June 30, 2023

19 min to read

9 Amazing E-Juice Recipes That You'll Love to Make

There's no better way to get into DIYing vape juice than starting with a list of popular recipes that work. These vape juice mixes are widely regarded as some of the best DIY recipes around without using exotic and hard-to-find flavorings. On top of that, they come from experienced mixers who know how to get the most out of each concentrate without overdoing it.

The list comprises six original e-liquid recipes and three clones of popular commercial ejuices – or, as they are sometimes referred to, remixes.

Our flavor notes cover the basics of each vape flavor concentrate, but if you want a more detailed breakdown of why and how each flavor is used, most of the recipes come with notes from their creators.

Want to be prepared before you delve into the actual mixing? You can skip to the last part of the guide, where you will find the 38 flavorings you will need to make all of the recipes included in our list.

Here is a list of abbreviations to help guide you through the rest of the text.

Flavoring manufacturers

TPA: The Perfumer's Apprentice – can also be found online as TFA (The Flavor Apprentice)

FA: FlavourArt

CAP: Capella Flavors

INW: Inawera Flavors

FLV: Flavorah

FW: Flavor West

Online resources

ELR: E-Liquid-Recipes.com

ATF: AllTheFlavors.com

ZLab ZColors

The ZColors are the base on which ZLab built its ecosystem approach. Part prefilled pods, part building blocks, the ZColors can be attached to various ZLab products. They are compatible with the ZLand power source (up to three can be connected) and the ZJoins heated tobacco device (can connect one). Available in 50 flavors and five strengths (including 0%).

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Note

Note: Please note that some of these flavorings do contain diketones – though all are claimed to have no added diacetyl or to be diacetyl-free. Flavorings that contain diketones will have a warning next to the flavor name on the recipe table. Our flavor notes will inform you about diketone-free editions and how well they would qualify as substitutes.

Original vape juice recipes

The six recipes that follow are original, in the sense that their creators did not aim to reproduce commercial vape juices. They are their creators' approaches to familiar and, in most cases, "real life" flavor profiles.

Simple Sugar Cookie by ID10-T

Simple sugar cookie e liquid recipe

A very simple e-liquid recipe to get you started in DIY from the winner of the 2nd DIYorDIE World Mixing Championship, ID10-T. Only two ingredients for a total of 12% flavoring, this one is easy to mix and not so easy to leave down after a week's steep. Yes, both ingredients could have had some support and a bit of an added complexity, but this was not the purpose of this recipe. If you want to raise the stakes, check out the recipe that got ID10-T his World Mixing Championship title.

Sugar Cookie – CAP: A realistic soft sugar cookie, this one can be combined with other biscuit and cookie flavorings and add the missing texture. Very versatile, it won’t hurt most mixes when used at low percentages. In this recipe, it functions as a straight-up sugar cookie. You can try subbing this one, as sugar cookie is one of the rare cases where the diketone-free V2 is sometimes preferred over the original flavor-wise.

Vanilla Custard - CAP: The most essential custard flavor around - if custards are your thing then you absolutely need this one. Rich, eggy, and versatile, CAP Vanilla Custard can be used for a variety of purposes at different percentages. Here it is used at 4% to add some creaminess to the cookie. A non-diketone version 2 is available, which some DIYers love and others hate, so proceed with caution.

Thai Coconut Ice Cream by dazcole

Thai coconut ice cream e liquid recipe

Another simple recipe, this one comes with three ingredients for a total of 6.25% of flavoring. Taking the "less is more" approach, mixer dazcole (the man behind Divine Shots) takes the most out of each flavoring and comes up with an interesting flavor profile. This one is more than the sum of its parts and starts popping sometime between the 3rd and 5th day of steeping.

Caramel – FA: Widely considered the best pure caramel available in the market, it is also the easiest to work with. Just use it inside the 0.5-2% range, and chances are you are going to make your mix better. Works with creams, fruits, and even some tobaccos. Used here at 1.25% to help flavors blend and add a touch of caramel to the ice cream.

