I’ll admit it: when I first heard of people putting BUTTER and COCONUT OIL in their coffee, I thought they were insane. When they further said it had to be some kind of super-special, grass-fed Kerrygold butter from Ireland with some kind of super-special MCT Oil and a super-special fancypants brand of coffee , I literally rolled my eyes. Not very nice of me, I’ll admit.
I should know by now, you cannot always tell what something is like until you try it. Now that I have tried my own Bulletproof Coffee Knockoff (because I’m cheap), I take it all back!
Why Coconut Oil & Butter in Coffee?
Well Coconut Oil has numerous health benefits, and the fats from the butter and oils are said to keep you sharp, focused and full for hours. There’s some research suggesting that MCT’s–an ingredient in coconut oil–help spur fat-burning, particularly for people eating low carb, high fat diets. The MCT supplement is just a more concentrated form of the MCTs in coconut oil. And low carbers already know butter has gotten an underservedly bad rap.
This concoction was made popular by the Dave Asprey, the “BulletProof Executive.” There are legions of loyal fans. The arguments seemed persuasive enough for me to give it a go.
But Why a Bulletproof Coffee Knockoff?
I advocate low carb and have respect for people who go out of their way to eat well…but sometimes, all the passionate rules over what’s okay and what’s not okay to eat can be a bit much for me. I am just a regular person! No, I am not going to buy an “Upgraded Bulletproof Coffee Kit.” My almond flour budget is high enough as it is; I don’t need more super-special stuff to buy if it’s not necessary. If I’m experimenting, I’m going to try and keep it cheap.
Eons ago, I also run across this picture tutorial of a fellow who made his BulletProof coffee in advance and plopped a little “fat pack” into his morning cup. It looked pretty tasty, do-able, and if it’s all magical too, I wanted to try it. This recipe is adapted from that tutorial.
Ingredients for my Bulletproof Coffee Knockoff
People sometimes use up to 4 tablespoons of both butter and coconut oil or MCT oils in their coffee, but I didn’t think starting with a 1/2 cup of oils was a good idea, so I went with 1 Tablespoon of each, which seems just fine.
There is debate on the importance of the only-this-buy-from-the-official-website-kind-of-coffee and questions surrounding Mr. Asprey’s coffee claims (link to video w/significant profanity). But there is a lot of agreement on the grass-fed butter requirement, and an admission that good, old fashioned coconut oil will effectively replace the MCT oil–or that you can use any MCT oil–and it works just fine.
I have experimented with several different types of butter–from ordinary to fancy to recommended, and Kerrygold IS the best I’ve tried so far; that stuff tastes amazing! It makes me want to lick the butter wrapper and I can tell the difference in the coffee for sure, although salted vs. unsalted butter doesn’t appear to matter. I later learned that sometimes people put salt in their coffee anyway to cut any coffee bitterness. So use whatever you’ve got without concern.
I tried dirt-cheap coconut oil vs fancier coconut oil (like Spectrum and Nutiva). I cannot really taste the difference. But coconut oil aficionados will likely differ. I did, however, learn that the fancy stuff – organic, unrefined and extra virgin has the most health benefits. So fancy coconut oil it is.
I wanted chocolate coffee like in the tutorial, mmmm! I also tried normal cocoa powder versus a premium cocoa powder, and I’m going with the premium on that, too. It just tasted a lot better. I experimented with amounts, starting at 1/2 a cup and working my way down, settling on about 1/3 cup as ideal for my tastes. Adding 1/4 cup cocoa powder would be enough to give it a hint of chocolate, though, if you’re not so into that chocolate taste, start smaller. Or you could add a little vanilla or another extract, depending on what flavor you like in your coffee. Coffee purists are welcome to disregard these additions entirely!
Update: I liked this stuff enough I upgraded from my $10 Family Dollar model coffeepot to something a lot more swank and started buying better coffee.
For this recipe, in addition to the ingredients you’ll need a blender or mixer of some sort (and high-sided bowl if you’re using an immersion blender), those 2 oz Plastic Jello Shot Cups with Lids, and an optional Aerolatte Wand for blending the fats into your coffee at serving time is highly recommended. But don’t skip it if you don’t have all this stuff: you can always try this with a single cup and a spoon first to see if you like it enough to warrant the extra trouble.
Note: Some of my readers have suggested silicone ice cube trays or silicone mini muffin tins as reusable and environmentally friendly alternatives to the jello-shot containers. Great idea!
Note: I updated this recipe since I realized I used too dang much cream. I love cream! I started at 2 oz. because that was the container size and that was too much. I suggest you start with a tablespoon-ish per cup and work your way up if that’s not enough for you, or just try out my coffee creamer instead so you can use more!
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups coconut oil (see notes on easy measuring tips)
- 8 ounces KerryGold
- 1/3 cup High Quality Cocoa Powder (optional)
- 20 big ol' mugs of coffee (1 at a time!)
