Keurig machines are incredibly convenient and loved for their ability to quickly brew a perfect single cup of Black coffee. But Can you put milk in a Keurig instead of water to prepare milky coffee drinks?
You should never try to put milk in a Keurig or any drip coffee machine as it damages your machine and is quite difficult to clean. If you want a milk-based coffee drink buy a separate milk frother or simply use flavored K-cups.
Adding milk to a reservoir will cause it to stick to the reservoir and spoil. However, you can add milk to your Keurig K-Café specifically designed to accommodate the milk and froth functions.
what happens if you put milk in a Keurig?
The Keurig will become nearly impossible to clean if you add the milk in the reservoir instead of water. The thick texture and fat content of milk can clog tubes or get stuck in the puncturing needles.
Even after rinsing machines or running cleaning cycles, some milk residue would remain in the pipelines. This can lead to clogs that are difficult to remove and could permanently damage your machine.
Also, Burnt milk will curdle and leave residues that quickly lead to rancid smells and bacterial buildup.
Keurig machines are specifically designed to heat water and only water. The internal mechanism of Keurig is specifically designed to route water from the reservoir to the pod.
Therefore you should never run any liquids other than water in a Keurig.
You might not be able to claim the warranty if your machine is damaged by adding milk. According to Keurig company policy, a Warranty will not apply to this scenario.
Read a detailed guide on How to make Latte in Keurig
Here’s what to do instead of adding milk to Keurig
You definitely can’t use milk in Keurig directly. Then what’s the best way to enjoy cappuccinos, lattes, and hot chocolate?
If you want to make Keurig Coffee with Milk; Here’s what you should do:
1) Buy Flavored K-cups
There is a variety of flavors available in K-cups. You can easily buy Latte, cappuccino, hot chocolate, and many other flavored K-cups to prepare your favorite drink.
Or you can also buy flavored milk pods. These pods have dry milk inside them and you can prepare pseudo-frothed milk using these pods.
Some companies also prepare two-step pods that have a milk pod and a coffee pod. So, there are plenty of options available to prepare milk-flavored drinks using Keurig.
Check out Best Latte and Cappuccino K cups
2- Buy a milk frother
Well, you can use a variety of flavor K-cup pods but I must say their flavors will never match with the Latte prepared by using a milk frother.
The creamy texture and mouthful feel in lattes and cappuccinos are achieved by using frothed milk. You cannot make a perfect latte by simply adding warm milk to coffee.
Keurig manufactures its own milk frothers that can be bought separately with the machine.
If you can’t buy a milk frother you can simply heat the milk on the stove to prepare a delicious drink known as Caffe Misto.
3) Buy Keurig K-cafe
If you want an all-in-one solution to prepare milk-based coffee drinks with ultimate convenience then there is no better option than buying a Keurig K cafe machine.
Keurig K-Cafe is a unique Keurig machine that is capable of frothing milk for lattes and cappuccinos and brewing coffee in just a few seconds.
Read a detailed review of Keurig K cafe
How to clean the Keurig machine after adding milk?
So far I have discussed how bad it is to use milk in Keurig. But what if you have already added the milk? and wondering how to clean the machine.
Well fortunately there are some ways to clean the Keurig machine that will help you to revive the machine after accidently adding the milk.
Follow these steps to clean and remove the milk smell from your Keurig machine!
- First, remember to turn off and unplug your Keurig machine because you don’t want any electrical shock while cleaning the machine.
- Clean the reservoir of your machine thoroughly with soap and a scorching pad so that no milk residue is left.
- Now using screwdrivers, disassemble your Keurig machine. Locate the piping of the machine and clean it manually with water.
- Reassemble the machine and run a cleaning cycle by adding vinegar and water to the tank.
- One cleaning cycle may not be enough to clean the sticky milk and sour smell from the internal system, so you may need to repeat this process several times until the water runs clear and the smell is completely dissipated.
- After the vinegar cleaning cycles, Rinse the machine with a water-only cleaning cycle to remove the vinegar.
I hope that your machine will be restored after applying this cleaning. If not, then it’s better to seek help from some professional or Keurig support.
Also Read: Keurig K Slim vs Mini
FAQs
Can you use milk in a Keurig to make hot chocolate?
You can’t put milk directly into the Keurig machine to prepare hot chocolate.
You can use flavored K-Cups pods or you can use a separate mill frother to steam the milk.
Can you make anything other than coffee in a Keurig?
While Keurig machines are primarily designed for brewing coffee, you can also make various hot beverages like tea, hot chocolate, and other flavored beverages using K-Cup pods. You can also dispense just hot water from Keurig to make soup, oatmeals, green tea, etc.
Does Keurig have milk pods?
Yes, Keurig offers a variety of milk-based pods. These pods typically contain dry milk that is used to prepare creamy and frothy beverages like lattes and cappuccinos.
Final thoughts
I hope this article has answered your question about whether can you put milk in a Keurig.
Keurig coffee machines are highly conventional machines to brew a single perfect great cup of personalized coffee, but adding milk is not a great idea.
If you want milk-based drinks using Keurig, consider investing in Keurig K café or use a separate milk frother.
