No need to pay for pricey coffee-shop pumpkin spice lattes with this easy, homemade version that uses real pumpkin puree (no fake, sugary syrups) and can be made quickly and inexpensively at home. And now you can enjoy pumpkin spice lattes year-round from home.
Every year around this time the world seems to go crazy for Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Lattes
The Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Lattes are lovely…
But you can make them at home
And I’d like to think my make-at-home version wins
Why?
Because you can make them vegan at home, if you so choose.
And the ones you purchase are generally made with fake, sugary, pumpkin-flavored syrups, not real pumpkin puree.
It should be noted that this is a natural latte, made with real pumpkin puree and real pumpkin pie spice. It does not all fully dissolve and there will be some settling at the bottom of the mug. If you don’t want settling, the way to avoid that is to use synthetic syrups made from chemicals rather than real pumpkin and real spices. Your choice.
Since some people enjoy a daily dose of HFCS, you make lattes at home and can control what goes into your latte.
Another reason the at-home version wins is because you could go into the poorhouse if you like your coffee as much as I like mine buying these specialty drinks.
I bet the cost per cup of the homemade latte is less than a quarter and probably even less.
Far less than the $4 coffee shop lattes and the cheapskate in me wants to make things at home whenever possible.
And I actually prefer the taste of my version to the Starbucks version but I could be biased.
For the recipe, there are many ways to make these and many recipes I’ve seen on the internet, but here’s what I do because I like these ratios the best.
And oh yes, it’s easy.
A Visual Guide
Brew your coffee
I was lucky enough to receive this Godiva Pumpkin Coffee from Godiva in conjunction with being a FoodBuzz Featured Publisher
The coffee is delicious and being that it’s pumpkin-flavored it just enhances the recipe but it’s not required to use pumpkin coffee
Any ole coffee will do if you don’t have any of these just laying around your cupboards
After you’ve made your coffee, make the pumpkin milk
Everything in
Blend
This stuff is so good!
You don’t even need to pour it into coffee. You can just drink this as is. Mmmm, good. Just ask Skylar.
And when you’re chugging this straight taste-testing this before you pour it into the brewed coffee just remember the old saying: “Pumpkin Milk: It does a body good!”
I recommend heating the pumpkin milk mixture up in the micro (or stovetop) before you add it to the brewed coffee (or Vita users, just let ‘er rip and let the machine do the work for you)
But I truly despise lukewarm coffee drinks so I always heat it up as to not cool off my coffee too much
Pour the coffee into your mug, top with half the pumpkin milk mixture
Garnish and Drink Up
And be glad you don’t have to rely on buying pumpkin spice lattes anymore!
As I said in the recipe section, you know you will want a refill
Every bit as good as Starbucks Star Who?
And easy and cheap!
And for the rest of the can of pumpkin puree you have on your hands, I have a great recipe coming up for how to use it…
Tip: I actually mix up about 2 cups+ worth of pumpkin milk at a time and store that in the fridge and heat it up as needed and then add that to coffee as I see fit over the next couple days
I figure as long as I am dirtying dishes and have everything out, I always make a little extra for refills or future use
Or, you can also freeze the extra pumpkin puree in a small container and make something else that tickles your pumpkin fancy because you never know when a pumpkin craving is going to hit.
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Pumpkin Spice Latte
Ingredients
- At least 2 cups coffee, strong and freshly brewed
- 1 cup milk, I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk but use any kind you wish from whole to soy to rice milk
- ¼ heaping cup pumpkin puree, more if you really love pumpkin
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice blend, or to taste
- 1 teaspoons cinnamon, or to taste
- 1 teaspoons vanilla extract
- sweetener of choice, to taste (I suggest 2 tablespoons agave or 2 tablespoons brown sugar, or a pinch of stevia to taste; or try honey, maple syrup, etc. to taste)
- Optional: pinch of ground nutmeg, ginger, garam masala, cardamom, or other warming spices to taste
Instructions
- Make coffee (a pot, single-serving cup, in whatever fashion and however you prefer making your coffee. The stronger the better)
- Make Pumpkin Milk by combining all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk well by hand or blend using a Vita-MIx or blender Optional: Warm the finished pumpkin milk mixture in the microwave or on the stovetop (I do a quick nuke of about 1 minute)
- Pour 1 cup of brewed coffee into a mug and pour half the pumpkin milk mixture over the top of the coffee and enjoy. (The other half of the pumpkin milk mixture is for the refill you know you will want. If you truly don’t want a refill, refrigerate it for up to a few days and use for your next latte, in a smoothie, or drink it as is. As long as you’re dirtying dishes, I always make a little extra for refills or for later)
- Optional: Finish by garnishing with real whipped cream/whipped topping such and a sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice/cinnamon on top
- Notes: The spices will not “blend” or entirely dissolve. This is to be expected and normal. If this bothers you, this may not the recipe for you and you may want to experiment with other recipes or techniques.All spices and seasonings are to taste; in this case, mine. If you want to reduce the spices (or increase them), obviously adjust everything according to your own taste preferences. Some people may find the amounts I used a bit strong, but I like robust flavors.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Here’s a Roundup of my Favorite Pumpkin Recipes
Do you like Pumpkin Spice Lattes? Are you one of those people who has been over-paying for your seasonal pumpkin spice lattes (or come Christmastime the gingerbread lattes)?
