Root beer extract can be used for so many more things than just making your own delicious root beer at home – you can use it in your baking, make sauces with it, create flavored ice creams, and more!
Now, root beer extract is much stronger than normal root beer, so you need much less of it in your creations. This makes it much more practical (and cheaper), plus it gives you more room to experiment with new recipes. (And saves on valuable pantry space!)
But, not just any root beer extract will do – we want the best-of-the-best, meaning high-quality products that deliver consistent and great results!
So, let’s dive in and explore the best root beer extract you can buy!
What is root beer extract?
Root beer extract is a concentrated flavoring made from several ingredients – mainly roots, herbs, and spices. Historically, these included the sassafras root, which was the key ingredient in the unique flavor (although it’s been banned since the 1960s due to its negative health effects).
These days, you’ll find root beer extracts made from vanilla beans, alcohol, water, natural root beer extractives, and more (check out the specific ingredients of each root beer extract in the rankings below). It may also contain things like cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and more depending on the brand.
A lot of root beer extracts have natural flavoring, but some include artificial flavors, which I’ll point out if that’s the case in the rankings below!
How to use root beer extract in recipes
The most popular way to use root beer extract is making your own root beer, which usually calls for 1 tablespoon of root beer extract for every liter of carbonated water – although that can change from recipe to recipe, especially since some call for different ingredients as well.
You can also use it as a topping or mix in ice cream – like in coconut ice cream, where you could play around with switching out the vanilla extract for root beer extract, or add ¼ to 1 teaspoon of root beer extract additionally to bring out a unique flavor.
My favorite collaboration of ice cream and root beer extract is by making your own root beer, and then adding something like coconut milk vanilla bean ice cream to make a delicious float!
Root beer popsicles are also a refreshing snack – for example, add ¼ teaspoon of root beer extract to this coconut popsicle recipe to create a unique summer thirst-quencher!
However, if it’s your first time using root beer extract, I’d recommend starting out by using a recipe specifically calling for root beer extract due to its strong and distinctive flavor – especially if you’re using it in bakes and barbeque recipes.
How to choose the best root beer extract
To find the best products, we used this list of criteria to rank these root beer extract brands:
- Ingredients: Ingredients are important, especially since there is such variety in what brands include in their root beer extract. We only chose the brands with the safest and highest quality of ingredients!
- Consumer feedback: Reviews tell us what the masses say, which is an important aspect in deciding how good a product is for their consumers. I mean, why would anyone choose a product that many others are suggesting to avoid?
- Track record: If a brand has a good track record, they likely take care in creating the best products possible. In fact, the longer a brand has a clean record, the more likely they actually know (and care) about what they’re doing
- Price: High prices, low prices, and everything in between. We’ve made sure to include products that fit every budget.
We’ve also included options for best gift, best organic, and more options to make sure that you find exactly what you’re looking for – even if it is that specific!
Without further ado, here are the rankings:
#1 Best Overall: Native Vanilla
Native Vanilla makes it a point that they only use natural and sustainable products and practices without compromising quality and experience – and they sure didn’t compromise on anything with their root beer extract!
They’ve created a wonderful extract that balances the flavors perfectly, adding delicious value to your frostings, beverages, bakes, barbeques, sauces, and more. Plus, this root beer extract is organic, kosher certified, gluten free, non-GMO, and sugar free.
Natural ingredients, in my opinion, bring out the best and most balanced flavors when done right – which Native Vanilla smashed out of the park all while keeping the price on the low side!
You won’t regret picking up this root beer extract!
Ingredients: Alcohol, water, vanilla beans, caramel color, glycerin and natural root beer extractives
#2 Best Value: Shank’s
Shank’s root beer extract is the most cost-effective on this entire list, coming in at $1.97 per fluid ounce.
Not only that, it has awesome customer reviews that rave about how great it is. What’s even more impressive is how long Shank’s has been in the game – they started up all the way back in 1899!
Amazing customer reviews, awesome value, and a company with a great track record that’s been at it for over 100 years equals a root beer extract that you won’t be disappointed with!
One thing to note with this one here, however, is that there are artificial flavors included. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it’s definitely important to keep in mind if you’re looking for purely natural root beer extracts, in which case I would recommend Native Vanilla’s or Nature’s Flavor, which is #6 on this list (although that one is quite a bit pricier).
Ingredients: Caramel color, propylene glycol, water, phosphoric acid, natural and artificial flavor, sodium benzoate (as a preservative)
#3 Trusted Brand: Watkins
Watkins is probably the most trusted brand when it comes to spices and flavorings. They’ve been in the game since 1868, and have been working in the same factory for over 152 years!
Their track record is perfect, and you can tell they care about their customers – not just because they’ve been in business for so long, but also because of their 1000+ ratings praising their root beer extract and customer support.
Also, I love brands that create the best possible product with minimal ingredients, and Watkins did just that by using natural flavors, sugar, alcohol, and water!
Truly, a brand that stands behind their product and customers the way Watkins does is one that has earned our trust!
Ingredients: Water, Sugar, Alcohol, Natural flavors.
#4 Baker’s Favorite: Hires Big H
Hires Big H root beer extract is by far the most reviewed product on this list – a whopping 2600+ reviews!
And they’re all pretty darn good, complimenting Hires Big H on making a root beer extract that works quicker and more easily than a lot of other options, all while having a great taste to it.
One thing I really value is when a baker recommends a product to me, as I know that they’ve properly tried it and like it more than the (likely) many other products they’ve tried. That’s why this root beer extract is so attractive – it has a ton of reviews, all of which support this as a great product!
However, it does also contain artificial flavors – just something to keep in mind!
Ingredients: Water, Propylene Glycol, Natural and Artificial Flavors, Gum Arabic, Caramel Color, Sodium Benzoate (to preserve freshness).
#5 Best For Made in the USA: Vanilla Bean Kings
Vanilla Bean Kings started off as someone making products for their friends and families, but slowly evolved into a proper brand that makes some wonderful products – including their root beer extract!
It’s crafted in the USA, and is proudly American while taking influences from other regions of the world such as Madagascar (I recommend reading their story on their site, it’s great).
Their root beer extract is also non-GMO, gluten free, and sugar free, which are qualities that I really appreciate.
It’s priced similarly to Hires Big H root beer extract, which might make this a good option if you were looking for a natural version…
They use natural ingredients, along with their signature vanilla extract to create a balanced root beer extract that’ll surely meet your needs!
Ingredients: Water, natural root beer extractives, vanilla extract (alcohol, vanilla, and select vanilla beans), propylene glycol, and caramel color
#6 Best Organic: Nature’s Flavors
Nature’s Flavors offers a wonderful root beer extract that’s completely organic, which is something some of you may be looking for.
Unfortunately, it’s quite expensive – it comes in at $9.73 per fluid ounce, which is miles pricier than any other product on this list!
The good thing is that you’ll be getting a great quality root beer extract, although I recommend some of the other options on this list if you don’t need a purely organic product as they’re all great quality too (and much more cost-effective).
But, something I find really cool about Nature’s Flavors is that they are a family-owned business – not something you see a whole lot these days.
Ingredients: Organic cane alcohol, organic glycerin, and natural flavors
#7 Honorable Mention: Cook’s
Cook’s is a frequent flier on “best” lists when it comes to flavorings.
Their root beer extract is great, and can be a wonderful option – I like that they provide some recipes using their root beer extract on their website, and offer some great ideas (like the root beer float and root beer flavored ice cream we mentioned earlier).
Cook’s root beer extract is allergen free, non-GMO, sugar free, and gluten free, making it a viable option for people with many different dietary needs and wants.
The balanced flavor and customer-friendly approach to experiencing their products will have you coming back again and again!
Ingredients: Glycerin, caramel color, vanilla extract, natural root beer extractives, and water.
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