# Can coffee creamer substitute for milk in a recipe? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** coffee\ **Created:** [August 25, 2007, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-coffee-creamer-substitute-for-milk-in-a-recipe/416930 "2007-08-25T21:22:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2007, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-coffee-creamer-substitute-for-milk-in-a-recipe/416930/1 "2007-08-25T21:22:36Z")
So I’m getting ready to make peanut butter-banana bread. I don’t have any milk of any kind- we’re lactose intolerant around here. I do have liquid coffee creamer, though, a little of the French Vanilla flavor, and a lot of coconut-flavored. The ingredients include sodium caseinate (a milk derivative) and the label says **contains milk**. So can I substitute? ---
**Author:** ![HelloKitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ecccb3/32.png) [@HelloKitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HelloKitty)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2007, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-coffee-creamer-substitute-for-milk-in-a-recipe/416930/2 "2007-08-25T21:36:28Z")
[QUOTE=Alice The Goon] So I’m getting ready to make peanut butter-banana bread. I don’t have any milk of any kind- we’re lactose intolerant around here. I do have liquid coffee creamer, though, a little of the French Vanilla flavor, and a lot of coconut-flavored. The ingredients include sodium caseinate (a milk derivative) and the label says **contains milk**. So can I substitute? [/QUOTE] I don’t know the answer, but I would say it’s worth a try, maybe you will create a new recipe triumph!! FWIW, I have used non-dairy creamer in pancake batter (yummy!) and homemade ice cream with no problems in the recipe outcomes. Let us know how it turns out if you decide to go for it! ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2007, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-coffee-creamer-substitute-for-milk-in-a-recipe/416930/3 "2007-08-25T21:45:58Z")
Well, I am not known for my patience, so I’m going to go ahead with it. I’ll let you know. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Some\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ad7895/32.png) [@Just\_Some\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Some_Guy)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2007, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-coffee-creamer-substitute-for-milk-in-a-recipe/416930/4 "2007-08-25T21:51:48Z")
I’m minutes too late. The answer is no, NO, **FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY NO!!** To answer your question when you get back milk is not just there for flavor. It’s PH, fat content, and moisture are part of the recipe. It’s bad to substitute skim or low fat milk for regular milk in a recipe (you’ll get different results) and the creamer will be even further off from what the recipe is built around. I await the bad news… ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2007, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-coffee-creamer-substitute-for-milk-in-a-recipe/416930/5 "2007-08-25T22:03:46Z")
[QUOTE=Just Some Guy] I’m minutes too late. The answer is no, NO, **FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY NO!!** To answer your question when you get back milk is not just there for flavor. It’s PH, fat content, and moisture are part of the recipe. It’s bad to substitute skim or low fat milk for regular milk in a recipe (you’ll get different results) and the creamer will be even further off from what the recipe is built around. I await the bad news… [/QUOTE] Oh. Oops. Unfortunately, it does take a whole hour to cook, so we won’t know for some time. Fortunately, I do have an 8-year-old boy that will literally eat _anything_, so even if it’s crap it won’t be wasted. ---
**Author:** ![some\_white\_dude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b487fb/32.png) [@some\_white\_dude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/some_white_dude)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2007, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-coffee-creamer-substitute-for-milk-in-a-recipe/416930/6 "2007-08-25T23:15:22Z")
Peanut butter banana bread? Could you post the recipe? Sounds delicious. ETA: Your 8-year-old will eat crap? That’s probably not very healthy. You should try to serve him real food whenever possible. ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2007, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-coffee-creamer-substitute-for-milk-in-a-recipe/416930/7 "2007-08-25T23:23:36Z")
Yeah, flavored creamer is an extremely poor substitute for milk. The fat content is higher than even whole milk’s, and the flavorings will do strange things. The closest substitutes would be 1) lactose-free milk; 2) soymilk; 3) Coffee-mate or similar brand original flavor creamer, and the fall off in closeness is pretty steep once you get to #2, let alone #3. ---
**Author:** ![Alice\_The\_Goon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Alice\_The\_Goon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alice_The_Goon)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2007, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-coffee-creamer-substitute-for-milk-in-a-recipe/416930/8 "2007-08-25T23:37:46Z")
It’s actually pretty good. It did rise well- the texture is a wee bit more crumbly, perhaps, that it should be, but overall I give it an 8. And the boy likes it, too, of course. [This](http://www.laurascudderspeanutbutter.com/Recipes/Details.aspx?recipeID=3233) is the recipe I used, except I used creamy PB instead of crunchy. While looking for it again, I found a bunch of similar recipes that don’t call for milk. :smack: