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This creamy, soothing AIP Chai Latte is a quick, warming dairy-free coffee replacement drink. It has a lot of flavor from the rich spices and is slightly sweet, so it can be a lovely afternoon pick-me-up. Made in 5 min!
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A Warm AIP Coffee Alternative
Fall and winter can be one of the harder times to do the AIP Diet because the cold temperatures often lead you to desire coffee.
It's pretty obvious why – coffee is warm. You are not.
However, there are loads of other warming drinks! And some delicious ones at that.
Like this AIP Chai Latte!
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Before anyone asks, the toaster pastry (Poptart) is a pre-made AIP one from Paleo on the Go. So good! (use code TOP15 to get $15 off your first order)
AIP Chai Ingredients
This particular chai is creamy and soothing due to the rich nature of the spices used. Spices are pretty limited on the Autoimmune Protocol, but there are quite a few in this drink!
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The Included Ingredients
Coconut Milk – this dairy-free milk gives the drink its creamy texture (learn how to make coconut milk) If you cannot have coconut, tigernut milk would be a great replacement or even banana milk!
Mace – an AIP-compliant alternative for nutmeg that comes from the outer red coating of the nutmeg plant. Tastes a lot like nutmeg!
Ginger – gives it a spicy kick and good for digestion
Cloves – a warming spice that is often used in fall and winter recipes
Vanilla Powder – this is optional, but made from ground vanilla pod and gives this drink a nice flavor
Maple Syrup – to add a tad bit of sweetness and maple flavor. You could of course replace with honey or coconut sugar or omit completely
Alternative Ingredients
If you'd like, you could make this into a “coffee drink” by adding your favorite coffee-alternative like Chicory Dandelion Coffee (you can make your own or buy this delicious blend from Sip Herbals – use code THRIVING10 for 10% off!) or this “coffee” made from figs called Coffig.
You could also add black tea as well – either simmer it with the coconut milk and other ingredients or add pre-brewed tea separately.
Another alternative is to use the whole form of each of the spices as well – simmering for 15 minutes using cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, fresh sliced ginger, and even a vanilla bean. Just remember to strain before drinking!
Make a Pre-made Mix for it:
Even though this is a super quick recipe to pull together, you may not always have the ingredients on hand (like if you're in an office or traveling) – or you might just not want to deal with it.
For times like that – make a pre-made mix that all you need to do is scoop out a bit and mix with your milk of choice.
If you make the mix WITH coconut milk powder, all you need to do is mix it with hot water – which is a great option for work or travel.
To make a pre-made mix that makes 10 servings:
- 2.5 tsp Mace (or Nutmeg as a Stage 1 Reintro or for Paleo)
- 2.5 tsp Ground Cloves
- 5 tsp Ground Ginger
- 5 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 3 tablespoons Coconut or Maple Sugar
- 5 tsp Vanilla Powder (Optional)
- Optional: 1.5 cups Coconut Milk Powder
When making the latte, mix 1 tablespoon of the mix with 1 cup hot or cold milk of choice.
If you added coconut milk powder, mix 3 tablespoons of the mix with 1 cup of hot water.
Other Posts You Might Like
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5 AIP & Paleo Chicken Marinades – Easily create 5 dinners within minutes that you can either eat immediately or freezer for later with these AIP & Paleo chicken marinades.
25 AIP Snack Ideas – When you're on the AIP diet, out and about, and hunger strikes – PANIC! Here are emergency AIP snacks you can get at most grocery stores, Target, Wal-marts, and gas stations.
AIP Chai Latte Recipe
If you make this AIP chai latte, I'd love to hear how it turned out! Either comment below or share a pic on Instagram and tag me @thrivingautoimmune!
AIP Chai Latte Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup Coconut Milk (or Tigernut Milk or Banana Milk)
- 1/4 tsp Mace
- 1/2 tsp ground Ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground Cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground Cloves
- 1 tsp Maple Syrup
- 1/2 tsp Vanilla Powder (optional)
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients into a small saucepan, whisk together, and simmer until desired temperature. Whisk again to make it frothy and enjoy!
