How to Make a Pumpkin Spice Iced Latte at Home

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Fall for coffee lovers means the return on pumpkin spice flavored everything. If you like your coffee cold, then it can only mean iced pumpkin spiced lattes. Let’s learn how you can make these at home.

First, what will you need?

Before we get too excited, make sure you have everything you need on hand. This requires a little different set of ingredients than the usual coffee drink.

You’ll need

strong coffee or espresso
milk (dairy or plant-based)
pumpkin purée
brown sugar
maple syrup
pumpkin pie spice blend or make your own with cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, and ginger
vanilla extract

Essentially, we will be making a DIY pumpkin spice coffee syrup and an iced latte, and marrying the two together. Let’s not waste any more time!

How to Make a Pumpkin Spice Iced Latte at Home: Quick and Easy Guide

Servings

servings

Total time

minutes

Ingredients

3 T. pumpkin puree
1 c. brown sugar
1 T. maple syrup
1 c. water
2 tsp. pumpkin spice blend
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 c. strong coffee or espresso
1 c. milk or milk alternative

Directions

Prepare coffee and chill to room temperature or below.
Place pumpkin puree, brown sugar, maple syrup, water, and pumpkin spice blend in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce heat to medium low (enough to maintain a simmer) and cook for 10-15 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
Let cool slightly, then strain through a mesh sieve into a storage container. The syrup will keep up to 2 weeks in the fridge.
Combine coffee and milk into a glass. Stir in 1-2 tablespoons of pumpkin spice syrup until well blended. Add ice to the glass and enjoy.

Notes

Makes one 12 oz. iced latte.

Tips for best taste:

You can use strong cold brew, or espresso. For a coffee stand copycat, espresso will taste closer to the real thing.
Allowing your coffee and DIY syrup to cool to at least room temperature will prevent too much ice melting in your drink, which will water it down.
For a creamier latte, use whole milk. For milk alternatives, barista style oat milk is a good choice. Optionally, you can froth your milk.

Making it fancy–top it all off

You can top off your pumpkin iced latte with a little (or a lot) of whip cream. Optionally, drizzle a little pumpkin spice or caramel syrup over the whip cream, or sprinkle just a dash of pumpkin spice blend or cinnamon over top.

Other Q & A

Is pumpkin puree the same thing as pumpkin pie filling?

No, pumpkin puree is usually roasted pumpkin and maybe a little salt. Pumpkin pie filling may have added sugars and or spices. Both are readily available canned at the supermarket.

Can I make pumpkin puree from scratch?

Absolutely. Be sure to get a small sugar pumpkin (the kind you would use for pies) and not the Jack-o-Lantern style pumpkin.

Split the pumpkin open and remove the seeds. Place the pumpkin halves face down on a baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees F for about 45 minutes until tender.

Allow the pumpkin to cool a bit before scooping out the flesh and pureeing in a food processor or blender. You can add a pinch of salt if desired. Salt is a flavor enhancer so even a little can add a little extra vibrancy to the flavor.

Is this vegan?

To make this vegan, be sure to choose a plant based milk for the latte such as almond, soy, coconut or oat milk.

The syrup is vegan.

How can I make it more nutritious?

First, this is a treat so, um, treat it as such. Seriously though, the biggest problem is the sugar content of the syrup. You could choose an alternative for the sugar.

Honey doesn’t save you any sugar content, but is overall a more healthful choice when compared to refined sugars since it has other nutrients and benefits. You could also use agave syrup which has slightly less sugar content than table sugar.

According to Splenda’s website, you can use Splenda to make a simple syrup. Substitute the 1 cup sugar in the pumpkin syrup with 1/2 c. Splenda.

To save more calories, use a low fat milk or a low fat plant based alternative. You will sacrifice some creaminess, but also trim some calories off the drink.

Generally, homemade coffee drinks have fewer calories than coffee stand drinks so by making it yourself, you are already creating a healthier, lower calorie, less processed beverage for yourself.

How can I make my own pumpkin spice blend?

To make your own pumpkin spice blend, simply mix the following ground spices: 4 parts cinnamon, 2 parts ginger, 1 part allspice, 1 part nutmeg, and a pinch of cloves. Feel free to adjust the ratios to suit your taste preferences. Store the blend in an airtight container for future use.

Can I just buy pumpkin coffee syrup?

Absolutely! Having this on hand makes it a breeze to whip up a PS Iced latte anytime, and store bought syrups usually have a longer shelf life too.

Follow the recipe above, you’ll just need the coffee and milk, and only need to follow step 5 in the recipe. Substitute the store bought syrup for the homemade one.

Here are a few options (note: the below are affiliate links to Amazon, I may earn a commission if you purchase through these links)