You’ll want to know How to Make a Pumpkin Spiced Latte, so you can make these at home and save so much money during the fall months! Watch the video showing you how to make a pumpkin spice latte, then scroll to the bottom of this post and print out the recipe so you can make it at home.
I’m so excited about this recipe. That doesn’t really tell you all that much since I’m excited about new recipes every week… but this week I’m particularly excited. Why is that, you ask? Well, I loved this week’s recipe. My husband loved this week’s recipe. My son loved this week’s recipe. And when you learn how to make a pumpkin spice latte at home, I hope you’ll love it too!
Today I’m going to show you How to Make a Pumpkin Spice Latte, in the comfort of your own home… without waiting in long lines or shelling out a gazillion pennies. We’re going to make a “tall” latte, as they say in the coffee world. If you’re totally into coffee, be sure to also check out my posts on How to Make Iced Coffee and How to Make Cold Brew Coffee.
How to Make a Pumpkin Spice Latte:
The first thing you’ll do is make the spiced pumpkin milk.
Start with the milk. You can use any sort of milk you’d like. I usually use nonfat milk because I’m always trying to lighten things up. Honestly, it’s the best tasting with whole milk because it’s so rich and creamy. Try alternative milk like soy milk, almond milk or coconut milk too. It’s completely up to you.
Add 2 tablespoons of pumpkin puree to one half cup of milk. Make sure you use plain, unsweetened pumpkin puree since you’ll be adding sugar to the recipe. Add a little brown sugar, vanilla and pumpkin pie spice. Whisk it all together and put it in the microwave until it’s hot and steamy. If you don’t like to use the microwave, you can do this on the stove instead.
Did you know you can make your own pumpkin pie spice? See my Recipe Notes in the How to Make a Pumpkin Spice Latte recipe at the end of this post.
Best glasses for tall coffee drinks:
I searched high and low for the best glasses for making tall coffee drinks. I thought maybe I’d like an acrylic type, but I’m so glad I found these made of glass and with a handle. They are the perfect size for a tall, fancy coffee drink! You can find them here: Arc International Luminarc Bolero Mug, 16-Ounce, Set of 4. When I bought them on Amazon, they were around $18.00.
Pour your hot and frothy pumpkin milk into a tall mug.
Do you use coffee or espresso for a Pumpkin Spice Latte?
You can use either. I have a coffee maker at home, and I have an espresso machine. Whatever you’d like to use, go ahead and brew it right into your pumpkin milk. For this post, I used coffee. If you don’t have one of these pod-type coffee makers, just brew your coffee and add it to the glass (about 1 cup of coffee).
Finish off your pumpkin spice latte with a couple of splashes of cream (I use half & half), and a teaspoon or two of sugar. Stir to combine.
Now you know how to make a pumpkin spice latte! You can drink it like this, or you can add a little bit of whipped cream (optional, but not really). And be sure to sprinkle some nutmeg on top.
I did a little research and found that if you buy this at Starbucks, the calorie count for a nonfat Pumpkin Spice Latte is 260. My recipe computes to 152 calories. So you get to save money AND calories! And, if you happen to be following the Weight Watchers WW plan, you’ll find a link to the WW Points on the recipe card at the end of this post.
And there you go! No lines, no weird syrups, and perfectly delicious for a chilly fall morning. See why I was so excited? Love.
If you’re looking for things to eat with your pumpkin spice latte, you might enjoy these Pumpkin Gingerbread Muffins or my copycat Starbucks Pumpkin Scones. Cinnamon Sour Cream Coffee Cake, Pumpkin Doughnut Drops and Coffee Scones are also delicious to eat with coffee!
How to Make a Pumpkin Spice Latte
Recipe Details
Ingredients
- ½ cup milk (nonfat, whole, almond, soy, etc.)
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 cup brewed coffee or espresso
- 2 tablespoons half and half cream
- 2 teaspoons granulated white sugar
- whipped cream and nutmeg (optional)
Instructions
- In a glass measuring cup or microwave-safe bowl, whisk together the milk, pumpkin, brown sugar, vanilla and spice. Microwave for 1 to 2 minutes- watch closely and remove it from the microwave when the milk is hot and frothy. (alternately, you can heat it on the stove)
- Pour the pumpkin milk into a tall mug or glass. Add hot coffee. Add the cream. Add a teaspoon of sugar. Stir, and taste. Add another teaspoon of sugar, if desired. Stir!
- Optional, but oh so good... add whipped cream on top and a sprinkle of nutmeg. Serve immediately!
Video
Notes
- Nutritional information was figured using nonfat milk and NO whipped cream.
