Before buying a nice espresso machine, my husband and I would go to Starbucks daily sometimes even twice. With the current state of the economy we cannot in good conscience or afford to continue spending $12/daily. Instead we opted to invest in a nice home espresso machine knowing the machine would pay itself off in a few months. And for the record it has. Now we just make our favorite espresso drinks at home. Most mornings I usually drink a hot latte but by afternoon you can find me drinking an iced coffee beverage including my own home version of a Starbucks Frappuccino. Besides saving Instead of giving Starbucks almost $5 for a frappuccino, I feel better knowing I have broken free from the power of the green topless mermaid. Let me tell you right now how much I love making these at home because of the flexibility of controlling the amount of sugar, type of milk(s), and flavoring (therefore calories) to cater to whatever it is I’m craving. It is my own personal opinion that these homemade iced coffee blended drinks are just as good as the local mermaid-cafe if not better. As an added bonus, it only take less than 2 minutes from start to finish. So if you find yourself trying to save some money (and who isn’t?) but love frappuccinos may I present to you my version of this beloved favorite.
**Disclaimer: This is not Starbuck’s actual proprietary recipe. This is my own version copycat clone frappuccino recipe of it. This recipe is for a blended icy coffee frappe / beverage similar to but not the same as Starbucks.
| Alice’s Copycat Starbucks Frappuccino Recipe |
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Recipe type: beverage
Author:
Prep time: 1 min
Cook time: 2 mins
Total time: 3 mins
Serves: 1
Homemade version of Starbucks Frappuccinos
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups crushed iced
- 2-1 ounce shots of espresso OR use 3/4 cup of double strength (strong) coffee mixed with 1/2 cup of milk and increased crushed iced amount by 1/4 cup.
- 3/4 cup your choice of milk
- 3 tablespoons sugar (more or less depending on preference)
- optional whipped cream in a can or freshly made and chocolate syrup
Instructions
- Blend all the ingredients except the whipped cream in a blender for 30-45 seconds. Pour into a tall glass and top off with whipped cream and garnish with chocolate syrup. Best served with a straw. Enjoy!
Notes
Mocha Frappuccino Variation: Prepare everything the same as a regular Frappuccino (recipe above) except reduce sugar to 2 tablespoons and add 2 tablespoons of chocolate syrup. Enjoy!
**Other Variations**
*Use Splenda, flavored coffee syrups, or flavored coffee creamers for a portion of the milk. For a richer beverage, use half and half, or heavy cream for a portion of the milk.
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I substituted Coffee-mate Belgian chocolate toffee creamer for the milk and used extra strong chocolate coffee and Splenda. It turned out great.
Thanks for the original recipe off of which to work. I’ll probably try other variations as well.
I love using flavored coffee creamers in my fraps too!
Hello guys thanks for this amazing recipe but if I may ask a few questions;) How could I use espresso ground powdrer to make an espresso cup? Do I need an espresso machine or Can I just use semi boiling water for 20-30 seconds? Forgive my lack of experience;)
Hi there. You can use espresso powder if it’s dissolvable. Just reduce the ice by 3-4 tablespoons. Hope this helps.
When I made it i took a sip, then before i knew it the cup was empty.
Great recipe! I made the mocha frappucino with strong ground coffee and it turned out awesome! Thank you for the recipe!
Milk doesn’t have a high enough fat content to hold everything together-this is why your drink will separate if you let it stand for more than a few minutes. Use ice cream or an ice cream base as your dairy product. Even heavy whipping cream would do better. Besides using espresso you can either use a ice coffee concentrate (it can be purchased at most grocery stores or you can buy a toddy system which makes and excellent ice coffee). By using an ice coffee concentrate, your beverage will be smoother and not have that bite that most espresso shots tend to give off.
You can use a pinch of Xanathan Gum to keep everything together. It can be bought at Whole Foods and Amazon.com.
What is a good home espresso machine? I don’t even make coffee, but I am starting to like the taste.
Spencer,
I bought a Mr. Coffee espresso maker for about $35 at target. It’s not a perfect espresso (it lacks a thick “crema” that espresso is known for), but the flavor is great, it comes with a steaming wand to make cappucinos, and the price is unbeatable.
If money isn’t an option, get a nespresso machine. They are excellent but go for about $300.
I agree Spencer. I just made one and am enjoying it right now made with heavey whipping cream. I had never bought heavey whipping cream before but I was checking some recipes online that called for it and I must say that it really thickens it up and there is no need for sugar that way either. I used Nestle Hot Cocoa mix also. Make sure you use cubed ice in your blender that way you dont have to worry about the coffee being hot. The cubed ice also takes longer to blend so by the time you are done the heavey whipping cream is thick, the drink is cold and it tatses really yummy!
I love the recipe! I used brazil milk instead of cow milk, cacao powder and nibs, and agave- it was great even my children loved it!!!
Just made this recipe today…AWESOME!!! Tastes just like the green mermaid’s! Thanks!
