If you are a pumpkin and coffee lover you've come to the right place. This Dairy-Free Pumpkin Creamer tastes amazing, is simple to make and is good for you too!
If you are trying to change over to a healthier diet, one of the hardest things to give up can be coffee creamers.
I regularly hear from people who are trying to break their creamer habit. But it's hard. Those creamers are addictive. And there's a reason for that. They are made with chemicals that are meant to make you come back for more.
But it can be done and this Vegan Pumpkin Creamer recipe is just what you need to get you there. Not only is it tasty and healthy, but it's also dairy-free.
Those folks who don't eat dairy, for whatever reason, must often feel left out of the pumpkin-filled fall festivities.
- No pumpkin ice cream.
- No traditional pumpkin pie.
- No pumpkin pie spiced creamer.
My heart truly aches for you no-dairy-allowed-pumpkin-lovers. I adore the big orange squash too, and could easily keep Starbucks in the PSL (that's Pumpkin Spice Latte, for those of you who don't know) business beyond November if they only gave me the chance.
It's not fair to have to choose between severe abdominal pains, going against your food convictions, or consuming lab-grown, GMO soy milk when ordering your favorite latte. And you certainly shouldn't have to forgo the season altogether! That simply wouldn't be fair.
When I was younger and complained about something being not far, my mom used to say "life isn't fair." Hearing that only fueled my fury at the uneven score, driving me to find a way around whatever obstacle stood in my path.
Today, non-dairy drinkers can rejoice in a new found alternate route for making it through the pumpkin-flavored season.
Why Make Your Own Creamer?
Basically, the main reason to make this vegan pumpkin creamer is that it's soooo much healthier than the store bought creamers. And that's not an exaggeration at all.
Get a load of these ingredients:
Water, Sugar, Vegetable Oil (High Oleic Soybean and/or Partially Hydrogenated Soybean and/or Partially Hydrogenated Cottonseed), and Less than 2% of Sodium Caseinate (a Milk Derivative), Natural and Artificial Flavors, Mono- and Diglycerides, Dipotassium Phosphate, Cellulose Gel, Cellulose Gum, Carrageenan
First of all there's sugar. Not helpful.
Then, there's the soybean oil--that's GMO for sure. Meaning it's loaded with glyphosate too.
Then, there's the natural and artificial flavors. Hmmm...what's in there, I wonder?
And we haven't even gotten to the mono and di stuff.
Enough already.
Instead, you can have a whole food healthy coffee creamer that's lip licking good.
In fact, this creamer tastes so good that even dairy drinkers may be tempted to slurp up this pumpkin creamer with a straw--no coffee needed!
That did happen, by the way. Consider yourself warned!
Ways to Use This Creamer
- stir into hot chocolate
- use in tea
- drizzled over warmed baked oatmeal with apples
- stirred into hot cereals like this traditional breakfast porridge or this Cream of Rice Cereal
- drizzled on pancakes (like these 3-Ingredient Buckwheat Pancakes) or simply add to the batter
- a healthy fresh fruit dip
- heat up as a fondue alternative
- drizzle on ice cream
- stir into healthier powdered sugar to make a 2 ingredient icing
- mixed in to mashed sweet potatoes
- omit the sweetener and use as an alfredo sauce over spaghetti squash, zoodles, or traditional pasta noodles
or make the heavy cream version (a lot of it), add some canned pumpkin, and create your own dairy-free pumpkin ice cream!
Other Healthy Dairy-free Pumpkin Recipes
Besides this Vegan Pumpkin Spice Creamer, there are some other great healthy pumpkin recipes here that you can choose from.
Pumpkin Snickerdoodles- these are sooo good!
Healthy Pumpkin Custard - pumpkin pie taste in minutes
Soft Pumpkin Cookies
Homemade Pumpkin Pie Spice
Autoimmune Paleo Pumpkin Pie Spice
Healthy Pumpkin Recipes Roundup
Recipe Notes
- Nut Alternatives:
If allergic to cashews, try macadamias or blanched almonds. Those nuts are lower carb too. Use organic dried, unsweetened coconut for AIP. When using coconut milk, however, the creamer will need to come to room temperature before using it since the fat from the coconut will coagulate at the top when refrigerated. Hemp milk is a possibility too, but since I have not personally tested that one, you may need to adjust the sweetener and spices. - Sweetener Alternatives:
See this post on Choosing Maple Syrup. Use vegetable glycerine or approx. 1 scoop of stevia (read this post on How to Use Stevia) or 1 1/2 Tbsp xylitol for a low-carb option. - DIY Option for Pumpkin Pie Spice:
Make your own pumpkin pie spice using this recipe or this AIP pumpkin pie spice. - Thickness Tips:
This non-dairy cream alternative has a similar consistency to half and half. If you need something a bit thicker, perhaps for a recipe calling for heavy cream, add less water during the blending process. Just go slowly with adding water because you can always add more water if needed, but it's hard to go the other way!
Pumpkin Pie Spiced Creamer - Dairy and Sugar Free
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup cashews
- 2-3 cups filtered water
- 1 1/2 Tbsp maple syrup (use xylitol for low carb)
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
Instructions
- Place cashews in a container and cover with filtered water. Allow to soak for 3-6 hours. This softens the nut and makes it easier to blend. Plus you can benefit from the breakdown of phytic acid. Also check out How to Soak and Dry Nuts and Seeds.
