Best Healthy Coffee Creamer Alternatives For A Better Morning Brew

Are you tired of all the artificial ingredients in coffee creamer that wreak havoc on your stomach and cause your blood sugar to spike? Or maybe you’re reading this ’cause you’re tired of relying on your run-of-the-mill coffee creamer to spice up your morning coffee routine. Whatever your situation is, you’ve come here to find new, healthy coffee creamer alternatives. As a fully recovered Coffee Mate addict, I’m here to help. Sure, you can always add a tablespoon of milk and a spoon of sugar to your coffee, but that’s just not gonna hit the spot every time. Don’t worry though. After reading this post, you’ll know some of the best healthy creamer alternatives for coffee that’ll add a delicious–if not healthful–boost to your favorite morning drink, with little to no artificial junk.

The world is already full of fake. Fake friends, fake love, perfectly fake Instagram feeds. You don’t need to add fake to your coffee every morning. You deserve the real deal, baby.

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What’s wrong with conventional coffee creamers?

If you’re like me, you’ve probably been drinking conventional coffee creamers like Coffee Mate for years. 

While many conventional coffee creamer companies do offer sugar-free options for those who are watching their sugar and calorie intake, the “sugar free” label unfortunately doesn’t make the creamer healthy. 

Unfortunately, most conventional coffee creamers are full of nasty stuff that you really, really don’t want in your body. Even the ones marked as being “sugar free.”

Thanks to this article from Prevention for doing the research on 5 of the worst coffee creamer ingredients!

Here’s a quick look at some coffee creamer ingredients to avoid if you want a cleaner diet:

1. Thickeners
   • Some common thickeners like carrageenan are thought to cause digestive issues and inflammation
2. Artificial flavors
   • Most flavored coffee creamers contain artificial flavors… However, “artificial” anything is not something you want to consume if you’re striving for a cleaner diet.
3. Preservatives
   • According to my research, common preservatives such as sodium stearoyl lactylate and dipotassium phosphate aren’t too harmful.
   • But, there’s still no need to drink a coffee creamer with preservatives when I show you all the other delicious, preservative-free creamer alternatives.
4.  Partially hydrogenated oils
   • A.K.A. trans fats
   • Trans fats are bad for your health because they raise your cholesterol and put you at higher risk for heart disease
5. Artificial sweeteners
   • This is where companies really getcha. Because “sugar free” or “low calorie” sweetener is often just code for, “loaded with fake sweeteners.”
   • Artificial sweeteners, like sucralose, can still cause your blood sugar to spike.
   • This puts you at greater risk for Type 2 Diabetes.

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Unflavored healthy coffee creamer alternatives to add cream to your coffee

If you’re not trying to buy new, health coffee creamer alternatives, you can always opt for a simpler, cheaper approach. 

Non-dairy creamers such as oat milk, almond milk, macadamia milk or coconut milk are all great options. 

I especially love steamed oat milk in my morning coffee.

They’ll take the edge off black coffee, but if you’re wanting a healthy and delicious flavor with some creaminess, keep reading. 

How to learn to enjoy black coffee

Finding high quality, healthy coffee creamer is a great start to a healthier morning. But, sometimes you run out of creamer or you go to a coffee shop where they don’t carry clean creamers! If you’re someone who’d like to learn to enjoy drinking your coffee black, here are a few quick tips to get you started:

• Use high quality coffee beans with your preferred tasting notes (For example: I love tasting notes like chocolate, caramel, and bourbon. But, I don’t care for fruity tasting notes like apple or cherry.)
• Always grind your beans right before brewing, if possible, so you get the best flavors out of it.
• Find which coffee making method you prefer (French press, espresso maker, pour over, drip coffee, etc.)
• Use filtered water, so no funky taste disrupts your delicious coffee.

# Healthy Coffee Creamer Alternatives

1. Healthy Coffee Creamer Alternative 1 – Laird Superfood Creamer: For a Healthy Boost of Energy

This is the creamer that I use almost any day I need a change from black coffee. It’s super delicious, it never upsets my stomach, and there’s a decent variety of flavors to choose from.

Sometimes, I use it as creamer in black coffee. Other days, I mix it in with my espresso shots, add oat milk and make a bomb latte. Either way tastes amazing.

