I love my Keurig coffee maker and the convenience of making one cup of coffee at a time. My husband and I each drink one cup of coffee per day, and it's nice to have a little variety in the K-cups. The thing about K-cups is that they can be expensive (especially hard to find flavors) and not every coffee company makes them. Off the top of my head, I would be missing out my favorite ground versions of Seattle's Best, Community Coffee, Dunkin Donuts, and Starbucks, just to name a few, if I only used k cups made for the Keurig (that's not even including some of the best local blends!).
I knew there had to be a cheaper way to make my own K cups versus buying the separate refillable K-Cup
After a few test runs, here is how I refill my used k-cups using regular ground coffee (Plus, this method is almost completely free!):
How to Refill K-Cups With Your Own Ground Coffee
1. Remove and discard the lid of a used k-cup; gently rinse out and dry completely—this is very important unless you are going to refill the k-cup right away. Store used cups in a gallon Ziploc bag.
2. Fill the K-cup to the top with the ground coffee of your choice. I am using Community Coffee Carnivale Cake— yum!
3. Cut heavy duty tin foil (or regular tin foil folded in half) into a circle. It should be slightly larger than the opening of the k-cup.
4. Place foil on top of k-cup and tuck into edges. As you cut more and more of these circles, you will get better at judging the size.
5. Since this K-cup was previously used, you will need to take note of the hole on the bottom. To match up, insert the K-cup and turn clockwise until it is inserted correctly.
6. Pour water into your Keurig unit and brew. You will have a perfect cup of coffee using your own grounds and a used K-cup. I personally only refill each K-cup one time after its first use. I have heard you can reuse the k-cups many times if you take good care of the filter.
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Brandi @ Flip Flop Mama says
What a neat idea, so very smart eco-friendly money saving idea!
jr911 says
While I don't use a Keurig, I have several friends who do. I think they'll be happy to read this article.
Shannon (@Cajun_Mama) says
You know I love Community Coffee and so glad you found a way to try the Carnivale Cake. Did you love it?
Nichol says
I had no idea! Thank you so much:) That cake coffee sounds amazing.
Tammy says
Neat - I have a couple of commercially made products that allow me to use my own ground coffee in my keurig - I like being able to use my own Starbucks coffee. One thing to note about using things this way though is that it will void your warranty if your machine breaks - so I started using them after my warranty was up.
nikki says
i just recently got a keurig as a gift and i knew there had to be a way to do this! its much cheaper to buy the grounds in a bag. thanks! 😊
JIM says
I got tired of cutting out the foil with scissors, so I purchased a 2 1/2" dia. hole punch that is made for the Stamping Crafts. Purchased at Joan Fabrics of hobby Lobby. I then Cut the Heavy Duty foil into 3" wide strips. I then put the strips in the hole punch. They fit perfectly over the K cups. THe Hvy Duty foil holds up better than the thinner foil. Hope this helps someone.
Kathy says
Great idea! I’m going to try this.
Renee says
i purchased the black plastic Coffee Caps Reuse And Refill The Keurig® K-Cup from eBay and they fit on the Keurig cup. You can use this forever.
Jill says
I fold the foil over several times to cut them all at once and I have a cup that is the perfect size and I trace it and cut them all out at the same time.
krys says
keurig makes a special filter so you can use your own grounds & not void your warranty
Jason says
Awesome!
Thanks for the tip.
Frances Gresley says
I once found a K cup that had a mesh bag instead of the plastic cup, but now I cannot find that. Can you tell me what brand that is and where to find it? It’s much better for the environment. Thank you.
Stefanie Fauquet says
These are the ones I use that sound like what you're describing https://amzn.to/2vYN6ZU
Mary says
I like Cameron brand. No plastic cup, just the filter.
Kathy says
I have purchased the refillable cups but I alsways get grounds in my coffee.
Anonymous says
you could get small k cup filters fron amazon. they were just perfect