Make your own homemade vanilla extract with just 2 simple ingredients: vanilla beans and vodka! It’s much more cost-efficient than store-bought options . Let’s get started! Use it in baked goods like our Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread , Gluten-Free Banana Muffins , or our Simple Yellow Cake Mix .
Why Make Your Own Vanilla?
Cost-Effective : Produce more for less money. WAY less money!
Quality Control : Ensure high-quality, pure ingredients.
Customization : Experiment with different beans and alcohols. Some use rum or bourbon.
Freshness : Enjoy more vibrant and robust flavors.
Satisfaction and Gifts : Enjoy the process and create thoughtful gifts. I love to give these as Christmas Gifts !
Ingredients
Making your own vanilla really is SUPER easy. The typical ratio is about 5-6 vanilla beans per 8 ounces of alcohol.
Vanilla Beans – There are lots of types you can buy. Quality matters.
Alcohol – I use vodka. You can also use rum or bourbon for different flavors.
Which Vanilla Beans are Best for Making Vanilla Extract?
You can find vanilla beans at most major grocery stores in the spice aisle. If you can’t locate them, try purchasing them online. Here are three popular options.
Madagascar Bourbon vanilla beans – what most people associate with vanilla flavor. Full, creamy, and sweet flavor. I personally opt for this one.
Tahitian vanilla beans – floral aroma with cherry-like, licorice, and caramel flavor tones.
Mexican vanilla beans – both sweet and woody flavor tones with a spicy hint of cloves and nutmeg.
Vanilla beans labeled “Grade B” are specifically sold for extracting purposes. They are also cheaper. Because of this, I always opt for grade B. But, grade A will for sure work!
How to Make Homemade Vanilla
1. Prepare Your Vanilla Beans
Using a small sharp knife, slice one side of each vanilla bean open to expose the inside.
2. Submerge beans in alcohol
Place your sliced beans into a glass storage jar.
In order to fit them into my large mason jars, you may have to cut or bend the beans in order to make them fit.
Now, fill the jars with alcohol. My booze of choice was a cheap, unflavored vodka.
3. Wait. The Longer the Better!
Now for the hardest part of making your own vanilla, waiting!
You need to give the alcohol time to extract the vanilla flavor from the beans. (Get it, vanilla extract?)
Every week or so, give the jars a good shake. Some say wait about 6 weeks. Some say 6 months. The longer the vanilla sits, the more complex the flavor will be so I gave mine a good 5-6 months.
4. Store Your Finished Vanilla
I have used both amber bottles (pictured below) but now use these 8-ounce bottles to store my finished vanilla.
I added a little tag to my bottles and plan to give them away as little goodies in the future.
Recipes to Use Your Homemade Vanilla
There are so many ways to use homemade vanilla. The ingredient is called for in the majority of baking recipes. Here are just a few we wanted to highlight for you!
Pumpkin Spice Latte
Blueberry French Toast Casserole with Vanilla Glaze
Simple Homemade Granola
Blondie Brownies
FAQs
How long does it take to make homemade vanilla? It takes about 8 weeks for the vanilla extract to develop a good flavor, but for the best results, let it steep for 6 months. How do I store home made vanilla? Store it in a cool, dark place in a glass bottle. It doesn’t need to be refrigerated. Does it save money to make your own vanilla? Yes, making your own vanilla extract can save money. While store-bought high-quality vanilla extract costs around $16-$32 for 8 ounces, homemade vanilla extract costs approximately $11-$22 for the same amount. This results in savings of $5-$10 per 8-ounce bottle, with additional benefits like higher quality, customization, and further cost reduction if you reuse the beans. Can dogs eat vanilla extract? While it is fine for dogs to consume it in baked goods (like humans do), dogs should not consume vanilla extract in its original form. Vanilla extract contains alcohol, which can be toxic to dogs. Even small amounts of alcohol can cause symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhea, difficulty breathing, tremors, and in severe cases, coma or death.
