You only need 2 ingredients for homemade vanilla extract: vanilla beans and vodka. Let the vanilla beans infuse the vodka for as little as 8 weeks, but for optimal flavor, wait at least 6-12 months before using. Homemade vanilla is more cost efficient than store-bought options. You can try homemade vanilla sugar too.
Vanilla extract is an ingredient in many of our baked goods. This common addition actually carries big weight—1 teaspoon completely transforms a good dessert into a great dessert. You can’t make a few staples like vanilla cake, vanilla cupcakes, or vanilla buttercream without it.
A dear reader named Jill emailed me last year and said that once she began making her own vanilla extract, her baked goods tasted even better than before. She told me the secrets are to use extra vanilla beans and let the extract sit for at least 6 months before using.
I never thought to publish a post about homemade vanilla extract because it’s actually pretty simple. But Jill’s words were enough to convince me that all bakers should know that a cheaper AND better tasting vanilla extract is only 2 ingredients away.
Why Make Homemade Vanilla Extract?
Why make vanilla extract when you can just buy it from the store? Good question. With the price of vanilla constantly fluctuating, it’s very cost efficient to make your own. Plus, you can control the strength of its flavor. This is KEY because many pricey store-bought options lack the essential depth of flavor that makes good vanilla… good vanilla. This is either because the vanilla extract is imitation and made with artificial or synthetic ingredients or brands cut back on the amount of real vanilla in each bottle. You’re not paying for good vanilla, you’re paying for the convenience of weak bottled vanilla.
(By the way, last year I was part of a blind taste test of different store-bought pure vanillas and McCormick won by a landslide. It was the group’s top choice in both flavor and aroma.)
If you open a bottle of some store-bought vanilla extracts and a bottle of homemade vanilla, you will immediately smell the difference. And this difference directly transfers into your homemade baked goods.
Homemade Vanilla Extract: Video Tutorial
What You Need for Homemade Vanilla Extract
All you’re doing is pouring alcohol over split vanilla beans and letting the concoction age over time. Give it a shake every now and then. It’s that easy.
- Vanilla Beans: You can find vanilla beans at most major grocery stores in the spice aisle. If you can’t locate them, try purchasing them online. I use and highly recommend these options—they’re also what I use when I make vanilla sugar—Madagascar vanilla beans, these Tahitian vanilla beans, or these Tahitian vanilla beans. (Note that each are different quantities.) I’ve made vanilla with them all. The beans are a generous size, nice and plump, high quality, and perfect for homemade vanilla. Vanilla beans labeled “Grade B” are specifically sold for extracting purposes, but I’ve made vanilla with Grade A beans and it tastes great. Use either.
- 80 proof Alcohol: Vanilla extract is most commonly made from vodka, but you can use bourbon, brandy, or rum instead. I usually use vodka, but the one bottle of bourbon vanilla I made 7 months ago is DIVINE. No need to splurge on expensive alcohol. This is probably the only time someone will tell you to buy the cheap stuff!! All the vanilla’s flavor is from the vanilla beans, so spend your money on those. Avoid flavored vodkas as they often contain artificial flavors, which negates the purpose of making your own pure vanilla.
- Glass Bottles or Jars with Tight Seal: We recommend 8 ounce bottles. These bottles have a convenient swing top with a very tight seal. Great for gifting. Sterilizing the bottles is ideal, though we’ve skipped that step with no problem in the outcome of the vanilla. If your bottles or jars don’t have any plastic pieces attached, we recommend sterilizing them before using.
- Funnel: A funnel is optional, but it makes pouring 100x quicker and easier. (These funnels collapse, so they’re great for storage.)
Vanilla beans are expensive, but 6 of them (a little over 1/2 ounce or 15g total) make an entire CUP (8 ounces) of vanilla extract and you can reuse the beans. Compare that to $4 for 1 ounce of store-bought extract.
Non-alcoholic version? Pure extracts are made from alcohol because it’s the easiest way to extract the flavor out of the food. I’ve never made vanilla extract with a nonalcoholic alternative, but there are a few tutorials online if you give it a quick search.
Single-Fold Vs Double-Fold Vanilla Extract
Most store-bought vanilla extracts are what’s known as single-fold. Single-fold vanillas are weaker and to make your own, you need about 4 vanilla beans per 8 ounces of alcohol. I prefer a stronger vanilla so the homemade flavor is more prominent in desserts. Strong vanilla is known as double-fold and it’s pretty pricey because it requires a lot of vanilla beans. Since double-fold can get expensive, I opt for about 6 vanilla beans (a little over 1/2 ounce total) per 8 fluid ounces of alcohol. This is the best balance of taste and price.
Confused about which type of vanilla bean to buy?