Coconut - FA: A very realistic coconut flavor that avoids the most common problem that coconut concentrates have: tasting like sunscreen. Not candy-like, something between eating coconut and drinking coconut milk at the same time.

Vanilla Bean Ice Cream - TPA: Commonly referred to as VBIC, this flavoring will help when aiming for an ice cream profile but can also be used for adding texture to your mix. TPA’s edition is very popular, but some find it peppery when used at higher percentages. If you belong in this category, then you can use Capella’s VBIC instead, which has the added bonus of being diketone-free—unlike TPA's offering.

Goofy's Juice by Stafylidis Vladimiros

Goofys juice e liquid recipe

Up until recently, this definition of an all-day-vape was the best-rated recipe at ELR. Goofy's Juice is a simple yet delicate sweet tobacco recipe, based on TPA's RY4 Double. Benefits a lot when steeped properly, so we advise you to mix it and forget it in your cupboard for at least a month. If you enjoy RY4 vapes, you should definitely mix this one.

Acetyl Pyrazine 5% - TPA: An additive and not a typical flavor concentrate, AP has a characteristic roasted nut flavor that can be used alongside most mixes to add some depth. Ideal for nut and tobacco mixes, but also useful in cream and dessert recipes, AP is one of those flavors that you can easily recognize when used in a vape juice. In this recipe, it is mainly used to support the nutty flavors.

Graham Cracker (Clear) – TPA: A very useful graham cracker flavor that can be used to boost pies and crusts. It is not used on its own very often but makes a great combo with other biscuits, cookies, or cheesecake flavors. Often thrown in sweet tobacco mixes for a grainy background. Its diketone-free edition is much darker in color and not very close to the original.

Hazelnut – FW: A rich and creamy hazelnut. Not as realistic as FA's Hazelnut, but much easier to work with and a better fit for most recipes out there. Used a lot in cereal mixes, as well as in sweet tobaccos and desserts. Not diketone-free and no available substitute for it.

Peanut Butter – TPA: By far the most popular peanut butter flavoring around—and for a good reason. Very realistic but not too complicated, it can be used as an accent in low percentages, or as a dominant peanut butter by going a bit higher. Comes with diketones, but the diketone-free (DX) edition is a good substitute.

RY4 Double - TPA: The king of sweet tobaccos—this is by far the most popular tobacco flavoring around. Caramel and vanilla upfront, smooth tobacco in the back. Can be vaped as a standalone flavor or paired with flavors that enhance its vanilla and/or caramel notes. It is even used to boost the caramel side of dessert recipes. Its ELR page mentions that it might crack plastic tanks, but this is very (very!) uncommon.

Grack Juice by Philosaphucker

Grack e liquid recipe

One of the highest-rated recipes over at ATF and winner of Reddit's list of Best 2016 recipe competition. A diketone-free, refreshing grape juice that is taking the most out of the synergy of its ingredients. It is one of these recipes that taking out (or substituting) even one ingredient will drastically alter the results, so we would advise following it to the letter. Can also be found at ELR.

Cactus - INW: A very useful concentrate which could have been named Inawera Juice Machine instead. Yes, it is a cactus/prickly pear flavoring, but in the vast majority of cases, it is used to juice-ify fruits. You'd be amazed at what a bit of Inawera Cactus can do to your fruit mixes.

Dragonfruit - TPA: This is a solid dragonfruit flavor but is most commonly used as a strawberry booster. Adding a bit of this concentrate to strawberry mixes will make them pop, lending a tarty and juicy background. Can also be used to brighten up other fruits.

Grape – INW: This is the base of the recipe. A delicate and complex juicy mix of green and dark grapes, this is probably the most useful grape concentrate around. It is also a solid standalone vape if grapes are your thing.

Koolada - TPA: A cooling agent that will add ice in your mixes, Koolada works really well with anything that needs to have a frozen effect. You can use it in ice creams, sodas, ice teas, and so on. Stay low in the percentages as too much Koolada can make your juice a challenge to vape.

