Vanilla Syrup Substitute – 6 Tried-And-True Ideas

Vanilla syrup substitute is a great idea to upgrade your beverages or diversify your meals. There are different methods to alter your vanilla syrup with ease.

You can use some extracts such as almond, vanilla bean, honey, or chocolate.

The article below will suggest six perfect ideas for a suitable alternative. Scroll down for details!

What Is Vanilla Syrup?

What is vanilla syrup made of? It is made of sugar, vanilla extract, and boiling water. It can sweeten the iced drinks with the liquid texture and sugar-rich content.

You can use it for your coffee and tea to be more flavorful and sweeter. Can you use vanilla extract instead of vanilla syrup in coffee?

Yes, because vanilla extract is one of the main ingredients of vanilla syrup. Thus, you can turn your latte into a vanilla latte by adding vanilla extract to it.

Vanilla Syrup Substitute

1. Use Chocolate

Chocolate is a close substitute for vanilla syrup to create the same flavor in some drinks such as coffee. You can use chocolate sauce, one of the mocha ingredients in coffee shops.

In case you want to enjoy a hot cup of joe with a stronger flavor,  cacao powder or shredded dark chocolate is ideal.

You can also add dark chocolate powder if you have a sweet tooth. Infusing your coffee with pocket chocolate or chocolate sauce is a good tip for high caffeine content.

It only takes a few minutes to make vanilla syrup for coffee by using chocolate. Mix the chocolate and granulated sugar in the cup or glass.

Pour the water and stir them together while boiling them. Add your favorite extract, such as vanilla. Now, you can add it to your coffee and enjoy it.

If your chocolate syrup is still leftover, place it in a jar or container with an airtight top and keep it at room temperature for several weeks.

2. Replace With Almond Extract

What Is Almond Extract?

Almond extract is a condensed liquid that includes water, alcohol, and almond oil.

When it comes to its optimal pairings, this extract can go well with vanilla, cherry, coffee, or chocolate flavors with a pure and strong taste.

Thus, it is one of the main ingredients of baked goods or desserts due to the strong flavor of almonds.

The almond cold pressing process produces the almond extract by adding slightly yellow oil with alcohol. This process can preserve most nutrients in the almond.

To prolong its shelf life, the manufacturer also adds stabilizers such as alcohol or glycerin in the extract’s ingredients.

Bitter and sweet almond extracts are the two main results of this process. Bitter almond is suitable to make cookies, cakes, muffins, baked goods, bread recipe, or pies. Meanwhile, ice creams and desserts contain a large amount of sweet extract.

High fats, fiber content, vitamins, minerals, and protein bar with low carbohydrates are what you can find in this ingredient. Therefore, it is popular in cosmetics to strengthen your hair and brighten your skin.

How To Use Almond Extract To Replace

Due to its potent flavor, this extract becomes a perfect substitute for vanilla syrup in coffee. Add several drops of pure almond extract without sugar to your coffee to sweeten it.

You can also mix it with vanilla milk for different flavors.

Besides, a homemade almond syrup recipe will make your desserts or beverages tastier. With three basic ingredients, you can get a complete almond syrup for a few minutes.

Mix sugar, water, and pure almond extract in a saucepan and boil them at medium heat until the sugar is dissolved.

Stir the whole time and move to the heat-proof container for cooling at room temperature. Keep syrup in the fridge until it is ready to use.

3. Natural Honey Substitute

Natural honey is a healthy vanilla syrup alternative with surprising benefits and natural flavor.

Derived from the flower nectar with honeybees’ enzyme, this sweetener doesn’t contain synthetic substances, additional colors, and artificial flavors.

Consuming natural honey, you are on the way to reap its healing properties, antifungals, antibacterials, and antioxidants with lower glycemic content.

If you have digestion problems or a sore throat, you should also use this liquid.

Honey is suitable for baking or adding to your coffee with a sweet taste and rich nutrition. Using honey instead of vanilla syrup, you can create unique kidfriendly recipes for your cakes or drinks with the same flavor.

To process a honey syrup at home, combine the honey and water in the saucepan and stir the entire time for a completely dissolved honey.

Bring the saucepan to a boil, take it off the heat, and cool it at room temperature. Pour it into an airtight container and preserve in the fridge for three weeks until ready to use.

