How to Dehydrate and Make Pure Vanilla Bean Powder

This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no extra cost to you. Click HERE to read my policies & disclaimers if you're interested. I will only link products I use and personally recommend. Thank you for your support, friends!

When I make vanilla extract, it pains me not to use the whole vanilla beans after they’re extracted.  It seems so wasteful to just compost them since they still smell so delicious.  So, I started messing around with making my own ground vanilla powder and this idea was brought forth.  Once I’m ready to decant an extract, the liquid vanilla extract is bottled and the leftover beans go to my dehydrator to get dried out.  This vanilla powder is great to use in baked goods, hot chocolate or coffee, and I especially like the vanilla powder in homemade vanilla ice cream so you can see the gorgeous dark flecks of vanilla in it.  It also contains the aromatics still so vanilla hits all your senses!  I love that the vanilla beans aren’t a complete waste and get one final use.

If you’re not keen on vanilla powder, you should try making vanilla sugar for baking.  Follow this until it comes time to powder the beans and instead place the beans into a jar of sugar and let it meld for several months.  Let’s talk about the most amazing cookies you’ve ever made, shall we!?  

​Where do I get my vanilla beans?

I have actually joined several vanilla “co-op” groups on Facebook of all places.  It’s where someone orders a gigantic bulk order and then portions them out later.  If you watch for when they do sales, you can really get a bunch of beans for a fantastic price.  That’s where I recommend finding them.  The most common type I have used is the Madagascar vanilla beans.  Be adventurous and play around with types of alcohol and folds with your vanilla extract!  Homemade is so much better for a number of reasons, the greatest for me being that it is quite a bit cheaper.  I make several gallons every year!

Let’s get to dehydrating!

Equipment You’ll Want to Have

• spice grinder
• dehydrator
• jar or storage container

​To make vanilla bean powder:

Step 1: Decant your vanilla extract

Strain the vanilla extract and separate from the beans.  Place the beans on a towel and allow to air dry at room temperature overnight.

Step 2: Dehydrate

Place your beans on a tray in your dehydrator and allow to dry at 135 degrees F for 12 to 24 hours, or until the beans are dry, snap in half easily, and there is no noticeable moisture.  When drying I place the whole bean on the trays.  You need to make sure they’re good and dry so you don’t deal with mold.

My dehydrator has a fan in the back and has 10 trays.  Since the fan is in the back, air circulates evenly and I don’t have to rotate the trays during the drying time.  If you have a stacking dehydrator with a bottom fan, be sure and rotate your trays during the drying time to ensure even drying between the layers.

You can possibly use your oven if it goes to a lower temperature. I wouldn’t dry them over 150 degrees F and would probably leave the door cracked a bit so they don’t overheat or burn accidentally. Use a baking sheet lined with parchment and go for it!

Step 3:  Grind into a fine powder

I have a coffee grinder that doubles as a spice grinder that works beautifully for powdering the vanilla beans.  I break the dehydrated vanilla beans into smaller pieces and run them in batches through the grinder.  Double check the powder feels dry and there’s no noticeable moisture content; it should loosely pour from the grinder into your storage container and not cake up.  If it does cake up, take the powder and place it back in your dehydrator on a piece of parchment or silicone tray and dry it at 135 degrees F for a few more hours.

Step 4: Storage

I store my pure vanilla powder in a canning jar and vacuum seal the lid.  Vacuum sealing the lid not only makes sure the powder stays dry, but also keeps the aromatic compounds in.

Shelf life is probably a few years at most, but it rarely lasts that long around here.

To use it:

Add ground vanilla bean powder to anything that uses vanilla extract or could benefit from vanilla flavour.  I do not use it in place of vanilla extract, but rather in conjunction with, unless I’m looking for a really subtle vanilla flavor.  For every teaspoon of vanilla extract I use, I normally add a tsp vanilla powder, measuring with my heart of course.  One of my very favorite recipes, peach pie filling for canning, utilizes vanilla powder and the flavor profile with the sweet peaches, and the warm spices, plus the homemade vanilla powder makes this recipe so delicious and so pretty with all those dark brown flecks throughout the pie filling.  The jars are beautiful and make great gifts!

So, there you have it.  Take fresh vanilla pods > vanilla extract > vanilla powder very easily and don’t waste that intense vanilla flavor and the delicious aroma of utilizing the entire bean start to finish!

Happy dehydrating!