You should use coffee as ice cubes. Make your own coffee at home, let it cool around room temperature , fill the ice cube tray with coffee, and keep the remainder coffee in the fridge. Just blend the coffee ice cubes with the cold coffee for extra flavour. If you use hot coffee, the mixture will become watery.
Good luck
Hi, I’ve been doing the “ice cubed” coffee idea for over a year now, and it works well. I also add a banana, especially when doing a mocha frap. Other additions include a spoonful of creamy peanut butter, and using honey for my sweetener instead of refined sugar.
@Don, OMGosh…. I add a banana to mine also. I thought I was “The only one”. LOL But I like French Vanilla the most. Sometimes I have Mocha.
Hellow!
I love your site, It is a pleasure to visit.
hello
it was awesome i loved your recipe i will make it again and share the recipe…………………………………………….
What size drink does this recipe make in relation to Starbucks’ sizes. Tall, Grande or Venti? Thanks.
Thank you thank you thank you! I bookmarked this. I just just made this for the first time and I love it already!
can i make the mocha frappuccino in a blender or do i have to make it in a espresso machine? i love mocha frappuccino so much i could live off of it all day everyday.
Hey, thanks for the recipe. I tried a mocha frap from starbucks the other day and fell in love.
I have one question though. I don’t own an espresso machine nor a coffee pot. I make my coffee by putting a teaspoon of ground coffee into a cup then filling the cup up with hot water and the coffee dissolves. Can I make this recipe with my coffee instead of the shots of espresso? Thanks
Jen – Just double or triple the amount of instant coffee.
I just tried this recipe and I am soooo grateful and in love!! I used two packets of the caramel flavored instant Starbucks packets, almond vanilla milk, and half a packed of hot chocolate. It was delicious!! Only thing I think is maybe I should increase the amount of ice next time because towards the end it was more like an iced milk instead of a smoothie because it just wasnt thick enough like at Starbucks…do you think I need to use more ice or should I use something else to make it a little thicker? And if so, what?
Tamyka: I would use a little bit more ice.
I love this recipe. I made it for my family yesterday and everyone gave it 5 stars out of five. Btw we made it with sugar free chocolate, splenda and sugar free whip cream, but didn’t taste diet at all! Thanks for posting this recipe.
I’ve tried this recipe two times, and now i learned it by heart. I bought the whole coffee beans and used a Starbucks barista grinder to grind them. But i put a little bit of vinegar in the grinder, maybe it made the coffee taste not good.
Athony: I know some people use vinegar to clean their coffee machines but I have never heard of anyone putting some in their grinder. I imagine the coffee much have tasted very acidic.
@alice: haha you’re right. I am creative by the way lol
What a wonderful recipe! I made it this afternoon and thoroughly enjoyed it. I’m new to your blog and am anxious to look around some more!
Just had a question. Would you just add the coffee powder to the drink or do u make a pot then and that to the drink??
Hi Maria: You could make a double or triple strength pot of coffee but make sure it is cooled before using. Coffee powder works fine too, just put in more and perhaps reduce the ice.
I am new to the coffee world and my husband often buys the Starbucks drinks, whew they are pricey! So we are interested in getting the coffee maker for our home so that we can make the drinks at home to save money. Should we purchase an espresso machine for best results? or just a coffee machine? Also, if his main drink is the Caramel frap and I’m planning to use the recipe above, what kind of coffee should we purchase? there are so many!
Hi Allison: As far as what type of machine really depends on what types of drinks you like the best. If you’re a drip person than you should get a coffee maker. However, if you are like me and drink espresso, a quality espresso maker will serve you well. I usually buy Italian or Espresso roast. Hope this helps.
Love this! Your recipe inspired me to try to make a healthier frappuccino, too… check it out.
http://www.freespiritfood.com/2011/04/healthier-homemade-frappucino/
Would it be okay if I used Folger’s coffee?
Hi Angela. Yes, instant coffee works. Just make sure it’s double strength. The flavor of the frappuccino will be similar to the flavor of coffee you use.
I believe they use pectin to make it thicker.
Thanks for this recipe! I love Starbucks and my local coffee shop fraps. However, they are full of so much sugar and calories. So I thought I’d try my hand at some homemade fraps and this recipe worked pretty well. Because I’m neither a coffee drinker nor a milk drinker, I substituted milk with almond milk and espresso with one of the individual Nescafe packets. Also, because I like the caramel fraps, I decreased the sugar to one tablespoon and added one tablespoon of caramel. In the future I might add a scoop of frozen yogurt to make it creamier, but this was quite tasty and easy to make.
how much is a cup? because you have so many cups so what size do I need to take?
This was amazing. It puts actual Starbucks Frapps to shame. I made it, and it tastes even better, and it’s basically free as I have all of the ingredients in my house already. Great job, and thanks for sharing it. My mornings would be much worse without it.
I’m so happy I found this website. I have been looking for a home alternative to my starbucks cravings and something to spice up my everyday coffee drink. I’m going to give this a try and I look forward to it! If you’re looking for a new website for inspiration, check out my blog http://www.sweetdose.com !