You can serve honey syrup with iced or hot coffee, milk, lattes at home, cocktails, or tea.

4. Pure Maple Syrup

About Maple Syrup

Maple syrup is a natural sweetener processed by concentrating the maple tree sap. By tapping the maple tree in the early spring, you can collect its sap and cook it into a tasty and nutritious syrup.

The harvested sap can generate condensed dark-brown liquid.

The natural maple syrup can last up to three years without preservatives or additives. Thus, this is an excellent replacement for the vanilla syrup to have new various pot recipes.

Many minerals such as zinc, calcium, iron, manganese, and plenty of sugar are chock-full in this ingredient.

A maple syrup tablespoon contains 13 grams of carbohydrates, 52 calories without fiber, fats, or protein.

You can cook this syrup into glazes, or sauces, add it to savory foods and serve it with pancakes for your breakfast or weeknight dinner.

Replace With Maple Syrup

Try maple syrup instead of vanilla extract to spice up your favorite recipes with the sweet hint and high calories.

With the simple steps, you can make maple syrup to use, given that you can get hands on some maple extract and honey.

Mix sugar, water, and honey in a large pan, then bring the blend to a boil on medium heat. Reduce the heat to a low level and simmer the mixture for 8-10 minutes, keep stirring constantly.

Let it sit for 5 minutes and add the maple extract. Pour the maple syrup into an airtight container and preserve it in the fridge.

You can serve this syrup for different dishes such as waffles, pancakes, salmon, bacon, or vegetables.

5. Use Vanilla Bean Paste

One of the simple tips to alternate the vanilla syrup is using vanilla bean paste. It can provide the vanilla taste for your complete foods and beverages.

What Is Vanilla Bean Paste?

It is a sweet and syrupy ingredient that combines ground vanilla beans and pure vanilla extract. This paste can include the preservatives and sweeteners such as corn syrup without vanilla to enhance the intense flavor.

You can see it pops up in different smoothie recipes, including sweet and savory dishes. The lifespan of this paste is shorter than the pure vanilla extract.

However, you can use its equal amount to substitute for vanilla extract.

The paste gives your pastries some black specks so that you can use them instead of the vanilla powder or extract.

It is ideal for foods with high liquid content, such as custards or creams. Another useful tip is adding the paste in the ground coffee to make its taste more full-bodied.

How To Substitute With Vanilla Bean Paste

You can get vanilla bean paste as one of the vanilla substitutes with the simple and easy-made formula.

Place vanilla beans and vanilla extract in the food processor and blend until you get a smooth mixture. Pour this mixture inside a bowl covered with a fine mesh strainer.

After straining to collect the liquid, pour the strained paste into an airtight jar or container and store it in the fridge.

You can use this vanilla simple syrup for cakes, puddings, frostings, whipped creams, smoothies, ice cream, or oatmeal.

6. Vanilla Powder Alternative

Add the amount of vanilla powder to the vanilla syrup substitute list if you seek a more potent vanilla flavor extract.

A nice recipe might need a tbsp of vanilla extract tablespoon but only ¼ tbsp of vanilla powder to be tastier.

What Is Vanilla Powder? 

It is a fine-textured powder that gets from grinding the dry vanilla beans.

It is a suitable flavoring for dry-baked foods such as coffee, baked goods, or tea as it can retain its taste under high heat and long baking time.

You also serve this flavoring with dry ingredients, fresh fruits, or recipes. The best way to use it for coffee is steeping with ground coffee to get the brewing duration.

Use Vanilla Powder As An Alternative

Make a homemade vanilla powder as one of the subs for vanilla extract or any preparation you want. The only main ingredient you need is the vanilla beans processed into fine powder.

Use a knife to cut the beans lengthwise and open them out. Put vanilla beans on the baking tray and bake them at 180 degrees Celsius within 5 minutes.

Take them from the oven and wait for them to cool. After that, cut them into small pieces.

Place the baked vanilla beans in the food processor and grind until reaching the fine texture. Serve it immediately with your favorite recipes or keep it in an airtight container.

Conclusion

You can follow six useful and simple tips from this article for vanilla syrup substitute formulas. They are convenient if you don’t have the available vanilla syrup in your home or it is out of stock.

These alternatives also give you more chances to enjoy flavorful recipes with the various ingredients to find the best fit for your palate.