- Madagascar Vanilla – very common and has a creamy and rich flavor
- Mexican Vanilla – has a darker, almost smoky flavor
- Tahitian Vanilla – also very common and has a rich floral flavor
Any are great choices for vanilla extract.
Wait 6-12 Months
The only things you need to remember about homemade vanilla extract are ratio and time. The ratio of vanilla beans per ounces of alcohol is imperative, but so is the amount of time the vanilla infuses the alcohol. We discussed ratio above, so let’s chat about how long to infuse the vanilla. Homemade vanilla extract tastes better and becomes darker in color the longer it sits. This means we need to practice our patience. The wait is worth it, though. Make some today and use it 6 months from now. You’ll be even happier when a full year has past. 12+ month homemade vanilla is incredible!!
Store the infusing vanilla out of direct sunlight and give it a shake once per week.
Want to know the best part of all? You can continuously add more alcohol to the bottle as you use it. See the recipe instructions below. This is truly the gift that keeps on giving!
Free Printable Vanilla Extract Labels
Because everyone loves an accessory, I asked my dear friend Jess to design adorable labels for the vanilla extract bottles. They match our vanilla sugar and pumpkin pie spice labels!
Click this link for the PDF: Sally’s Baking Recipes Vanilla Extract Stickers
Print out the labels on sticker adhesive paper, then cut out the circles. Peel off the labels and stick on your vanilla extract bottles. The labels are obviously optional, but they’re a nice addition especially if you plan to gift the vanilla to others. (See more gift ideas on our Gifts for Bakers page!)
And one last thing… as you wait for your vanilla to infuse, here are hundreds of recipes using vanilla extract that you can browse. It’s my favorite in sugar cookies, shortbread cookies, and coffee cake, just to name a few 🙂 And it’s absolutely lovely in my easy rice krispie treats recipe. Lots to look forward to!
PrintHomemade Vanilla Extract
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 cup
- Category: Spice
- Method: Mixing
- Cuisine: American
Description
For optimal flavor, let the vanilla beans infuse the vodka for at least 6-12 months.
Ingredients
- 6 vanilla beans (about 1/2 ounce or 15g total)
- 1 cup (8 ounces; 240ml) 80 proof vodka (or bourbon, brandy, or even rum)
- 8 ounce bottle or jar with a tight seal
Instructions
- Using a sharp knife, slit the vanilla beans so the beans are exposed. No need to completely split the bean in half, just slit down the middle. If the length of the vanilla beans don’t fit into your bottle or jar, cut the vanilla beans into smaller pieces. Place beans into bottle or jar.
- Pour vodka on top. A funnel helps. Use a little extra vodka, if needed, so the beans are fully submerged. Shake a few times.
- Store vanilla at room temperature out of direct sunlight. Shake about once per week or once every couple weeks. Vanilla can be ready to use in as little as 8 weeks, but I recommend at least 6 months for optimal flavor. 12+ months is great!
- As you begin to use your vanilla, you can refill with a little vodka each time. Give it a shake after you refill and give it a shake before each use, too. If you’re gifting the vanilla or if you don’t have any more alcohol to refill, remove the beans completely after first use. The beans will become a little slimy if they aren’t almost fully submerged.
- Unused aged vanilla extract (with the beans fully submerged) will last several years. If it still smells good, it’s still good to use! Aged extract without the beans will last indefinitely. Once you begin using the vanilla and adding more alcohol after each use, the beans will eventually need to be replaced. It’s hard to give a specific amount of time as some may use (and refill) the vanilla more quickly than others. After about 1 year of frequent use and refilling, you will you find the vanilla flavor less intense. Simply remove old beans, add fresh beans, shake, and continue to use/refill.
Notes
- Special Tools (affiliate link): Madagascar Vanilla Beans, these Tahitian Vanilla Beans, or these Tahitian Vanilla Beans | 8-ounce Glass Bottles | Funnel
- Seeds: Since the vanilla beans are exposed (slit open), there will be vanilla bean seeds in the bottle and therefore in your baked good. They add even more wonderful flavor!
- Use the same amount of homemade vanilla extract as you would store-bought in recipes.
- Gifting: I usually remove the beans if I’m gifting the bottle, that way the gift recipient isn’t responsible for refilling with more alcohol and the beans don’t go to waste. (You can reuse the beans for a new bottle.) However, if it’s been less than 6 months, I recommend gifting with the beans in the bottle because there’s still lots of flavor in there! Tell the gift recipient to remove the beans once he/she begins using the vanilla.
- Alcohol: If baking gluten free, use certified gluten free alcohol. Avoid flavored vodkas as they often contain artificial flavors, which negates the purpose of making your own pure vanilla.
