STARBUCKS CARAMEL FRAPPUCCINO COPYCAT RECIPE

Homemade Caramel Frappuccino

This easy caramel frappuccino recipe comes together in about three minutes and tastes just like the version you’d get from Starbucks. All you need is strong coffee, ice, milk, caramel, and an electric blender.

WHAT MAKES THIS RECIPE WORK

This is basically an iced coffee recipe. It’s got strong coffee, ice, milk, and a splash of caramel.

If you have an electric blender, it’s ridiculously easy to recreate your favorite coffeehouse blended beverages at home. The entire process takes less than two minutes, assuming your coffee is already made and chilled.

The only issue is making sure your coffee is strong enough to withstand the ice and milk. Otherwise, you’re left with a slushy, caramel-flavored glass of coffee water.

Brew your coffee at double or triple strength to avoid disappointment.

WHAT TO KNOW BEFORE YOU START

Caramel frappuccino pricing: A caramel frappuccino from Starbucks runs about $6. It’s much less to make one at home.
Milk: If you want the most well-rounded frappuccino experience, go with whole milk. But light creamers like Silk Light Almond Milk taste great, too. It gives the drink a creamy, dreamy texture.
Caramel sauce: For the best results, blend some of the caramel directly into the frappuccino, not just on top. That way, you’ll get caramel flavor with every sip, not just a hit of sweetness to start.
Chilled coffee: Brew the coffee ahead of time to allow it to cool. Otherwise, pour it right over ice to chill. Adding hot liquid to a blender with ice turns your frappuccino into coffee soup.
Concentrated coffee: Standard-strength drip coffee, at about a 1:16 coffee to water ratio, is too light for frappuccinos. The addition of two cups of ice and a cup of milk will water it right down. Make sure to brew it super-strong or it will taste too weak.
An electric blender: You could shake the ingredients together in a sealed mason jar to get a frothy, foamy top. But nothing compares to the slushy, dreamy texture you’ll get from a good old fashioned electric blender.
Chilled glassware: Fill your glass with ice to chill it while you’re making the frappuccino. Empty the ice out and scoop in your frappuccino when it’s ready. It’s a little extra effort, but it helps your frappuccino last longer.
Sweetness: Caramel sauce is a little on the sweeter side. Adjust as needed.

brew a cup of double-strength coffee, or make it even stronger, even triple-strength if you want

if your drip coffee machine does NOT have a strong or “concentrated” option, just double the amount of coffee grounds that you normally use, usually 1 Tbls coffee for every 6 oz of water, so double the amount of coffee to 2 Tbls for every 6 oz of water
I LOVE my Ninja Coffee Bar which has an option to dispense concentrated coffee…but directly over ice. It’s called “iced”, genius. (affiliate link)
NOTE: you can totally cheat here if your local grocery store makes fresh-brewed iced coffee, grab a cup of that.
let the strong-brewed coffee cool, you do NOT have to wait for it to be cold…but it can be 10-15 degrees above ambient, or let it cool for up to 10-15 minutes
if you dump HOT coffee into your blender with all of the ice, the ice will melt faster than your blender can keep up, you’ll have a soupy mess instead of a slushy frappuccino.

EQUIPMENT YOU’LL NEED:

a blender, does NOT have to be a professional, high-powered blender, but it DOES have to be able to crush ice, otherwise your frappuccino will be chunky and weird, trust me, I’ve been there…
a 24 oz clear cup that looks just like the ones at Starbucks, affiliate link, totally NOT necessary, but fun.

HOW TO MAKE A CARAMEL FRAPPUCCINO:

If using a Ninja or other type of coffee maker that has an iced option, brew coffee over ice. Otherwise, brew a cup of coffee, making it on the stronger side or according to directions for double-strength coffee, and put it in the freezer for 10-15 minutes, or in the fridge for more than 30 minutes to chill.

Add ice cubes to blender. Then add the coffee, milk, and a drizzle of caramel sauce.

