Wait! Instead of tossing that last swallow of coffee down the sink, you can use it in clever ways that will have you thanking yourself later. Here are a few of our favorites.

If you’re like us, there’s always a little coffee left in the brewer and a little more left in the cup. Maybe some of it is black and some has a splash of milk and a little sugar. If you typically toss it down the sink when it’s time to clean up, try saving it instead. 

Why bother? Because in the future, you are going to want it, and it will be there for you. Trust us. Try a few of our favorite uses for leftover coffee—even small amounts. 

Use it in your chocolate desserts

We’ve written before about how to use coffee in your cooking. If you have some coffee already in the fridge, you’ll be ready to go the next time you need it. No need to grab your cold brew or make a small amount of fresh coffee for a recipe. 

Coffee enhances the flavor of chocolate, balancing the sweetness to deepen the taste and complexity. If you’ve never tried it, now’s your chance. 

Things you can do with ½ cup or less of leftover coffee:

• Swap ½ of water or milk in the recipe for ½ cup of black coffee. 

• Add a couple of tablespoons to a frosting or ganache recipe.

• Make coffee-hinting chocolate chip cookies!

Make ice cubes for your drinks…or your face

Whether your leftovers are black, milky, sweet, or flavored, you can add coffee ice cubes to so many drinks for an unexpected flavor punch. 

Of course, you can use it instead of regular ice cubes to flavor your cold brew so it’s never watered down. Or you can add the ice cubes to sparkling water or these cold brew and tonic mocktails. 

If you’re freezing black coffee, you can even use those cubes on your face for a quick depuff. Caffeine is a known vasoconstrictor (it shrinks little veins) and so is ice! Together, they can be a nice skin pick-me-up. 

Try tracing a frozen cube of coffee around your face and under (but away from) your eyes. You don’t need to use up the whole cube. Just give it a few circles around the forehead, cheeks and chin. It’s bound to feel extra good on a hot summer day. 

Flavor a smoothie or oatmeal

If you enjoy a cup of coffee with a morning smoothie or bowl of oats, try a breakfast mashup by replacing some of the liquid in your smoothie or oats with an equal part of leftover coffee. 

• Our chocolate peanut butter smoothie makes a devine breakfast or afternoon treat. 

• For the oatmeal, try creating overnight oats with one part oatmilk and one part coffee. If your leftovers already have a little sugar and milk, you can probably just use the coffee alone. 

How to save your leftover coffee

If you’re making ice cubes, we recommend you set aside one cube tray that you only use for freezing coffee. If you fill it before you’re ready to use it all, pop the cubes into a labeled, reusable freezer bag. 

To save the leftovers for baking or smoothies, grab a mason jar and some masking tape. Label the jar “leftover coffee” and add your leftovers in the same jar each time. As long as you use the coffee consistently and wash out the jar once a month or so, you’ll always have a few tablespoons ready to go when it’s treat-making time.