This will be happening tomorrow morning in my house! I’d do it sooner if I didn’t have to rush the kids off to school now. Genius!
This looks amazing, I love dates also, but there so expensive here in the uk for the good ones anyway!
http://www.lozzieknows.com/
We don’t really have coffee creamer much over here but this looks bloody awesome. Is it acceptable to just drink it straight up??!
(Obviously everyone in Edmonton was out buying dates to prepare for your recipe 😉 )
Confession: I may have taken a few swigs of it straight up 😆
Really? I didn’t know Costco carried dates. 🙂 I’ll have to keep an eye out the next time I go with my mama.
Yup! They’re usually in the same place as all the other fresh fruit. And I’m pretty sure it’s not just a Canadian thing since I found them in Hawaii too 😛