Calorie Range: about 45 calories per serving

Pros: 

• Laird Superfood Creamer is shelf-safe, thanks to Coconut Milk Powder.
• It contains no artificial ingredients or preservatives.
• One of the best parts about this creamer is that each creamer contains Extra Virgin Coconut Oil. That means each creamer naturally has a full range of MCTs. MCTS are easier to digest and are quickly absorbed for a healthy, efficient form of energy.
• Laird Superfood Creamer works for the following diets: paleo, plant-based, keto, dairy-free and gluten-free.
• They’re just the right amount of sweet, and are sweetened with organic coconut sugar.
• Laird Superfood Creamers contain aquamine, a multi-mineral complex that’s naturally rich in calcium and 72 other minerals in trace amounts.

Cons:

• Laird Superfood Creamer isn’t a “low calorie” coffee creamer. 
• One tablespoon of the Vanilla Superfood Creamer is 45 calories, in comparison to the 35 calories in one tablespoon of Coffee Mate’s French Vanilla creamer.
• That said, if 10 extra calories means you’re not consuming carrageenan, cellulose gel, cellulose gum, vegetable oil, artificial flavors and preservatives (all included in Coffee Mate’s French Vanilla), it might just be worth it to you. 

I know it’s worth it to me.

Flavors (my faves have an astrix!):

• *Original Superfood Creamer with Functional Mushrooms
• *Vanilla Superfood Creamer
• Original Superfood Creamer
• Unsweetened Superfood Creamer
• Turmeric Superfood Creamer
• *Cacao Superfood Creamer
• *Chocolate Mint Superfood Creamer
• Pumpkin Spice Superfood Creamer

Pro tips

#1: Laird Superfood Creamer is best mixed into your coffee with an electronic mixer.

However, I don’t own their mixer and have found great success in simply using a regular whisk–very aggressively haha. For a frothier experience, I put my coffee and Laird superfood creamer into a protein shaker bottle, shake it up and pour it out. 

#2: If you want it a little sweeter, I like to mix a bit of organic raw honey with some cinnamon and the vanilla Laird Superfood creamer. It’s like a latte, and it tastes a bit sweeter than just using the vanilla creamer.

Where to buy Laird Superfood Creamer

I’ve found limited flavors of Lairds creamer at Wholefoods, Sprouts, and some Targets. But usually I just order it online so I can get all the flavor options.

2. Prymal Coffee Creamer: For Keto, Low Carb, Low Sugar Diets

Calorie range: 45-50 calories per serving

Prymal creamer is a keto-friendly, health conscious creamer alternative for coffee. Keep in mind, it’s low carb. Not necessarily low calorie.

Pros: 

• Contains zero sugar–the creamer is sweetened with erythritol, monk fruit, chicory root and stevia
• Just 1 gram of net carbs per serving
• Gluten free and non GMO
• Plenty of delightful, fun flavors to spice up your coffee routine.
• 100% natural ingredients 
• ZERO hydrogenated oils, titanium dioxide, chemical sweeteners, or corn syrup solids
• Can be used in iced coffee or cold brews (view the Pro Tip below to find out how)
• Many flavors allow you to buy a small bag (about $6 for 5 cups of coffee) so you can try Prymal before committing to a large bag.

Cons:

• Not technically vegan. While Prymal Coffee Creamer is vegetarian, it doesn’t officially qualify as “vegan” because it uses Sodium caseinate as one of the carriers in the MCT Oil and Coconut Oil powder. Sodium Caseinate is a milk-derived product, with the lactose sugar removed. Prymal states: “If you are lactose intolerant this should be safe to consume but please consult your dietitian or doctor if you’re unsure. Do not consume if allergic to casein or are vegan.”
• Prymal Coffee Creamer is sweetened with KetoSweet, Prymal’s signature blend of erythritol, monk fruit, chicory root and stevia. If you are used to consuming real sugar in your coffee and diet, Prymal Creamer might take a bit of getting used to, since KetoSweet isn’t going to taste identical to sugar.
• Prymal is on the expensive side. I love that you can try small bags for about $6 to $6.50, but if you want a large bag, it’s about $22. For some people on a budget, that might just be too much for coffee creamer, even if it’s high quality, low carb and healthy.

Flavors: 

Pro Tip: To use this powdered creamer in an iced coffee or cold brew, Prymal suggests keeping a DIY liquid creamer in the fridge. Just mix 1 part creamer to 2 parts hot milk (or alternative milk), before popping into the fridge.

Where to buy

I buy Prymal Coffee Creamer from their website!

3. Picnik: For Keto & Low Carb, With Beauty & Health Benefits

This creamer is amazing for coffee lovers who prefer liquid creamer, a creamy texture, and want added health benefits for their morning brewski.

Picnik isn’t so much about flavors, so their coffee creamer does more to give your coffee a creamy, healthy boost without covering the flavor of your coffee.

