Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte Copycat

Author: Jee Choe

This Starbucks PSL copycat recipe shows how easy it is to make this drink at home in just 5 minutes.

5 from 10 votes

Prep Time 5

Total Time 5

Course Drinks

Yield serving (16 ounces)

Whisk heavy cream and vanilla syrup to make whipped cream. Set aside.
The quickest and easiest way to make whipped cream for drinks is to use a handheld milk frother.
Put pumpkin spice sauce, espresso, and frothed milk into a mug. Stir.
Use 2 Nespresso espresso pods or pull 2 shots from an espresso machine. Frothed milk can be made using an electric milk frother or with the steam wand from an espresso machine. Another method is to simmer milk on the stovetop, pour it into a French press, then pump the plunger a few times to create froth.
Top with whipped cream and garnish with a sprinkle of pumpkin spice topping.
Use a spoon to add the whipped cream on top of the drink.

1 shot of espresso = 1 Nespresso espresso capsule
To make a 16 ounce (grande) Starbucks drink, you’ll need 2 Nespresso espresso or ristretto capsules. You can also use 1 Vertuo double espresso.
With the Vertuo machine capsules, only use espresso capsules and not the coffee capsules that make 7.77 ounces.
Instead of caramel sauce, you can use caramel syrup. The syrup contains no dairy so it's not as rich in flavor as the sauce, but it'll be easier to stir into the milk since it's a thinner liquid.
Milk will increase in volume when frothed, so to get 1 ¼ cups of frothed milk for this recipe, use ¾ cup of cold milk (dairy or non-dairy).
An easy way to froth milk is by using an electric milk frother that can make at least 2 cups of frothed milk at one time. A Nespresso Aeroccino isn’t big enough to make grande size drinks and you’ll need to froth milk twice to get enough milk for the drink.
To whip cream for drinks, use a handheld milk frother for about 30-50 seconds until you get soft peaks. Don’t overwhip.
Vanilla syrup is used to sweeten and flavor the whipped cream, but you can replace it with regular simple syrup or 2 teaspoons of sugar if you don't have it.
Homemade vanilla syrup is super quick and easy to make at home using just 3 ingredients, so I highly recommend making it instead of buying it.