Best Copycat Pumpkin Spice Latte Starbucks Recipe

You don’t have to wait until fall to enjoy a PSL. I’ve got the best Copycat Pumpkin Spice Latte Starbucks recipe so you can enjoy your PSL all year long.

Each year pumpkin spice season rolls around and my daughter and I would run out to enjoy our first PSL of the season. But, as costs go up, I started looking for other ways to support our coffee habit. I began trying to DIY the various Starbucks drinks.

Copycat Pumpkin Spiced Latte

We started enjoying our homemade version of this seasonal drink instead of spending money buying them.

It starts with making the pumpkin sauce which is then mixed with shots of espresso or strong coffee and then topped with whipped topping.

With a few simple ingredients you can make your own PSL year round with this recipe.

For this recipe you will need the following ingredients.

Ingredients for Copycat Starbucks PSL:

Pumpkin Puree – you can use canned pure pumpkin puree or homemade pumpkin puree. You’ll want to look on the ingredients label to make sure that the only ingredient is pumpkin. You don’t want pumpkin pie filling as this includes sugar as well as spices.

Sweetener – I used granulated sugar for this recipe.

Milk – traditional Starbucks lattes use whole milk (4% milk). Using whole milk will make it taste closer to the actual Starbucks PSL. Whole milk makes the drink creamier and seems to work better in the milk frother when compared to other types of milk.

If desired you can swap out the whole milk for your milk of choice such as skim milk or non-dairy milk such as oat milk, almond milk, soy milk or even coconut milk.

Heavy Cream – use the cream to make homemade whipped cream to top your latte. You can swap this out for your favorite store brand of canned whipped cream.

Coffee – coffee shops traditionally use brewed espresso to make a latte. You can brew your own espresso at home using an espresso machine or go with instant espresso (my favorite time saving method).

Don’t have brewed or instant espresso? Swap it out for a strong brewed coffee instead. Check out the information below to find out more about espresso in lattes.

Pumpkin Spice Mix – this is a blend of spices that is typically used in pumpkin pie or other pumpkin baked goods. If you have cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves on hand you can easily make your own pumpkin spice seasoning or you can use a store bought blend.

If you don’t have your own seasoning mix or you don’t want to buy a jar of store bought spice blend then just substitute ground cinnamon. It won’t have some of the subtle flavors in the pumpkin spice seasoning but your drink will still taste delicious.

What is pumpkin spice?

Pumpkin spice or pumpkin pie spice is a mixture of spices that you often will see on grocery store shelves when the fall season rolls around.

Often this seasoning mix is used to flavor pumpkin pie and other fall bakery items. You don’t have to wait until the fall to whip up this blend of spices to use in your favorite pumpkin treats and drinks. This mixture is easy enough to make at home. Check out this recipe to make your own pumpkin spice blend.

How to make Copycat Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte:

Start by making the pumpkin sauce. In a sauce pan combine the pumpkin puree, sweetener and pumpkin spice. Simmer on low for 4 to 5 minutes stirring often. Remove from the heat and use the sauce to make your latte.

Prepare your whipped cream: Place the chilled heavy cream in a bowl and use a hand held mixer to whip the cream until it stiffens and firm peaks form. Place the whipped cream into the refrigerator to keep it chilled until you a ready to add it to your drink.

Prepare your espresso or strong coffee. Mix the espresso with 1/4 cup of pumpkin sauce. Stir well to combine.

Steam and froth your milk. If you have an espresso machine then it will likely have a steam wand / milk frother included as part of the machine. If you do not have an espresso then see the information below on how to do this without a machine.

Pour your steamed milk over the espresso.

Top with whipped cream and sprinkle with a dash of the pumpkin spice mixture. Serve and enjoy!

Pumpkin Spice Latte Swaps:

Sweetener swaps: based on the ingredients label it looks like Starbucks uses sugar as well as sweetened condensed milk to create their pumpkin sauce. Try swapping out the sugar in this recipe for a similar amount of sweetened condensed milk for a creamier taste.