Meringue - FA: Much more than just meringue, this one can be used in almost every mix around. Works as a flavorful sweetener for creams and fruits, adds character to sweet tobaccos, strengthens cereal mixes… If you are searching for the extra touch, FA Meringue might be what you have been missing.

Raspberry - INW: A surprisingly potent flavor, Inawera’s Raspberry can completely overpower mixes when used over 1%. It is a very realistic raspberry flavoring that can also brighten strawberry mixes (and berries in general) at very low percentages.

Sweet Strawberry - CAP: This is more of an artificial, candy strawberry than a realistic one, and it's often used alongside TPA's Strawberry Ripe (different ratios of those two will produce various different strawberry profiles.) In this recipe, it is used to brighten things up and add a bit of candy to the mix.

Apple Buttah by Goldfish18

Apple buttah e liquid recipe

One of the Best Recipes of 2016 according to Reddit as well as the winner of the 2016 DIYORDIE World Mixing Championship, this is one of the most decorated recipes around. A very technical and accurate approach to an apple butter profile, this recipe was praised for nailing every aspect of what a creamy apple sauce should taste like. Every ingredient of this recipe is well thought of, and this is a must for apple lovers. You can also find it at ELR.

Butter Cream – CAP: This is exactly what its name implies, a buttercream flavor. Balanced sweetness and not very heavy on the butter, it is very useful for adding a bit of depth to other creams. Lighter than custardy creams due to the lack of diketones.

Caramel – FA: FA Caramel is used at a low percentage here and works more as an enhancer than an actual caramel flavor. It helps bring everything together and adds a bit of depth to the mix.

Cinnamon Danish Swirl – CAP: A cinnamon roll concentrate that is heavier on the cinnamon and easy on the pastry. It is a must-have when going after its profile, but also one of the least offensive ways to add a bit of cinnamon in your mixes when used under 1%.

Fuji Apple - FA: THE apple you need. FA’s Fuji is by far the most popular around, and hints of it can be found in most apple e-liquids you have tried. Simply put, no other apple concentrate would have worked better in this recipe.

Liquid Amber – FA: Liquid Amber is used with fruits to add a baked effect, and in some cases to boost the jam side of things. Can easily take over a mix so don't overdo it: in most cases, something like 0.25-0.5% is enough. Used here to bake the apple and turn it into a sauce.

Vanilla Bean Ice Cream – TPA: Used low at 1%, VBIC adds texture and a touch of vanilla without the ice cream aspect. Again, you can use the diketone-free Capella VBIC for similar results.

Vanilla Custard – CAP: As with VBIC, Capella's Vanilla Custard is not used high enough to actually work as a custard. It makes the mix richer and creamier and helps everything blend. In this case, the diketone-free V2 might just work.

Leche De Coco (Coconut Milk) by hashslingingslashur

Leche de coco e liquid recipe

Reddit's Best Recipe of 2017 winner, hashslingingslashur's Leche De Coco is a smooth coconut milk recipe that uses only 6% flavoring. Don't let this fool you; this is much richer than the numbers will have you believe. Once again, less is more in vape juice DIY – why go for 20% when you can get even better results at much lower percentages. The recipe is also available at ATF.

Bavarian Cream - TPA: One of the most versatile flavors available, TPA’s Bavarian cream lends a characteristic creamy (and slightly eggy) background to your mixes. Works with almost every flavor profile. A DX version is available, which is slightly different due to the lack of diketones but works as a substitute in some cases.

Cheesecake (Graham Crust) - TPA: This diketone-free Cheesecake emphasizes the graham crust, making it an ideal pairing to Capella’s NY Cheesecake. It can also be used on its own as a lighter cheesecake flavoring, light on the mascarpone. Used here at 1%, it is added to strengthen the mix and not as a cheesecake flavoring.

Sweet Coconut - FLV: A smooth candy-like coconut flavor with a lot of coconut milk to it. This is the building block of this recipe, but can also be used to boost the milky part of other coconut flavorings.

Coconut – FA: This coconut is used here at 0.75% to add a bit of realism to its FLV counterpart and, as the mixer puts it, some coconut flakes. In other words, it completes the coconut profile.

