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Nowadays, my weekday breakfast ritual alternates between oatmeal and chia pudding—the former on work-from-home days, the latter on office days. I mix in everything from berries to cocoa powder to the mandatory heaping scoop of peanut butter, but lately the most important addition is a half teaspoon or so of ground vanilla. No, this isn’t the same as vanilla extract or a scraped vanilla bean. It’s even better.
What is ground vanilla?
Pure ground vanilla is a single-ingredient product. It’s made from the same vanilla beans that would otherwise be sold whole or made into extract or paste. Instead, the beans are ground into a dark brown powder. On that note: Sometimes ground vanilla is sold as vanilla powder. But, just to keep things interesting, sometimes vanilla powder refers to a completely different product (whitish in color, made with vanilla “extractives” plus additives like maltodextrin or sugar).
Vanilla specialist Robert Norman at Beyond Good, whose ground vanilla has taken up permanent residence in my pantry, explains that they use grade A Madagascar beans and dry them to a slightly lower moisture level; this helps retain flavor and aroma and cuts down on any clumping. From there, the beans are ground and jarred. There is no added sugar, gums, or starches—it’s 100% vanilla.
What makes it so great?
Ground vanilla lends the deep vanilla flavor we love in both hot and cold applications. It also brings the visual pop that comes with scraping the vanilla caviar from a bean or using paste—and it is easy to measure and stores well in the pantry. Because ground vanilla doesn’t contain any alcohol and has no additives, it is ideal for high-heat recipes that require cooking or baking: The alcohol in vanilla extract can evaporate at high temperatures, leading to a duller flavor. Even if you’re not using the oven, ground vanilla is ideal for ice cream bases, puddings, custards, and any other dessert that requires heating.
How should you use it?
While it’s a great substitute for any form of vanilla in traditional baking applications, it’s useful in a whole lot more than dessert. My go-to application: as an add-in to breakfasts like chia pudding, oatmeal, or yogurt. Or stir into the wet ingredients for homemade granola. It can also add natural sweetness to your morning cup of joe; just stir in ½ tsp. per 6 cups of coffee before brewing. For non-coffee drinkers like myself, stir some into your matcha or chai.
I’ve also started adding it to savory applications, like spice rubs for meats (Norman recommends pairing it with warm spices like cinnamon, coriander, cardamom, cumin, or mustard) or on roasted vegetables like sweet potatoes and squash.
How can you substitute it in recipes?
To substitute ground vanilla for vanilla extract or paste, you should use about half by volume to start; for example, if a recipe calls for 1 tsp. vanilla extract or paste, use ½ tsp. ground vanilla. You can increase to taste from there.
If you’re looking to have more fun with vanilla, try making your own vanilla extract or charring your vanilla beans. But to me, ground vanilla can’t be beat.