- Sterilizing: Sterilizing the bottles is ideal, though we’ve skipped that step with no problem in the outcome of the vanilla. If your bottles or jars don’t have any plastic pieces attached, we recommend sterilizing them before using. The pictured bottles have a removable plastic topper piece. You can soak any plastic pieces in very hot soapy water, and dry completely before using.
Never use straight Everclear for Vanilla extract. You will first need to dilute the Everclear with distilled water, calculating the ratios based on the proof of your Everclear. Otherwise, the high alcohol content will burn your beans, leaving dry vanilla sticks that won’t be able to extract properly
My friend gave me a bottle of Svedka vodka, I don’t drink but I do bake. I had been looking at your Homemade Vanilla Bean recipe and decided that was a great way to use the vodka. 2/1/22 decided to make your Vanilla Extract, I opened a bottle up today 4/4/22 and it smells DELICIOUS. I will be waiting until Christmas to use and give as gifts. Thank you.
2 questions. Can you use grade B beans and is so does the recipe change. If I use Mexican beans does the recipe stay the same. Thanks.
Hi Rick, you can use Grade B, Mexican vanilla beans and the recipe will remain the same. No changes needed.
I started the 2 years ago, replaced beans after a year and still tastes too strong of vodka what do I do?
Dilute the everclear to 80 proof with water. then make the vanilla. othewise the beans get hard and crispy.
Hi! I’m about a month into making my own vanilla extract. I’m not sure if the vodka level has gone down, or one of the beans is just kind of popping up a bit, but there is about 1/2 inch of exposed bean in one of the jars. Should I add more vodka so it’s completely submerged? Thanks!
Hi Catherine, yes I would add more vodka so the tops are submerged again.
I made vanilla with vodka 2 years ago. The recipe didn’t tell me to split the bean so I left them whole. Can I remove the beans, split them and return to bottles? It isn’t ver strong having been there for 2 years. Thank you.
Yes, Barbara, you can. Should have no problem doing so.
i can’t wait to try making my own vanilla!!! i bought some years ago in mexico and never even realized it was different until recently…..i’d added sugar to it, and it’s lasted for years. but with the lower alcohol content i seem to use a whole lot more, excited to make the real thing at a fraction of the price!!! love that i can ask for the *cheap* vodka!!!! hahahahahaha
I am going to make Vanilla. How would I make clear Vanilla, some recipes call for that
Hi Sharon, using this method will not result in clear vanilla extract.
Clear vanilla is not real vanilla, it’s imitation vanilla. There is no way to make clear vanilla from vanilla beans because vanilla beans are naturally brown.
I love that you are helping everyone make their own vanilla at home. It really does taste better. I am not sure where you are getting your information about single and double fold, but the FDA defines a single fold vanilla as 2.64 ounces of vanilla beans/bits per 750 mL (approximately 25 fluid ounces) of alcohol. If you round up a little bit, you get 1oz of beans to 1 cup of alcohol. I’m not saying your vanilla isn’t awesome. You use it and I’m sure you would know if it tastes great or not, but it isn’t technically single fold and in-fact about half the strength of a store bought single fold vanilla.
I am not sure if I am understanding the math. If the FDA says 2.64 oz. of Vanilla beans (approximately 5 beans if they are 1/2 oz. each) to 25 fluid ounces of alcohol which is a little over 3 – 8 oz. cups. Wouldn’t that mean that the 5 beans are split over the 3 – 8 oz. cups for 1 and 1/3 bean per cup? So at 5-6 beans per 8 oz. for Sally’s recipe – wouldn’t that make it stronger than store bought?
It’s great to see others diving into making their own vanilla extract, especially since homemade is, in my opinion, so much better than store bought! Vanilla beans, like any agricultural product, can vary enormously in size depending on country of origin, climate, soil composition, etc. For example, a recent batch of beans I ordered from Papua New Guinea were tiny, only averaging 0.1 ounces per bean, while a different variety I ordered a few weeks before from Indonesia averaged 0.9 ounces per bean (these beans were huge, nearly 11 inches in length!) . Without weighing your vanilla beans, there is no way to properly calculate the FDA defined bean-to-alcohol ratio for single fold extract.
Everclear will dry out your beans. They will literally get crispy. Please don’t use it to extract vanilla. Cut it with distilled water until you reach 80-100 proof. If you’ve already put your beans in, it isn’t too late, just take them out and dilute your everclear. It will be cloudy, but not affect the extract besides the look.
I enjoy the clarity of your presentation , from video to recipe and tips! Will use your site again.
hello, Love the simplicity of your presentation. Making my first batch of vanilla extract.. I have extra beans , so i make homemade kalhua as gifts too!
Thank you for your super quick response!
I’m wanting to transfer a quart of vanilla to smaller bottles. Should I filter the product?
