Make your own caramel iced coffee at home with this easy recipe. This sweet and creamy DIY version tastes just as good as (if not better than!) any iced coffee you can buy at Starbucks, Dunkin', or anywhere else. Plus, making your coffee at home is guaranteed to save you time and money - it's a win-win!
I love an iced coffee. I don't love spending $5 on a glass of ice topped with what feels like five sips of coffee. And I love a local coffee shop, but I usually don't spare myself 20 minutes to stop for coffee in the morning before work. This recipe is the answer to my dilemmas -- and maybe to yours too! It's a super easy, sweet, creamy iced coffee, swirled with homemade caramel sauce, and made in under 5 minutes. IT IS SO GOOD.
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Why you'll love this homemade iced coffee recipe
In case you need more convincing, here are a few of the perks to making your own caramel iced coffees:
It's cheaper. The most expensive items you'll need for this recipe are coffee and cream, and I guarantee that you can purchase both of these items for the cost of 3-4 iced coffees from a coffee shop. I don't know exactly how many homemade iced coffees you'll get out of one bag of coffee, but it's definitely wayyyy more than 3-4.
It's convenient. Going to a coffee shop involves - at the minimum - getting dressed, walking/driving somewhere, waiting in line, ordering, waiting some more, and finally getting your coffee. Making your own iced coffee involves walking into your kitchen and pouring 4 ingredients into a glass filled with ice. If your coffee and caramel are pre-prepped it literally takes 2 minutes.
It's customizable! Like your coffee a little less sweet? Just add less caramel. Looking for something extra-creamy? Add an extra tablespoon of cream. Make it work for you.
How to make a caramel iced coffee
So now that you're good and convinced, let's dive into how to make a homemade caramel iced coffee:
Start by pouring chilled coffee over ice.
I brew coffee in the morning and always have a little left over that I refrigerate for the afternoon, but you can also use store-bought or homemade cold brew if you want to be a little fancier about it.
Add milk and cream.
(This swirl action is the best part!)
Add caramel sauce.
For this I use my homemade caramel sauce made with milk. It lasts for a while and one batch will make you plenty of iced coffees.
Stir it all together and you're good to go! (Pair this with a coffee scone for extra deliciousness.)
Best types of coffee for this recipe
Like I mentioned above, cold brew coffee is technically the best option for any iced coffee drink. There are plenty of methods for making it at home, or you can purchase pre-made cold brew from the grocery store (I personally love Chameleon cold brew).
That being said, buying cold brew can be expensive, and I haven't personally committed to the homemade cold brew bandwagon. Instead, I just brew my coffee as normal using my French press or pour over and refrigerate a small portion for iced coffee.
What caramel to use for this recipe
If at all possible, I would absolutely use homemade caramel sauce for this iced coffee. It's just going to taste better. I highly recommend this caramel sauce recipe -- it really doesn't take very long to make and only requires a few basic ingredients. Make it ahead of time so it's ready to go for iced coffee throughout the week.
Recipe FAQ
Like hot lattes, iced lattes use espresso, contain a higher proportion of milk to coffee, and typically have a small layer of foam. Iced coffee, on the other hand, is made with chilled coffee or cold brew, and contains less milk.
Although the two terms are often used interchangeably (most recipes for iced caramel lattes are really just iced coffee), this drink is better categorized as the latter. I consider this a win since iced coffee is generally a little simpler to make and doesn't require any special kitchen appliances.
Yes! If you prefer, you can swap the coffee for 2-3 shots of espresso and use a full cup of milk (preferably cold frothed) to turn this recipe into an iced latte.
While I strongly prefer cow's milk in all of my iced coffee recipes, unsweetened, non-dairy milk can be substituted. I would recommend oat milk!
More homemade coffee drinks
If you're into this whole coffee-shop-at-home vibe, here are a few more recipes you can try (including a few Starbucks copycats)!
Have you made this recipe?
If so, I'd love to hear your feedback; you can leave a rating and review in the comments section below! It's also so helpful if you help spread the word by sharing this post on your favorite social media channel. If you happen to snap a photo of what you've baked, be sure to share it on Instagram and tag me (@brighteyedbaker) so I can give you a shoutout!
Recipe Card
Caramel Iced Coffee (Latte)
Make your own iced caramel latté at home with this easy recipe. This sweet and creamy DIY version tastes just as good as (if not better than!) any iced latté you can buy. Plus, making your coffee at home is guaranteed to save you time and money - it's a win-win!
