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You are here: Home / Naturally Frugal Living / Great Uses for Leftover Coffee

Great Uses for Leftover Coffee

April 11, 2019 by Alea Milham 4 Comments

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Don’t let your leftover coffee go to waste! Here are 11 great uses for leftover coffee.

Don't throw that leftover coffee down the drain! There are so many uses for leftover coffee around your house from plant care to brownies!

If your morning cup of Joe usually leaves behind a little bit in your pot, you may feel guilty just pouring it down the drain but reheated coffee just doesn’t taste as good as that fresh pot. With coffee costing so much these days, using what you have leftover to stretch it further is vital to your budget and your peace of mind. Here are 10 great uses for leftover coffee that will almost make you want to make sure you have some in the pot when your morning ritual is over!

Great Uses for Leftover Coffee

Freeze leftover coffee in ice-cubes

Coffee Ice Cubes – Everyone has probably heard of this use, but it really should be included in this list. Use leftover coffee to make ice cubes and add them to your iced coffee drinks. You can also use them when you make milkshakes for a wonderful coffee mocha flavor!

Nourish Your Plants – Make your houseplants and garden happy! Use cold leftover coffee, diluted by half, to give your plants a boost. The acidity of the coffee can help some plants grow and make the soil richer for them. Don’t do it every time as the pH of the soil can get too acidic and you definitely don’t want that!

Fabric Dye – You can use coffee to dye some fabrics! Leftover coffee is great for giving canvas and cotton a great tan tone that is similar to what you would buy if it were a non-beached natural fabric. You can also dye Easter eggs!

Mocha Brownies – Try making some great brownies. You will get a mocha flavor from your chocolate baked goods if you add coffee to them. Just substitute for the milk or other liquid in the recipe. Usually about half is good, but play around with it until you find a deep enough or mild enough taste you like. You can also use a little bit of leftover coffee in the frosting!

Recipes Using Leftover Coffee in Baking

  • Homemade Mocha Fudge
  • Mocha Fudge Pudding
  • Easy Mocha Fudge Frosting
  • Mocha Fudge Bundt Cake with Mocha Fudge Glaze

Use coffee in your chili as a “secret ingredient”. Leftover coffee can be reduced by half on the stove and then added to your chili for a nice color and boost in taste.

Make coffee ice cream! Just add some to your favorite ice cream recipe if you have an ice cream maker and you will have bistro-style coffee ice cream in no time!

The acidity in coffee is perfect for using to marinate beef or pork. It helps tenderize the meat while adding an extra depth of flavor to it.

Add some to your compost. Again, the acids really help speed up the break-down process of the composting pile.

Your hot chocolate will taste awesome with a little coffee in it. Coffee tends to make anything chocolate taste richer!

Just like with fabrics or Easter eggs, you can also dye wood with it. It works great as a stain, although it can be quite a process since it can take a while to seep in. It does, however, allow you to control how dark you want it and it holds better than stains you can buy at the store.

Try using coffee as a toner for your face! The caffeine is actually a great boost for your skin and can help your face feel refreshed. Try adding in some grounds for a great exfoliator.

How do you use up leftover coffee? 

11 great uses for leftover coffee

More Ways to Use Leftover Coffee

Delicious Ways to Use Leftover Coffee

5 Ways to Use Coffee Grounds in the Garden

10 Ways to Use Coffee Filters

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About Alea Milham

Alea Milham is the owner of Premeditated Leftovers and the author of Prep-Ahead Meals from Scatch. She shares her tips for saving money and time while reducing waste in her home. Her favorite hobby, gardening, is a frugal source of organic produce for her recipes. She believes it is possible to live fully and eat well while spending less.

Comments

  1. Teresa McAdams says

    July 15, 2018 at 7:07 am

    Yes, red eye gravy is good. I also use leftover bacon drippings. 1/4 c brown sugar, and about 1/2 c of leftover coffee. Dredge ham through this mixture then bake or broil….mercy!

    Reply
  2. Tammy says

    June 11, 2017 at 12:38 pm

    I haven’t done this myself, but my grandmother said that she used to make gravy with left over coffee. I think coffee is a main ingredient for “Red Eye Gravy.”

    Reply
  3. Tammy says

    February 22, 2016 at 4:35 pm

    Thanks for the info, will try with brownies.

    Reply
  4. Laine says

    February 7, 2016 at 5:48 am

    Great ideas!

    Reply

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Welcome. I'm Alea!

On Premeditated Leftovers I share simple recipes made with whole foods, practical shopping tips, time saving techniques, and meal planning strategies. I also share tips for minimizing food waste, so more of the food that is purchased ends up on the table.

While volunteering as a budget counselor, I realized that food is the element of most people’s budgets where they have the greatest control. I set out to develop low-cost recipes from scratch to prove it’s possible to create delicious meals on a limited budget. Eating well while spending less is about more than just creating recipes using inexpensive ingredients; it’s about creatively combining ingredients so you don’t feel deprived and are inspired to stick to your budget.

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