Maybe you’ll make these at home because as I said here, if I relied on Starbucks for my coffee or specialty drink fix, I’d be broke!
Plus I truly prefer the taste of the make-at-home.
Lay off on the pictures! We all just want to know the recipe and you make us scroll all he way down to finally see it.
Gosh you poor thing. You had to scroll for an extra second or two to get to the recipe (for free) that I created. Darn, I hate when that happens!
Just my two cents….love all the pics….and additional recipes/pics that you link to at the end as well.
Thank you for posting this! My sister in law gave me a whole bunch of pumpkin purée from the pumpkins in her garden and I my waistline was tired of the baked goods! This is an amazing recipe! It’s totally delicious. And I made the pumpkin milk in my magic bullet and so i had a nice milk froth to put on top instead of whipped cream :) I give this recipe 3 thumbs up (2 thumbs just isn’t enough)
Love love love this comment. 3 Thumbs up! :)
And yes pumpkin baked goodies are so good but they’re…dessert and it’s easy to overdo, which is why I came up with this! More waistline friendly AND a money-saver! Thanks for trying the recipe!
Just found this recipe and I have to say it is right on with the big chain one that I have been buying for years!! Thank you so much, I LOVE IT!!! And another thank you for helping me save my money!
So glad you love it and that it’ll help you save your $$ and you feel it’s right on with theirs! Yay!
Girl, i need to get off your site! LOL i will be trying the latte next week! looks super easy and thats what i love!
That’s awesome and enjoy it! And don’t get off my site :)
By definition, a latte is espresso mixed into steamed milk. Espresso is a completely different bean and richer taste from regular coffee. Therefore, it has to be uniquely brewed which is where the cost comes from. This recipe is just for a gourmet coffee creamer, so you might want to change the name.
I made it with Bustelo espresso in my capp. machine and then with Folgers Black Silk in the Kourig and the difference in taste – none. I made the black silk strong as she suggested you make the coffee. The only true difference I found is that with the coffee I did not get as hyper as I do on expresso. Yes it is the incorrect name but mock or copycat latte just doesn’t excite me.
Oh. My. Gosh!!!!! This is so freakin’ awesome! I just made this this morning and I am in love. Bye, Bye Star. . .whoever you are. Thanks so much for the recipe. There is now a double batch of this amazing stuff in my chill chest. Yay!!!!
Thanks, Penelope, for trying the recipe and so glad you love it! Thanks for LMK and glad I can help save you some $$ :)
I made this today but used pumpkin pie filling by accident (it was early) and it was still amazing. Thanks for the recipe :) I’ll definitely use plain pumpkin next time though haha
So glad to hear you tried this before it’s technically ‘fall’. I love pumpkin year round too! The only ‘harm’ in using pumpkin pie filling rather than puree is that it’s going to be a little sweeter but I would never complain about that :)
All I do during Autumn is drink pumpkin spice lattes so naturally when I stumbled upon this recipe it made my life. I made the latte today and my taste buds cannot thank you enough! It may possibly be the best recipe ever, even though it’s just a latte. Now I can have this all year around, thank you so much!
I am so glad you like this recipe, Mariam! And that you’re making pumpkin recipes during the summer. Me too – I just don’t blog about them. Thanks for trying the latte and that you think it’s possibly the best recipe ever! That is music to my ears :)
I love this recipe, perfect for a rainy day. Thanks for sharing! (Btw- that ribbed orange mug is gorgeous. Where did you get it?)
Thanks for trying the recipe and glad you like it! Nice to see someone using pumpkin in June other than me :)
The mug came from the store Z Gallerie (sort of like a trendier Pottery Barn) but I got it years ago. It was perfect for that drink I thought!