Calorie range: 40-50 calories per serving

Overall Pros (varying from creamer to creamer):

• Collagen-enhanced creamer options (collagen is great for beautiful hair, skin and nails)
• All creamers are enhanced with MCT oil 
• Grass-fed butter enhanced creamer option (Keto Creamer)
• Zero sugar, zero carbs
• Vegan creamer option
• Non-GMO

Cons: 

• 3 out of 4 of Picnik’s available creamers are non-flavored (with Vanilla Oatmilk Adaptogen Creamer being the exception)
• While it’s not a huge con, each Picnik creamer’s ingredients read to include: “ *Contains 1.5% or less of Acacia Gum, Potassium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Sunflower Lecithin, Sodium Citrate, Gellan Gum.” So, not a lot, just not quite as squeaky clean as the first 2 healthy coffee creamer alternatives mentioned in this post.

Where to buy

You can find Picnik at Sprouts, Wholefoods, Target, and Walmart! Feel free to check the online shop too!

4. Nut Pods: Low Calorie Creamer

Nut Pods Coffee Creamer is basically a dairy free alternative to half-and-half creamer. This one stands out on this list for being low calorie.

Calorie range: 10 calories per serving size!

Pros:

• Nut Pods uses up to just 9 ingredients
• For taste: Water, coconut cream, almonds, sea salt, and natural flavors 
• For mixing with coffee: Acacia gum, sunflower lecithin, gellan gum and dipotassium phosphate
• A great coffee creamer for those who are watching their carb intake
• Nut Pods Creamer is kosher, Whole 30 approved, vegan, dairy free, gluten free, and unsweetened

Cons:

• All of the Nut Pods creamers are unsweetened. If you like your coffee sweet, you may want to add some stevia, monkfruit or even some organic honey or raw sugar.

Flavors:

Where to buy

Grab Nutpods creamer online, Ralph’s, Costco, Wholefoods, and Amazon.

Honorable Mentions: Healthy Coffee Creamer Alternatives Available at Your Local Grocery Store

5. Califia Farms

If you’re looking for a liquid, non-dairy creamer that’s not packed with calories and made with cleaner-than-most ingredients, Califia Farms might be the choice for you.

Califia creamers are free of carrageenan, soy, and dairy. 

Calorie range: Typically 15 calories per serving. Either unsweetened or low in sugar.

Nowadays, you can grab a carton of Califia coffee creamer at most grocery stores, though they have a wider selection of variety online.

Is Califia Farms creamer as clean as Laird or Prymal Creamers? Not quite. But is it a heck of a lot cleaner than most other creamers on the market? Absolutely. 

Note: I particularly love their Oat Barista Blend when I’m making a hot latte. I’ve used Califia Oat creamer and the Oat Barista Blend, and I’ve found that the barista blend steams for a much smoother latte.

Where to buy

You can buy Califia Farms creamer at about any grocery store! I get it from Sprouts or Target.

6. SO Delicious Coconut milk coffee creamer

With SO Delicious creamers, you can pick between an oatmilk creamer or a coconut creamer. 

In addition to each one’s original flavor, you can try the Oatmilk Snickerdoodle Creamer or Oatmilk Creamy Vanilla (I’ve personally tried the vanilla and found it to be the perfect liquid creamer alternative to conventional vanilla creamers.)

But if coconut milk is your preferred dairy free milk alternative, you can choose from original, Caramel or French Vanilla.

Calorie range: Typically 15-25 calories per serving, varying between unflavored and flavored. The sugar content ranges from 0 grams to 3 grams of sugar.

Like the Califia Farms creamers, the ingredients of SO Delicious creamers aren’t quite as clean as some of the other creamers in this post, but they’re still much cleaner than most coffee creamers.

For the cleanest options from SO Delicious, the original Coconut Milk Creamer or Oat Milk Creamer are your best bet.

Where to buy

Get this creamer online, Sprouts, Target, Wholefoods, Vons, Albertsons, and most other grocery stores.

Conclusion: 6 Best Healthy Coffee Creamer Alternatives

That wraps up the post, friend! You’re now well on your way to a healthier morning routine! You know 6 of the best healthier creamers on the market that have been tried and tested by yours truly. Remember, creamer isn’t a bad thing, but if it’s something you’re going to be drinking every morning to start your day, make it count!

Artificial, fake, and sugary creamers are a thing of the past now that you know the best healthy coffee creamer alternatives. So go ahead and add a healthful boost of MCTs, adaptogens, or collagen to your morning coffee to indulge in a delicious coffee sipping experience. 

You deserve it, fam.

All the love, hugs and good vibes.