Hi Greg, If you have vanilla bean seeds in the bottle we don’t recommend filtering them out – just leave them in as they add even more wonderful flavor!
I made my first batch about 6 months ago and I’m just wondering how long before it turns that really dark color? Mine are definitely brown in color but still light enough to see though. I keep wondering if that’s how it is suppose to look after 6 months.
Hi Melanie, if the vanilla extract is dark brown– even if you can still see through it– that’s just fine! If it’s not super dark yet, maybe add another vanilla bean and give it a good shake every few days for a couple more weeks.
Thanks. I’ll add another vanilla bean and hopefully that makes a difference.
If I bake with this homemade vanilla extract are the baked goods alright to give to kids? The alcohols should be all gone with the heat correct?… But what about making homemade frosting… Is that safe as well?
Hi James, Even most store bought vanilla extract is made using alcohol. Usually an entire batch of frosting is only made with 1-2 tsp of vanilla extract but use your best judgement and use whatever you feel comfortable with!
What is the “shelf life” of the vanilla? I can’t wait to try this recipe!
Hi Linda! Unused aged vanilla extract (with the beans fully submerged) will last several years – see step 5 for more details 🙂
I wanted to try making my own vanilla…for the optimal taste as well as cost savings. Your site has great overall directions….and I never thought of gifting vanilla but how fun an idea! We have some major bakers in the family so it’s perfect. One question however – can you use bottles with just screw on lids vs. the swing top bottles?
Thank you!
Yes, absolutely!
Can you reuse the beans to make a second batch?
Which bourbon would you recommend? Any specific brand or type? There’s so many choices!
I have read that Buffalo Trace and Makers Mark are very good for extract making. I am using Captain Morgan White Rum. Can’t wait for it to be finished.
Hi Sally 🙂 What is your advice when it comes to bottles, do amber ones work better?
Hi Delia, We haven’t found it makes a difference either way!
When replenishing the vodka in the bottle. How long do you have to wait to use the new vanilla?
Thanks!
Hi Chris! If you’re only replenishing a little at a time, you shouldn’t have to wait. But if you find it is losing vanilla flavor, you can let it sit another month or so. Hope this helps!
Hi I received some Madagascar beans that smell like smoke/bacon/pickles. Seller says they’re fine; I was expecting them to smell like vanilla – your thoughts? Thanks
Hi Susan, that’s really up to you– if you’re questioning the smell, I wouldn’t use them to use extract. Perhaps use the seeds in a recipe calling for vanilla bean.
Mine is not very sweet after a year. Do I have to add sugar?
Brandy, Vanilla extract isn’t supposed to be sweet. It’s a tool to be used in cooking. Not eaten straight. Although I’m sure technically you could use this as a “flavored vodka”
I have 25 beans. Would it be ok so put them in 54 oz of vodka?
Hi Chad! You want 5-6 beans per 8 fluid ounces.
Hello,
I’m a little confused if I should sterilize or not…
When you say, ” If your bottles or jars don’t have any plastic pieces attached, we recommend sterilizing them before using.” So I’m understanding this as saying, if the vodka comes in plastic bottles with plastic caps, then I don’t need to sterilize? I appreciate it if you could clarify my thinking of your instructions.
Thanks,
James
Hi James! If you’re using the bottles the vodka came in, you don’t need to sterilize.
The recipe means sterilize the small bottles that you can use for gifting. Not the alcohol bottle.
Can I just buy a bottle of vodka and throw the beans in there? Do I have to move them from one vodka bottle to another bottle?
Definitely. Add 5-6 beans per 8 fluid ounces.
I’m ready to make vanilla extract but I need your input first, please. My cookbook says:
8 beans
4 cups vodka
That is very different from your proportions. As beans are expensive I hesitate to make such an investment, not knowing the right recipe. Thanks.
I imagine the recipe tutorial you are seeing makes a weaker vanilla. For prime vanilla flavor in your baking and no-bake dessert recipes, I recommend the above ratios.
I see in your recipe that you say to use 5 or 6 beans but what length of beans? I bought one set of beans that are 3 to 4 inches. Surely they will have a much different flavour (strength) than the ones that are seven and 8 inches. 6 short vs 6 long. To get a best possible result, can you please tell us the weight of the vanilla beans to use against the volume of the vodka needed? Imperial or metric would be great.
Thanks so much
Patricia, absolutely– the weight should be about 1/2 ounce (15g) of beans total. (6 5.5 inch vanilla beans weighs about 1/2 ounce.)
I am so thankful that you thought to go ahead and publish this recipe! I would have never made it without first receiving your email explaining how simple and easy it is. I made 8 cups/bottles today and will patiently wait for the finished product for Christmas gifts in 2022 (myself first). Through your recipes and blogs I am continually transforming into a better baker. Thank you for not forgetting the basics.