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Since its first introduction into Starbucks cafes in 2003, the pumpkin spice latte has seen a meteoric rise in popularity that no other coffee drink can claim.
Every fall, one out of every five Americans admits to enjoying pumpkin spice lattes—we’re not afraid to be called basic!—and the cozy, autumnal feeling they invoke.
This year, the Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte turns 20 years old—and we decided to celebrate by making our own, much healthier version of the classic fall drink.
In our homemade pumpkin spice latte, we slashed the sugar content by 70% and cut the calories in half—without compromising on any of the flavors! Keep reading to learn more about how to make a healthier pumpkin spice latte in mere minutes—no pumpkin carving required.
Making a healthy homemade pumpkin spice latte couldn’t be easier—it even takes less time than the Starbucks drive-thru!
We decided to make a dairy-free pumpkin spice latte using oat milk and coconut cream, but you can use regular cream, almond milk, or a different type of non-dairy milk if you prefer.
You can also make this pumpkin spice latte hot or iced—we all know that early fall weather can be unpredictable, so go for iced on those still-feels-like-summer days.
All you need to do is mix all of the ingredients in a blender—or a large jar or mixing bowl—and blend or froth them together.
If you don’t have a blender, a handheld milk frother (like this one) is a worthwhile tool to have in your kitchen.
Then, refrigerate the mixture if you want an iced drink, or add it to a saucepan and warm it up if you want a hot pumpkin spice latte. Another option is to use steamed milk instead of heating it on the stove.
Feel free to drink it as is if you don’t want any coffee, or add brewed espresso, coffee, or cold brew, depending on your preferences.
If you’re feeling extra fancy, spray a dollop of whipped cream on top—you can even use dairy-free whipped cream to keep this recipe vegan.
Easy peasy, right?! Now, let’s take a closer look at some of the star ingredients.
Here is what you’ll need to make a homemade pumpkin spice latte:
The classic Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks doesn’t just use canned pumpkin—it’s made of a “pumpkin spice sauce,” which is made of sugar, condensed milk, pumpkin puree, fruit and vegetable juice for color, natural flavors, annatto (for coloring), salt, and potassium sorbate. Because of the condensed milk, Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte is not vegan.
Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte also contains brewed espresso, whipped cream, vanilla syrup (made of sugar, water, natural flavors, potassium sorbate, and citric acid), and a pumpkin spice topping (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, clove, and sulfiting agents).
A homemade pumpkin spice latte typically contains:
• Canned pumpkin or pumpkin puree
• A sweetener like maple syrup, honey, or brown sugar syrup
• Cream of choice (we used coconut cream, but you can use half and half if you prefer dairy)
• Milk of choice (we used oat milk)
• Pumpkin pie spice (you can buy premixed pumpkin pie spice seasoning blends or use cinnamon, ground cloves, ginger, and nutmeg)
• Vanilla extract
Yes, traditional pumpkin spice lattes are coffee- or espresso-based drinks. However, you can get pumpkin-spiced drinks that do not have coffee, like pumpkin spice chai lattes, which use black tea instead of coffee. You can also get decaf pumpkin spice lattes if you like the taste of coffee but don’t want the caffeine.
Sadly, most pumpkin spice lattes from coffee shops are not healthy. For example, the Grande size (16 ounces) Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte contains:
• 390 calories
• 14 grams of fat
• 50 grams of sugar (yep, 50!)
One easy way to make your coffee shop pumpkin spice latte order healthier is by skipping the whipped cream, which adds 72 calories and 7 grams of fat for a Grande drink.
Plus, homemade pumpkin spice lattes can definitely be healthy—like this one! Our homemade version contains:
• 196 calories
• 8 grams of fat
• 15 grams of sugar
The Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte is not vegan, and there is no way to customize it to make it vegan because the pumpkin spice sauce contains dairy.
However, you can easily make a vegan pumpkin spice latte at home using non-dairy milk (like oat milk or almond milk) and coconut cream. You can even add dairy-free whipped cream!
Pumpkin spice lattes are likely popular because they remind people of fall and coziness. After a long, hot summer, many people are ready for the cooler weather of autumn—and the nostalgia that the season brings, with Halloween and Thanksgiving right around the corner. Plus, pumpkin spice lattes are delicious!
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