- Prep Time: 2 minutes
- Total Time: 2 minutes
- Yield: 1 iced latté 1x
- Category: beverages
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- ice
- ½ cup (4 fluid ounces) chilled coffee or cold brew
- ¼ cup (2 fluid ounces) milk
- 1 tablespoon whipping cream
- 1 ½ tablespoons caramel sauce
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients: Add ice to glass. Pour in coffee, milk, cream, and caramel.
- Stir: Stir until entirely smooth and enjoy!
Notes
Optionally, you can also blend the coffee, milk, cream, and caramel together and pour over ice for a frothier drink.
Turn this into an iced caramel latte: Swap the coffee for 2-3 shots of chilled espresso, and use a full cup of milk. Cold froth your milk for best results.
Keywords: caramel iced coffee, iced caramel coffee, iced caramel latte, homemade iced caramel latte, iced coffee, Starbucks copycat, Dunkin' copycat
Quick Note: This is an updated version of a post that originally appeared on Bright-Eyed Baker in 2012, with a new and improved rendition of the original recipe.
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bella says
this was sooo good! i added a splash of hazelnut creamer to it and enjoyed it in our 105 degree weather! ive been looking for an iced coffee recipe but have never succeeded to enjoy it and this was so amazing, thank you!!
★★★★★
Rémy says
My little brother spilled my dad’s Dunkin’ donuts iced caramel latte, and he was mad. I looked up the recipe for it to try to smooth things over and found this! It tasted phenomenal! He is now trying to get me to make it more often. Thanks for this!
★★★★★
alexandra says
Omg I love this story! Thanks for sharing :) So glad you were able to avert the crisis haha.
Liv says
It was super warm today and I made this. Let me tell you IT WAS AMAZING! I am lactose intolerant so I used lactose free milk instead of the whipping cream and it tasted so good. So nice for a hot day. Thank you for posting this amazing idea! (I also used a light caramel sauce that is used for dipping apples, and it worked very well!)
★★★★★
alexandra says
Yay! So glad it worked well with the lactose free milk. Glad you enjoyed the recipe as much as I do. :)
Nadia Scheffer says
I definitely need to try this! Iced Caramel Lattes are one of my favorite drinks too. This recipe can save you a heap of money that you would spend at Starbucks over a year
Jason says
This is great done in a blender (Frappuccino) also!
alexandra says
Ooh, thanks for the idea Jason!
Deb says
Was looking for this recipe to stop spending money at Dunkin Donuts. I'm enjoying my first glass, but I did add 5 teaspoons of carmel sauce. Thanks so much for the recipe. I'm going to limit myself to one a day.
alexandra says
I'm so glad you tried it! The amount of caramel sauce you use really just depends on how sweet your caramel is (if you didn't use the recipe I linked to), how strong your coffee is, and your own sweetness preferences. I have to limit myself to one a day too, but I could easily have more!
Jadedskys says
Just tried this recipe out as have been looking to make my own iced coffees and this is soooo good, perhaps even better than Starbucks :) YUM
alexandra says
That's awesome to hear! I completely agree with you that once you see how tasty at-home coffee drinks can be, there's less of an impulse to go out to a coffeeshop. I still make these iced lattes every day and love them!
Mary@FitandFed says
That cool little gizmo ought to pay for itself in no time in homemade iced drinks, right? I'll keep it in mind for my honey who likes both coffee and gizmos quite a lot.
brighteyedbaker says
I think we probably paid for ours within a week with all of the iced coffee we make! I love it. It also does a hot froth for milk and I believe it can act as a drink warmer (haven't tried that function), so it's pretty neat stuff. :)
Kare @ Kitchen Treaty says
Since I had my baby last winter, I've discovered Starbucks drive-thrus are pretty much a new mom's salvation! Thank goodness there's one on every corner. I've always been a Starbucks fiend (absolutely addicted) but a drive thru is extra-special-bonus a mom's best friend. I LOVE Starbucks iced coffee with caramel sauce and this latte looks even better.
Viva la caffeine, eh? :)
brighteyedbaker says
Yes, yes, yes! I love Starbucks too, so I get you! I hope you'll try the DIY latte sometime! I think you'll like it. :)
Katie says
I definitely run on coffee. My day doesn't start until I have at least one cup.
brighteyedbaker says
It's good to know you're not the only one, right?
Simply Tia says
Yum! Yum!
I think even in winter I might just be drinking iced coffee drinks.
brighteyedbaker says
I struggle with coldness in the winter, so I kinda rely on hot coffee, but I don't feel like giving this up!
Laura (Tutti Dolci) says
Yum, this looks fabulous!