Last weekend, my grandparents drove up from their home in San Diego to visit. They left mid-morning on Friday, and knowing the trip usually spanned about 8 hours of whizzing through the monotonous yellow fields and farmland of I-5, we expected them to arrive around dinnertime.
Partway through the afternoon, we received a few text messages from Grandpa. He explained that the traffic through LA had been exceptionally thick and that a small fire on the Grapevine prompted police and firemen to close down a lane or two on the right side, which caused cars and trucks to slow to a snail’s pace of 3 miles an hour while crawling up the steep mountain pass.
Oh boy.
Their van finally pulled into the driveway around 10:30 pm, over 12 hours later, and they retold a more elaborate version of their trip’s story as we lounged on the comfy sofas and chairs in the living room, everyone trying their hardest not to doze off from fatigue. We all agreed that sleeping in on Saturday morning sounded like a great idea—along with an extra cup of coffee or two!
We spent most of the weekend reading novels and newspapers, slowly snacking and sipping coffee, and watching Postseason baseball all day long (my grandma was the one who taught me to keep score as a 9-year-old and basically started my obsession!). Everyone loved the hours of quiet relaxation and rejuvenation, especially after the long week at work and crazy drive up here!
While our family conversed and interacted, I started to notice certain traits my dad had inherited from Grandpa. Things like his strong intuition (that’s almost always right!), his analytical mind that excels at problem solving, his creativity and eye for design, his love of sports and appreciation of art, and the methodical way he starts the day with coffee and the newspaper.
Ever since I can remember, Dad would pour himself a few cups of black coffee in the morning and sip it while sitting in his favorite armchair. Although the brand varied, he always bought a dark roast flavor and never added any milk, cream, or sugar. I assumed Grandpa drank his the same way…
So I was surprised to learn that he always took his coffee with milk or cream! When I found out on the second-to-last day of their visit, I offered Grandpa some of this Skinny Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamer to add to his morning cups, and half of the batch disappeared before they drove back home.
That’s quite the compliment!
To make this coffee creamer healthier, you’ll skip the heavy cream and use one of my favorite dairy alternatives instead: unsweetened cashew milk. It has a thicker consistency than most regular milks, although not quite as thick as heavy cream, and it’s ideal for coffee. Even better, unsweetened cashew milk has only 25 calories per cup, as opposed to the 50 calories per tablespoon of heavy cream. Whoa!
To that, you’ll add pumpkin purée, spices, and sweetener. I used vanilla crème stevia drops, and they add a wonderfully rich vanilla note to the creamer. Stevia is a no-calorie, plant-based sweetener, and you can find this one that I used at most health-oriented grocery stores. It’s very concentrated, so although the bottle is small and costs more than you might expect, it has the sweetness equivalent of 6 cups of sugar!
Now cook that over medium-low heat for a few minutes until all of the ingredients are hot and well combined. The cashew milk doesn’t always bubble as much as dairy milk, so if it hasn’t started to simmer after 10 minutes, that’s okay! Pull the pot off of the stove anyway.
While the creamer cools, the spices sometimes settle at the bottom of the container. Once the creamer reaches room temperature—or has completely chilled, that’s fine too!—simply whisk the creamer a few times, and the spices should reincorporate back into the creamer.
Now all that’s left to do is brew your coffee, and you’ll have a sweet cup of caffeine that basically tastes like pumpkin pie!
And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! ?) I’d love to see your coffee creamer and feature it in my Sunday Spotlight series!
| Skinny Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamer | | Print |
- 2 cups (480mL) unsweetened cashew milk
- ¼ cup (61g) pumpkin purée
- ½ - ¾ tsp ground cinnamon, or to taste
- ⅛ tsp ground nutmeg
- ⅛ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla crème stevia, or adjusted to taste
- Add all of the ingredients to a medium pot, and whisk to combine. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, for 5-7 minutes or until completely heated through. Transfer the mixture to a glass measuring cup, and let it cool completely to room temperature. (To speed up the process, place the measuring cup in the refrigerator.) Once cooled, whisk the mixture to reincorporate the spices. Transfer to a glass jar or an airtight, cover, and refrigerate until ready to use.
Unsweetened vanilla almond milk may be substituted for the unsweetened cashew milk, although it is much thinner in consistency.
Any other milk, including dairy-based ones, may be substituted, although they will substantially change the Nutrition Information (see the link below).
Any other sweetener may be substituted for the liquid stevia. You'll want to use the equivalent of 2-3 tablespoons of sugar. Add 1-2 teaspoons of vanilla extract if using a sweetener without vanilla flavoring.
{gluten-free, vegan, clean eating, low fat, low calorie, sugar-free}
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
Can heavy cream be used in place of cashew milk?
I’ve actually answered this in the Notes section of the recipe, located directly underneath the Instructions! I know it can be easy to miss. 😉 I can’t wait to hear what you think of this coffee creamer Melissa!
I made my own batch of this last night to try with my coffee this morning and I have to admit that this being extremely easy is very convenient as I’m not a cook and don’t have much patience when making something. However, I do tend to love my coffee with extreme sweetness and this just didn’t satisfy that morning coffee craving for me. Is there anything I can add to it that would make it sweeter without increasing sugar, carbs, and calories? I love the taste. I just wish it could be sweeter. I tried adding more stevia but that stuff is expensive… What would you suggest? Thank you so much!
I truly appreciate your interest in my recipe Lizzie! What’s your favorite no-calorie sweetener? We can probably figure out the best way to add your preferred no-calorie sweetener to make this creamer sweeter without changing the nutrition information! 🙂
I’m honestly not sure, as I’m very new to clean eating. I haven’t experimented with enough sweeteners. Anything you could recommend? Thank you so much!
It’s my pleasure Lizzie! Always happy to help! 🙂 Another good option is erythritol. This is the granulated one and this is confectioners style one that I use. They complement stevia really well, and I’ve started pairing them together in cakes and cupcakes in order to get a much sweeter flavor!
For this particular recipe, I think the confectioners style one may work slightly better. I’d recommend starting with ¼ teaspoon of the vanilla stevia + 2 tablespoons of the confectioners erythritol. If that doesn’t taste sweet enough to you, then increase both by a little bit until you get to that perfect sweet spot (no pun intended? 😉 ). I can’t wait to hear how that turns out for you!
Amy;
Hi,I just copied down your skinny pumpkin spice coffee creamer and I am going to make your creamer asap,I don’t drink coffee but my mom drinks coffee with no sweetener or milk in her coffee.
Would your creamer be ok to use in my chai tea?I am going to try the swerve product sweetener from the grocery store or go to the bulk barn store to see what other sweetener that I can use that will not spice my blood sugar,I am going to look into monk fruit sweetener to see what that tastes like in my teas and healthy smoothies.I will let you know what I think of your skinny pumpkin spice coffee creamer.
Kim
YES! This creamer would be wonderful to include in your chai tea, Kim! 🙂 As always, I’m so excited to hear what you think of it!
Hi there!
I just discovered you now…
just finished preparing this creamer, but instead of cashew milk I used almond milk and added some more nutmeg and cinnamon ….
Delicious!!
Thank you!
I’m so glad you loved this coffee creamer Laura! Thanks for taking the time to let me know — that means a lot! 🙂
Can u tell me how many calories it is? I’m on a diet and have 3 cups of coffee a day. Trying to find something low calorie. Thanks
I’m honored that you’d consider trying my recipe, Donna! The full nutrition information (including calories per serving!) is actually included directly underneath the recipe box. I know it can be really easy to miss! 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think of this coffee creamer if you try making it!