Cream Fresh - FA: A light and diketone-free cream that works in almost every mix where a hint of cream is needed. No custard notes, no vanilla notes, just good old fresh cream. Some might find it a bit too “malty” at higher concentrations, so try not to go overboard. Used here at 0.5% for a nice creamy background.

Meringue – FA: As discussed earlier, FA's Meringue is one of those concentrates that work in almost every mix. Used here to sweeten the recipe and just make everything taste better.

Vape juice clones and remixes

The three recipes in this list are attempts to clone (or even improve) existing commercial vape juices. This is by no means an easier task than creating a recipe from scratch—in fact, many consider it a much more demanding process as the result can be directly compared to the original.

Boss Reserve Clone by folkart

Boss reserve clone e liquid recipe

Long-time mixer folkart’s attempt to clone one of the most popular juices around is one of the highest-rated recipes over at ATF. Using only 4.5% of flavoring, this is more than an e-juice clone; it is a smooth, all-day vape that many prefer over the original.

Acetyl Pyrazine 5% - TPA: Used here at 1%, AP is the simplest (and probably the best) way to emulate the nutty part of the Boss Reserve juice.

Super Sweet – CAP: You can’t clone commercial juice without sweetening things up a bit. Capella’s Super Sweet is a strong sweetener and is used here at only 0.25% to prevent it from taking over the recipe.

Milk & Honey – FLV: A very useful concentrate, Flavorah’s Milk & Honey is a delicate and complex mix of what its name suggests. While combining dairy and honey concentrates can still get you there, Flavorah managed to hit the spot and this concentrate has become the weapon of choice for most mixers wanting to introduce milk and honey in their recipes.

Banana Cream – TPA: Don’t be fooled by its name, this one focuses on the banana part and works well with fruit as well as cream mixes. Very balanced and not very potent, it is probably the easiest banana concentrate to work with. A diketone-free DX edition is available and is workable as a substitute at similar percentages.

Biscuit – INW: Probably the most useful biscuit flavoring around, and by far the most popular Inawera concentrate. A buttery, full-flavored biscuit that works as a base for most profiles in need of a crusty cookie base. Used here at 0.25% to give just a bit of a biscuit touch.

The New Pistachio RY4-U by ENYAWREKLAW

The new pistacchio ry4-u e liquid recipe

The second sweet tobacco in this list comes from Wayne Walker, aka ENYWREKLAW, the man behind the DIYorDIE mixers collective. This excellent take on Charlie Noble's Pistachio RY4 is one of the highest-rated tobacco recipes over at ATF. Let this one steep for a couple of weeks, TPA's RY4 Double needs some time to deliver the goods. Can also be found at ATF – the edition available at ELR is older and very different from this one.

Butterscotch Ripple – FW: Probably the most used butterscotch flavoring around, this is a very creamy and smooth butterscotch that works wonders with creams, nuts, and caramels. So smooth that can be used to take some of the edge off of harsher flavorings. Very versatile and an essential flavor if you are into caramel and butterscotch vapes.

Pistachio – TPA: This one is closer to the pistachio you get from an ice-cream than the real thing (for a realistic pistachio, FA's offering is your best bet.) Creamy and sweet, it can be used with RY4-style tobaccos or desserts that require the extra nut touch.

RY4 Double - TPA: That's the tobacco part of the recipe and is used here in a similar way to Goofy's Juice—a recipe also featured in this list. More of a tobacco background than a dominant flavor when used at lower percentages, RY4 Double gives a smooth caramel tobacco base to build on.

Sugar Cookie – CAP: ENYWREKLAW calls it "the secret ingredient" of this recipe. This is the flavoring that completed his take on Pistachio RY4 and made it much better than the previous editions. Capella's Sugar Cookie has so much going for it that you should grab a bottle regardless of what you plan on mixing next.

Sweetener - TPA: This sweetener's main ingredients are sucralose and ethyl maltol. It can add the missing sweetness to your juice and help everything blend together, but use too much and you will end up muting flavors – and destroying your coils. Used here at 0.5% to give the extra premium juice touch.

