12 Instant Coffee Hacks You Haven't Tried Yet

If you're like a lot of people, then you may wrinkle your nose at the thought of instant coffee. It has a reputation for being less than delicious, with some even claiming that it's downright disgusting — especially for people who are really into coffee. If that's how you feel about instant coffee, you may stay far away from the stuff when you're in the coffee aisle at your local grocery store. But we're here to tell you the truth about instant coffee: It's actually a great pantry staple to have on hand, and you can use it for a lot more than you may think you can.

When you know what you're doing, you actually can make a decent cup of coffee with instant coffee. Not only that, you can use it as an ingredient in a lot of other creative ways to bring a coffee-flavored flair to sweet treats and beyond. So, if you're trying to come up with a way to use that instant coffee you've had in your pantry for a while or you just want to figure out how to make your favorite coffee shop drink at home when you don't even have a coffee pot, you've come to the right place. Check out these instant coffee hacks, and you may just start viewing it in a whole new light.

You probably think of instant coffee as an ingredient that you solely use to make, well, a cup of coffee. But in reality, instant coffee can be used for so much more than that. One of our favorite ways to incorporate the ingredient into our food is by using it in baked goods. By stirring just a bit of it into your baked goods, you can harness that complex coffee flavor, enhancing a basic recipe and turning it into something that tastes like it belongs at a coffee shop.

It's possible to incorporate instant coffee into most flour-based recipes. Stirring some into brownies, for example, can create a mocha-flavored treat that tastes delicious on its own or alongside a cup of joe. You can add instant coffee to a classic chocolate chip cookie recipe to break up the sweetness from all that sugar. And your cupcakes will reach a whole new level when they're infused with a touch of instant coffee. Just keep in mind that you'll be adding caffeine to these baked goods, so you'll probably want to enjoy them earlier in the day if you're sensitive to caffeine. Once you learn about the basics of baking with coffee, you'll never want to go back to bland pastries or baked goods again.

Have you ever tried to make a cup of instant coffee, only to realize that the flavor was so bitter that you couldn't even choke it down, even after adding cream and sugar? You're not alone. If you're not using an especially high-quality instant coffee, intense bitterness isn't unusual. But you don't have to resort to a bunch of sweeteners and syrups to reduce that bitterness when you just want a plain cup of coffee. Instead, taming the bitterness in your instant coffee can be as easy as adding a few grains of salt to your cup.

Adding salt to your coffee may sound like a strange proposition, but it's actually an easy way to neutralize that bitter flavor. Just keep in mind that you're going to want to use your salt very, very sparingly. If you add a bit too much, your coffee is likely to taste actively salty. Start with just a few grains of salt, then take a sip. If the coffee is still too bitter, you can add more salt. Once you've figured out how much salt your instant coffee requires, your morning coffee routine will be easier than ever.

There's nothing like ordering an espresso and getting a tiny cup with a thick layer of crema on top. This layer of crema is made of tiny bubbles, and it creates that frothiness that makes an espresso so craveable. But without an espresso machine, you may assume that that layer of crema is impossible to get at home — especially if you're just using instant coffee. But in reality, it's relatively easy to make a crema-topped cup of coffee with instant coffee, as long as you have some sugar on hand.

To create this crema topping, you'll want to start off with a scoop of instant coffee. To that instant coffee, add a touch of sugar and a small amount of water. You don't want to use so much water that you actually create a cup of coffee. Rather, pour in an amount small enough that it turns the coffee and sugar mixture into a paste after stirring it all together. From there, you can pour hot water into your cup and stir some more to create your cup of coffee. You'll get that delicious layer of "crema" on top of the cup, which you can slurp down immediately or try to leave intact until you get to the bottom of your cup. Technically, it's not an espresso, but it's close enough that it'll do when you don't have access to an actual espresso machine.

We've already discussed how turning your instant coffee into a paste can result in a crema-like topping, but this is a solid method for just making a more delicious cup of instant coffee, even if you're not after the topping. Your best bet is to use several types of powdered ingredients to create a flavorful coffee paste. You should use the instant coffee, of course, as well as sugar if you like your coffee sweet. Alternatively, you can utilize some sort of dried sweetener if you're trying to avoid sugar. And if you want a creamy coffee, make sure to add some powdered milk, too. You can also throw a small amount of protein powder in at this point or even include some coca powder to the mix for a mocha-like drink.

Then, add a small amount of water, and stir to make a paste. Keep in mind that the stirring process may take a while, so stay patient. When you're done making your paste, pour the hot water in, and stir again. By using powdered milk and other dry ingredients to make a paste, you can make your instant coffee taste better than ever.

You know those times when you're feeling hungry and your energy is low and you can't wait to get yourself a meal and some coffee? If you're busy, though, making your breakfast and getting your caffeine fix can seem like a lot of work. That's when you may want to try making a coffee smoothie. That way, you can get in some nutrition while enjoying your cup of coffee all in one go. As it turns out, instant coffee can make turning your morning smoothie into a delicious pick-me-up as easy as can be.

First of all, you'll want to collect all the ingredients you need for your coffee smoothie. Ideally, you'll want to stick with richer ingredients that can hold up to the coffee flavor well. A kale and apple smoothie, for example, doesn't make as good of a base for instant coffee as a banana and yogurt-based smoothie. Then, all you have to do is add the ingredients into your blender along with the instant coffee. But hey — no one said this drink had to be healthy. You can also turn it into a coffee-flavored milk shake by using ice cream instead of Greek yogurt or bananas.

