Make Starbucks Vanilla Latte at home in a few minutes with just 3 ingredients! This popular drink is easy to make, especially if you have a Nespresso machine.
CONTENTS
Recipe Highlights
- Starbucks Vanilla Latte is a coffee drink made with espresso, steamed milk, and vanilla syrup. It’s a latte with vanilla syrup.
- This drink cannot be made without espresso so an espresso machine or Nespresso is necessary to recreate this drink at home.
- Store-bought or homemade vanilla syrup can be used to make this drink. Starbucks sells vanilla syrup at their locations if they have extra in stock.
- This copycat recipe makes a grande (16 ounces) Vanilla Latte.
RELATED: Starbucks Blonde Vanilla Latte Copycat
Vanilla Latte at Starbucks
Vanilla Lattes are one of the most popular drinks at Starbucks and have been for many years. A Latte is made into a Vanilla Latte with vanilla syrup, which sweetens and flavors the drink.
Vanilla syrup is added in pumps according to the size of the drink. Short drinks get 2 pumps of vanilla syrup, tall gets 3, grande has 4, and venti has 5 pumps.
As with all lattes at Starbucks, 2% milk is used unless you request otherwise. For dairy-free, there is almondmilk, soymilk, oatmilk, and coconutmilk.
The espresso used at Starbucks is their dark roast espresso.
Starbucks hot lattes come in 4 drink sizes: short, tall, grande, and venti. Short and tall use 1 shot of espresso, and grande and venti both use 2 shots.
A popular customization is the Skinny Vanilla Latte, which replaces 2% milk for nonfat and the regular vanilla syrup for sugar-free vanilla syrup. The vanilla syrup is the only syrup that’s sugar-free at Starbucks.
RELATED: Starbucks Iced Vanilla Latte Copycat
Using a Nespresso
You can’t make a Vanilla Latte without espresso. The easiest way to make espresso at home is with a Nespresso machine.
For a 16 ounce drink, like for this copycat recipe, you’ll need 2 Nespresso espresso pods, which will make 2 espresso shots.
Use 2 single-shot espresso pods instead of trying to get 2 shots from 1 pod. If you run the machine through the same pod a second time, it will water down the coffee taste.
To recreate Starbucks taste at home, use Starbucks Signature Espresso Roast pods. Starbucks pods are actually made by Nespresso and are available for both Original and Vertuo Nespresso machines.
Photo Credit: amazon.com
Ingredient Notes
- Espresso
To make the drink taste as close to Starbucks as possible, use their Signature Espresso Roast.
Whole beans: Starbucks Espresso Roast
Nespresso Original: Starbucks Espresso Roast
Nespresso Vertuo: Espresso Roast - 2% Milk
Starbucks makes lattes with 2% milk but you can use any milk you like. - Vanilla Syrup
Use store-bought or homemade vanilla syrup.
Step-by-Step Instructions
For full ingredients and instructions, scroll down to the recipe.
- Put vanilla syrup and espresso into a cup.
Pull 2 shots with your espresso machine or use 2 Nespresso espresso pods. - Add steamed or frothed milk.
Use an electric milk frother or use the steam wand on an espresso machine to steam or froth milk with a thin layer of foam.
Photo Credit: williams-sonoma.com
Expert Tips
- 2 espresso shots are used in a grande Vanilla Latte at Starbucks. Use blonde roast espresso pods if you want to make a Blonde Vanilla Latte.
- Too much foam will turn a latte into a cappuccino. A big difference between a latte and a cappuccino is the amount of foam. A latte should have steamed milk and a light layer of foam.
- The best milk frother for this recipe is one that can create more than 1 cup of frothed milk, like the Breville milk frother which can froth up to 3 cups of steamed milk.
- Nespresso Aeroccino froths milk, but it doesn’t hold enough milk to make a grande size latte. Running the Aeroccino twice will end up with much more foam than you need.
- To froth milk without a milk frother, heat milk on low heat then pour it into a French press. Place lid on the French press and pump the plunger until milk increases in volume. Get step-by-step instructions, see How to Froth Milk for Lattes in a French Press.
- Milk will increase in volume when steamed or frothed. Use 1 cup of cold milk to get 1 ½ cups of steamed milk.
- Making homemade vanilla syrup is super easy, taking only 5 minutes with 3 ingredients.
- To assemble the drink the Starbucks way, add the syrup into the cup first, then espresso, followed by the steamed milk.
Questions You May Have
All grande Starbucks lattes start with the basic latte recipe which is 2 shots of espresso plus 2% steamed milk. A Vanilla Latte adds pumps of vanilla syrup to sweeten and add flavor.
Yes, you can use any espresso you like, although Starbucks uses their Signature Espresso Roast to make a Vanilla Latte.
Yes, replace the 2% dairy milk with a plant-based milk like oat milk, coconut milk, soy milk, or almond milk.
Yes! But, only if they have extra in stock to sell. Just ask the barista if they have any available for purchase. Only syrups with barcodes can be sold and those include Classic syrup, caramel, and vanilla.
Skinny Vanilla Latte has less calories than a regular Vanilla Latte and it’s made with nonfat milk and sugar-free vanilla syrup.
Related
- Starbucks Iced Vanilla Latte Copycat
- Starbucks Iced Latte Copycat
- Starbucks Salted Caramel Mocha Copycat
- Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte Copycat
- Starbucks Peppermint Mocha Copycat
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Starbucks Vanilla Latte Copycat
INGREDIENTS
- 2 tablespoons vanilla syrup
- 2 shots espresso (Starbucks Signature Espresso Roast)
- 1 ½ cups steamed 2% milk
INSTRUCTIONS
- Add steamed or frothed milk.Use an electric milk frother or use the steam wand on an espresso machine to steam or froth milk with a thin layer of foam.
EQUIPMENT
NOTES
- 2 espresso shots are used in a grande Vanilla Latte at Starbucks. Use blonde roast espresso pods if you want to make a Blonde Vanilla Latte.
- Too much foam will turn a latte into a cappuccino. A big difference between a latte and a cappuccino is the amount of foam. A latte should have steamed milk and a light layer of foam.
- The best milk frother for this recipe is one that can create more than 1 cup of frothed milk, like the Breville milk frother which can froth up to 3 cups of steamed milk.
- Nespresso Aeroccino froths milk, but it doesn’t hold enough milk to make a grande size latte. Running the Aeroccino twice will end up with much more foam than you need.
- To froth milk without a milk frother, heat milk on low heat then pour it into a French press. Place lid on the French press and pump the plunger until milk increases in volume. Get step-by-step instructions, see How to Froth Milk for Lattes in a French Press.
- Milk will increase in volume when steamed or frothed. Use 1 cup of cold milk to get 1 ½ cups of steamed milk.
- Making homemade vanilla syrup is super easy, taking only 5 minutes with 3 ingredients.
- To assemble the drink the Starbucks way, add the syrup into the cup first, then espresso, followed by the steamed milk.