- If counting WW points, use nonfat milk, 1 teaspoon brown sugar, 2 teaspoons white sugar and 2 tablespoons regular half & half. Lighten it up more by using substitutes!
- If you don't have pumpkin pie spice in your collection of spices, make your own! Mix equal parts of cinnamon, ginger, allspice and nutmeg. Measure from there.
Just what I was looking for! I don’t like my beverages sweet, so I reduced the white sugar to 1/2 teaspoon and kept the brown sugar as is. Perfect Autumn beverage. I’m about to make my second cup today. Big fan!
Love the recipe. I added some irish cream, mmmm!!
I am not a coffee girl, so I substituted it for a sweet cinnamon tea. It turned out wonderfully! I imagine Chai would work just as well.
I made this for the first time this morning, (Yes I realize it’s December!) and it was soo very good! It tastes better than Star bucks if you ask me!! I did add a bit more sugar as I do like my lattes extra sweet but the flavor is so good!! Thanks for sharing!!
This recipe was great! The latte definitely has a strong pumpkin flavor, which I love. My family, on the other hand, found it to be a bit overwhelming, so I might recommend adding less pumpkin purée. As I was drinking the coffee, I noticed that a lot of the pumpkin had settled to the bottom, and I personally don’t like chewing my coffee. So, I 100% advise straining your latte before you drink it!!! They don’t tell you to do this in a lot of these recipes, but if you don’t like chunky coffee, you should try staining it. 😉
I liked it. I put a bit more pumpkin spice in mine!
I love this. I first made this about 8 years ago. Yes, I did lose the recipe and found it again. I do have a question on why the half and half and doesn’t it cool down the coffee? Or do you heat it? Thanks! Btw, I’m drinking 1 right now.
Did you watch the video? The pumpkin cream is heated 🙂
Thank you so much! It’s so good! My wallet and husband thank you!
Just made this and it was really delicious!! Thanks for the recipe!!
Hello
If I make extra pumpkin milk, how would it stay good in the fridge?
A few days?
What about if you want it a ice latte do you add more milk to it besides the ice
I guess you could make the pumpkin milk ahead and chill… same with the coffee. And make coffee ice cubes too!
Making this at home is absolutely the way to go and I love this recipe! Thank you for the step by step guide.
Gosh, now I can make these all year around!
This makes me so excited for Fall!
This type of knowledge could be very dangerous – very dangerous indeed! Definitely giving this one a try!
Such a magical recipe! I love it!
I love being able to make this at home in my PJs, hehe. So good!
I’ll take mine topped with whipped cream, please! An autumn classic–which will be on repeat at our house 🙂
Who knew making a seasonal latte would be this simple. Thanks!
Now that it is colder, I am craving this every day. Looks and sounds so yummy. Love seeing you in the video as well. Hope this new season is treading you well.
I finally got this where I like it. I do raw organic honey from Costco instead of brown sugar and regular sugar. Also I use Espresso instead of coffee and cut the vanilla to 1/2 tsp. I know everyone’s taste is different but for me this is perfection! Thanks for the recipe!
wow! I just tried it and it is VERY good! I like it better than Starbucks. Thanks so much for the great recipe. It will get its worth this fall!!!!!
Thanks for your wonderful site, I’ve gotten so many recipes that I’ll be making as holiday gifts. Thanks for all of the hard work you put into making everything look so good also. The latte recipe will surely be made.
Love this and as a healthy eater I love how much less sugar these have than the Starbucks ones that are loaded with sugar and calories! Thanks so much!
I tried this and it was like pumpkin pie in your mouth!!!
DELICIOUS!!
Love this!
I’m sending this over to a friend who cannot have the sbux PSLs because the syrup has dairy in it, and she’s dairy-free. However, this recipe can easily be made by switching out coconut cream with the milk products. Plus, pumpkin and coconut can be good friends in a coffee mug =0)
Thanks for the awesome recipe!
Glad I can help!
Awesome! I hate the syrup stuff so this recipe is perfect. I cannot wait to try. I know it won’t be too long before I do.
I made a few pumpkin spiced latte drinks, but this is by far the best one. I do all of mine over the stove, and this turned out lovely! I didn’t have half & half, but it was still great. Thank you much! This is my go to recipe from now on!
Yummo!! I can’t wait to have this tomorrow morning & perhaps forever thereafter!! Who knew you could make frothy lovely warm milk at home!!! Brilliant!!
Yummm!! The real deal, no syrups!! I need to try this, thanks for sharing! 🙂
omg these recipes are amazing, i just love pumpkin spice lattes. I go to panera usually and they have the best ones but now i can even make it at home! Just looking at these pictures are making me drool!!!!