Even the best instant coffee can taste, well, bland. That blandness is better than overt, unpleasant bitterness, but it's still not as enjoyable as drinking a coffee that actually tastes good. But there's an ingredient that you might have in your spice rack that can transform an uninteresting cup of instant coffee into something that tastes like it comes from your favorite coffee shop. That ingredient is cinnamon, and it can add an incredible boost of flavor to your coffee.

Cinnamon is an earthy spice with an especially strong flavor, so it can stand up to coffee's bitter intensity. Stir some cinnamon into the instant coffee before you add water, and you automatically have a cinnamon-spiked drink to sip on. And if plain cinnamon and coffee together yields a flavor that's too strong, you can always add some milk or creamer to the mix to balance everything out. We especially like this combo during the fall and winter months, but it can be a fun way to upgrade your instant coffee at any time of the year.

If you've ever had a really amazing Vietnamese coffee, whether you enjoyed it hot or iced, it was probably made with freshly ground coffee beans. But just because that's the best way of making the beverage doesn't mean you can't use instant coffee in a pinch. Choosing a good brand of instant coffee is important for the best-tasting cup, but once you add condensed milk to the mix, it'll enhance even the worst-tasting instant coffees out there.

Condensed milk contains a lot of sugar, of course, and its main function in your coffee is to add sweetness to the beverage. This is especially important when it comes to instant coffee, which can sometimes be quite bitter. But that condensed milk also adds a creaminess and a body to your coffee drink, which ups the flavor ante even further. It's an easy swap to make in your own kitchen, and you may just find that you never want to go back to plain sugar in your instant coffee again.

When you think of hot chocolate, you may think of a beverage that's designed to be enjoyed in the evening, a treat during the holidays, or as a creamy indulgence that you shouldn't drink on a daily basis. But hot chocolate mix can be so much more than that — and can be used in your everyday coffee-making routine. In fact, if you're looking for a way to make your instant coffee taste better, hot chocolate mix may just be the best ingredient you can use.

Hot chocolate mix offers both sweetness and creaminess to your cup, so it just makes sense that it would work with bitter instant coffee. You can decide whether the sweetness from the mix is enough or if you want to add additional sugar. But beyond the sweetness, that rich, chocolatey flavor will instantly upgrade your cup of coffee. Chocolate and coffee are an ideal pairing, so it's a given that this combo blends well together.

There's nothing more depressing than making iced coffee only for the ice to melt within a matter of minutes before you can finish the cup, diluting your coffee until the point that it starts to taste like tea. It's even worse when you make your coffee with instant coffee granules, which are often less forgiving in the flavor department than freshly ground coffee. One easy way to combat the sad reality of ice melting in your coffee on a hot day is to use coffee ice cubes. Yes, you can actually make ice cubes out of coffee and use those in your cup of iced coffee instead of regular ice cubes made of plain water.

Using instant coffee may just be the easiest way of making your own coffee ice cubes. Simply pour hot water onto the granules and mix, waiting for the mixture to fully combine. Then pour the coffee into ice cube trays, place them in the fridge, and let them set overnight. In the morning, you'll get to enjoy a cup of iced coffee that'll never get too watery no matter how hot it is outside or how long you let it sit.

Much of Greece is notoriously hot during the summer months, which means that the last thing you want to do is drink a hot cup of coffee. But you don't have to settle for a plain old boring iced coffee the next time you want to enjoy a coffee beverage that'll actually cool you down. Instead, why not try a Greek-inspired frappe? The best part is that it's incredibly easy to make with just some instant coffee, water, and sugar if desired.

Wondering how to make this coffee treat at home? Start with preferably high-quality instant coffee, and place it in a jar. You'll want to use about two to three teaspoons of it, depending on how strong you want your coffee to be. Then, if you want your frappe to be sweet, you can add in some sugar to your liking. The final addition to this drink is cold water — you'll want to use about a quarter cup of it. Seal the jar and shake the mixture until it gets quite foamy. This can take some time, so be patient while you're shaking. Once you get to that ideal foamy consistency, pour the mixture over ice, and add some additional cold water for a less intense flavor. No ticket to Greece required.

There's nothing like waking up to a huge glass of cold brew. It's perfect for the summer months or any time when you don't feel like drinking a cup of hot coffee in the morning. But unless you want to go out for your cold brew every morning, you have to be pretty proactive in preparing it. After all, it takes hours to properly cold brew coffee, so it's not like you can just whip some up first thing in the morning before leaving for work.

If you forget to make your cold brew the night before, you can make a cold cup of coffee by using instant coffee instead since instant coffee dissolves in cold water just as well as hot. Does it taste exactly the same as cold brew? No. But it's close enough that it'll get the job done when you spaced on making a batch of cold brew the night before.

We've discussed the idea of using instant coffee in your baked goods, but did you know that you can utilize the ingredient in savory dishes as well? Okay, it might not taste that great in a salad, but instant coffee can definitely enhance the flavor of many different types of meat. That's why you may want to consider using it in a meat rub. Of course, you're not going to want to use instant coffee all on its own. Rather, you can mix it with other spices, like garlic, cumin, and cayenne pepper. Using instant coffee gives these flavors an added depth and complexity along with a slight bitterness that can work especially well with meat.

You can use instant coffee to make this coffee-rubbed steak recipe, or you can try it with chicken for a richer flavor. Coffee dry rubs work especially well with pork chops too, so don't be afraid to experiment with different types of meat. It may not seem like the most conventional seasoning, but believe us when we say that it'll transform a basic rub into a recipe your friends will be begging for.