Did you make this? Snap a photo and tag us on Instagram at @thrivinghome so we can see your creations and cheer you on!
5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star
5 from 1 review
Homemade Vanilla Extract
How to make vanilla extract at home. This homemade vanilla recipe is great not only for cooking with but also a great gift idea!
Yield: 16 oz bottle
Prep: 5 minutes Cook: 0 minutes Total: 6 weeks
Print Recipe
Rate
Pin for Later
Email
Units:
US M
Ingredients
10-12 Vanilla Beans
16 ounces Vodka
Cook Mode
Prevent your screen from going dark
Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.
Instructions
Prepare your vanilla beans (for every 8 ounces of vanilla you want to make, you will need 5-6 vanilla beans).
Slice one side of each bean open to expose the inside.
Submerge beans in alcohol.
Now, fill your jars with alcohol. My booze of choice was a cheap, unflavored vodka. You don’t need expensive vodka to make this work.
Wait. Every week or so, give the jars a good shake. Some say wait about 6 weeks. Some say 6 months. The longer the vanilla sits, the more complex the flavor will be so I gave mine a good 5-6 months.
Store your vanilla extract for long-term use.
Notes/Tips
I like to use these 8 ounce bottles for storage .
You don’t need expensive vodka to make this work. Just as long as it’s 80-proof.
(function(){
window.addEventListener( 'message', function( event ){
if ( ( 'https://nutrifox.com' !== event.origin && 'https://nutrifox.test' !== event.origin ) ||
typeof event.data !== 'string' ) {
return;
}
var payload = JSON.parse( event.data );
switch ( payload.event ) {
case 'setHeight':
var iframe = document.getElementById( 'nutrifox-label-' + payload.recipeId );
iframe.style.height = payload.height + 'px';
break;
}
} );
}());
© Author: Polly Conner
Cuisine:
American
Method:
DIY
Did you make this?
Snap a photo and tag us on Instagram at @thrivinghome so we can see your creations and cheer you on!
Rate Recipe
Tag Us on Instagram
.tasty-recipes-print-button{background-color:#667;border:none;display:inline-block;padding:.5em 1em;text-decoration:none}body:not(.tasty-recipes-print-view) .tasty-recipes-print-button.tasty-recipes-print-above-card{color:#fff;display:none}body:not(.tasty-recipes-print-view) .tasty-recipes-print-button.tasty-recipes-print-above-card:hover{background-color:#b2b2bb;color:#fff;display:inline-block;padding:.5em 1em;text-decoration:none}.tasty-recipes-image-button-container{display:flex;flex-direction:column;flex-wrap:wrap;float:right;margin-left:10px}body.tasty-recipes-print-view .tasty-recipes-buttons,body.tasty-recipes-print-view .tasty-recipes-cook-mode{display:none}.tasty-recipes-image-button-container .tasty-recipes-buttons{margin-bottom:10px;margin-top:10px}.tasty-recipes-image-button-container .tasty-recipes-button-wrap{box-sizing:border-box;margin-bottom:10px}.tasty-recipes-image-button-container .tasty-recipes-buttons a,.tasty-recipes-quick-links a.button{background-color:#f9f9f9;background-color:var(--tr-button-color,#f9f9f9);border:1px solid #aaa;border-color:var(--tr-button-color,#aaa);border-radius:0;color:#aaa;color:var(--tr-button-text-color,#aaa);cursor:pointer;display:block;font-size:16px;font-weight:700;line-height:16px;margin-top:0;padding:8px;text-align:center;text-decoration:none;text-transform:uppercase}.tasty-recipes-quick-links{align-items:center;display:flex;gap:.625em;justify-content:center;margin-bottom:1em}.tasty-recipes-quick-links