When swapping out the sweetener you’ll want to use something that has a neutral or very mild flavor such as coconut sugar, date sugar or even brown sugar. You will want to avoid sweeteners that are have a flavored such as maple syrup, honey or molasses since this will affect the flavor of the latte.

Coffee Swaps: lattes are traditionally made using espresso. Here’s how many espresso shots are in Starbucks drinks:

• Short (8 ounces) – 1 shot of espresso

• Tall (12 ounces) – 1 shot of espresso

• Grande (16 ounces) – 2 shots of espresso

• Venti (20 ounces) – 2 shots of espresso

If you don’t have an espresso machine trying using instant espresso. I was able to find several types in my local grocery store including Cafe Bustelo and Medaglia D Oro instant espresso. Check out your local grocery store and pick up a jar.

How to make steamed, frothed milk:

Here’s a couple of options for making steamed, frothed milk if you don’t have an espresso machine.

You can use an electric milk frother. I have one of these Greater Goods electric milk frothers (see the Amazon link below). It’s a low cost gadget that allows me to make heated milk with the right frothy consistency for a hot latter.

It will also do the same without heating the milk incase you want an iced pumpkin spice latte AND it can make whipped cream too!

Another option is a hand held frother. This little device (see the Amazon link below) is a hand held immersion blender and it can be placed right into a cup of heated milk and turned on to produce frothy milk.

You can also froth it by hand using a whisk. Place your milk into a small sauce pan. Heat it on low to a low-medium heat whisking the milk. You are looking for the milk to just become warm. You don’t want it to start simmering or boiling.

While the milk is heating up gently continue to whisk to produce a small amount of foam on the top of the milk. Keep a close eye on your milk as you don’t want to scorch the milk.

Don’t have a whisk? Then stir the milk while it is heating with mixing spoon or spatula. Once the milk is heated then put it into a covered container or a mason jar with a cover. Shake the warmed milk until it become bubbly and slightly foamy.

You can also microwave your milk to steam it. Pour the milk into a microwave safe container. Microwave it on a medium-high setting (70%) power for 30 seconds at a time stirring each time.

You will want to heat it just until steam begins to rise from the milk. If you should see the milk begin to bubble or boil up shut off the microwave and remove the milk. If the milk begins to bubble over then it’s been overheated.

How to store leftover pumpkin spice sauce:

You can store any leftover pumpkin spice sauce in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

Not planning to use your homemade sauce within two weeks? You can easily freeze leftover sauce.

Try placing 2 tablespoons of the pumpkin sauce into the individual sections of an ice cube tray. Freeze and remove your pumpkin sauce ice cubes. Place the cubes into a marked freezer storage bag and freeze for up to 2 months.

To use your froze cubes of sauce you can either place them into a container in the refrigerator and allow them to thaw or you can microwave them for 30 second intervals until thawed. Then proceed with the recipe as written.

How can I make the pumpkin flavor stronger?

You can boost the pumpkin flavor by adding in about 1/4 of a teaspoon of pumpkin pie flavoring oil.

Look for flavoring oil in the baking or candy making section of your local craft store such as Michael’s or your local grocery stores. The flavoring oils used to create candy and bakery products can also be used to add flavor to your latte.

These oils are also found online at sites such as Amazon (see affiliate link below):

Can I make a decaf Pumpkin Spice Latte?

Yes you can!

To make a decaf latte all you will need to do is swap out the regular espresso or coffee with a decaffeinated version.

You can purchase decaffeinated beans, ground espresso coffee and even instant espresso in most local grocery stores.

Other Starbucks Recipes you may like:

Copycat Starbucks Iced Guava Black Tea – a deliciously refreshing blend of guava juice and black tea

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Looking for some sweet treats to enjoy with your Pumpkin Spice Latte? Try some of these recipes:

Pumpkin Macaroon Cookies – whip up these easy to make cookies by using a box of angel food cake mix.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies – another easy to make cookie that uses a cake mix and a few ingredients that you already have on hand.

Easy Pumpkin Muffins – nothing tastes better with a pumpkin spice latte than fresh bakery styled pumpkin muffins.

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