Main image of Homemade Vanilla Sugar

Homemade Vanilla Sugar

14 days + 5 min

Homemade staple

Make-ahead

10 ingredients or less

Pantry-ready
Vanilla sugar is an ingredient most commonly used in European cuisines. It's often used as a way to flavour and sweeten a dish, but it can also be sprinkled on cakes, pies, or cookies. It's also a delicious way to sweeten coffee or tea.

cups

Total

14 days + 5 min

Prep

5 min

Rest

14 days

Free from

Soy symbol

soy

Peanut symbol

peanut

Treenut symbol

tree nut

Sesame symbol

sesame

Gluten symbol

gluten

Ingredients

  • 2 cups (448 g)
    granulated sugar
  • 1
    vanilla pod

Try this in

Directions

  1. Add the sugar to a food processor.
  2. Use a small paring knife to slice the vanilla pod in half lengthwise, but try to not cut all the way through.
  3. Open the vanilla along the newly cut seam and use the back of the knife to scrape out the seeds. Add this to the food processor as well. Reserve the emptied vanilla pod for a later step.
  4. Blend the sugar for about 3 - 4 minutes, or until you achieve a fine, almost powder-like consistency. Pour the vanilla sugar into a jar.
  5. Submerge the reserved, empty pod into the sugar. If the pod doesn't fit into your jar, cut it into smaller pieces.
  6. Store the vanilla sugar at room temperature in a cool and dry place for at least 2 weeks for optimal flavour. Make sure to give the jar or container a shake every few weeks as there is a possibility that the sugar can clump together.

Storage

  • Store at room temperature in a cool and dry place for up to 6 months.
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Let us know what you think

Nutrition info

We believe that focusing on numbers can harm our relationship with food. Instead, our philosophy is to Nourish the Cells & the Soul. If you require specific nutrition information due to a medical condition, please consult with a dietitian or physician. The nutritional information provided is composed with the utmost care. However, we cannot guarantee the correctness of the displayed values, see also our disclaimer.

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Discussion & Rating

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Martunia - March 15, 2023, 6:31 p.m.

I made this one during fall and I continously use it in your latte mixes and dessert recipes. I love seeing the little black speckles of vanilla in my latte 😊

PUL Team - March 16, 2023, 6:11 a.m.

Mmm sounds so lovely, Martunia, thank you 🥰

Reply
Kelly - Feb. 26, 2023, 5:15 a.m.

This is so lovely! I made it for your Golden Latte Mix (a personal fav). I’m struggling with what else to use it in and I don’t want it to go bad! I made it awhile ago. Is there anything that calls for regular sugar that I could swap it for?

PUL Team - Feb. 26, 2023, 8:40 p.m.

Hey Kelly! Thanks for the question 😃 We mainly enjoy using vanilla sugar instead of general sugar to flavour baked goods, tea, and coffee. It works especially nicely sprinkled on to baked goods, or in fillings such as in our sponge cake recipe here: pickuplimes.com/recipe/vegan-…. If you're looking for another drink recipe, we'd recommend our Vanilla Coconut Matcha Latte if you haven't already seen it: pickuplimes.com/recipe/vanill…

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Domi - Feb. 25, 2023, 7:40 p.m.

That’s the only way I am making vanilla sugar. Saved so much money and I have real vanilla sugar :)

PUL Team - Feb. 26, 2023, 3:10 a.m.

Woohoo! So happy to hear, Domi 🙂

Reply
Maggie Punongbayan - April 4, 2022, 2:45 a.m.

The instructions were easy to follow; the results were INCREDIBLE.

PUL Team - April 4, 2022, 4:58 p.m.

So happy to hear, Maggie!

Reply
Cape Cod Lisa - Jan. 18, 2022, 8:52 p.m.

Greetings from beautiful Cape Cod, MA, USA! You might want to double-check your affiliate links b/c i clicked on the one for Vanilla Bean Pods and it took me to a coffee brand, which i am sure you do not intend. I would double-check all your links just to be sure they're pointed where you want on the correct Amazon products.
Love your site!

PUL Team - Jan. 19, 2022, 6:48 p.m.

Greetings, Lisa, thanks for the heads up! We'll take a look into the links not working, although we suspect it may be due to different regions automatically redirecting from our intended link or product. Sending hugs to Cape Cod 🤗

Reply
Melissa - Dec. 21, 2021, 5:39 a.m.

Hi can you use cane sugar instead of granulated? Or would that make it too sweet?

PUL Team - Dec. 21, 2021, 6:08 a.m.

Hi Melissa, that's a lovely question. The vanilla flavour tends to be stronger with granulated sugar but cane sugar is fine to use. You can always add less of the vanilla sugar to recipes to start and add more if a stronger vanilla taste or sweetness is desired 🙂

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Rachel - Dec. 20, 2021, 4:25 a.m.

Made this for Butterfly Pea, Red Velvet, and Golden Latte mixes to give away has holiday gifts. I used a Vitamix in place of a food processor and it worked out lovely. I'm a huge fan and wish I had time to leave reviews on all of the beautiful recipes of yours that I've tried. Sending thanks from San Diego CA :)

PUL Team - Dec. 21, 2021, 5:19 a.m.

Hi there, Rachel, we're so thrilled the recipes were enjoyed! It means so much ☺️ Sending an abundance of love and gratitude to San Diego💚

Reply
Saif - Dec. 14, 2021, 10:56 a.m.

Hi, first I wanna say that I'm a big fan. Second, I use a vanilla extract powder that is free from alcohol for my baking and I was wondering if you guys have any tips on how to incorporate that into sugar to make vanilla sugar. It seems simpler than having to let it sit for 2 weeks and it's already in a dissolvable form.

PUL Team - Dec. 15, 2021, 6:49 a.m.

Hi Saif, aw thanks for the support and for the question as well 🙂 We've used vanilla powder before and found that it left a bit of a grainy texture in the drink (if you're using it in drinks as we did). With that said, you can definitely still use it, but maybe try using less to start. You can always add more to your drink if you feel you'd like more of a vanilla taste. In this case, use the same amount of sugar as indicated, and start with just a little bit of vanilla powder mixed in. I can't say exactly how much, as we haven't tried it, but a teaspoon or two should do the trick. Again, best to add less at first, and you can always add more later if you think it needs it. Do let us know how it goes if you experiment with it!

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Marielena - Dec. 10, 2021, 7:34 p.m.

Los felicito por su compromiso y por las buenas recetas deliciosas y saludables, también quiero felicitarlos por esa hermosa cocina esas plantas bellas bellas creación de nuestro Dios Jehova, gracias por compartir esas deliciosas recetas, un abrazo sincero

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Morena - Dec. 9, 2021, 6:42 p.m.

Thank you for shearing, I love your recipes.

Reply