Becoming a vegan was undoubtedly a good thing to do. I do not regret my decision at all, and I am (at the risk of sounding like the archetypal vegan) very proud of this particular lifestyle choice of mine.
The only occasion that I sometimes get a little pang of envy, however, is when I have a coffee with my non-vegan friends. You see, in my previous life, I used to love my coffee with a drop of Half-and-Half. So when I see them all pouring the delicious creaminess into their cups, I do feel a little resentment towards those animal-murdering, planet-ruining idiots. (I’m kidding, I love them all and they are free to consume whatever they like without guilt, or my judgment).
This was before I discovered the wide range of vegan coffee creamers, however. As veganism is growing in popularity (it is thought over 3% of adults in the US are now vegan), the market has responded by producing some fantastic and creative alternatives to milk. It’s a game changer.
With so many on the market, I thought it might be helpful for my fellow herbivores to compile a list of some of the best available today. So here we have the 8 best vegan coffee creamers.
Top 8 Vegan Coffee Creamers
In our best vegan coffee creamer list, you will find oat milk, almond milk, and coconut cream-based milk to satisfy your creaming needs no matter what base flavor you prefer.
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Califia Farms – Pecan Caramel Almond Milk Coffee Creamer
Let’s start as we mean to go on with this delightful offering from Califia Farms – a Californian company that has become one of the biggest plant-based product producers on the planet.
As you will have gathered from the heading, there is a lot going on with this product. To break it down, it is almond milk, made with coconut cream, with flavor hints of pecan and caramel. Obviously, it is dairy free, but it is also soy free, gluten free, carrageenan-free, non-GMO, and kosher. It ticks all the boxes.
This really tastes as good as a traditional, milk-based creamer. It is so deliciously natural and creamy that to look at it, you might not be able to tell the difference. There is also the benefit that it has only 15 calories per serving, compared to about 40 with a traditional creamer, and just 2g of sugar.
This is available as a shelf-stable product, so it won’t go bad too quickly. This is great if you are the only vegan in the house, and it also means you can buy in bulk to save you a bit of money (and you never run out – that’s the worst, isn’t it?).
This is a very reasonably priced product, and an excellent example of the various options vegans have to select from today. If you like the delicate combination of pecan, almond, coconut, and caramel, then I don’t think you can go wrong with this product. You can even use it on cereal or in oatmeal if you want to add a flavored kick to your breakfast.
As a starting point in your foray into vegan coffee creamers, this is a wonderful option. Highly recommended.
Nutpods Dairy-Free Creamer Unsweetened French Vanilla
Okay, a real change now, as we go to a completely different company for our next selection – nutpods.
The whole company was born out of one pregnant lady’s frustration at the lack of dairy-free options when it came to coffee creamers in 2013. One successful Kickstarter campaign later and Madeline Haydon found herself with a brand new company (as well as a brand new daughter!).
This dairy-free unsweetened creamer ticks all of the necessary boxes. Yes, it is plant-based, lactose-free, has only 10 calories per serving, and has zero cholesterol. Yes, it has a long shelf life, so it is, again, perfect for buying in large quantities to ensure you never run out. It’s also suitable for anyone on the Whole30 program.
These are also sugar free (literally zero grams of sugar per serving) so suitable for those on diabetic diets, along with anyone one else trying to cut sugar out of their lives. All of the flavors comes from natural ingredients.
The main ingredients are almonds and coconuts, which help to give it a light sweetness, and this particular variety is flavored with french vanilla which we found to have the perfect balance with a strong coffee. The flavor is not overpowering, it just nicely compliments the coffee flavors, leaving you with a very satisfying drink. If you usually have sugar in your coffee, I urge you to try it with just some of this french vanilla flavored creamer – I think you will be pleasantly surprised.
This is a great option for those that want to cut out dairy and sugar from their diet, while still being able to enjoy excellent coffee. Give it a go.
Califia Farms – Hazelnut Almond Milk Coffee Creamer
Oh, hello again Califia Farms! Fancy seeing you here! As I said above, these guys really are one of the largest vegan-milk producers in the world, so it is no surprise that they feature heavily on my list.