What is the very nice espresso machine that you happened to purchase? I would be curious to know as I Love Love Love Starbucks Fraps but hate paying for them and would Love Love Love to make them at home as well!
Thank you!
~Michelle
Hi Michelle,
We have a Delonghi Magnifica. We bought it from Starbucks years ago. Ours is semi-automatic. It grinds the beans for every shot and tells you when the water level is low or when you need to empty the grinds. It pours beautiful espresso.
This really didn’t work for me. I tried it a few different times and I always ended up with coffee and ice chunks in the bottom and a bunch of milk foam on top. It won’t stay mixed together and the ice isn’t distributed throughout the drink.
yum!! And just saved me $4.45 plus gas and a 1.25 hr round trip
Of course I also missed out on the added benefit of my son napping in the car…but I guess I’ll just have to be happy with time and money gained (er…saved)
For C Rhoades, next time you make coffee and have some left over, make ice cubes out of it, and use coffee cubes instead of ice. They are a different consistency and stay blended better for some reason.
thanks so much for this. I just spent 4.80 on a venti frap at Starbucks and decided I either give them up or make my own. I can buy a lot of ingredients for 4.80 LOL
Suellen: Yes! I am all for saving money!
Any thoughts on how to make a Green Tea Frap? I’m addicted to them at Starbucks, but they just get so expensive.
Hi Janie,
I know Sbux sells the Orange Mango Vivanno which you can add green tea powder called matcha to it. You can sometimes find matcha at Asian food stores but it’s rare. You’re better off buying it online.
Green-tea frappuccinos will be really difficult to make, especially since Starbucks uses a special blend of pre-sweetened matcha to make theirs. You can find matcha at any specialty tea store, but it is typically VERY expensive. You may be better off simply buying your drink from Starbucks, but you might try smaller, locally-owned coffee and tea shops to find a better price.
Green-tea frappuccinos will be really difficult to make, especially since Starbucks uses a special blend of pre-sweetened matcha to make theirs. You can find matcha at any specialty tea store, but it is typically VERY expensive. You may be better off simply buying your drink from Starbucks, but you might try smaller, locally-owned coffee and tea shops to find a better price.
Dear Alice,
I tried making frappuccinos using your recipe, and the taste was fantastic! However, the consistency was more like milk than a milkshake. Do you have any ideas on how to harden the consistency? Thanks.
try adding dry pectin! (find it at the grocery store in the canning section). Add just one tablespoon at first, and if that doesn’t work, add a little more…
Hello ‘ how do you make the frappachinos thick ?
try adding pectin, or even better, try adding xanthan gum! its a bit pricey up front, bit a little bit goes a long way!
Wow… I cannot say Thank you enuff… My family loved it. I was an unsrant hero. My sister wanted more and my wife says I’m a genious…. I owe it to you. Thank you si much for making lots of people happy.
To make them thicker and keep the ice from separating and floating to the top, add a pinch or two of xanthan gum. This is what Starbucks uses. You can buy it bulk at a lot of shopping center stores (winco, etc.). It’s a little pricey, but buy just a small amount. I use two pinches to make three servings/tall glasses. Totally worth it!
Wow, tastes exactly the same as starbuck’s. but i used vanilla ice cream instead of milk and sugar. it gives a thicker consistancy. thanks for this amazing recipe
I followed the recipe pretty closely except that I added about a cup of coffee from a French press. It did not turn out like a store made mocha frappe. It seemed that the recipe calls for too much milk and to be blended too long. It was very liquid and had a head of foam. Sorry.
This recipe tastes really good! Except, mine is veryyy liquidy. I tried adding more ice, but it didnt make any difference. Is it not thick because I am using skim milk or what?
she’s not a mermaid, she’s a siren…
Fabulous copy cat recipe! Thank you!
Ohmygoshness! That was one of the best frappes I’ve ever had! I added some chocolate milk mix to give it a chocolatey taste, and it was fantastic!
This was amazing! thanks for the recipe i will be using it a lot now instead of having to go to starbucks!
This recipe is amazing. Unfortunately, I just made it for the first time and it makes an enormous amount! I suggest halfing the recipe if you only want one. I didn’t want to waste the deliciousness, but now I’m bouncing off the walls LOL! Thanks for the awesome recipe!
Thank you so much for this recipe! I loved it.
You can make the Green Tea Frappuccinos at home too. Buy Matcha powder (available at Wegmans for $8.99 for an 0.7 ounce tin, or check local Asian groceries or order online for cheaper). Use 4 ounces of milk. Dissolve 2 tablespoons of sugar in the milk then add half a teaspoon of matcha powder and dissolve. Lastly, add about 1 cup of ice and blend just until the ice is completely crushed. Enjoy. You can add a very small amount of vanilla extract, or substitute vanilla syrup for the sugar if you want a more vanilla tasting drink, but if you leave the vanilla out it will taste exactly like the Starbucks product.
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