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.
Hopefully when christmas comes around you will be able to remake my favorite starbucks drink. Gingerbread lattes! This drink is going to make all my coworkers so jealous : ]
as I just told a commenter above you, YES…will work on the GB latte recipe next!
This looks so good Averie! I usually kind of just dump it all in the mug without really measuring or pre-mixing, but I’m definitely going to give this a try!
Love the idea of making a couple cups worth of pumpkin milk and just storing it in the fridge to use as needed. Make some on a Monday and have pumpkin spice lattes all week!
yes make ahead = time saver
dirty dishes once, planned leftovers, use all week
That’s what I do with most everything!! :)
I’m not a huge fan of pumpkin, even in pie form it’s just not my favorite flavor. And you can keep all of the coffee for yourself, because I’m not drinking any, lol!
There are some things that simply taste better when other people make them. I don’t know why, but I just can’t replicate them myself to my satisfaction. Enchiladas is one of those things. Other can make them and they taste great, but I fail every time. Now smoothies, I can make some awesome ones at home. Doesn’t mean I’ll never get them when I’m out, but I feel so much better making them at home because I know exactly what’s in them and they are much cheaper!
If I were a coffee drinker, I would certainly have been convinced by your post to latte myself at home! I love your mug in those gorgeous photos! I am for sure the kind of person who tries to make everything at home. I once tried for over a year to re-create a ginger cream sandwich cookie that I loved so much from a little coffee shop that closed down. I was also trying to make it vegan, which the original version was absolutely not!
you could probably add the pumpkin milk to tea if you’re so inclined..
Humm, very smart, very smart indeed.
This is a really popular recipe idea lately. I love the photos in yours. Gorgeous. The color of the mug is perfect.
BTW, your little girl is definitely becoming quite the young lady :-)
I think I’m one of the very few people who can’t stand the Pumpkin Spice latte at Starbucks! It tastes especially artificial to me, despite the fact that I’m fine with some of their other sugary drinks.
BUT– I think I’d love your version!! Heck, I’ll just take that pumpkin milk, please. :D
And your pictures are beautiful!!!
thanks Megan!
OMG THIS IS AMAZING. I am craving all things pumpkin right now. And I always hate shelling out major $$$ at Starbucks….I much prefer going the homemade route :) As always, your pictures are stellar.
This sounds so yummy Averie! I am a fan of pumpkin spiced latte’s and honestly don’t really mind not knowing what’s in the pumpkin syrup. …but what I don’t love is the nearly 5 dollar price tag. Def going to have to pick up a can of pumpkin and do a little experimenting at home :)
Pumpkin spice flavoured food items are right up there with mint-chocolate for me – love them both and get way too excited when I see anything in the store that is either of these two flavours. I live almost 2 hours from the closest Starbucks so I always make a stop there when I am in the city (usually once every 1-2 months). I’ll definitely be trying this recipe!
Thank you thank you thank you for this! I am always creating make-at-home versions of my favourite Starbucks drinks because I love them but can’t handle the sugar and if there is a sugar-free version that they offer I try to avoid consuming too many artificial sweeteners. Plus I don’t like shelling out $5 for every drink that I buy! So usually I’m the one doing all the experimenting at home so I greatly appreciate that you did it for me hehe! Maybe once Christmas gets closer I can persuade you to do an at-home gingerbread latte too…then I would really be able to sit back and relax (haha!) x
gingerbread latte…sounds fun to experiment with…stand by closer to xmas time…
It’s for things like these that I wish I had a blender bigger than my magic bullet. Regardless, I plan to go make the biggest serving of pumpkin milk I can, with what I have :-)
Also, I love love love the photography on this post. So simple, but so elegant.
thanks for the photography compliments and yes, you can whisk it by hand, it will still be fine!
Oh man, I cannot wait to try this! Going to pick up pumpkin stuff this weekend, for sure.
Also, I was reading your blog post about your new running shoes and it seems like Nike is jerking you around. I mean, of course the sales woman is biased if she works for that store lol I’m no expert but I know 6 months is short for wear time. Generally, the amount of wear goes by how many miles you run not by time. Some last only 300 miles while others will last 600 miles. So I guess if you don’t mind replacing them every 6 months, then that’s fine. I like barefoot shoes because they last longer since there isn’t much in them that will break down but some experts say they aren’t supportive enough for pavement running (but fine for trail, treadmill etc). Have you tried going to a store that carries various brands and seeing what they think? :)
Yes, I’ve tried other shoes, other brands, and they just don’t fit me well. I do run a fair amount, not “high” mileage but a fair amount and I just know that I have to replace them…one of those things I just cannot skimp$ on but thanks for the thoughts.
Love coffee and love pumpkin, but I’ve never ever had a pumpkin latte, just sounds kind of weird to me! Who knows…maybe I’ll be wild and impetuous and try it later on today.
Is the pumpkin shortage still going on? I could swear I’ve seen it lately at TJs and FoodMaxx. (I’m still using last year’s stash from when I found it on sale.)
shortage…had not heard of it.
pumpkin puree usually hits most groc stores by about Oct 1. Mine carries it year round though. But they only have the BIG cans, the $4.49 per can rather than the smaller ones, which I guess are like 2 bucks. Sorry, I am bad with “ounces in a can” from memory.
And TJ’s does NOT have it in yet. I specifically asked them on Monday.
holy cow, godiva coffee, where have you been all my life?
the lattes look delicious. i’ll have to try it.