Spice it up, u can go to a local Indian store and buy tea spice powder or known as tea/chai masala along with the pumpkin spice. If you want a fiery stimulation feel free to add a pinch of chilli powder into the milk mixture……..just before heating…..garnishing: scrape a few thin barks of cinnamon ….the quill ……into tiny shavings with choc powder sprinkle.
For a creamy edge add a teaspoon of pumpkin spice cream cheese into the milk…..it will melt n give a real rich taste,,……as for pumpkin purée bake pumpkin for 45 min at 350 F n then blend or boil with the spices and store.
An easy way to make pumpkin purée is to blend it and liquefy pumpkin first and then boil in a saucepan with a tablespoon of sugar only,so this way it caramelises and turns deep orange. Keep boiling until you get a rich terracotta color and if its thickened. It’s optional to add corn flour for thickening only incrementally so it doesn’t clump.
Keep boiling until you feel the desired consistency is desired.
Oh Yum! Thank you for your recipes-you haven’t failed me yet!
Made this using Pumpkin Butter* (from Trader Joe’s), heated everything on the stove, then used immersion blender to froth it. I used strong coffee, but next time will try Espresso. I think that would be much better!
*Have also purchased Pumpkin Butter at a local apple orchard/cider mill.
Love! Thx for the delish recipe & cute photos & commentaries! 😉
I just made this! It is BETTER than Starbucks or Panera! I can’t wait til my crabby husband gets up, I am gonna make one for him and see if it makes him less crabby! YUM!
So. good. This is just genius.
So simple. Thanks for sharing this.
THANK YOU! This is a great recipe! For a lactose-free version, I used coconut milk in the place of milk & coconut milk coffee creamer in the place of half n half and it still ROCKS!!! You have no Idea how much money this will save me now that I won’t be going to my favorite (name brand) latte shop as much. ;o) Awesome Recipe,
Jerene
Saw this recipe and had to make it right away!!! I love pumpkin in everything so I was excited about this, only change I would make is to make my coffee stronger and using 1/2 tbs more of the pumpkin!
This is an amazing recipe. I had bought my first pumpkin latte of the seasrday and was majorly disappointed.it didn’t taste like pumpkin at all. So I found this recipe this afternoon and had to try it right away.I love it. It tastes just like pumpkin pie. I will defiantly use it year round as I always hated waiting for fall.thankyou!
Excellent!
Very nice presentation! Looks yummy!
Thanks so much for this wonderful recipe! I think it’s even better than the Starbucks version…and so much easier to control the fat and sugar; you know exactly what’s in your drink. Thanks again! I’ll be enjoying this for many fall evenings to come and serving it to friends and family!
I’ve hit jackpot! Thank you so much! Now Starbucks won’t take ALL of my money this fall.
I havent tried this yet.. I see in the grocery store there is a canned pumpkin PIE mix that already has sugar and spices… do you think I could get that and add to the milk and forgo having to add pumpkin pie spice and sugar in the coffee? Just a thought..? Trying to simplify as much as possible…
I like pumpkin chais. Can’t wait to try this with my chai mix!
AWESOMMEEE recipe!!!!
This is amazing! I’ve been searching for a great latte recipe that doesn’t actually require a latte machine. Tried it today (rainy & cold, perfect day), and I loved it! It was so simple & easy. Thanks for the pumpkin spice tip as well, definitely needed that. I’ve pinned this on Pinterest as well, given credit & all.
I didn’t read through all the comments, but just a quick tip on adding some froth to your latte. I put about 1/2 c of milk in a mason jar, screw on the lid, and then shake it for about 30-45 seconds. Take the lid off and microwave for 30 seconds. Voila! Frothed milk! Just use a fork to hold the froth when adding the milk to your coffee, then scoop the rest on top.
Thanks for the tip!
I have, unsuccessfully, been trying to make a pumpkin coffee drink so I’m so glad you posted this. I was definitely missing a few ingredients and I never thought of brown sugar! Thank you very much for this recipe!
It’s always nice to have a brewed-at-home cup of coffee, especially when the weather turns cold! Pumpkin Spice Lattes are the perfect sipper this time of year.
Made your coffee recipe this morning…It is delicious, super easy, and inexpensive to brew. Thanks for the fun format to follow also :o)…Have a blessed day !!!
Instead of WHOLE milk I mean…it’s easy to change up some things & hard to really mess it up! Thanks for the recipe!
Made this! So good…used skim instead of 2%..still added the half & half though & used pumpkin pie filling… turned out AWESOME! Yum!
This looks great. Going to try it today!