As with the Pecan Caramel Almond Milk Coffee Creamer with Coconut Cream above, this Hazelnut version is only 15 calories per serving, with 2g of sugar. It is also dairy free, soy free, gluten free, carrageenan-free, non-GMO, and kosher. All of the sweet flavors come from natural ingredients – no artificial sweeteners are ever used with Califia farm products.
Again, this is shelf-stable with airtight packaging, so you can stock up on these and store them away until they are needed, you will only need to put it into the fridge once you have opened it. It’s also great for taking away with you if you are traveling or going out for the day with a flask of coffee.
The texture is so similar to traditional creamers that I have friends that have used this as a substitute for cream when baking – it really is a perfect plant-based replacement. When used with coffee, it blends into the drink incredibly well, leaving a really smooth finish, and a wonderful color.
The hazelnut flavor leaves a pleasantly sweet taste, without overwhelming the coffee itself. This makes for an incredibly drinkable beverage and a really nice way to start the day.
Compared to the pecan caramel flavor of this creamer, it really just comes down to personal taste. Both offer you a wonderful alternative to traditional creamers, so my advice is to try both to determine which one suits your coffee the best. You will certainly not be disappointed with either, and you may end up regularly using both.
Califia Farms Oat Milk – Unsweetened Barista Blend
Hang on a second, are all of these from Califia Farms?!?! *checks notes* Ah, no, we do have some other companies coming up later on the list, but it says a lot for Califia Farms’ dominance in the industry that the first three products on the list are all from them.
This oat milk is an unsweetened barista blend, and it is a little bit different from the previous two products (pecan caramel and hazelnut). First of all, this one is made from oats, grown in North America, rather than the almond and coconut combinations that we’ve seen previously.
Also, like an unsweetened product, all of the flavors comes from the oats themselves, so you only get a faint taste of nut. This leaves you with a really authentic tasting coffee – those of you who search high and low for the best coffees will presumably really want to get the most out of those flavors, so this oat milk may be the best option for you.
As you would expect, this is nut free, allergen-free, soy free, non-GMO Project Verified, gluten-free and kosher, and again, this is another shelf-stable product (another perk of avoiding dairy), so you will be able to buy plenty to save money and avoid running out – they last for a year unopened.
The best thing about this milk, I found, was that it worked really well in my milk frother – you can make really good, authentic cappuccinos and lattes, for example, with this milk. You get a really nice, consistent foam. There is a reason why this is so often the oat milk of choice in so many cafés and coffee shops all over the world.
If you’re after relatively plain-tasting, but creamy and consistent milk, which you can use to make cappuccinos, etc, then I would strongly recommend trying this one.
Walden Farms Original Coffee Creamer
Sticking with the theme of being careful about what you put into your body, next up we have this Original Cream offering from dietary specialists Walden Farms.
Based in New Jersey, this is a company that has been devoted to providing healthy specialty foods to the market since 1972. They focus on helping people “control their calories, fat, carbohydrates and sugar, without having to give up on great taste”.
They have become famous for their ‘Guilt Free’ ‘Near Zero’ range – foods that have nearly zero calories, sugar, carbohydrates, etc. They cover all kinds of foods like ketchup, salad dressings, dessert dips and, you guessed it, coffee creamer.
This should give you a good idea of what to expect from this creamer, and we have intentionally chosen the original flavor as a way to emphasize our point here. You get a decent substitute for traditional coffee creamer, with practically zero calories.
There is nothing mind-blowing about the taste here, but I would argue that a mind-blowing taste is not really what you are after if you are buying a zero calorie coffee creamer. What you are after is a way to drink your coffee, how you like it, but without the 40+ calories in every drink.
That is exactly what Walden Farms are offering you with this creamer. It is just a way to take the edge off a coffee. Perhaps you have had cream with your coffee your whole life, but, for whatever reason, you would like a calorie free substitute – well this is the creamer for you.
The taste of this won’t change your life, but the effect it has on your calorie intake might just. If you are thinking of making a change to calorie-free creamers, make this your place to start.
Silk Dairy Free Creamer Singles
Now for something a little bit different from a Colorado-based company, Silk. These guys have been producing plant-based food for over 25 years, with a particular focus on alternatives to dairy.