a.button{display:inline-block;margin:0}.tasty-recipes-quick-links a.button+span{display:none}.tasty-recipes-entry-content .tasty-recipes-buttons a:hover,.tasty-recipes-image-button-container .tasty-recipes-buttons .button:hover,.tasty-recipes-quick-links a.button:hover{background-color:var(--tr-button-text-color,#aaa);color:var(--tr-button-color,#f9f9f9);text-decoration:none}.tasty-recipes-image-button-container .tasty-recipes-buttons .button:hover{opacity:1}.tasty-recipes-image-button-container .tasty-recipes-buttons a:hover{background-color:#979599;text-decoration:none}.tasty-recipes-image-button-container .tasty-recipes-buttons svg{display:none}.tasty-recipes-yield-scale{border:1px solid #979599;border-radius:2px;color:#979599;font-size:.7rem;margin-left:3px;padding:0 4px}.tasty-recipes-units-scale-container{display:flex;flex-wrap:wrap}.tasty-recipes-convert-container{padding:0 1em 1em 0}.tasty-recipes-convert-container .tasty-recipes-convert-label{align-self:center;color:#979599;font-size:.6rem;text-transform:uppercase}.tasty-recipes-convert-container button{background:transparent;border:1px solid #353547;border-radius:2px;color:#353547;letter-spacing:0;margin-left:5px;min-width:34px;padding:2px 4px;text-align:center}.tasty-recipes-convert-container button.tasty-recipes-convert-button-active{background-color:#000;border-color:#000;color:#fff}.tasty-recipes-convert-container button:focus{outline:none}.tasty-recipes-scale-container{display:flex;padding:0 0 1em}.tasty-recipes-scale-container .tasty-recipes-scale-label{align-self:center;color:#979599;font-size:.6rem;text-transform:uppercase}.tasty-recipes-scale-container button{background:transparent;border:1px solid #353547;border-radius:2px;color:#353547;cursor:pointer;letter-spacing:0;margin-left:5px;min-width:34px;padding:2px 4px}.tasty-recipes-scale-container button.tasty-recipes-scale-button-active{background-color:#000;border-color:#000;color:#fff}.tasty-recipes-scale-container button:focus{outline:none}.tasty-recipes-ingredients-header{margin:1em 0}@media only screen and (min-width:520px){.tasty-recipes-ingredients-header{align-items:center;display:flex;flex-wrap:wrap;justify-content:space-between}}.tasty-recipes-ingredients-header .tasty-recipes-ingredients-clipboard-container{align-items:baseline;display:inline-flex}.tasty-recipes-ingredients-header h3{margin:0 10px 10px 0}.tasty-recipes-ingredients-clipboard-container .tasty-recipes-copy-button{background:transparent;border:none;color:#353547;height:24px;padding:0;position:relative;width:24px}.tasty-recipes-ingredients-clipboard-container .tasty-recipes-copy-button:hover{opacity:.5}.tasty-recipes-instructions-header{align-items:baseline;display:flex;flex-wrap:wrap;justify-content:space-between;margin:1em 0}.tasty-recipes-entry-content .tasty-recipes-instructions h3{margin:0 0 1rem}@media only screen and (min-width:520px){.tasty-recipes-entry-content .tasty-recipes-instructions h3{margin:0}}button[name=tasty-recipes-video-toggle]{background:#979599;border:#979599;border-radius:2px;display:inline-block;font-size:14px;height:30px;line-height:20px;margin:0;padding:0;text-align:center;vertical-align:middle;width:86px}button[name=tasty-recipes-video-toggle] span{padding:0 