Pumpkin spice latte is my fav this time of year!!
Thanks for the awesome recipe! My daughters are baristas and we love experimenting at home! (the K-cup IS amazing)
I am so excited to make this recipe! It will save so much cash! I am in grad school and am always looking for a caffeine jolt, but hate paying the high price everyday.
It seems like all the ingredients and work would be just as costly as a ‘gazillion’ pennies? Maybe it’s just me, but a quick trip through an expert coffee shop like Starbucks does the trick for me…especially since they use espresso and not just a junky cup of coffee.
You can get fabulous pumpkin pie spice at Penzys Spices. And every other kind of spice…. This recipe is warm and wonderful, thank you.
I love this recipe, and this blog! I am a huge coffee drinker and my sister and I cannot wait for pumpkin spice lattes to be at starbucks- now we can make our own! Thank you for the great recipe!
LOVE, love love pumpkin lattes!! The recipe sounds great and I can’t wait to make my own. Easier, cheaper and always available – that’s what I love.
My favorite fall drink and now I get to enjoy it in my favorite mug in the comfort of my home!! Thanks!
I can’t believe I saw this post- i was literally just talking to my roommate today about how I need to stop buying pumpkin spice lattes everyday because they are both costing me too much money and too many extra minutes at the gym.
Normally I brew my coffee with a little cinnamon and nutmeg mixed in with the grounds and then just add some non-fat half and half (i’m a 3 cups a day girl so I have to cut the cals somehow). But when the holidays come around, the employees at Starbucks start to learn my name because I CAN”T resist their drinks!
YOU ROCK RECIPE GIRL!
I am so excited to try this recipe, I am a basic black coffee drinker most of the time, maybe a little milk, but when the pumpkin spice latte is available I cannot get enough!!
Mmm! This sounds delightful! I just made my own pumpkin puree a few nights ago, and if you’re up for this you should really try doing it yourself, no more searching shelves for over priced cans of pumpkin! I bought a nice sweet pumpkin, it was actually a green gord I can’t remember the name of it (I chose organic because I find they are so much more flavorful!) and I cut that bad boy in half and roasted flesh side down at 400 degrees until it was soft, pulled it out of the oven and pureed it in my food processor. Boy! I’m telling you the flavor difference is insane! I payed 7 dollars for my pumpkin and got 9 cups of puree out of it! Its so sweet and fresh and freezes really well. I just separated it into 1 cup increments and put those in baggies and froze them.
I have an breville espresso machine I scored at goodwill for 23 dollars, it was broken at the time but my hubby cracked that bad boy open and fixed it. Now I have the most incredible espresso everyday! I enjoy iced americanos and spiced soy lattes very much! I’m also a cappucino girl. What can I say I’m a barista at heart, I mean I AM from Oregon! But now that I saw this lovely recipe I think I am going to have to pull one of those zip loc bags out and defrost it and treat my hubby to a fall delight. Thanks so much for sharing!
Thanks so much! Just had my first one yesterday (and my second one today). Better to get a recipe than become a frequent Starbucks-er.
I have to tell you… this was DELICIOUS! I was SO excited when I first saw the recipe yesterday! I couldn’t wait to make it this morning!! I was even late to work because I just HAD to make this today (note to readers: it’s not time consuming, but does need a few more minutes than a normal cup of coffee). It’s SO much better than Starbucks, IMO. I used vanilla almond soy milk and sugar free vanilla creamer instead of half-half. THANK YOU for the deliciousness and saving me $4.00+ on a cup of coffee!! 🙂
Gonna try this recipe for sure; but trying to stay away from dairy and white sugar. Think I’ll modify recipe to use Almond Milk and Maple Syrup; everything else will work. I’ll have to let you know how it turns out. Love the real pumpkin in the recipe (adds fiber). Thanks for sharing this recipe! A winner for sure.
How timely to find your recipe…. my favorite fall latte (from Starbucks)! Now I can save a few bucks and make my own… thanks!
I can’t wait to try this. I LOVE pumpkin spice lattes. My husband will love it even more if it turns out to be a hit since it will save major dollars. Thanks again.
My grandmothers would fix me coffee when I was little with more milk and sugar than coffee 🙂 I still cannot drink coffee black but I use more coffee than milk or sugar:) anxious to try this pumpkin latte. HAPPY FALL!
OMG . . . I can’t wait to try this out! I love my coffee in the form of Caramel Macchiattos or Pumpkin Pie Spice . . . I love a traditional Vanilla Latte or once in a great while a Peppermint Mocha hits the spot!! Hope to win some coffee . . . can’t wait to try your recipe!! Thanks so much!!