Stop throwing out your leftover coffee and save money by using it in one of these creative ways instead!
Recently in a Facebook mom group that I’m in, someone asked what other moms do with their leftover coffee because she disliked always just throwing it out.
Since I’m always looking for ways to reduce waste and save money, I was all ears and had fun getting some new ideas. And then, of course, I had to share them (and a few more) with you all too!
How to Use Leftover Coffee
1. Make Iced Coffee
Chill the leftover coffee and then use it to make iced coffee. There are different ways to do this, but my favorite is to add some milk to the coffee and then sweeten it to our liking. You can always add vanilla or another flavoring too if you want.
Or freeze the coffee and make my Vanilla Iced Latte!
2. Cool Down Your Coffee
If you’re one of those people who dislike their coffee super hot, freeze leftover coffee into ice cubes and put one in your coffee to cool it without watering it down.
Related: How to remove coffee stains from mugs
3. Water Acid Loving Plants
Who knew that you could water plants with coffee? Not me! But I’m intrigued and want to try it now. Some of the plants that people said they water with diluted brewed coffee are ferns, aloe vera, geraniums, African violets and hydrangeas.
4. Make Frappes
This is the main way that I use up any leftover coffee that we have and wow, is it a delicious one! Freezing the coffee into ice cubes is key to making a good frappe since it keeps it from getting weak tasting and watery.
Two of my favorites are my Easy Caramel Frappe and my Peppermint Mocha Frappuccino.
5. Power up Hot Chocolate or Chocolate Milk
Add your leftover coffee to hot chocolate or chocolate milk for a flavor boost. Yum!
6. Add to Chili
Many people tout the rich depth of flavor that comes from adding a bit of coffee to chili soup. Not sure how much to add? From my research, ½ to ¾ cup for a big pot of chili seemed to be about right.
7. Add to Roasts
Adding a bit of coffee to roasts when you bake them is supposed to add a little extra yummy flavor as well as tenderize the meat (probably because of the acidity in the coffee).
8. Enjoy an Ice Cream Treat
Put a scoop of ice cream in a cup or bowl, pour cold coffee over it and enjoy.
9. Add to Chocolate Cakes
Adding coffee to chocolate cakes doesn’t make it taste like coffee, but it does give it a richer, fuller flavor. Just sub out all or part of the water for coffee. Here is our favorite cheap and easy chocolate cake recipe.
10. Make Mocha Frosting
Speaking of cake, why not use more leftover coffee and make a yummy mocha frosting too!
11. Add to Cooked Oatmeal
Use a little coffee in place of water in your cooked oatmeal for a fun flavor twist.
12. Make Coffee Ice Cream
Coffee ice cream is one of my all-time favorite flavors and I’m still sad that my favorite brand stopped making it. Thankfully, I can still make my own!
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Nirja D
I love variety of coffee around the world and cooking Indian food. But strong flavors linger behind after cooking esp during winter months. I save and refrigerate leftover coffee in empty glass bottles, also recycled ! 🙂 only to boil it later with some water, and it diffuses the food odors in my home.
Lydia Beiler
I never have heard of that one before, Nirja! Great tip!
Alanna
These are some great ideas for leftover coffee. I especially like the ice cream one. I will also have to try the add to chilli one.
ThriftyFrugalMom
Thanks! You can never go wrong with ice cream! 🙂
Heather
I would like to thank you for these great recipes for left over coffee. Its amazing some of the great ideas. I especially enjoy the frozen ice coffee cubes for my morning coffee. I look forward to using many of the other ideas.
Lydia Beiler
You are welcome, Heather!