Is it cheaper to make your own Half and Half?
Half and Half is a very commonly used for coffee, cooking, and baking. Unfortunately, the price of half and half has continued to climb.
After finding out that the creamer I have been using is not actually dairy, I decided to give half and half a try for my morning coffee. Now I am wondering if it is cheaper to make my own half and half instead of buying it at the grocery store.
What is half-and-half creamer made of?
Traditionally half and half is made from whole milk and heavy whipping cream. Yup, it is the same heavy whipping cream that you make whipped cream with! Variations of the half and half recipe do exist depending on if you are using low fat milk or don’t have heavy whipping cream.
You may notice some half and half in the store is listed as fat-free or non-fat. This is really just thickened milk with additives like corn syrup to mimic real half and half.
How do you make half-and-half from scratch?
The easiest way to make half and half at home would be to mix equal parts of whole milk and heavy cream. I like to pour them into a mason jar with a tight lid and shake to combine.
Homemade half and half will last about a week in the fridge. So, make sure that you use it pretty quickly after making it.
This is one of the downsides of making your own half and half. The commercially made half and half can last for 1-2 months in the fridge.
For the recipe that we are costing out, we are using half cup whole milk mixed with half cup heavy cream. (4oz milk + 4 oz heavy cream = 8 oz half & half).
Let’s compare some costs using store brand:
| Store Brand | Price | Cost per oz |
| Great Value Whole Vitamin D Milk (gallon-128oz) | $3.86 | $0.03 |
| Great Value Heavy Whipping Cream (16 oz) | $2.58 | $0.16 |
| Homemade Half and Half 8 oz (4oz milk & 4 oz cream) | $0.76 | $0.09 |
| Great Value Half and Half (32oz) | $2.48 | $0.07 |
If we wanted to go with the absolute cheapest way to make our own half and half, we will definitely need to go with the store brand options. Looks like homemade half and half using Great Value Brand items would be about $0.09 per oz, and buying Great Value Half and Half is about $0.07 per oz.
The cost difference isn’t huge but if you take into account the shelf life, buying the Great Value brand half and half is a much better deal.
Let’s try name brand:
| Name Brand | Price | Cost per Oz |
| Borden Whole Vitamin D Milk (128 oz) | $5.82 | $0.04 |
| Land O Lakes Heavy Whipping Cream (16 oz) | $3.56 | $0.22 |
| Homemade Half & Half 8oz (4oz milk & 4 oz cream) | $1.04 | $0.13 |
| Land O Lakes Half and Half (32 oz) | $2.98 | $0.09 |
When we use name brand ingredients, we start to notice a bigger difference in pricing. It still looks like the name brand half and half is a better deal than making your own half & half.
Let’s try Organic Half & Half:
| Organic Brand | Price | Cost per Oz |
| Horizon Organic Whole Milk (128oz) | $7.38 | $0.05 |
| Horizon Organic Heavy Whipping Cream (16oz) | $4.98 | $0.31 |
| Homemade Organic Half & Half (4oz milk & 4oz cream) | $1.44 | $0.18 |
| Horizon Organic Half & Half (32 oz) | $4.54 | $0.14 |
After the other 2 price tests, I was highly skeptical that the organic would come out cheaper. It was still close, but the homemade organic half and half will not be cheaper than the store bought.
There are some recipes that call for using light cream, melted butter, and lower fat milk but honestly none of these come close to the standard of equal parts whole milk to heavy cream. They won’t be as creamy due to the lower percent milkfat and the fat content is what adds richness to food like sauces.
They could still be used in mashed potatoes or making ice cream, but not so great tasting in your coffee in the morning.
Evaporated Milk vs Half and Half
I would not recommend using evaporated milk instead of whole milk for making half and half. Although, you can use evaporated milk as a substitute for half and half.
This means if you run out of half and half for your coffee, cooking, or baking then using evaporated milk will work using a 1 to 1 ratio. (Example: 1 cup of evaporated milk will substitute 1 cup of half and half.)
Half and Half will typically have more fat and less protein and sugars than evaporated milk. So, this could be a simple switch to lower fat intake and add a smidge more protein to your diet.
Most evaporated milk comes in a can, but sometimes you can find it in a carton with easy to twist on and off cap. Just note that the replaceable cap kind is more expensive than the can variety.
Let’s take a look at prices:
| Item | Price | Cost per Oz |
| Carnation Evaporated Milk (12 oz) | $1.72 | $0.14 |
| Great Value Evaporated Milk (12oz) | $1.32 | $0.11 |
Unfortunately, switching to evaporated milk instead of half and half will not be a savings when you look at the cost per ounce.
Can you make half and half into milk?
Technically, you cannot make half and half into milk. Although if you wanted to thin half and half to taste and feel more like milk you can.
The best ratio that we have found is to dilute 3/4 of a cup of half and half with 1 cup of water. This diluted version will be very similar to milk, and you can use it to eat your favorite cereal.
This option is popular with survivalists, but honestly the taste won’t really be that close to milk. It would work in a pinch, but I wouldn’t recommend it.
The cost of milk in general is much cheaper than half and half, so diluting half and half to substitute as milk won’t be a good cost savings strategy.
Is it cheaper to make your own Half and Half?
Unfortunately, making your own Half and Half is not going to save you money. It comes in handy to know how to make it in case you run out of it for a recipe, but to regularly make it on your own is just not cost effective.
The shelf life of homemade half and half will not be as long as the commercially made kind, you will also have to make it every week. This added time is just not worth it since there is no real savings.
So, it looks like my quest to find a new coffee creamer is on! For more information about how I found out what is really in my Coffee Creamer, check out “What happens if you drink expired Liquid Coffee Creamer?”
I was shocked at what was really in my coffee creamer and am now looking for healthier and cheaper options. So, I will keep looking and let you know if I cave and spend more money or find a cheaper alternative!
For more DIYs that do save you money, check out “Is it cheaper to make your own salad? and see how much savings is available by doing it at home!
