Making your own homemade sugar-free, alcohol-free vanilla is simple with this recipe. And, it’s a frugal solution to spending $12 for 2 ounces of vanilla at the store.
Don’t hate me for not sharing this sooner. I’ve been using my homemade vanilla extract my kitchen for a long time now and I love how it flavors my recipes. I love how it saves me money. And, I love that I always have a supply of vanilla on-hand. I go through small bottles of vanilla quickly.
If you make some now, it’ll be ready in time for your holiday baking.
You’ll never go back to store-bought vanilla. Never.
I have seen so many recipes that use a bottle of vodka to make vanilla.
I DON’T want alcohol in my vanilla. Without any sugar to cover up the alcohol, you’re left with vodka undertones that are present in recipes like puddings, custards, and frosting. And, I prefer my vanilla to be sugar-free. Of course!
Instead, I use food-grade vegetable glycerine. It’s the same ingredient used in sugar-free vanilla from the store. I was having trouble finding the food-grade type. Ricki told me I could use the NOW Foods brand, which I found on iHerb.com.
I add additional clean, scraped vanilla bean pods to my homemade vanilla after using the seeds in other recipes.
I found the glass bottle at Sur la Table for $9.00. The vanilla beans were a gift from some of my favorite bloggy friends. You can order them directly from Amazon. Once the vanilla has steeped for 6 weeks, I transfer some into a small glass bottle to keep with my spices. The large glass bottle stays in my pantry.
What are your favorite at-home solutions for common store-bought products?
Yields 16 ounces of vanilla extract
A simple, homemade sugar-free, alcohol-free vanilla extract recipe.
15 minPrep Time
15 minTotal Time
Ingredients
- a tall glass bottle, at least 17 ounces
- a very sharp paring knife
- 16 ounces food-grade vegetable glycerine
- 8 Bourbon Madagascar Vanilla Beans
Instructions
- Pour the vegetable glycerine into the glass bottle.
- Cut the vanilla beans in half lengthwise. Use the sharp edge of your knife to scrape the seeds away from the bean pods.
- Add the seeds and bean pods to the vegetable glycerine.
- Cap bottle and put in a dark place to steep for 6 weeks.
- If desired, add additional vanilla bean pods to the vegetable glycerine as you use them in your kitchen.
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