Vanilla Swirl - TPA: One of the lightest creams around, TPA's Vanilla Swirl is used here to add texture and a slight creamy vanilla accent. In essence, this is TPA Vanilla Custard without the diketones – and the characteristic flavor they come with.

ELEMENT Pink Lemonade clone by micah

Element pink lemonade clone e liquid recipe

The third e-juice clone/remix recipe in this list comes from ELR user micah. What is special about this recipe (except for nailing it in the cloning department) is the number of helpful comments that can be found on its page. On top of that, the creator provides very detailed flavor notes and an extensive list of every improvement and substitution he has gone through. All in all, this is a top-quality recipe and an interesting read from top to bottom.

Key Lime – TPA: This is a strong key lime flavoring that has some lemonade potential on its own. Not as realistic as FA's Lime Tahity, works well alongside it to create a more complex lime profile.

Lemonade – FLV: The base of the recipe. While Flavorah's Lemonade is workable as a standalone, it is one of the flavorings that shines when having some support from other citruses. It's also slightly sweet, which helps with the profile.

Lime Tahity (Cold Pressed) - FA: A very realistic, unsweetened fresh lime flavor. Can be used in lime profiles, or add a magic touch to lemons —especially in lemonade recipes such as this one. Note that you need the "cold pressed" version for this recipe, and not the "distilled" version.

Marshmallow - FA: This diketone-free Marshmallow is one of the most useful flavors around. At lower percentages, it works as a blender or delicate sweetener adding texture and volume to “thin” recipes. Raising the percentage can make it the center block of a marshmallow profile.

Super Sweet – CAP: Commercial juice = a bit of sweetener. Element's Pink Lemonade is fairly sweet, so 1% of Super Sweet is not a lot for the profile. You can get it down to 0.5% if you are not a fan of sweeteners.

Sweet Strawberry - CAP: There is a hint of strawberry in the original, and that's more or less what 2% Sweet Strawberry will give you. In essence, Capella's Sweet Strawberry is the "pink" part of the lemonade.

Sweet Tangerine - CAP: What its name says, a sweet, candy-like tangerine flavor. Very juicy but not very potent, can be used to add body to other citric flavors.

Vanilla Swirl - TPA: More “swirl” than “vanilla,” this is probably the best cream for fruit-based mixes. At 1% it helps smoothen the edges of the lemons and limes of the recipe while adding a pinch of vanilla to the recipe.

E-Juice flavorings shopping list

This shopping list includes all the flavors you will need in order to mix the featured recipes. The flavorings can be bought directly from the manufacturers, with some companies even offering sample packs. There is also the option of buying from online vendors, where it is possible to get most (if not all) of the concentrates you need with one order.

A 10 mL bottle of e-juice flavoring will cost you anywhere between $1 and $5. Due to the low percentages at which most of the flavorings are used, 10 mL can last you for a long time. Many shops will offer rebottled editions of some of the brands listed here, which is a nice way to save even more money. Only buy from reputable sources, especially when going for rebottled flavorings.

Here is a list of some highly recommended vendors with large collections of vape juice flavorings:

US based:

EU/UK based:

That's it, you now have everything you need to make nine of the most popular DIY vape juices around! Have fun mixing and let us know what you think of our recipe selections. Which was your favorite of the bunch? Did you find your all-day vape on this list? Let us know in the comments section!

Spyros Papamichail

Vaping for: 9 years

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Favorite flavors: Sweet tobaccos, fruits

Expertise in: Nicotine, beginner devices, advanced devices

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Spyros Papamichail

Having quit smoking using vapes in 2016, I quickly developed somewhat of an obsession with all things vaping. I managed to turn my hobby into a full-time job, and I now work as the content manager here at Vaping360. In my free time you'll find me gaming on my PS5 or playing fetch with my dog, Buffy.

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November 19, 2024

ByHayley Heidelbaugh

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9 Amazing E-Juice Recipes That You'll Love to Make

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Note

Original vape juice recipes

Vape juice clones and remixes

E-Juice flavorings shopping list

Spyros Papamichail

Spyros Papamichail

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