Gingerbread Latte
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My homemade gingerbread latte recipe is the ultimate Starbucks dupe that is super creamy, cozy, and perfectly spiced. It takes minutes to make with simple ingredients.
My gingerbread latte was inspired by Starbucks
Confession: I checked my account from 2016, when I was in my peak Starbucks era, and I spent upwards of $162 on seasonal lattes. The culprit? Starbucks’ gingerbread latte.
Fast forward, and now I’m all about saving money where I can, and making this latte at home is a no-brainer.
It’s easy to make, and I can add as much ginger as I’m in the mood for (which is usually a lot!). Here’s why I’m obsessed:
- Cheaper than Starbucks. I just checked, and a grande gingerbread latte is about $6.50 in my area. My version? Around 80 cents a serving.
- I control what goes in it. Just real ginger, spices, and sweetened with either brown sugar or maple syrup.
- Ready in about 5 minutes. Add all the ingredients to a small saucepan, heat until steaming, and enjoy.
- Perfect hot or cold. Sure, these are delicious warm, but pour them over ice for a frappuccino-like beverage.
★★★★★ REVIEW
“Making it 50 people. 😉 Delicious, very flavourful, and more guilt-free than the Starbucks ones, which always taste chock-full of syrup.” – Rose
Table of Contents
Key Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need, along with my kitchen notes. Full measurements are in the recipe card below.
- Espresso OR brewed coffee. I use a single shot of espresso per cup. If you don’t, brew a VERY strong coffee using double the grounds (about 1 1/2 tablespoons).
- Milk of choice. I used unsweetened almond milk, but any milk works, like oat milk, soy milk, or whole milk.
- Sugar (or alternative). I typically use brown sugar or a brown sugar substitute, but for a more fall-inspired flavor, I find maple syrup or honey works really well. Honey can be a little overpowering. For a more traditional gingerbread flavor, you can use molasses.
- Gingerbread spices. I use a mix of ground ginger, ground cinnamon, allspice, and ground nutmeg. I have seen some pre-mixed gingerbread spice blends, but I usually avoid them because they can be heavy on one spice (and they’re pricey).
- Whipped cream. Optional, but it gives the latte the true Starbucks experience.
How to make gingerbread latte
Step 1- Simmer. In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine all of the ingredients except the whipped cream. Bring the mixture to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low and stir regularly. After 2 minutes, remove it from the heat.
Step 2- Serve. Pour into two mugs and top with whipped cream.
Arman’s recipe tips
- Stir often while it simmers. Keep the heat on medium-low and stir often so the milk doesn’t scorch or boil over.
- Make coffee shop-style foam. Heat some milk separately, then use a milk frother and froth until light and fluffy. Pour this over the finished latte and top with a sprinkling of cinnamon.
- Make a homemade gingerbread syrup. Save time by simmering the sugar (or maple syrup), spices, and 1/4 cup water with a teaspoon of vanilla extract. Once it’s reduced to a thick syrup, let it cool before storing it in the fridge. It will keep for about two weeks.
- Serve it iced. Pour the latte over ice cubes (or coffee ice cubes!) for an iced latte.
More copycat Starbucks drinks
This gingerbread latte was the catalyst for me developing a bunch of other seasonal drinks. Try one of my others:
Gingerbread Latte (Starbucks Copycat!)
Ingredients
- 2 cups milk I used unsweetened almond milk
- 2 shots espresso * See notes, 60mL
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon allspice
- 2 tablespoons sugar or brown sugar, maple syrup, honey, or molasses
- 1/4 cup whipped cream optional
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, add the milk, espresso, ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and sugar. On medium heat, bring to a simmer. Once it begins to simmer, reduce to low and stir regularly. After 2 minutes, remove from the heat.
- Pour into two cups and top with whipped cream.
Maybe I need to filter this when done, but the spices were so gritty that this was not enjoyable.
Hi Jennifer- I’m sorry you had this issue. Were your spices a little more course than finely ground? When testing this recipe, simmering everything on the stovetop prevents the spices from being gritty (versus microwaving everything or just adding hot water to a cup).
I bought gingerbread today to make this. I am so excited as its cold now in my country so I will try and enjoy.
Wow this is so amazing recipe when winter comes. Hot cup of gingerbread latte, movie, night…Amazing!
Making it 50 people. 😉 Delicious, very flavourful and more guilt-free than the Starbucks ones which always taste chock-full of syrup.
Thank you so much for your kind words, Rose! Wow, for 50 people- I’m very impressed that you’ve undertaken that. Yes!!!! Look, I do like a Starbucks now and then, but even with reduced syrup (I ask for one pump), it’s still so sweet. That’s what inspired my homemade copycat version!
I used whole milk from a local dairy, some really strong coffee, and coconut sugar, and this turned out so good. I’ll definitely make this again!
Love to hear that, Lauri. I also love that you said you used really strong coffee- You’re my kind of person! Any flavored latte MUST have strong coffee haha!
The gingerbread latte looks delicious, great to learn the process of making it.
It was rlly good, just a liiiitle sweet for me(I didn’t have an espresso machine, so I used the instant coffee method). I filled half my cup with the mixture(made it stronger by adding more instant coffee) and, bcs I used almond milk initially, I filled the rest of the cup w/ oatmilk. Overall topped off the caloric intake to about 95 cal. Totally worth it for a Starbucks dupe tho
I just made it. It’s good, it has the taste of ginger just right. I use coconut milk unsweetened cuz that was all I had . Next time I will try it with almond milk .
Can you clarify what 2 serves of coffee is? Like 2 tbsp instant ground coffee, not prepared?
Hi! It depends on the brand, but most is 1 tablespoon of instant coffee. I tend to use more because my coffee tolerance is a little…excessive 😉
This latte was delicious! I halved the quantities of spices and sugar. I stirred together multiple servings of instant coffee, sugar, and spices in a jar, so now, I have gingerbread latte mix, and I can enjoy this everyday. 😀