Starbucks Vanilla Iced Latte Recipe
Today we are making a Starbucks Copycat Recipe – the Starbucks Vanilla Iced Latte Recipe! I can’t count the number of Starbucks coffee recipes I’ve made this year. From Iced White Chocolate Mocha, Iced Mint Mocha, Peppermint Hot Chocolate, Java Chip Frappuccino, Matcha Frappuccino and so much more, my thirst for caffeine won’t be satisfied until I’ve knocked out everything on a coffee shop menu. (Note that you can find all of these recipes on my website by going to the main page and searching for “starbucks”).
I did come to the realization that I hadn’t posted one of the simplest drinks though – the Iced Vanilla Latte! Starbucks describes this as “Seriously smooth and subtly sweet Starbucks® Blonde Espresso, milk, ice and vanilla syrup come together to create a delightful twist on a beloved espresso classic.” Being so easy, you know I had to recreate this at home!
Making Coffee Without a Coffee Machine
So I never used to own an espresso machine. Not because I didn’t like coffee, but because I thought that I would feel obliged to drink a daily cup of joe (or more) every day. To avoid this, I bought a bag of coffee beans and a spice grinder. If I need coffee for a recipe (or if I REALLY just want a cup), I’ll grind up the beans fresh and boil them in water on the stovetop. Then I strain the mixture and have a fresh cup of coffee, which was a great way for me to use the beans without an espresso maker. Now I actually did buy it a few months ago, and it’s been nice to make a strong espresso shot without going through the hassle of boiling beans on the stovetop.
Although having to go through the entire process from the beans to the final cup really makes me appreciate it! It also lowered my coffee tolerance. Like, from 4 cups a day can’t keep me awake to not requiring a pinch of caffeine for alertness. Now when I actually do need to stay awake, I don’t need to have multiple cups of strong coffee. (Maybe because college made me a caffeine-dependent zombie, and I needed to reverse the effects).
Why You’ll Love This Starbucks Vanilla Iced Latte Recipe
Homemade Vanilla Syrup: This store-bought vanilla syrup is now made at home! I made fresh coffee with this at home rather than a shot of espresso, as I mentioned above with the coffee maker situation. The vanilla syrup doesn’t take too long, and I’ve listed the ingredients and prep for it below.
Classic syrup is literally just sugar and water, boiled down to incorporate the sugar into the water until it forms a simple syrup. Then the flavorings are added. This is the same procedure if you were to make vanilla syrup, peppermint syrup, mocha syrup or other flavours that Starbucks uses. Once your syrup is ready, you layer it with the ice, coffee and milk. Stir it together and you have a beautiful caramel-y coloured coffee drink!
Simple Ingredients: This cold coffee drink is traditionally four pumps of vanilla syrup (which is about 2 tablespoons of vanilla syrup) with whole milk or 2% milk, two shots of espresso and ice. That’s basically only three ingredients, minus the ice. Alright, maybe five ingredients if you count the sugar and vanilla used to make the syrup. But still – it’s so much cheaper to find these ingredients at your local grocery store and make it from scratch than dish up your cash to get an iced latte on a hot summer day!
There’s also no special equipment needed – not even a coffee maker if you don’t have one. Only a small saucepan for making the vanilla syrup, which is a common kitchen item used for cooking anyways.
Substitutions
Milk: I used oat milk for the half cup of milk required. You can substitute cashew milk, pea milk, almond milk, coconut milk, soy milk or any non-dairy creamy milk of choice.
Coconut Sugar: I used coconut sugar for the vanilla syrup, because it dissolved really well unlike some other sugar alternatives. You can try another dry sweetener such as xylitol, monkfruit, brown sugar or white sugar. Using brown sugar or white sugar would not be “refined sugar free” in that case.
For those looking for a low-calorie sweetener, monkfruit is zero calorie so it would be the best option. It would also basically be a “sugar-free vanilla syrup” if using monkfruit, because there aren’t any sugar or calories in it.
Vanilla Extract: The real vanilla bean, or vanilla powder (like this one) would really make this taste ultra-vanilla-like. This would be the real vanilla latte. I used extract for ease of finding it when shopping. However, you can substitute a 1:1 ratio of pure vanilla bean powder, paste or the real scraped bean.
Coffee: If not making black coffee straight from beans, use instant coffee instead. If you are using two shots of dark roast espresso and it doesn’t make the quarter cup needed, add a bit of water to make the required amount of coffee.
Prepare this recipe quicker by making the coffee, pouring it into regular ice cube trays (the ones that hold 16 rectangular cubes), and freezing it. When ready to use, remove enough frozen coffee cubes for the required recipe and add to the drink. The ice cubes will melt inside the coffee! This a super quick and refreshing way to make your drink without needing to wait for the coffee to chill.
Starbucks Vanilla Iced Latte Recipe Notes
- For best results, chill the coffee before using, as stated in the recipe card below. By adding extra ice and using hot coffee in the drink, it will dilute the recipe, so it is best to chill the coffee first (or make it into coffee ice cubes).
- To make an Iced Blonde Vanilla Latte, use Starbucks blonde roast espresso (which is light roast). This is more mild as compared to using a dark roast which gives a stronger bold taste in their regular Iced Vanilla Latte.
- Because this recipe uses the basic iced latte ingredients – milk, coffee and sweetener with vanilla – it’s so easy to customize! Add in cocoa powder and shake it real well to make it a cocoa iced latte. Or add peppermint extract into the vanilla syrup to make it more of a peppermint-vanilla latte. Let the coffee sit with a chai tea bag in it for a chai tea latte. The options are endless!
More Drinks & Copycat Starbucks Recipes You’ll Love
Iced Brown Sugar Oat Milk Shaken Espresso
Pomegranate Grapefruit Mocktail
Starbucks Toasted Vanilla Iced Shaken Espresso
If you make this Starbucks Vanilla Iced Latte Recipe, leave a comment and star rating! Don’t forget to tag your photos @peanut_palate on Instagram. Enjoy!
Starbucks Vanilla Iced Latte Recipe
Equipment
- Stovetop Pan
Ingredients
For the Vanilla Syrup
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp water
- 2 tbsp coconut sugar
For the Drink
- ½ cup oat milk
- ½ cup ice
- ¼ cup dark roast coffee chilled in the fridge
Instructions
- To make the vanilla syrup, add the sugar and water to a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring it to a boil, constantly stirring to dissolve the sugar as the water heats up.
- Once boiling, lower the heat to medium-low and boil for 4-5 minutes. This will thicken the syrup.
- After this time, remove the pan from the heat and add in the vanilla extract or vanilla beans. Allow the syrup to cool for a few minutes. It will also thicken more as it cools.
- Once cooled down for 5 minutes, pour the ice into a glass, followed by the coffee, the vanilla syrup and then the milk. Mix to combine and enjoy right away!
