Vanilla sugar is used to make certain baked goods and desserts. It is sugar flavored with vanilla or infused with Vanillin. Vanilla sugar is easy to make at home using only two ingredients: vanilla beans and regular sugar.
In today's post, I want to show you how to make your homemade vanilla sugar quickly and easily. Three super simple recipes will help you to make vanilla sugar yourself in the future and no longer have to buy.
Make your vanilla sugar in small and large quantities in just a few steps. One of those versions will even allow you to reuse scraped vanilla beans.
Looking for recipes using vanilla sugar? Check out our potato flour cake with eggnog, Austrian strawberry sponge cake, or whipped cream bundt cake!
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🥘 Ingredients
- Granulated sugar - white sugar, brown sugar, or raw cane sugar
- Vanilla - vanilla pod scraped or whole or ground vanilla.
See the recipe card for quantities.
🔪 Instructions
Preparation of Intense Vanilla Sugar
Take a whole vanilla bean and cut it open lengthwise. Fill the preserving jar halfway with sugar.
Scrap the vanilla pulp and place the scraped vanilla bean and the pulp together into the jar with half of the granulated sugar.
Pour the remaining sugar into the mason jar.
Close the preserving jar and let the vanilla sugar steep for 5-7 days before using it and removing the vanilla bean.
Cut the vanilla bean open lengthwise.
Fill the preserving jar halfway with sugar.
Fill the preserving jar halfway with sugar.
Place the scraped vanilla bean into the jar.
Preparation of vanilla sugar to use up leftover pods
The preparation is the same as that of the intense vanilla sugar.
The difference is that you cut the already scraped vanilla pods into small pieces and put them in a Mason jar with granulated sugar.
Leave to infuse for 5-7 days in the same way as for the "intensive preparation."
And the awesome thing is that you can reuse those leftover pods again! By using them for creating homemade vanilla extract!
Preparation of vanilla sugar with ground vanilla
This variant has the advantage that you can use vanilla sugar immediately. First, add the ground vanilla to a preserving jar.
Next, fill the jar with granulated sugar.
Stir first and then shake well after closing the preserving jar, so the ground vanilla is evenly distributed with the sugar, and you're ready.
Take a teaspoon of ground vanilla.
Fill the ground vanilla in the jar.
Add granulated sugar.
Stir first and then shake well after closing the preserving jar.
🌱 Substitutions
Instead of regular sugar, you can use raw cane sugar but also coconut sugar. Both sugar types give a different taste experience and guarantee that your vanilla sugar is vegan.
🍽 Equipment
- Airtight container (mason jar or preserving glass)
- Kitchen knife
- Cutting board
🌡 Storage
It is important that the vanilla sugar is stored in an airtight container, preferably a canning jar. On the one hand, to preserve the aroma and on the other hand, so that the humidity does not clump the sugar.
💭 Top tip
Depending on the demand for vanilla sugar in your home, you can stock up to a kilo of vanilla sugar. We recommend using 2-3 vanilla beans for one kilo / 2.2 pounds of sugar.
🙋🏻 FAQ
There are 8 grams of vanilla sugar in a packet of vanilla sugar.
No, there should be no sugar in the vanilla powder. It consists of 100% ground vanilla.
The fundamental difference is that vanilla sugar requires natural vanilla to make. It is not pure white. Vanillin is a flavoring, often chemically produced, and pure white.
Instead of regular sugar, you can use raw cane sugar to make homemade vanilla sugar and coconut sugar or Xylitol.
All three types of sugar provide a different taste experience and guarantee that your vanilla sugar is vegan.
You can use ground vanilla as a substitute for vanilla sugar. The difference lies in the sweetness, as the vanilla is not highly sweet.
No, because no sugar is added to the vanilla powder inside. The vanilla sugar, as the name suggests, is.
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📖 Recipe
How to make Vanilla Sugar?
Ingredients
- 1 ¼ cups Granulated sugar white sugar,brown sugar, or raw cane sugar
- 1 Vanilla Vanilla pod scraped or whole or ground vanilla.
Instructions
Option 1 - Intense Vanilla Sugar
- Take a whole vanilla bean and cut it open lengthwise.1 Vanilla
- Scrap the vanilla pulp and put the scraped vanilla bean and the pulp together with the granulated sugar into a jar.1 ¼ cups Granulated sugar
- Close the preserving jar and let the vanilla sugar steep for 5-7 days before using it and removing the vanilla bean.
Option 2 - Vanilla Sugar to use up leftover pods
- Cut the already scraped vanilla pods into small pieces and put them in a Mason jar with granulated sugar.1 ¼ cups Granulated sugar, 1 Vanilla
- Leave to infuse for 5-7 days in the same way as for the "intensive preparation."
Option 3 - Vanilla sugar with Ground Vanilla
- Mix the ground vanilla powder with granulated sugar in a well-sealed container.1 ¼ cups Granulated sugar, 1 Vanilla
- Shake well, so the vanilla powder is evenly distributed with the sugar, and you're ready.
Nutrition values are estimates only, using online calculators. Please verify using your own data.
⛑️ Food Safety
- Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
For further information, check Safe Food Handling - FDA.
Brianna May says
This vanilla sugar is so good! I love to give this as a gift around the holidays.
Justine says
I keep seeing vanilla pods at my local market, and this recipe just inspired me to buy some to make vanilla sugar! What a good idea!
candy says
where do you buy vanilla powder?
Nora says
Hi Candy! I like ordering ground vanilla from Amazon. I've added the link to the ingredients for your convenience. All the best, Nora