The Best Pumpkin Spice Latte
- PREP 5min
- COOK 5min
- TOTAL 10min
Make the popular coffee house pumpkin spice latte at home. Canned or homemade pumpkin puree both work well in this recipe. Here’s our recipe for making pumpkin puree from scratch.
You Will Need
1/2 cup strong hot coffee or 2 shots espresso
2 cups milk of choice, dairy or non-dairy
2 tablespoons pumpkin puree, or more to taste
1 tablespoon sugar or maple syrup, or more to taste
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, plus more for serving
Whipped cream, optional for serving
Directions
Add milk, pumpkin puree, and sugar to a saucepan over medium heat. Slowly heat the milk until hot, but do not boil.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and whisk in the vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, and the coffee or espresso. Taste and adjust with more sugar or spices.
Divide the mixture between two mugs.
Top with whipped cream and a sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Stronger pumpkin flavor: Over the years, some readers have noted that they would like the pumpkin to be more prominent in the latte. To do this, add 6 tablespoons of pumpkin puree to a small saucepan and heat over medium heat. Cook, stirring often, until the puree reduces by 1/3 to 1/2. Watch for burning. Use as much of the reduced puree as you need to achieve the pumpkin flavor you enjoy. Alternatively, use pumpkin butter, see below.
- Pumpkin butter: Use pumpkin butter for a more prominent pumpkin flavor and a bit more sweetness (here’s our maple pumpkin butter). Since pumpkin butter already has some sugar added, you may need to adjust the sugar/maple syrup in the latte.
- Whipped cream: Here’s my whipped cream recipe or my favorite dairy-free topping, vegan coconut whipped cream.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We assumed 2% milk and 1 tablespoon of sugar.