The Best Homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte
How to make the best pumpkin spice latte at home with pumpkin puree, coffee, milk, and fall spices. Better than store-bought! Jump to the Homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte Recipe
How to Make the Best Pumpkin Spice Latte at Home
The moment Fall hits, we rush to our local coffee shop and order a pumpkin spice latte. We love them so much, we took it upon ourselves to try making it at home. This recipe is easy and I bet you have most, if not everything, you need to make it at home right now. It also comes together in under 10 minutes!
Pumpkin Spice Latte Ingredients
It’s easy to make your own PSL at home. Here’s a quick explanation of what you will need. The full recipe is below.
Milk — Use dairy or non-dairy milk. I love using homemade oat milk, but coconut or almond milk are also delicious.
Pumpkin Puree — You can use canned puree or make your own. Here’s our recipe for homemade pumpkin puree. It’s quite simple to make!
We add the pumpkin puree as is, but some of our readers have complained that there is not enough pumpkin flavor in the latte. To battle this, you can simmer puree in a saucepan until it has reduced down by 1/3. This step will intensify the pumpkin flavor.
Sugar — You can use regular sugar, brown sugar, simple syrup, maple syrup or honey! It’s completely up to you.
Vanilla and Pumpkin Pie Spice— A little vanilla extract goes a long way and it makes the latte so tasty. For the spices, use a store-bought blend or make your own. Here’s our simple pumpkin pie spice blend.
Hot (or Cold) Coffee — Lattes in coffee shops have espresso added to them, so the coffee is usually a bit stronger. I like brewing my coffee strong for homemade lattes. You can also use cold coffee or cold brew (for an iced latte).
Whipped Cream — This is completely optional, but I love it!
How to Make It
Start by heating the milk, pumpkin puree, sugar, pumpkin pie spices, and vanilla extract on the stove.
Then mix the pumpkin spice milk with the strong coffee. Divide it between two mugs and add whipped cream. Simple, quick, and no coffee shop lines.
Recipe Update: Since publishing this recipe in 2012, some readers have commented that the latte doesn’t have a strong enough pumpkin flavor. If you are worried about this, one thing you might try is to cook the pumpkin puree down before adding it to the milk mixture. (I’d simmer it until reduced by one-third). This way, the pumpkin flavor will concentrate. I’d imagine that you could do this in a larger batch and then keep the concentrated puree in the fridge for when you are ready to make your next latte. I hope that helps! – Joanne
More Pumpkin Recipes
- Easy Pumpkin Mac and Cheese — How to make extra creamy pumpkin mac and cheese in under 1 hour. The perfect Fall dinner!
- Homemade Pumpkin Pancakes — We love these pumpkin pancakes: not too sweet with a hint of spice.Â
- Seriously Good Pumpkin Cupcakes — These moist spiced pumpkin cupcakes are hard to beat.
- Homemade (and easy) Pumpkin Pie — How to make classic, unfussy pumpkin pie from scratch. This is our favorite way to make pumpkin pie. Itâs easy, too!
- Pumpkin Scones — How to make the best spiced pumpkin scones inspired by Starbucks.
Recipe updated, originally posted November 2011. Since posting this in 2011, we have added a recipe video and tweaked the recipe to be more clear. â Adam and Joanne
The Best Homemade Pumpkin Spice Latte
- PREP
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.
Recipe Update: Since publishing this recipe in 2012, some readers have commented that the latte doesn’t have a strong enough pumpkin flavor. If you are worried about this, one thing you might try is to cook the pumpkin puree down before adding it to the milk mixture. (I’d simmer it until reduced by one-third). This way, the pumpkin flavor will concentrate. I’d imagine that you could do this in a larger batch and then keep the concentrated puree in the fridge for when you are ready to make your next latte. I hope that helps! – Joanne
Makes 2 Drinks
Watch Us Make the Recipe
You Will Need
2 cups milk (dairy or non-dairy)
2 tablespoons pumpkin puree, or more to taste, see our homemade pumpkin puree recipe
1 to 3 tablespoons sugar, depending on how sweet you like it
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, plus more for serving
1/2 cup strong hot coffee
Whipped cream, for serving
Directions
Add milk, pumpkin puree, and sugar to a saucepan over medium heat. Heat until hot, but do not boil. Remove the saucepan from the heat and whisk in the vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, and the coffee.