Blend for 30-45 seconds until smooth. It shouldn’t be gritty or feel like there are solid ice cubes still present.

Pour into glass, add a heaping serving of whipped cream and another drizzle of caramel. Serve right away.

TIPS for a better frappuccino:

frozen coffee, instead of using ice or in addition to ice, you can freeze leftover strong coffee into ice-cubes, this way your frappuccino won’t be as watered-down…and will be thicker.
milk – use the milk of your choice. Whole milk will result in a much creamier drink. To lower calories, I personally use Silk Light Almond Milk and it’s still quite creamy. Oat milk would be good too.
whipped cream – Fat-free Reddi Whip is my fave.
caramel, you’ll want to use the thicker, BOTTLED caramel sauce, not caramel syrup, I’ve used Ghirardelli and Torani brands.
coffee, use a cup of STRONG coffee that has cooled, I like to make my own using the “concentrated” function on my Ninja Coffee Bar, otherwise, if your drip-coffee maker does NOT have a strong/coffee-concentrate setting, use double the amount of coffee grounds that you’d normally use, trust me…it’s a game-changer.
extra strong, for a STRONGER coffee taste, brew stronger coffee with triple the amount of grounds, and/or use frozen coffee cubes INSTEAD of ice.

HELPFUL TIPS

You can totally make this recipe if you’re not a frappuccino lover and want to see if you like them. If your frappuccino ends up too thin, add a couple ice cubes and blend again.

If it’s too thick, add a splash of milk and blend for 5 seconds. You want it thick enough that it needs to be scraped out of the blender with a spatula.

If the frappuccino sits around, it will separate. Stir it really well before drinking.

When using your blender, add ice first, then ingredients. The blender works better if the blades are buried under ingredients, which helps pull other ingredients down and blend them more evenly.

Tips for making this recipe:

Make extra-strong coffee so that once it’s frozen, the frappuccino won’t be too thin and watery.
Caramel sauce is very thick in consistency, perfect for drizzling on top of ice cream. This is the type of caramel you want to use, not caramel syrup which is very thin and typically used in hot beverages. The caramel sauce will give this recipe lots of flavor and body.
All ingredients should be as cold as possible. Using cold milk straight out of the refrigerator is ideal, room-temperature milk will melt faster than cold.
Blend time should be about 30 to 45 seconds. If blended for too long the frappuccino will become warm and thin.

VARIATIONS AND FLAVORS

There are countless frappuccino variations. Below are a few ideas for frappuccino flavors, but honestly once you’ve mastered this recipe the sky’s the limit when it comes to creating your own frappuccino flavors.

MOCHA FRAPPUCCINO – Use chocolate sauce in lieu of caramel sauce, such as Torani or Hershey’s. If you’re feeling adventurous, add about 1-2 tablespoons of cocoa powder.
VANILLA FRAPPUCCINO – Use about 1-2 tablespoons of vanilla syrup in lieu of caramel sauce, or use 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract with a tablespoon of sugar. Vanilla frappuccino isn’t nearly as sweet and creamy, but is a great alternative if you’re looking for something lighter.
JAVA CHIP FRAPPUCCINO – Use about 2 tablespoons of chocolate sauce instead of caramel sauce and throw a handful of mini chocolate chips in with the blender. Serve with whipped cream and chocolate syrup.
WHITE CHOCOLATE MOCHA FRAPPUCCINO – Use white chocolate sauce such as Torani’s, instead of caramel sauce: start out with 2-3 tablespoons and add to taste. You can always melt some white chocolate chips to make white chocolate sauce as well.
CINNAMON DOLCE FRAPPUCCINO – Add about a tablespoon of cinnamon dolce syrup (you can buy it but you can easily make your own with brown sugar, cinnamon and a splash of water) and a dash of cinnamon. Top with whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar.
NO-COFFEE FRAPPUCCINO (CRÈME BASE)

Leave out the coffee and use an additional 1/2 cup of milk for a deliciously sweet and creamy frappuccino without caffeine, very similar to Starbucks’ Crème Frappuccino versions. This would make a delicious and yummy treat for the kiddos or if you’re looking for a sweet, cold, creamy treat later in the day that won’t spike your caffeine.