- 1/4 teaspoon EZ-Sweetz (or sweetener of your choice, optional)
Instructions
- Weigh or measure out your coconut oil, and add it to a deep bowl so you don't make a mess.
- (See notes for coconut oil measuring tips.)
- Add butter, cocoa powder, and EZ-Sweetz or sweetener of choice to your coconut oil.
- Melt ingredients together in microwave, approximately 30 seconds until very soft.
- Blend together. I used an immersion blender (and hence should have used a high-sided bowl)!
- Divvy up the chocolate/fat mix equally among 20ish 2-ounce containers and put on lids.
- Refrigerate until ready to use.
To use
- Pop out the contents of one container into the bottom of your coffee cup.
- Microwave for 30- 45 seconds until the mixture is melted.
- Use an Aerolatte wand to mix the fats into your cream - or run it in the blender if you don't have one - and get a little whipped up top! You'll want these mixed well so you don't have an oil slick on top of your cup of awesome. Half-and-half whips up better than heavy cream, but subbing will up carb count. Or just use a spoon and live dangerously.
- Pour in coffee.
Recipe Notes
Bulletproof Coffee Knockoff Verdict?
As you may be able to tell, I am a fan of this Bulletproof Coffee Knockoff. It tastes really good with a thick, rich texture going down. I have no idea if it’s helpful to weight loss, but I do feel especially alert and focused after drinking a cup. I know the coconut oil is good for me, and it’s an easy way to add some to my diet. I don’t usually eat lunch so I don’t know how much extra credit the coffee gets there, but I have had a cup to satiate hunger and it works. It takes an ordinary cup of coffee for me and turns it into a treat that has some fringe benefits. So I’m on board.
If you want a little more creamy, you can try out my Low Carb Flavored Creamer recipe, too.
Are you a Bulletproof coffee fan? If you try this Bulletproof Coffee Knockoff, let me know what you think.
Great post. Thanks.
two questions: 1. where do you get the 2oz containers.
2. Where do the 24 carbs come from? Ingredients seem low carb.
I definitely will try this. looks great. I have put the butter and coconut oil in my coffee, delicious.
The 24g is saturated fat; there is 1 carb in each cup. These are the containers I got. Hope that helps!
I’m not so brave to make 20 of these, so could you tell me how to make just one cup of coffee just to see if I’d like it and if it’s worth it to me to splurge on the better ingredients? And I don’t have the aerating wand, so any suggestion on how to whip up just one cup? If I like the taste and feel, I’ll go buy what you suggest! Thank you!
Lori, I would test a cup with about a tablespoon-ish each of butter and coconut oil, or less if you aren’t using a big cup. Sprinkle a little cocoa powder in there or not, doesn’t matter. And you can just mix it in with a spoon. It’s still good. It’s just not frothy at the top.
Amazing! It’s wonderful! Who’d think? Lol ☕️ Thanks so much!
That sounds yummy! I kindof do the same thing only with 1 cup coconut oil and 1 cup salted butter.. melting them together in the microwave, then pouring mixture into an ice cube tray and freezing.. when they have frozen solid, I take them out, put them in a lidded container and store in the refrigerator. When ready to use, I drop one into my cup, fill about halfway with coffee and use an immersion blender to make it all blended and yummy.. then fill the rest of the way with more coffee.. easy and tasty and beeeeeeeeautiful! and using 1 ice cube tray means that each cube is 1 oz.. easy peasy! I cant wait to try it with cocoa…
Clever! I like that idea. Thanks for sharing it, trish.
I made this recipe only melted it on the stove and when it cooled down it separated. Wouldn’t whip up either???
Nancy – Sorry, I’m not sure what happened for you! Basically, I melted the butter and coconut oil just enough to mix up in the microwave, added the cocoa powder and blended in, and put them in the little cups and then put those little individual serving cups in the fridge, which became solid when cooled. I popped out the content to melt with my coffee. I haven’t done this one in a while but was thinking about doing it again. If I come up with anything more helpful, I’ll come back here and add it.
I only drink ice coffee, which I make at home. I make the hot coffee, add my ingredients, cream, etc. then freeze. Then I thaw it, and put it in the blender. Adding the coconut oil, etc to the hot coffee would make it melt, which is good. Then I would freeze it. I wonder how it would turn out when I thaw it, and put it in my blender.
Will this work without immersion blender, if the mixture is blended properly before putting it in the containers?
I was thinking of putting instant coffee, cocoa powder, coconut oil, butter and sweetener in a mixer and blending it properly, then dividing his mixture in smaller containers and refrigerating it. Will this mixture still need a blender when put in hot water?
Yes, I’m sure it would work without an immersion blender. And you don’t have to use anything to mix it in beyond a spoon if you don’t want. The texture isn’t quite the same if you don’t blend the final product, but it still tastes great. And if you try it and love it enough, maybe you’ll decide to get a little something to blend it easier like I did. Or not. Either way, it’s tasty coffee!
Just noticed you said instant coffee. I’d try that with one serving before I made a whole bunch of it, personally, just to make sure it would work the way you wanted it to.