- Drain nuts and place in a blender. Add enough filtered water to just cover the nuts.
- Add maple syrup (or other sweetener) and spices and blend thoroughly.
- Store safely in the refrigerator for up to five days.
- Add 2-3 tablespoons to your favorite cup of coffee or tea (or this rich and nutritious coffee substitute) and enjoy!
Nutrition
The above nutrition facts are estimates only. Please read my Nutrition Disclaimer here.
Hope you enjoy this as much as we do!
What Flavor Creamer do YOU crave?
How would YOU use this pumpkin creamer?
Tiffany is a frugal foodie, balancing the desire to feed her family healthy food while being a good steward of her finances. She realized it was possible to eat nourishing, traditional food on a budget if she made baby-sized changes in the kitchen. She continues to work hard at mastering real foods without going broke and shares her journey at Don’t Waste the Crumbs.
Hey! So do you discard the water you used to soak the cashews? Then add just enough new filtered water to cover the cashews when you blend? Or use the filtered water you soaked the cashews in? Sorry, just confused ?.
Thanks 🙂
Hi there! In the recipe card it says to discard the water and then cover the nuts just enough when blending. Hope that helps and that you enjoy it!!
This is really fantastic, Adrienne, was wondering what you'd be using as the cream base. The only allergy we have at home is egg and hazelnuts, but what you said above about the ingredients is the reason I make most festive items at home. The ingredient list makes me shudder!
Hello Azlin! The cashews make the cream base. Please let me know if you feel that it's not clear--it's a post that a guest writer did for me and I was hoping to revisit and redo the post this week. Thanks and I'm shuddering with you!
Hi, I can't seem to find the nutritional count on the creamer, did I miss it somewhere?
I haven't put that on my site yet...it's taking quite a bit of time. Thanks for your patience!
Can you use store bought good quality almond or cashew milk?
Yes!
Actually I think it should work but will be thinner or thicker depending on the brand you buy.
Does this make coffee look & taste creamy like store bought non dairy creamers do?
I used non dairy creamers in my coffee before I knew that I was sensative to the casiens (protein) in dairy. I don't use it now because I read the ingredients and it contains sodium caseinate (a milk derivative). I'm wondering how they can call it a non dairy creamer? It also contains soy lesithin. I now use Silk vanilla soy creamer which tastes & looks like Coffeemate creamers I understand that soy is not that good for you. That is why I'm interested in your recipe. All the other milk substitute creamers like almond or coconut are not really creamy in coffee.
The non dairy label is seriously very confusing. My son has a life threatening allergy to dairy and it drives us crazy. I actually didn't create this recipe -- it was written by another blogger. I think it will get fairly close as cashews are typically used as a dairy substitute. That being said, I only tried the non cashew version as my oldest is allergic to cashews as well. I guess I should buy some cashews and try it b/c I could eat it :). Hope that it works for you! I hope to try making some other creamers soon.
Wow! I am making it this! And it is so good to know it is sugar free! Did I miss where you said how long it is good for?
I didn't talk about that. I would think about 4 days or so in the fridge -- but please don't hold me to that :). Hope you like it!
Simple and great! Thank you for the recipe 🙂 Pinned!
Thank you so much!!! Hope you enjoy it!
This creamer looks ever so yummy, not only because it has pumpkin in it, but particularly since it contains stevia as a healthy alternate sweetener. Do you know if this particular stevia (Stevia Select) you recommend is available in a larger size, such as a 1# bag?
Hi there. I don't know. I just bought 3 more stevias to test out to see how they do. I will email the owner of the company to see if they have bulk yet but I don't believe they do.
My favorite Stevia comes from Puritans Pride...I order STEVIA with inulin powder..item #17682...check it out ev1...contains no additives like maltodextrin..it is a powder and goes a long way!!! And with Puritan Pride...the more you order the more you save!!
Really? Did you try a bunch of different brands?
This sounds delicious! Do you strain the mixture after blending?
I don't think you need to. Keep it simple! But you can if you like. It will make it more smooth. Enjoy!
Everyone who keeps wanting to figure out how to make is last longer than 5 days, WHY? It won't last that long because it will be consumed. 🙂
Love it - Pat. We think alike :)!
WHY? Because we lack time to make it every 5 days!?! And want to make more to last longer ; )
Anyone know how many dates to use as the sweetener? Would you have to change anything else about the recipe if you used dates?
The recipe sounds great, by the way!
Yes, you can do this. I don't know the exact proportions. I would make a date paste out and then blend it in and see how it goes. Thanks!
Any suggestions to adding a natural preservative so that it keeps longer than 5 days? Vitamin C powder maybe?
Can it last longer by freezing it? Five days storage time is kinda short....
I would think so....in an ice cube tray would be a good idea.
That sounds like a good idea!
Thing is, I like most cream and creamy stuff - this pumpkin recipe sounds so delicious that I think I may just make extra trips to the freezer to take one to pop into my mouth =p
I'm intrigued by the use of cashews...they are delicious plain, so why not!? 🙂
Thanks for linking at Trim Healthy Tuesday!
This sounds so good! I love you suggestion to drizzle over oats -I'll be doing that soon.
I think the same thing :).
OH My!!! THANK YOU! I can't wait to try it!!