Several months ago I discovered that Aldi carried a tasty instant french vanilla coffee mix.  This is a favorite of Hungry Son so I got in the habit of always having some in the house.

But much to my disappointment a few weeks ago, I could not find this product at Aldi.  Apparently it’s a seasonal item and they had made way for summer teas and lemonades.  What to do now?  Make Our Own, of course!

The following recipe goes together quickly and makes a delicious homemade instant french vanilla coffee.  I would like to give credit where it’s due for this recipe.  I found it a couple different places on the internet, but it looks like it may have first come from the Hillbilly Housewife website.

INSTANT FRENCH VANILLA COFFEE MIX
(click here for printable recipe )

1/3 cup instant coffee
1 cup instant dry milk powder
1/2 cup powdered coffee creamer
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup instant vanilla pudding mix

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl.  You can also process the mixture in a food processor or blender for 10 seconds or so to make the mixture more powdery. Store in jar or other covered container.

To use: Put 1/4 cup of the mix in a coffee mug.  Fill the coffee mug with hot water (about 3/4 cup to 1 cup water).  Stir and enjoy.

A Few More Notes:

  • Although you don’t have to process the mixture in a food processor or blender, I found that it really helped incorporate the larger granules of the instant coffee and gave the mixture a more desirable powdery texture.
  • Instead of using just regular vanilla instant pudding, I bought the french vanilla pudding mix.  (Why not ramp up the french vanilla a little more I said to myself – yum!) The 1/4 cup of instant pudding mix is about half of the box of instant pudding.
  • I used Splenda instead of regular sugar with good results.
  • I used the store brand of instant coffee but if you are finicky about your coffee you may prefer to purchase a brand like Folgers for this recipe.

We Liked It!
I made mugs of this homemade instant french vanilla coffee mix today for both my 20-something year old kids who happened to be hanging around the kitchen.  It was a cool rainy day and it really hit the spot.  They both gave it a thumbs up.

What I noticed was that it melted so smoothly and completely into the hot water.  Don’t you hate it when you mix up something (like a cup of hot chocolate), and you think you had it all mixed in good and you get to the bottom of your mug and there’s a whole clump of soggy stuff down there?  {{ Or maybe it’s just me who has that problem }}  Anyway, this mixture had none of that going on and that made me happy.

The instant coffee flavor was not overpowering either.  Normally I’m not a big fan of instant coffee.  I much prefer a fresh brewed pot of coffee.  But the other flavors blend nicely with the instant coffee and make it much more palatable.

I think this mix would also make a nice quick and easy gift around the holidays for people on your gift list like neighbors or teachers.

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