Homemade Kahlua Coffee Liqueur is totally within your reach. Make a splash at your office or for your neighbors by delivering a little treat for them to enjoy.

This homemade coffee liqueur, or “Kahlua” as it’s known by its brand name, is way easier to make than you think. Plus? It contains NO INSTANT COFFEE, which is an instant deal-breaker for me when I’m making anything coffee-related.

I am from the land of the coffee snob. No instant coffee comes around this house! There’s also no drip brewed coffee in this that’s then been chilled, which is probably worse tasting than instant coffee.

Homemade Kahlua Coffee Liqueur

The secret to getting a great coffee kick in this is to cold brew your coffee…in vodka.

Yup.
You read that right.

You are going to be essentially making a coffee extract, and its well worth the 24 hours it takes to get that done. You are left with a smooth, strong coffee flavor with none of the bitter coffee aftertastes. Use good liquor, 100 proof if you can find it, and good coffee too. It makes a difference!

You only need about 2 days to get this from an idea in your head to a gift on your best friend’s doorstep. After you cold brew the coffee, strain it through a coffee strainer and start whipping up your simple syrup.

However much coffee extract you end up with, you need about 2x’s as much simple syrup. This will allow you to adjust your batch size if you want to get really gifty with a lot of different people and not just a couple.

But, isn’t Kahlua made with rum?

Good catch! Traditional Kahlua IS made with rum. You can sub in rum in this recipe if you prefer. I like vodka best, but both options are delicious!

Try a splash in this Hazelnut Latte Recipe!

Homemade Kahlua shopping list

Wondering if you have to hit the store? Here’s the list of items you’ll need to make this recipe. For specific amounts, please refer to the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post.

Coffee
Vodka or Rum
Vanilla bean
Water
Brown sugar

Put some in my Slow Cooker Hot Chocolate!

What can you make with homemade Kahlua?

These make awesome cocktails. Like my mudslide. Or White Russians. I’d love to have a shot of this in one of my homemade vanilla sweet cream cold brew coffees, too. Or add some of my homemade vanilla sweet cream for an iced coffee with a kick!

No matter what you make with this, the coffee lover in your family or friends group is going to love you a little more after you gift them a bottle of this!

Try this incredible Carajillo Cocktail recipe too!

Yield: 24 servings

Homemade Coffee Liqueur

Name: Homemade Coffee Liqueur
Prep time: 1 d 2 h
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 1 d 2 h 5 min
Yield: 24
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1/2 cup freshly ground coffee; 2 cups 100 proof vodka; 1 vanilla bean, split (or 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract); 4 cups water; 2 cups brown sugar

This homemade coffee liqueur is like a kahlua lover's dream. Great for homemade Christmas gifts or thank you presents!

Prep Time 1 day 2 hours

Cook Time 5 minutes

Total Time 1 day 2 hours 5 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 cup freshly ground coffee
2 cups 100 proof vodka
1 vanilla bean, split (or 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract)
4 cups water
2 cups brown sugar

Instructions

Place the vodka, coffee, and vanilla in a large covered glass jar. Shake to combine, and place in fridge for 24 hours.
Strain the coffee through a coffee filter, and throw away grounds.
Make simple syrup by placing the water and brown sugar into a large sauce pan. Simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes.
Combine the simple syrup and the vodka coffee. Place into individual containers, and chill.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 231Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 4mgCarbohydrates: 7gFiber: 0gSugar: 7gProtein: 0g

Nutrition data provided here is only an estimate. If you are tracking these things for medical purposes please consult an outside, trusted source. Thanks!

Rose

Tuesday 4th of May 2021

I'm confused why your recipe doesn't call for rum when Kalhua is made with rum

Nicole Johnson

This is a vodka-based kahlua.

Steph

Thursday 17th of December 2020

Sooo... I added the water to the vodka without reading. Oops. Is it going to be gross now or will it just be a milder version? Should I add extra coffee grounds?

I think it'll be fine. You might want to use a more concentrated simple syrup to sweeten it though, so it doesn't get further diluted, but I think either way it'll be delicious and drinkable.

Jacqui

Saturday 5th of December 2020

Hi! I am trying to concoct this delicious recipe but have never worked with vanilla bean before. Do I split them and take the seeds out and not use the seed? Or use both? Which parts do I use? Thanks!

Hi Jacqui! You should split the vanilla bean, but leave all the seeds inside. Those are where most of the flavor is, so you want those to intermingle with the alcohol.

Umut

Thursday 9th of July 2020

Hello there! I remember that simple syrup recepie was 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of water. Did you chance it into kahlua recepie ? Or my knowladge is not that good.

Yup! This one is slightly different and uses brown sugar. It also waters down the vodka a bit so the end result isn't quite sooooo strong. Hope that helps!

Sharon

Thursday 23rd of April 2020

This sounds really good! I just have one question. Would rum work in place of the vodka? I'm not a huge fan of vodka.

Friday 24th of April 2020

@Nicole Johnson, Awesome! Thank you!

Yeah, in fact, traditional kahlua IS made of RUM, I just am more of a vodka fan and had some on hand for this and it ended up working well. Rum will get you closer to actual kahlua though!