If the best part of waking up is well…coffee…then why not add it to every meal, amiright? You don’t have to brew a pot of coffee to reap the benefits, the flavor, and aroma of your favorite coffee beans—you can add a whole new dimension to your favorite recipes with coffee grounds.

Whether you are using them in a rub, marinade, or baked goods, a little goes a long way. I like to select the coffee grounds for each recipe much like I do when selecting a wine to cook with. Only use one you would also drink.

A super simple way to get your feet wet when using coffee grounds is to infuse butter with them and then add it to your recipe the same way you would use butter. Start with a grass-fed butter (like Kerrygold™), and add your favorite coffee beans. Cook on the stovetop for roughly 10 to 15 minutes, and then strain out the coffee beans. You can refrigerate your butter until ready to use.

You could also do this with coffee grounds, but it is a little more difficult to strain unless you use a cheese cloth. If you don’t mind a few speckles in your butter, then you could give this method a try.

One might also be interested in making homemade coffee-infused butter. This method is quite tedious, so if your patience this year has run-out, this may not be for you. 😉

4 Tasty Recipes with Coffee Grounds

1. Homemade Coffee-Infused Butter

Ingredients:

• 2 cups heavy cream
• 6 Tbsp dark roast coffee, coarsely ground

Directions:

1. Mix cream and coffee grounds; cover and place in the refrigerator overnight.
2. Strain the coffee grounds from the cream using a cheese cloth.
3. Whisk cream mixture until butter clumps together, leaving the buttermilk behind.
4. Squeeze the remaining buttermilk from the butter.
5. Refrigerate.

You could also infuse your milk with a coffee flavoring by adding coffee beans to milk on the stovetop, and then strain and refrigerate.

I am partial to using instant coffee like an espresso and have added one or two tablespoons to banana bread, granola, and even when sauteing veggies. While you don’t necessarily need a recipe, I have created three delicious recipes with coffee grounds for all my cup-of-joe lovers.

2. Espresso Shortbread

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ cups almond flour
• 3 Tbsp butter, softened
• 3 Tbsp pure maple syrup
• 1 Tbsp coffee grounds (or instant espresso)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• ¼ tsp salt

Directions:

1. Mix all ingredients together until a dough forms.
2. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill in fridge for one hour.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
4. Roll into balls, or roll out onto flour-prepared table and use cookie cutters.
5. Bake for 11 – 14 minutes or until edges begin to turn golden brown.
6. Enjoy!

Chef Note: If I am not making into shapes, I like to dip half of each cookie into melted chocolate.

Chef Note: You can use any coffee you prefer. With this batch, I used a Café Bustelo Instant Espresso.

Nutrition Information:
Yields 18 servings

• Calories: 80
• Fat: 7 g
• Carbs: 4 g
• Fiber: 1 g
• Protein: 2 g

3. Coffee-Infused Baked Beans

Ingredients:

• 1 can pinto beans
• 1 can kidney beans
• 1 can cannellini beans
• 1 can tomato sauce
• 2 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 ½ cup broth
• 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar (ACV)
• 2 tsp garlic
• 4 Tbsp brown sugar substitute
• 1 Tbsp coffee grounds
• 1 Tbsp cumin powder
• ½ Tbsp chili powder
• ½ Tbsp onion powder
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Add all ingredients to a slow cooker and set on high for one to two hours.
2. Enjoy!

Chef Notes: You can certainly soak your own dried beans for this recipe in lieu of using canned beans. If using dried beans, drain and rinse the beans, then add all ingredients; cook on high for seven hours or until beans are soft. You may need an extra half cup of broth.

Chef Notes: To add another dimension to this recipe, you can add sauteed onions and/or bacon.

Chef Notes: You can also use any kind of beans you and your family enjoy. You don’t have to stick to the traditional pinto beans in this recipe.

Chef Notes: When reheating, you may need to add more broth to liven up the juices.

Nutrition Information:
Yields 9 servings

• Calories: 124
• Fat: 0.6 g
• Carbs: 26 g
• Fiber: 10 g
• Protein: 8 g

4. Coffee-Encrusted Steak

Ingredients:

• ¼ cup coffee grounds
• ¼ cup black pepper
• 1/8 cup brown sugar substitute
• 1/8 cup garlic
• 1 Tbsp cayenne pepper
• 1 Tbsp paprika
• ½ Tbsp garlic powder
• ½ Tbsp onion powder
• 2 steaks, your preference of desired cut

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F or fire up the grill (my preference).
2. Combine all ingredients for rub until well incorporated.
3. Press firmly onto steaks. Let steaks rest, covered, for 30 minutes at room temperature.
4. Add steaks to sauté pan and sear for two to three minutes on each side.
5. Remove steaks to a baking dish and finish cooking in the oven until reaching the temperature you desire.
6. If cooking on the grill, the cooking time will vary depending on your grill.
7. Allow steaks to rest before cutting.
8. Enjoy!

Chef Notes: I like to play around with this rub and either add or take away certain spices depending on what I will be serving with the steaks. It never hurts to add some green herbs into the mix—cilantro is one of my favorites!

Nutrition Information:
Yields 2 servings

• Calories: 280
• Fat: 13.5 g
• Carbs: 40 g
• Fiber: 24.5 g
• Protein: 21.5 g

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