We’ve decided to include a product that is available in singles on this list. I don’t know about you, but when I’m traveling away from home, my heart always sinks when I see those little creamer singles in my room at a hotel. I’ve been traveling all day, all I want is a decent coffee… Even in my dairy days, the options were always disappointing.
So it was such a relief to discover these little guys from Silk. They’re plant-based, obviously, as well as gluten free, non-GMO, cholesterol free, soy free, and lactose free as you would expect.
They’re flavored with vanilla, which just helps to take the edge off a strong coffee, without overpowering the flavor. It’s a really nice balance. Personally, I only need one in my drink to make it how I like it, which is quite rare for singles like this. You usually end up surrounded by dozens of little empty capsules while you’re enjoying your drink! Just make sure that you shake it well before you use it.
Obviously, in a perfect world, nobody would be using singles to get their creamer hit – the environmental impact of all that single-use plastic is enough to undo all the good using plant-based creamers does, and let’s be honest, the taste is never quite the same as the same product out of a bottle or carton.
However, there is often the need for a decent single. I take them away with me, and I have friends that even take them out to coffee shops with them, to make sure that they get a decent plant-based creamer when they buy an expensive coffee.
If you travel a lot or get increasingly frustrated by the lack of options for plant-based creamer when you’re out and about, then you should seriously consider these singles. They could make your coffee drinking a much more pleasurable experience.
Silk Almond Milk Unsweetened Vanilla
I think I did Silk a disservice when talking about the previous product – I focused so much on the idea that you can take the milk wherever you go, that I may be neglected to focus on the taste of the milk itself – and why you would want to take it with you.
Let me make it up to them now, then, by including their unsweetened vanilla flavored almond milk in this list of the best vegan coffee creamers.
It’s obviously not the first one on our list that has been vanilla flavored, and there’s a good reason for that – vanilla just works really well with coffee. It’s as simple as that really.
This one in particular gets the balance of flavor spot on. They describe the creamer as being ‘kissed’ with vanilla, which is an incredibly accurate way to describe it. You can taste it, but not to the point that it overwhelms the coffee flavor. Not only that, but this is another incredibly versatile milk substitute that you’ll find goes very well on your cereal.
It’s another product with an extended shelf life, meaning that you can stock up and take advantage of bulk-buying deals. Just remember to pop it in the fridge before use and once opened as this is at its best when chilled.
As you would expect from a company called Silk, you get a very smooth texture when you put this in your coffee, and a really good color to your coffee, and adds a real depth to your drink.
This is a fantastic all-around milk substitute. It works great as a coffee creamer, but there’s more to it than just that. I really think that any vegan would be more than happy to find this in the fridge!
Nestlé Coffee Mate Coffee Creamer Original Singles
We finish our review of the best vegan coffee creamers with a classic – Nestlé’s Coffee Mate. I remember when I was a young boy, my uncle would always have Coffee Mate (the powder) in his coffees, so I couldn’t leave one of their offerings off the list. This is another that comes in singles.
It is not just sentimentality, though, that has led me to include this original coffee creamer – it’s a genuinely great option if you are looking to avoid using dairy in your coffee.
What they have done so well, is keep everything incredibly basic. No hints of flavor, like with so many of the other options, it just is the most basic form of milk substitute – and I say that as a compliment.
These capsules are incredibly low maintenance; they don’t need to be kept in the fridge and will last up to nine months on the shelf. They are simple in every conceivable way.
What you end up with is a creamy and velvety smooth creamer that will take the edge off your coffee. They are aimed at people that used to have a little drop of milk in their coffees, so if that sounds like you, you could do a lot worse than having these on hand.
As with the other singles on our list, they are perfect for having ready for trips away, or for coffees out at a place where they may not have a good selection of non-dairy milk alternatives. I know of people even taking these to functions like weddings – there’s no reason not to.
Nestlé, never ones to miss a trick, even has published dessert recipe ideas that use this creamer, really trying to push the versatility. I must confess that I haven’t found myself making any of these yet, but I do admire their ingenuity!
There are plenty of options on this list that can enhance, and therefore alter the flavor, of your coffee, all of which I love. However, sometimes, you want something simple, to let the coffee do the talking. For that, you can do a lot worse than the Nestlé Coffee Mate Coffee Creamer Original Singles.