Frappuccinos don’t store well at all and cannot be refrigerated either as they separate. Serve immediately once blended.

This recipe will take longer if you’re making your own coffee; I recommend making ahead of time and chilling or freezing. If you use a cold brew concentrate and keep in your refrigerator you’ll be able to whip up a frappuccino in under two minutes.

WHAT TO SERVE WITH A FRAPPUCCINO

Serve alongside banana bread, blueberry muffins or chocolate chip cookies. A breakfast sandwich made with egg, cheese, and turkey on an English muffin would be a deliciously savory choice to eat alongside a sweet and creamy frappuccino as well.

AMAZON PICKS WORTH KNOWING ABOUT

If you make frappuccinos regularly (or other iced coffee beverages) it may be worth investing in an iced coffee maker. My favorite is the Ninja Coffee Bar.

It has an iced coffee setting that makes strong, delicious, perfectly balanced coffee that is made over ice, saving you from waiting for brewed coffee to cool before enjoying.

In the same vein, a powerful blender that doesn’t burn out trying to crush ice is helpful to have on hand for making slushy frappuccinos. My favorite is the Ninja Blender because it makes quick work of crushing ice and isn’t as pricey as many of its competitors.

Topping a homemade caramel frappuccino with a drizzle of real caramel sauce is a must, and Torani Caramel Sauce is thick enough to blend into the recipe as well as drizzle on top. Plus, one bottle lasts a LONG time.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

CAN I USE INSTANT COFFEE INSTEAD OF BREWED COFFEE?

Absolutely. Dissolve 2-3 teaspoons of instant coffee (depending on strength of taste you’re looking for) in 1/2 cup cold water and use in place of cold, strong, brewed coffee in the recipe.

Using instant coffee saves you from making and waiting for the coffee to cool. Instant espresso powder would yield the closest result to Starbucks.

WHY DOES MY HOMEMADE FRAPPUCCINO TASTE WATERY?

Make sure you are using STRONG brewed coffee in your frappuccino recipe. Coffee flavor can become watered down when blended with 2 cups of ice and 1 cup of milk.

Try brewing an entire batch of coffee with double the amount of coffee grounds to ensure strong flavor. Also, make sure the coffee is very cold when adding to the blender.

Hot/warm coffee will melt the ice quickly resulting in a watery texture.

CAN I MAKE THIS DAIRY-FREE?

Absolutely. You can use almond, oat, coconut, or soy.

Oat will be the closest in texture to dairy. Coconut will have a bit of a coconutty flavor which does work really well with caramel.

If you’re looking for a non-dairy whipped cream option, there are some great dairy-free whipped creams that would be delicious.

What kind of caramel sauce do you use?

I use Torani Caramel Sauce. This is pretty readily available online or in many grocery stores that carry a bit of a specialty.

However, any caramel sauce should work. Ghirardelli has a great caramel sauce too.

Avoid using caramel syrup, the kind that says “caramel syrup” and is meant to be added to coffee. It’s not as thick and would throw off the texture.

You’re looking for one that is thick and spoonable.

Can this be made ahead of time?

Because the ice will melt and cause separation, frappuccinos don’t do so well sitting around. You could prep ahead of time by making your coffee, letting it chill, and measuring out your ingredients, but you’ll want to blend and serve right away.

You can make a pot of coffee and let it chill in the fridge overnight.

How much caffeine is in a Caramel Frappuccino?

It will vary based on the strength of the coffee and how much you use. One cup of double-strength drip coffee has about 150-200mg of caffeine, which is about how much is in a medium Frappuccino at Starbucks.

Using less coffee or making it half-caf would lower the amount of caffeine.