Notes
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- 2.5 tsp Mace (or Nutmeg as a Stage 1 Reintro or for Paleo)
-
- 2.5 tsp Ground Cloves
-
- 5 tsp Ground Ginger
-
- 5 tsp Ground Cinnamon
-
- 3 tablespoons Coconut or Maple Sugar
-
- 5 tsp Vanilla Powder (Optional)
-
- Optional: 1.5 cups Coconut Milk Powder
Thanks for sharing! Does it reheat well?
Yes! You may want to shake it up or even use a frother or blender to get it all foamy again, but it definitely reheats well.
This looks so good! What a great way to still enjoy a warm drink during the cold months while sticking to the good stuff!
Thanks!
How can I make the spices “dissolve” into the liquid? I tried this recipe, and the spices were all floating in it.
You just have to whisk it – sometimes they do separate and blending via a blender really would work better, but I just don’t say that as most people don’t want to take the time/effort to do that. If you have one of those little battery powered coffee frother wand things, those work really well too (like one of these: https://amzn.to/3nCbfhm )
I made banana milk for this recipe. The clove spice (1/4tsp is too strong), it overpowers all of the other ingredients. I didn’t have Mace either. I’ll look for that ingredient and try this again. I think this could work for my coffee addiction in the winter.
Hi. Sarah.
I’ve made golden turmeric milk before and found that using coconut oil as it’s cooking seems to help reduce the powders from clumping together.
What brand of vanilla powder do you recommend?
The brand I loved unfortunately isn’t available anymore, but I’ve been using Kiva and it’s been decent.
Hi, Michele.
Is Vanilla protein powder ok?
You could use it but if you’re doing AIP then make sure the protein powder is compliant, as many of them aren’t.
This looks great, I can’t wait to try it. Which coconut milk do you use?
I am confused about chicory dandelion coffee substitute – it recommends in this recipe mixing it in but I saw in the “AIP Foods to Avoid” List that Dandy Blend is to be avoided. I assuming this is the same thing. Is it OK or to be avoided?
Thank you!
I use the Native Forest Simple Coconut milk most times – or I make it myself (I’ve got a recipe for homemade coconut milk). And then as for the Dandy Blend – no, that is not the same thing as the chicory dandelion “coffee”. Unfortunately Dandy Blend has barley in it, which contains gluten, so it’s out. The chicory dandelion coffee is a homemade blend of chicory root and dandelion root steeped in hot water for a few minutes. (If you look under the “What Can I Eat on AIP” section on this AIP page and then scroll down to the Can I have Coffee part, I have a recipe for it there. (Sorry it’s not easier to access – I’m in the process of getting all these things into posts, but it takes time!)
Dandy Blend posts a gluten-free test certification on their website. Are you still not recommending it as a beverage?
Yeah, still not for the elimination phase just because it’s derived from the non-AIP ingredients of rye and barley. It’d be similar to having regular chai tea from a teabag that has seed and berry-based spiced. You aren’t necessarily eating or drinking the spice itself, but it still has the potential to cause an immune response if you are sensitive to those ingredients. That being said, it could be something you want to try as a reintroduction to see if you have any reactions.
Is natural pure vanilla extract OKAY to sub the vanilla powder?
Yes, but add it at the beginning of cooking so that the alcohol cooks off (unless you’re using an alcohol-free version of extract). Vanilla extract is only allowed on AIP if it’s going to be cooked for that reason.
Thanks for coming up with an AIP chai! Pre AIP, my “coffee order” was a dirty chai latte which I miss greatly😩
I mostly liked this recipe but without black tea, it didn’t feel likes true chai. However, it did mean I could drink it at 8 pm at night haha.
The next time I make this, I’ll definitely use black tea as you suggested, and I would cut the clove to 1/8 tsp – it made my mouth a little fuzzy and throat a little dry at 1/4 tsp. I might try it with houjicha tea too. Thanks again for this! 🖤