Substitutes For Milk In Coffee – What Can I Use Instead?

If coffee with regular milk has got boring for you or you are looking for plant-based alternatives for milk in coffee, there are numerous options to choose from.

What are the best substitutes for milk in coffee? For dairy alternatives, you can go with heavy cream, half-and-half, creamer, butter, or ice cream. There are also numerous non-dairy alternatives for coffee in milk. You can choose from oat, soy, almond, coconut, cashew, and hazelnut milk.

Read on to learn more about the best substitutes for milk in coffee and which are the closest and healthiest options for your drink.

Which Milk Substitute Tastes Most Like Milk in Coffee?

If you are on the hunt for a milk substitute that is most similar to milk, the best option is to use half-and-half. As it is half milk, it is only natural that it tastes very similar to milk.

As far as non-dairy options are concerned, your best bet is oat milk. This is also a great option for people with lactose intolerance, although you can also look for lactose-free half-and-half options.

Which Substitute for Milk in Coffee Is the Healthiest?

On your way to a healthier diet, you may need to re-evaluate your eating and drinking choices. In such cases, most people start from food or drinks they consume most on a daily basis.

What milk alternative can you use if you are trying to keep fat and sugar intake at bay?

If eliminating fat and sugar content from your daily drink is your priority, then you shouldn’t consider half-and-half, heavy cream, ice cream, or butter an option. Creamer is also a big ‘no-no’ as in the majority of the cases it contains sugar.

If you are looking for a healthier alternative, go with something that doesn’t contain sugar or other unhealthy added ingredients.

When it comes to a healthy diet, it is helpful to read the ingredient list of products you are using.

The Best Substitutes for Milk in Coffee

Some people think that a true coffee is strong black coffee with no added ingredients to overshadow its authentic taste. Many others, however, think that adding a splash of milk into their mug of energy is the right way to enhance the flavor.

Milk makes coffee smoother. It thickens it improving the texture of coffee and taking off the feeling of it being overly watery.

If you belong to the second group of people, you have probably thought of substituting milk with something else.

Here are dairy and non-dairy alternatives to milk in coffee. Pick one that suits your preferences most and have your next coffee of the day slightly different.

Dairy Alternatives

If your relationship with dairy is good, you will enjoy your coffee with one of these alternatives for milk in coffee.

1. Heavy Cream

Heavy cream is rich and thick. It can transform your coffee into creamy goodness. Containing at least 36% milkfat, a few splashes of heavy cream are enough to make your coffee taste really good.

Heavy cream is the way to go if you like your coffee velvety smooth.

You can also whip heavy cream and add it to your coffee.

2. Half-and-half

Containing equal amounts of heavy cream and milk, half-and-half is one of the best substitutes for milk in coffee. But the milkfat content of half-and-half is almost twice as low as that of heavy cream.

If you try half-and-half and like how your coffee tastes, you can easily make it at home by mixing one part of milk with one part of heavy cream.

3. Creamer

Coffee creamers can be both with and without dairy. No matter which type you choose, there are endless options in the supermarket aisles.

There are both liquid and powdered coffee creamers. Powder coffee creamer is a great option if you need a substitute that doesn’t need to be refrigerated.

Additionally, creamers come in a variety of flavors.

4. Butter

If you have never tried coffee with butter and the mere idea of it seems wrong to you, just try it and thank us later.

Blend your cup of coffee with a piece of unsalted butter and you will have the most delicious buttery coffee ever.

5. Ice Cream

For those who don’t count calories, ice cream is a great alternative for milk in coffee. You can add both vanilla or chocolate ice cream to your coffee.

Cold coffee also turns out great with ice cream.

Non-Dairy Alternatives

Whether you are looking for plant-based alternatives or simply want to spice things up with new milk options for your coffee, there is a lot to choose from. Here is what you can try out.

6. Oat Milk

Oat milk is the best plant-based alternative for milk in terms of its texture and flavor. It will add creaminess to your coffee and won’t ‘boost’ your fat intake of the day.

You can also steam oat milk which is good news for cappuccino and latte lovers.

7. Soy Milk

If you are trying to replace traditional milk in your coffee and skip the sugar, soy milk might be it for you. It has a natural sweetness that will help you omit refined sugar in your drink, making it much healthier.

Soy milk also works great for coffees that need a frothy layer of foam.

8. Almond Milk

If you like the sweetness of soy milk but want to limit your soy intake, try adding almond milk to your coffee. As you’d expect, almond milk also tastes slightly nutty.

Almond milk is also a great option if you don’t want to consume too many carbs.

9. Coconut Milk

Coconut milk instead of regular milk in your coffee will give it an exotic twist.

Coconut milk can be a lot thicker than other plant-based milks. Thus, it can change the consistency of your coffee making it creamier and thicker.

You won’t love coconut milk in your coffee if you don’t enjoy the nutty, sweet, and at the same time floral flavor of coconuts.

10. Cashew Milk

If you are on the hunt for a milk substitute that you can make at home, cashew milk is the best option.

Blending pre-soaked cashews with water and straining it is simple. And yet, you will end up with flavorful cashew milk you can use in your coffee every morning.

Cashew milk is many people’s favorite plant-based milk owing to its mild and clean flavor.

11. Hazelnut Milk

Do you consider the nutty flavor of almond milk not strong enough for you? Then hazelnut milk will certainly meet your expectations. Hazelnut milk has a much richer nutty flavor.

Even if you think you will get tired of drinking hazelnut milk coffee every day, try it every once in a while for a change.