How Long Is Nondairy Coffee Creamer Really Good For After It's Been Opened?

Here at Tasting Table, some of the most-highly-ranked coffee creamer brands are plant-based. They are a terrific choice for folks who avoid animal products, lactose-intolerant foodies, and anyone looking to cut back on dairy in their daily diets. But, like any perishable ingredient, it's important to keep an eye on freshness. After all, nothing interrupts a sacred morning coffee ritual like (say it ain't so) a splash of expired creamer.

Liquid, bottled, nondairy creamers are made from a plant milk base (e.g., soy, oat, almond, coconut, or hemp) and infused with different flavors, stabilizers, or emulsifying agents — not dissimilar from regular dairy creamers. They also need to be kept refrigerated after opening. Stash that bottle in the main fridge compartment (not the refrigerator door) to minimize temperature fluctuations. We also advise against leaving your creamer sitting out on the countertop while you do your morning routine. After two hours at room temperature, bacteria can spawn in perishable foods.

As a general rule, plant-based creamers tend to last longer than their spoilage-susceptible dairy counterparts. For the best flavor, texture, and freshness, it's ideal to use up a bottle of nondairy coffee creamer within 10 days of opening. But, kept chilled, nondairy creamer can retain its quality for up to a full month (compared to dairy half-and-half, which goes bad about a week after opening). Just to be safe, start giving that nondairy creamer a little shake-and-sniff after the two week mark.

For smaller households, going through a full bottle of creamer in two weeks might feel unrealistic. With a product like creamer (nondairy or otherwise), only a small splash is typically used per serving of coffee, anyway. To proactively prevent food waste, smaller households or foodies who live solo should opt for smaller creamer bottles over gargantuan jugs during their grocery store runs. A 16-ounce pint of Trader Joe's brown sugar oat milk creamer ($1.99 at a TJ's in Chicago) has a quantitatively better chance of getting used to completion than a 32-ounce jug of Coffee mate Natural Bliss brown sugar oat milk creamer ($5.49 at a Chicago Target). Buy small and use it all.

It's also worth mentioning that the "best by," "sell by," "use by" dates printed on grocery store food items indicate the window during which the product will definitely retain its quality and flavor. They do not, however, indicate that a product is unsafe to use. If you notice an off smell, weird taste, visibly separated texture, clumping, curdling, or a bulging container, these are all signs of spoilage, in which case that creamer should be discarded. However, if none of these signs are present, don't trip if it's a few days past whatever date is printed on the bottle. After a full week past the printed expiration date, it's probably time to throw in the towel.