4px;pointer-events:none}button[name=tasty-recipes-video-toggle][aria-checked=false] :last-child,button[name=tasty-recipes-video-toggle][aria-checked=true] :first-child{background:#fff;border-radius:2px;color:#979599;padding:2px 4px}button[name=tasty-recipes-video-toggle][aria-checked=false] :first-child,button[name=tasty-recipes-video-toggle][aria-checked=true] :last-child{color:#fff}label[for=tasty-recipes-video-toggle]{color:#979599;font-size:.6rem;line-height:30px;padding-right:8px;text-transform:uppercase;user-select:none;-moz-user-select:none;-ms-user-select:none;-webkit-user-select:none;-o-user-select:none;vertical-align:middle}.tasty-recipe-responsive-iframe-container{margin:10px 0}.tasty-recipes-equipment{display:flex;flex-wrap:wrap;justify-content:space-evenly}.tasty-recipes-equipment>h3{flex:0 0 100%}.tasty-recipes-equipment .tasty-link-card{flex:0 0 50%;padding:1.5rem 1rem;text-align:center}@media screen and (min-width:500px){.tasty-recipes-equipment .tasty-link-card{flex:0 0 33%}}.tasty-recipes-equipment .tasty-link-card p{font-size:1em;font-weight:700;margin-bottom:0}.tasty-recipes-equipment .tasty-link-card p a{color:initial}.tasty-recipes-equipment .tasty-link-card span{font-size:.9em}.tasty-recipes .tasty-recipes-nutrition ul{list-style-type:none;margin:0;padding:0}.tasty-recipes .tasty-recipes-nutrition ul:after{clear:both;content:" ";display:block}.tasty-recipes .tasty-recipes-nutrition li{float:left;list-style-type:none;margin-bottom:0;margin-left:0;margin-right:16px}.tasty-recipes-plug{align-items:center;display:flex;flex-wrap:wrap;justify-content:center;margin-bottom:1em;text-align:center}.tasty-recipes-plug a{box-shadow:none;text-decoration:none}.tasty-recipes-plug a img{background:transparent;box-shadow:none;display:inline-block;height:auto;margin:5px 0 0 8px;padding:0;width:150px}.tasty-recipes-footer-content{padding:1.5em;text-align:center}.tasty-recipes-footer-content .tasty-recipes-footer-copy{margin-left:0}.tasty-recipes-footer-content img,.tasty-recipes-footer-content svg{width:60px}.tasty-recipes-entry-content .tasty-recipes-entry-footer h3{font-size:1.25em;margin:0 0 .25em;padding:0}.tasty-recipes-entry-footer p{font-size:.75em;margin:0}.tasty-recipes-entry-footer p a{border-bottom:none;box-shadow:none;text-decoration:underline}.tasty-recipes-flash-message{background-color:#fff;border-radius:4px;box-shadow:0 .3px .4px 0 rgba(0,0,0,.024),0 .9px 1.5px 0 rgba(0,0,0,.05),0 3.5px 6px 0 rgba(0,0,0,.1);color:#313135;display:inline-block;font-size:13px;letter-spacing:0;line-height:1.2em;margin-left:10px;padding:4px 10px}@media screen and (min-width:500px){.tasty-recipes-flash-message{padding:4px 10px}}.tasty-recipes-flash-message p{margin:0;padding:0;text-transform:none}@media screen and (min-width:500px){.tasty-recipes-footer-content{align-items:center;display:flex;justify-content:center;padding:1.5em 0;text-align:left}.tasty-recipes-footer-content .tasty-recipes-footer-copy{margin-left:.8em}}@media print{.tasty-recipes-no-print,.tasty-recipes-no-print *{display:none!important}}[data-tr-ingredient-checkbox]{cursor:pointer;list-style-position:outside;list-style-type:none!important;margin-left:0!important}[data-tr-ingredient-checkbox] .tr-ingredient-checkbox-container{position:relative}[data-tr-ingredient-checkbox] .tr-ingredient-checkbox-container input[type=checkbox]+label{display:inline-block;position:relative;vertical-align:middle}[data-tr-ingredient-checkbox] .tr-ingredient-checkbox-container