Best Ever Vanilla Chai Powder Mix
This Vanilla Chai Powder Mix is the perfect little luxury to keep in your pantry for those mornings when you want something a bit more special than a plain cup of coffee. It’s got all those warm, cozy spices like ginger and cardamom that make it taste just like a fancy coffee shop treat, but for a fraction of the cost!
A Quick Look At The Recipe
- Recipe Name: Best Ever Vanilla Chai Powder Mix
- Serves: 4
- Main Ingredients: Non Fat Dry Milk Powder, Powdered Non Dairy Creamer, Sugar Free French Vanilla Powdered Non Dairy Creamer, Ideal Sweetener, Unsweetened Instant Tea, ground ginger, ground cinnamon, ground cloves
- Why You'll Love It: The great thing about this recipe is that I could easily make it sugar free (or significantly lower in sugar) and that is what I'm bringing you today. If you'd like Kelly's original recipe please click here to visit that and be sure and tell her I sent ya! I want to thank her for generously giving me permission to share her recipe with you today.
Better Than Your Local Coffee Shop
A few months back, I met a friend in a local coffee shop for a little chat, and when I got there, she had ordered me their Spiced Vanilla Chai. I had never had this stuff before, and one sip had me leaping over the moon – it was so good! I was really surprised that it wasn’t coffee because it has such body and depth of flavor. It was like a perfectly baked ginger cookie dipped into perfectly made coffee.
However, I don’t drink sugar for a multitude of reasons (hence my sugar-free Skinny Pumpkin Spice Latte), so when the lady behind the counter told me she couldn’t make it sugar-free, I was pretty disappointed. Good thing I don’t give up too easily! The great thing about this recipe is that I could easily make it sugar-free (or significantly lower in sugar), and that is what I’m bringing you today.
Reader Review
“Made this weekend, and sipping on a cup as we “speak”. DELICIOUS! I don’t need the sugar either, and this recipe is PERFECT. Plenty sweet and gives my local “5-Bucks” a run for their money! I will be packaging in a mason jar and including in my neighbor gift baskets this Christmas. Thanks!” – Kristen
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Powdered milk
- Sweetener
- Instant unsweetened tea
- Sugar-free French vanilla creamer
- Non-dairy coffee creamer
- Ginger
- Allspice
- Cloves
- Nutmeg
- White pepper
- Cinnamon
- Cardamom
Quick Tips for a Delicious Chai
- You can use regular sugar or Splenda in place of the Ideal Sweetener. I found Ideal at Kroger’s packaged under their own label, but with “Ideal” listed on the front.
- Make a big batch and store it in a pretty jar. It makes a great homemade gift for friends and family, especially during the holidays!
- If your mix clumps up over time, just give it a quick pulse in the food processor or break it up with a spoon before using.
- Try it with warm almond or oat milk for a dairy-free version. It’s just as delicious and super creamy!
- Start with less sweetener than you think you need. You can always add more to your cup, but you can’t take it out once it’s mixed in.
How to Make the Best Vanilla Chai Powder Mix
1. Add Ingredients to a Food Processor
Add all of your ingredients to a large food processor or blender.
If you prefer stronger flavors, use heaping measurements with your spices. I use heaping teaspoons, rather than teaspoons. If you prefer your flavors a little milder, use the exact measurements listed in the recipe.
Tip: If you don’t have a food processor, you can also use a blender, but you may need to make it in smaller batches to have room. Just put your tea, spices, and powdered milk in first and mix those up really well, then you can stir the rest in by hand.
2. Make the Vanilla Chai Mix
Next, put the lid on that puppy and turn it on. Allow the processor to run until the vanilla chai mix becomes a fine, even powder.
3. Make Your Vanilla Chai
To make your chai, simply add 2 heaping tablespoons of mix to 8 ounces of hot water or milk and stir. I personally love mine with hot water, but use whatever you prefer!
That’s it! Enjoy your cozy cup of vanilla chai!
How to Store
Just store this in an airtight container to keep it fresh. I like to put mine in little 8-ounce canning jars so I can have one or two to give away to friends.
In the mood for more traditional Southern sweets? How about some Old-Fashioned Frog Eye Salad? YUM! Now that we’ve done all that mental cooking, it’s time to sit down with a nice hot drink….
Best Ever Vanilla Chai Powder Mix FAQs
Vanilla chai is essentially spiced chai with added vanilla. Regular spiced chai focuses on bold warming spices like cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves. Vanilla chai uses those same spices and adds a smooth vanilla flavor that softens the blend, making it slightly sweeter and creamier. It’s the more mellow, dessert-like version of your classic spiced chai.
It depends! If you’re using black tea as your base, expect a moderate caffeine boost that’s similar to a regular cup of tea, but less than coffee. To keep caffeine levels low, swap in a decaf black tea or rooibos instead. Rooibos is naturally caffeine-free and pairs wonderfully with warm chai spices. Ultimately, you’re in control of how much caffeine ends up in your cup!
