Vanilla gets a bad rap as being a plain flavor, but REAL vanilla flavor levels up recipes like nobody’s business. This homemade vanilla bean sugar recipe is the perfect way to take any of your recipes up a notch by adding the warmth of real vanilla. Best of all, it’s super easy to make and can be swapped into any recipe that uses sugar!
While I first learned about infusing sugars with flavor in baking and pastry school, but since then I’ve gotten super creative with how I use it! Sure, you can use this sugar at a 1:1 ratio in place of sugar in any baking recipe, but you can also use it as a garnish in your drink recipes! I first made this sugar to rim glassware with in my vanilla espresso martini recipe.
You can also use this sugar to make your own vanilla syrup for drinks! Not to mention, you can use it as a finishing sugar on any cookie recipes, breads, or even muffins and cinnamon rolls! Best of all, the flavor gets better with time, and you can continue to add more spent vanilla pods as you use them in other vanilla-based recipes!
why this vanilla bean sugar recipe works:
🏅 high-quality ingredients. Using whole vanilla beans imparts the most pure and intense vanilla flavor. No other ingredients, just vanilla + sugar!
⏳ well-rested. Allowing the sugar to infuse for a couple of weeks means that you get a deeply flavored sugar.
✨ flavor enhancer. This sugar helps to make all flavors pop, but especially recipes that already contain vanilla extract!
🛒 ingredients
See the recipe card for the exact quantities.
🍳 instructions
1: Cut a slit down the middle of each vanilla bean, being careful to only pierce through one side. Gently pry open each vanilla pod to expose the specs of vanilla.
2: Drag the back edge of your knife down the vanilla bean to collect the inner vanilla. Be careful not to use the sharp edge!
3: Drop the vanilla into your bowl of sugar.
4: Whisk to combine.
5: Place the sugar in an airtight storage container, and put the empty vanilla beans into the jar as well.
6: Your sugar is ready to use immediately, but you can also allow it to infuse for longer for a stronger vanilla taste.
💡tips & tricks for getting it right
🍽️ how to use homemade vanilla bean sugar
- garnish your drinks – I love using this sugar to garnish glasses with! It’s got a great flavor that’s so much more complex than regular sugar, which usually rims dessert martinis.
- make a syrup – I’ve also used this sugar to make a homemade vanilla syrup! It adds so much more complexity and flavor to infused vanilla syrup compared to regular granulated sugar!
- use in recipes – this sugar can be used measure for measure in any recipe that uses granulated sugar. It will add such a wonderful layer of vanilla flavor, you’ll be shocked at the difference!
ℹ️ how to fix vanilla sugar gone wrong
- not enough flavor – While you can use this sugar immediately after mixing, it’s best to allow it to rest for a few weeks. This helps to intensify the flavor. You can add even more vanilla beans if you want to increase the flavor! I have found that 1 bean per cup of sugar is the perfect ratio for my tastes. BUT! I do like to continue to add “spent” vanilla bean pods from other recipes to the sugar jar.
- clumping – vanilla beans will add a bit of moisture to the sugar, so clumping will happen naturally. You can break these up by pulsing your sugar briefly in a food processor, using a fine mesh sieve to catch clumps when measuring, or, my favorite for ease, by smooshing the clumps apart on the edge of the bowl or plate when using the sugar. There’s just a weirdly satisfying sensation to busting the little clumps apart! 😂
⚖️ making more infused sugar
This recipe is super simple to scale, just keep in mind the ratio of one whole vanilla bean per cup of sugar, and you can make as much as you want! It’s a fantastic gift to make for the holidays!
🔆 top tip
Make sure to allow time for your sugar to rest. This helps the sugar to really infuse the most vanilla flavor!
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➕ adding on to your vanilla sugar
Depending on how you’ve used them, adding spent vanilla beans to your jar of vanilla sugar is a great way to continue to enhance the flavor over time. I do not recommend using vanilla beans you’ve used to infuse liquor or make homemade vanilla extract with. These pods have absorbed some alcohol and this can impact the flavor of your sugar. They also have additional moisture which will impact the texture of your sugar.
To keep the flavor the best, most pure vanilla, I like to add vanilla beans that have been scraped clean from other recipes. Simply drop them into your container of vanilla sugar and replace the same amount of sugar that you used in a recipe to keep your sugar going!
♻️ customize your sugar
Missing an ingredient? No problem. Check out these tried-and-true substitutions, or comment below with your question. I’m here to help you troubleshoot!
- swap the type of sugar – you can use brown sugar or demerara sugar in this recipe, too! Infusing a coarser sugar like demerara would make a wonderful finishing sugar for baked goods!
🧰 equipment needed & storage tips
🫙 how to store home infused sugar
Store your finished sugar in an airtight container, like a mason jar. I love using weck or le parfait jars because they also have a gasket ring that helps to keep air out.
This sugar has a little extra moisture to it because of the oils in the vanilla beans, so it tends to clump a bit. Making sure to keep it in an airtight container helps limit exposure to any additional moisture from humidity.
💬 q+a
Can I use vanilla extract or vanilla paste?
Technically you can, but it isn’t the best way to make the sugar because of the additional liquid the extract and paste will add to the sugar. Also, both vanilla extract and vanilla paste are made with more ingredients than just vanilla, so your sugar will also have extra ingredients in it. For the most pure vanilla taste, use whole vanilla beans!
Can I use used vanilla beans to make vanilla bean sugar?
When making this sugar, it’s best to use fresh vanilla beans to make the initial batch. Once you have your vanilla sugar going, you can continue to add used vanilla bean pods to the sugar. Using beans that have been soaked in alcohol will impact the taste of your vanilla sugar, so I recommend only using vanilla beans that have been scraped out.
If you make this recipe, please leave a review in the comments and a star rating!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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How to Make Vanilla Sugar (Homemade Vanilla Bean Sugar)
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Equipment
- 1 airtight storage container
- 1 pairing knife
- 1 cutting board
- 1 whisk
- 1 mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 400 g granulated sugar 2 cups
- 2 whole vanilla beans
Instructions
- Prep vanilla. Cut a slit down the middle of two vanilla beans, being careful to only pierce through one side. Gently pry open each vanilla pod to expose the specs of vanilla.
- Remove vanilla from pods. Drag the back edge of your knife down the vanilla bean to collect the inner vanilla. Be careful not to use the sharp edge!
- Add to sugar. Drop the vanilla into your bowl of sugar (400g, or 2 cups sugar).
- Combine. Whisk to combine.
- Store. Place the sugar in an airtight storage container, and put the empty vanilla beans into the jar as well.
- Your sugar is ready to use immediately, but you can also allow it to infuse for longer for a stronger vanilla taste.
Notes
Deepen the flavor
Continue to add spent vanilla beans from other recipes to your sugar to help deepen the flavor over time. You can also add more sugar as you add beans to continue using this sugar over time!troubleshooting tips
- not enough flavor – While you can use this sugar immediately after mixing, it’s best to allow it to rest for a few weeks. This helps to intensify the flavor. You can add even more vanilla beans if you want to increase the flavor!
- clumping – vanilla beans will add a bit of moisture to the sugar, so clumping will happen naturally. You can break these up by pulsing your sugar briefly in a food processor, using a fine mesh sieve to catch clumps when measuring.
Nutrition Information
The information provided is an estimate based on an online nutrition facts calculator and actual nutrition facts may vary.
