Try this recipe for a cafe-quality iced latte you can make at home. It's quick, easy and inexpensive without sacrificing flavor.
How to Make a Starbucks Copycat Iced Latte at Home
Updated Jan. 18, 2023
For many of us, coffee is the nectar of the gods. Personally, I don’t reach my full daily potential without at least two cups.
However, being a frequent Starbucks patron can quickly add up—or you may not be able to take a trip to the store. Luckily, you can have the full cafe flavor at home. This recipe makes a VERY large iced latte (venti, if you will)… or two reasonably-sized iced lattes.
Psst! Brushing up on your favorite coffee shop? Learn all about the Starbucks secret menu.
How to Make an Iced Latte
Ingredients
- 12 ounces brewed coffee, cooled
- 1/2 cup milk or cream (Not a dairy fan? Use almond, soy or rich, delicious oat milk.)
- 1 to 2 tablespoons vanilla syrup
- 1 to 1-1/2 cups ice
Editor’s Tip: You can omit the vanilla syrup, or use other flavors like hazelnut, caramel, or chocolate.
Preparing Your Ingredients
Coffee
A true latte is made with espresso. However, you can use brewed coffee from a traditional coffee maker, as we do here. Be sure to brew your coffee a bit stronger than you normally take it, as it will weaken/become watered-down while on ice. Then, cool your brewed coffee.
You may also want to check out our foolproof cold brew espresso recipe.
Dairy
Looking for full flavor and richness? Go for the cream, baby! Watching your fat and calories? Skim it is. Pick the dairy (or nondairy milk) that suits your palate and nutritional preferences.
Syrup
If you are watching your calorie intake, check out sugar-free options of the wonderful array of flavored syrups out there. You can purchase them at most grocery stores or order the less common flavors on Amazon. It’s easy to make your own custom simple syrup at home.
Ice
You can use the classic cubes, but if you want to move beyond water (and inject a bit more caffeine), try making coffee ice cubes. (Watch out, world!)
Instructions
Step 1: Mix coffee, cream and syrup
Mix the first three ingredients together, until thoroughly combined. You can use a long-handled spoon for this step.
Step 2: Pour over ice
Put your ice in an insulated tumbler. Then, pour the coffee mixture over ice. Enjoy!
Serve your iced coffee with one of our favorite Starbucks copycat recipes. Then, check out our guide to all different types of coffee.
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Originally Published: April 10, 2020