input[type=checkbox]{clip:rect(1px 1px 1px 1px);clip:rect(1px,1px,1px,1px);height:1px;overflow:hidden;position:absolute!important;width:1px}[data-tr-ingredient-checkbox] .tr-ingredient-checkbox-container input[type=checkbox]+label:before{border:1px solid;border-radius:2px;content:"";display:inline-block;height:20px;margin-right:10px;position:relative;width:20px}[data-tr-ingredient-checkbox] .tr-ingredient-checkbox-container input[type=checkbox]:checked+label:after{border-bottom:2px solid;border-left:2px solid;content:"";display:inline-block;height:6px;left:4px;position:absolute;top:4px;transform:rotate(-45deg);width:12px}[data-tr-ingredient-checkbox] .tr-ingredient-checkbox-container input[type=checkbox]:focus+label:before{box-shadow:0 0 8px #5e9ed6;outline:1px solid #5d9dd5}[data-tr-ingredient-checkbox=checked]{opacity:.8;text-decoration:line-through}.tasty-recipes-cook-mode__container{align-items:center;display:flex;line-height:100%}.tasty-recipes-cook-mode__container label{font-size:inherit}.tasty-recipes-cook-mode__switch{display:inline-block;height:17px;margin-right:10px;position:relative;width:30px}.tasty-recipes-cook-mode__switch-slider{background-color:#737373;bottom:0;cursor:pointer;display:block;left:0;opacity:.4;position:absolute;right:0;top:0;transition:.4s}.tasty-recipes-cook-mode__switch-slider:before{background-color:#fff;bottom:2px;content:"";height:13px;left:2px;position:absolute;transition:.4s;width:13px}.tasty-recipes-cook-mode__switch input{display:none}.tasty-recipes-cook-mode__switch input:checked+span{opacity:1}.tasty-recipes-cook-mode__switch input:checked+span:before{transform:translateX(13px)}.tasty-recipes-cook-mode__switch-round{border-radius:34px}.tasty-recipes-cook-mode__switch-round:before{border-radius:50%}.tasty-recipes-cook-mode__label{font-weight:700}@media only screen and (max-width:767px){#shop-with-instacart-v1{transform:scale(.75);transform-origin:top left}}
body{ --tr-star-color:#32414e; }
.tasty-recipes-rating-outline,.tasty-recipes-rating-solid{display:inline-block;line-height:1}.tasty-recipes-rating-outline svg,.tasty-recipes-rating-solid svg{fill:currentColor;height:var(--tr-star-size,18px);width:var(--tr-star-size,18px)}.tasty-recipes-rating-outline[data-tr-clip="10"] svg,.tasty-recipes-rating-solid[data-tr-clip="10"] svg{fill:url(#tasty-recipes-clip-10)}.tasty-recipes-rating-outline[data-tr-clip="20"] svg,.tasty-recipes-rating-solid[data-tr-clip="20"] svg{fill:url(#tasty-recipes-clip-20)}.tasty-recipes-rating-outline[data-tr-clip="30"] svg,.tasty-recipes-rating-solid[data-tr-clip="30"] svg{fill:url(#tasty-recipes-clip-30)}.tasty-recipes-rating-outline[data-tr-clip="40"] svg,.tasty-recipes-rating-solid[data-tr-clip="40"] svg{fill:url(#tasty-recipes-clip-40)}.tasty-recipes-rating-outline[data-tr-clip="50"] svg,.tasty-recipes-rating-solid[data-tr-clip="50"] svg{fill:url(#tasty-recipes-clip-50)}.tasty-recipes-rating-outline[data-tr-clip="60"] svg,.tasty-recipes-rating-solid[data-tr-clip="60"] svg{fill:url(#tasty-recipes-clip-60)}.tasty-recipes-rating-outline[data-tr-clip="70"] svg,.tasty-recipes-rating-solid[data-tr-clip="70"] svg{fill:url(#tasty-recipes-clip-70)}.tasty-recipes-rating-outline[data-tr-clip="80"] svg,.tasty-recipes-rating-solid[data-tr-clip="80"] svg{fill:url(#tasty-r
All Rights Reserved Book Blog