Simple techniques, like this one, can make a huge difference in your baking and cooking. This flavorful sugar is perfect for everything from cookies to coffee.
Table of Contents
🗝️ Key takeaways
- Skip the expensive, pre-packaged vanilla sugar from specialty stores and create your own vanilla sugar at home with just two ingredients.
- Vanilla bean sugar is a delicious substitute for granulated in coffee, tea, cookies, cakes, and even cocktails!
- Make this vanilla sugar recipe with regular sugar, brown sugar, colored sugar crystals, or granulated sugar substitutes.
This sweet, fragrant baking staple is popular at grocery stores across European regions and is a common baking ingredient in German recipes, too.
Today, you'll learn how to make vanilla sugar—homemade is much easier than you think!
🧾 Ingredients
This is an overview of the ingredients. You'll find the full measurements and instructions in the green recipe card (printable) at the bottom of the page.
📖 Variations
- Colored sugar crystals make vanilla sugar extra pretty and decorative—perfect for dolling up your next batch of Christmas cookies!
- Light brown sugar adds a lovely caramel note to the sweet flavor. Just know that the added moisture will make your vanilla sugar clump a little.
- Raw turbinado sugar combines the texture of crystals with the flavor of light brown sugar—it's another great alternative!
- You can also make vanilla sugar with granulated sugar substitutes, such as coconut sugar, date sugar, monk fruit sweetener, or stevia.
- Learn more about vanilla sugar substitutes.
🔪 Instructions
This is an overview of the instructions. Full instructions are in the green recipe card at the bottom of the page.
- Carefully split the whole vanilla beans in half.
- Scrape the seeds into the sugar.
- Stir to mix the vanilla bean seeds evenly into the sugar.
- Add to a glass jar and place the empty pods on top.
🥫 How to store leftovers
Store leftover vanilla sugar in an airtight container—preferably a sealed glass jar. It works better than plastic.
Keep it in a cool, dry place at room temperature.
Shake the container often to prevent the sugar from clumping up. You can also use a terracotta sugar softener if you have one—they're commonly used to prevent brown sugar from getting hard while in storage.
💭 Things to know
Expert Tip: Use a blender, food processor, or clean coffee grinder to mix the ingredients more evenly. You’ll definitely want to do this with coarser sugar, like coconut sugar and turbinado sugar.
- However, don’t process colored sugar crystals in a blender. You want the large crystals intact for decorating sugar cookies!
- The best way to store vanilla sugar is in a sealed glass container such as a mason jar or small bottle. The vanilla aroma can escape through the pores in plastic containers.
- Placing the emptied vanilla bean pods on top of the sugar adds even more flavor while it’s stored!
- Add one or two teaspoons to your next cup of coffee or tea, or sprinkle it on fresh fruit. You can use it in any baking recipe, too.
- Once you’ve used up all your vanilla sugar, repurpose the empty bean pods to make your own homemade vanilla extract.
👩🍳 FAQs
Regular granulated sugar works best in because it’s dry and the fine texture absorbs the vanilla flavor well. Plus, it’s a common ingredient you already have in your pantry!
Nope! Confectioner’s sugar is too fine and will clump up somethin’ fierce when you mix it with the seeds. Vanilla is the second most expensive spice in the world, so don’t ruin it this way.
Yep, you can. If you use brown sugar, though, make sure it’s light brown sugar. The extra molasses in dark brown sugar will overpower the vanilla and the additional moisture will give your vanilla sugar the texture of wet sand—no, thank you!
Madagascar vanilla beans (or Madagascar bourbon vanilla beans) have a strong, traditional, sweet vanilla flavor. Mexican vanilla beans are smooth and rich with a hint of smoky spice. Tahitian vanilla beans have a more delicate, fruity flavor. Use whatever whole beans you like!
Grade B beans work best because they’re dryer and have a more concentrated flavor than grade A vanilla beans. Plus, they’re a lot more affordable.
Sure, but fresh vanilla beans make the best vanilla sugar, hands-down. Here are some alternatives if you're curious:
Vanilla extract: Add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract for every ¼ cup of sugar. Dry out the mixture on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper for 20-30 minutes, then pulse it in a food processor. Use high-quality, pure vanilla extract.
Vanilla bean paste: Add 1-2 tablespoons of vanilla paste for every ½ cup of sugar. Blend it in a food processor to get a smoother texture.
Vanilla powder: Mix 2-4 tablespoons of vanilla powder with every 1 cup of sugar.
📚 Related recipes
- These French Vanilla Cupcakes are a classic cupcake recipe with lots of vanilla flavor and plenty of tasty ways to personalize ‘em.
- Moist and tender, this Vanilla Bean Brown Butter Bundt Cake is a simple treat flavored with nutty brown butter and fresh vanilla beans.
- Enjoy your next adults-only ladies’ night with a French Gin and Tonic cocktail made my way with sweet vanilla bean pods and flowery gin!
🍽️ Serve with...
These Peppermint Blossom Cookies feature Hershey’s Candy Cane Kisses and colorful red and green sugar—a pretty addition to every Christmas cookie tray.
Margarita Pound Cake is the perfect dessert to finish off any Tex-Mex meal. Substitute vanilla sugar in place of white to make this rich, moist, velvety cake even more delicious.
One of the best German baking recipes out there, German Apple Pie is creamy, buttery, and warm with spice. Use vanilla sugar in this apple pie to take the flavor to the next level!
🫶 Restless Chipotle recommends
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I think these storage jars are super cute and they come with wooden spoons and labels. They'd make an adorable gift filled with vanilla sugar and with some raffia tied around the top.
📞 The last word
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need.
If you love this recipe please comment below and give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📖 Recipe
How to Make Vanilla Sugar
Print Pin Recipe Rate RecipeIngredients
- 2 cups granulated sugar, or use colored sugar crystals
- 2 vanilla beans
Instructions
- Put the sugar in a bowl.
- Cut the vanilla beans in half lengwise.
- Scrape the knife along the inner part of the vanilla bean to scrape out the small, black seeds.
- Add the seeds to the sugar.
- Mix well to evenly distribute the seeds. If they stick together too much you can quickly run them throuh a blender. Do not put colored sugar crystals through the blender - it will break them up.
- Spoon into a storage jar.
- Place a couple of the hulls from the vanilla beans on top.
- Seal jar and store in a cool dark place for a week, shaking often.
Notes
-
- Use a blender, food processor, or clean coffee grinder to mix the ingredients more evenly. You’ll definitely want to do this with coarser sugar, like coconut sugar and turbinado sugar.
- Don’t process colored sugar crystals in a blender. You want the large crystals intact for decorating sugar cookies!
-
- The best way to store vanilla sugar is in a sealed glass container such as a mason jar or small bottle. The vanilla aroma can escape through the pores in plastic containers.
-
- Placing the emptied vanilla bean pods on top of the sugar adds even more flavor while it’s stored!
-
- Add one or two teaspoons to your next cup of coffee or tea, or sprinkle it on fresh fruit. You can use it in any baking recipe, too.
-
- Once you’ve used up all your vanilla sugar, repurpose the empty bean pods to make your own homemade vanilla extract.
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
This recipe has been tested several times. If you choose to use other ingredients, or change the technique in some way, the results may not be the same.
Patty says
Make your vanilla extract first, dry your beans, then proceed with making vanilla sugar.