If you want to make more of this delicious tea, just double or triple the recipe! The ratios work out perfectly when scaled up. The only thing to keep in mind is that your food processor might get a little crowded, so you may want to blend in two separate batches to make sure everything mixes evenly.
If this vanilla chai mix made your morning a little more special, I’d love to know! Leave a rating and comment below.
Ingredients
- 1 cup non-fat dry milk powder
- 1 cup powdered non-dairy creamer I used Coffee Mate
- 1 cup sugar-free French vanilla powdered non-dairy creamer
- 2½ cups sweetener Splenda or sugar
- 1½ cups unsweetened instant tea or use decaf
- 2 tsp ground ginger
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp cardamom
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 1 tsp allspice
- ¼ tsp white pepper
Instructions
- Place all ingredients into a food processor or large blender. Blend until a fine powder forms. Store in an airtight container.
- To make Vanilla Chai, add 2-3 tablespoons of mix to 8 ounces of hot water or milk (I use hot water).
Notes
Nutrition
This is absolutely delicious! Just made it and my husband came walking by and asked what I was drinking as he picked up my cup to take a sip. His eyes lit up and said, “That is really good!” He immediately went and made himself a cup! Thank you SO much for this recipe! Oh yes, the Cranberry Banana Bread is a HUGE hit in this house! Last Christmas we made two loaves daily while my daughter and son-in-law were here from LA! DELICIOUS!
Oh WOW!! I am so glad to hear you are enjoying the tea, it is one of my very favorites!!
Can’t wait to try this – looks yummy! Loved meeting you this evening in Chattanooga, Christy – thank you for coming, and for being so welcoming!!!
It was so great meeting you Joy!!!!!
I could not find a way to make a comment on this recipe so hope this works. I just got this recipe last week. I went and purchased the things and mixed them. The thing is it is so sweet it sort of makes my teeth ache. I am used to using honey as my sweetener, but you can’t put a liquid in the mix. I wonder if I cut way back on the sugar if it would work. Or maybe make another batch without sugar and mix them. Any thoughts? Thanks
Hey Konnie,
Sorry you had issues with it! There is actually no sugar in this recipe so please make sure you’re using the recipe above. Maybe you commented on the wrong page? I’m not sure. Either way, you can definitely cut back on the sweetener as much as you like. I would suggest (if you are talking about the chai mix) that you make another batch and don’t add sweetener, then mix it with the batch you have already made. That will cut the sweetness in half. Note to anyone reading this: I don’t like sweet sweet drinks and this recipe, as it is written, is just right to my tastebuds – but it’s all relative! 🙂
It says 2 1/2 cups sugar or splenda
I’m sorry, I’m thinking of how I make it 🙂 I’ve never made it with actual sugar. I still think the idea of mixing one batch with no sweetener with the one you have could save the day 🙂
Thanks for that. I will try it. I believe that I will really like it without the sweet.
I ONLY USE LESS THAT 1 CUP OF SPLENDA AND IT’S JUST RIGHT FOR ME.
I love it so much that I made a double batch!
I am going to make this, I love Chai and the brand I usually by is $9.99 for an 8 oz container… I have use that brand mixing about 4 tablespoons into a conatiner of thawled cool whip for a yummy frosting.
I know the chai tea is a new phenomenon to you guys, I am a transplanted Yankee and introduced my own southern ladies to hot tea. But are you aware that they have always made chai tea bags?? All you have to do is make a hot cup of chai tea and sweeten and add a dollop of milk. That is it. It solves the dilemma of coffee creamers not being truly sugar free. I recommend Stash Tea brand Chai. Very flavorful. I hope this helps, and I still plan on making some of this one for gifts. 🙂
My dream retirement involves traveling domestically and internationally to function on environmental causes.
I have never had artificial sweeteners and have too much mistrust to start using it. So I will probably use sugar. But I much prefer eating dark sugar rather than white sugar. I wonder how this recipe will taste using dark sugar. Really dark sugar is totally incomparable in taste to white sugar. I just don’t think I can put 2.5 cups of that insipid white stuff in the mix and expect to like it. So my first batch I will be using dark sugar.
I have been looking at webpages at vanilla chai recipes and am very interested in your recipe. I realized it was the vanilla-type chai that has me hooked, from testing the Arkadia brand from the supermarket. It is a lovely taste, the taste that first got me onto chai many years ago but I am looking at the ingredients and there is hardly one ingredient that I recognize. They are not names of spices that are known but a string of ghastly ingredients that any health-conscious person naturally avoids. I feel like throwing out the jar despite it being tasty. I must get onto your recipe. I have just thought – making a batch of your chai sounds like a great gift for someone! Thankyou for your recipe.