What’s a coffee maker for? It’s not really a trick question. It’s in the name. What else could it be used for?
So many, many things.
We know you probably have a stove not too far from your coffee maker, but you can actually make all kinds of food in a coffee maker; after all, it uses heat and water. But if you’re going to try these, we recommend washing the coffee maker out very thoroughly before making your morning brew, because ramen-flavored coffee sounds pretty gross.
The easiest method is boiling things in the pot.
1. Lentils
Lentils cook quickly in hot water, so you can pop them right in the pot when the water starts boiling.
2. Rice
You can cook it in the pot, and if you have a glass one, you can monitor the process without opening the lid!
3. Ramen
You can cook both the noodle and soup components in a coffee maker. Honestly, you can boil pretty much any noodle you want in a coffee pot.
4. Eggs
It’s just boiling water, so why not poach some eggs?
5. Oatmeal
You can either cook the traditional kind in the pot, or let water drip down on the instant kind. For extra flavor, stick a teabag in the filter.
6. Grits
Like oatmeal, grits are easy to make, and you can add in whatever you want to make them more flavorful.
7. Soup
If it’s liquid, you can make it in a coffee maker.
The pot is also good for boiling and steaming vegetables. To steam, just use about an inch of water.
8. Mashed potatoes
Cut up the potatoes and boil them until soft. Then smash them elsewhere.
9. Corn
You’ll probably have to break the cobs in half to fit in the pot, but they’ll be tender after about eight minutes of boiling.
10. Broccoli
Like the corn, you can soften up some broccoli in boiling water as well.
11. Steamed vegetables
Using just a little bit of water, you can steam any vegetable to deliciousness.
If you remove the pot, you’re left with the flat surface that heats up much like a frying pan or griddle. You can cook on that, too, but coat it with butter or oil first.
12. Grilled cheese
Flickr / Kitchen Life of a Navy Wife
This is the obvious choice.
13. Quesadilla
A quesadilla is, after all, just a grilled cheese in a tortilla. Add fixins of your choice.
14. Pancakes
The round shape of the griddle will help with form, too.
15. Hot dogs
Hot dogs are perfect, because they can be grilled on the griddle or boiled in the pot. Or you can boil them first and give them a crispy finish at the end! Boom.
16. Eggs (again)
Like hot dogs, you can cook eggs two ways with a coffee maker.
Then there are more complicated meals you can make using the pot and the griddle section.
17. Lemon pepper chicken
Partially cover the chicken in water and boil in the pot with seasoning for about 15 minutes, then turn the chicken over. Save the juice to make mashed potatoes.
18. Pesto chicken pasta
Sear the chicken on the griddle. Grind up your pesto ingredients in the grinder. Use the pot to cook the pasta. And for the love of all that is good and holy, wash the coffee maker afterwards.
19. Cous cous with chicken
Again, you’re going to use the griddle to make the chicken, and the pot to boil the cous cous.
Don’t forget dessert. The coffee maker is good for that, too.
20. Candied nuts
Stir nuts into a mixture of sugar, water, and spices. Remove and let dry on a platter.
21. Chocolate fondue
Flickr / Lin Pernille Photography LLC
Heat up cream in the pot, and after about 15 minutes, stir in chocolate. Cook that for another ten minutes and start dipping.
22. Caramel
Start with butter. Once it’s melted, add cocoa, sugar, and corn syrup. Stir together and pour into a greased pan. Let it sit for about an hour.
And besides coffee, you can also use it to make other beverages.
23. Beer
Legend has it you can brew beer in a coffee maker, possibly using Raisin Bran.
24. Tea
It’s funny that the best thing (and probably the most realistic thing) you can make besides coffee in a coffee maker is tea. It’s especially good for loose leaf tea. Just put it where you’d normally put your coffee grounds and run the coffee maker as normal. You might have to adjust the water-to-tea ratio depending on the type, but it’s an easy way to make the perfect amount of tea for you and a friend.
Okay, so some of these are less than practical, especially when you’ve got a perfectly good stove and oven less than five feet away. But should anything happen to that stove, you can still make a home-cooked meal! It’s always good to have a back up plan. Pretty cool, right?