Divide the mixture between two mugs. Top with whipped cream and a sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Milk: This tastes best with 2% or whole milk, but you can substitute with skim milk. Non-dairy milk like soy, almond, or coconut milk will also work.
- Sugar: This recipe calls for 1 to 3 tablespoons of sugar. How much you use is up to you. We tend to prefer less sugar in our drinks. You can also use a sugar substitute. Add this to taste.
- Pumpkin Pie Spice Blend: Find pumpkin pie spice at the store or make it at home. You likely have everything you need to make it already. Mix the following spices in a spice jar: 1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon + 2 teaspoons ground ginger + 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg + a pinch of ground cloves.
- More Pumpkin Flavor: Since posting this recipe, some readers have noted that they would prefer a stronger pumpkin flavor. You can achieve this two ways: increase the puree by 1 to 2 tablespoons or cook a large batch of puree down in a saucepan over medium heat until reduced and concentrated in flavor, and then use in the latte.
- Nutrition Facts: The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We have used the USDA database to calculate approximate values. We assumed 2% milk and 1 tablespoon of sugar.
If you make this recipe, snap a photo and hashtag it #inspiredtaste â We love to see your creations on Instagram and Facebook! Find us: @inspiredtaste
Nutrition Per Serving: Serving Size 1 drink / Calories 171 / Protein 9 g / Carbohydrate 21 g / Dietary Fiber 1 g / Total Sugars 20 g / Total Fat 6 g / Saturated Fat 4 g / Cholesterol 24 mg
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It was okay, I don’t know if I’d remake this recipe. I agree with the comment it was gritty. Lots of steps for just one cup of coffee if you’re making & straining it each time before you drink it.
Hi Candace, One thing you might try is to cook the pumpkin puree down before adding it to the milk mixture. This way, the pumpkin flavor will concentrate. I’d imagine that you could do this in a larger batch and then keep the concentrated puree in the fridge for when you are ready to make your next latte. I hope that helps!
Loving your easy recipes!
Yummy! Proper pumpkin spice latte. Added extra pumpkin puree (1 and 1/2 tbsp per serving) and omitted the vanilla.
Just made this with homemade pumpkin puree, homemade pumpkin spice mix, homemade vanilla essence (in my cupboard thanks to lockdown!), a little Stevia sweetener and Jord Oat & Hemp milk – absolutely delicious! All natural, vegan and sugar free. Thanks guys!!!
I had a little pumpkin puree left so I decided to use it up with this recipe. It was delicious! My husband said it tasted better than what he gets at SB.
I really enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for a fun way to kick off my holiday season đ
I just tried it and it’s deliciouus ! Thanks !
I made it! Of course with a few tweak here and there, but mainly following your recipe. And it’s very delicious. I changed whipped cream with coconut milk since i don’t like it, and also boiled some cinnamon sticks with cloves for extra kick. Purely heaven. Thanks for sharing
Treated myself to this recipe this morning and it did not disappoint! I added a little more pumpkin and it was perfect!
So good! Tasted professional, and just like pumpkin pie! I will definitely be making this during winter!
Super duper! Thank you for this terrific recipe, I’ve used it about 4 times now and I am in love! I substituted oatmilk on 2 occasions and it’s just as good, I also add a bit more pumpkin. I never liked store bought PSL because I always felt it was too artificial tasting, but this recipe is nothing like that because if the actual pumpkin, thank you!
I tried this recipe with my friend this morning and we ended up drinking 3 cups a piece. And we aren’t even usually big pumpkin spice people. 2 thumbs waaay up!
This is delicious!! Thank you for that fantastic and easy recipe! It’s now our go to coffee recipe during fall. I even make a big thermos for my boyfriend and he brings it to work, he loves it!
Oh my goodness is this recipe fantastic. I make it for one simply by dividing the ingredients in half, except I do add an additional tablespoon of pumpkin puree. I’ve now made it four times and will continue to make it throughout Michigan’s fall and winter weather. Thanks!
This is very good recipe. I used oat milk for the taste and added one milliliter xanthan gum to make the latte even creamier.
I was horrified to discover how many calories and how much sugar are in the iconic Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte – not too mention the price! This recipe is every bit as good, but less overwhelmingly sweet and drastically reduced calories. I scooped pumpkin puree into tablespoon portions and froze – super easy to pull out and add. For the strong coffee, I use the normal amount of coffee for a regular cup, but only add 1/4 cup water I also enjoy using brown sugar.