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.
- 1½ cups crushed iced
- 2-1 ounce shots of espresso OR use ¾ cup of double strength (strong) coffee mixed with ½ cup of milk and increased crushed iced amount by ¼ cup.
- ¾ 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
- 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!
Nick says
Tastes alot better with 4 pumps of raspberry syrup (:
Andy900 says
It tells u at bottom for chocolate add 2 tablespoons of chocolate syrup ! 😀
Just do the same with camarel
Claire says
Can I use instant coffee since my mom doesn’t drink it, I am assuming yes but you know what they say.
Shanni Einer says
Thank you so much for this – I’m going to share this on my blog aspirebliss.com ! Like you, love Starbucks Frappuccinos. I got addicted quickly, just recently when I returned to school at age 36. But like you, spending that much money every day is just not practical for our finances – that’s $500 a month on frappuccinos alone? Um, NO! So I researched it and came across your site. Thanks for a great blog!
sarah says
I just used double strength coffee. It was fine.
Carla says
I’m going to give your recipe a go next time, much simpler than my experiment this afternoon! Although I really recommend soy milk – surprising good in a drink like this. http://londonisforliving.com/2012/07/08/why-spend-a-fortune-on-a-starbucks-frappuccino-when-you-can-make-your-own-for-pennies/
Carole says
We did something very similar a few years ago. I loved Frapps (until SB changed the formulation to an even sweeter base), but aside from the overly sweet taste (I like to taste my coffee thank you very much), they were too expensive for what they were. Add to that the fact that I wasn’t a fan of SB in general (the SB’s around here don’t even pull the espresso anymore – they have automated machines), so we opted for making our own specialty drinks at home when we wanted them. I do the same with iced mocha’s now (being a frequent customer of Peet’s), because those are also too expensive for what they are, basically milk, chocolate syrup, ice, and two shots of espresso. $3.50? Really? For about .50-.75 worth of ingredients? No thank you. lol
mel says
You can also use instant coffee I found Java is dark and rich and taste just as good as the espresso shots but is much more convenient, and less expensive if you don’t want to invest in a espresso machine.
Debbie Perkins says
OOOOOHHH. Just made this, and I HATE coffee. My daughter got me into fraps. Anyway. She brewed some strong coffe, pulled out the cuisenart, ice, 2 % milk, 1/2 & 1/2, and some carmel mociato(sp) coffee creamer, and sugar. Mix. We then added hot coffee. Dumb I know. Gonna by ice trays and freeze the strong coffee. Tasted, added a little more sugar and more coffee. I hit mine with a little more creamer and 1/2 & 1/2. Drank my calories this morning. gonna freeezer whats left and use it as a starter for next time. Thanks for the recipe!
cece jones says
this is so good and easy yum i love them
alyssa says
ikr it is so easy
alyssa says
i love this is is gonna be so good and cant wait to try it
Matt says
I also made it a little healthier. Instead of milk, I used Almond Milk, and I also used Splenda instead of the sugar. Of course cut out the whipped cream!!
Matt says
This is a great recipe!! 😀
I doubled the amount of ice to make it a little more thick. So basically I used 3 cups of ice. Perhaps four to make it thicker.
Sue H says
Made this today; it was delicious!!! Thank you!
Scott says
I am not promoting a business per say, but wholelattelove.com is a great place to shop for espresso machines. Look to lay down at least $400 for a good basic espresso machine, and another $150-200 for a good basic burr grinder. You need the pair. Blade grinders will not give you an even grind. Even at 2 espresso drinks a day it will take about a year to pay for itself, you have to factor your cost for beans, milk and other ingredients. But if you maintain your machines properly they should last about 10 years. The sales team at wholelattelove are dynamite and help you pick the correct machine. Do some research, ask questions, and experiment.
Doribear says
I use can cocoa with trivia and some almond milk, along with
the rest of the ingredients. Very good. Ice makes the day.
Dylan says
@ Raven, A good blender to buy is the Ninja. I love my Blender! Was $100 at JCPenney. Works Great!!
Khaled says
Starbucks has flavors, (caramel, chocolate etc.) how do I change it?
ケイリーちゃん says
I just made this, and oh my goodness! It’s so delicious. I think I crushed the ice for too long, because it’s a bit watery, but it tastes so good. 🙂 I used hazelnut milk sweetener stuff, half and half and milk. 🙂 Thanks so much! ありがとうございます!
Mike wall says
very good looking foward to trying i wanted to rate as very good information in a vworld where we get so much unwanted God Bless U!!!!!!!
Learn piano chords says
Great picture and recipe. I can definitely make use of this recipe and enjoy my drinks when I am not practising or learning piano chords.
jennifer says
I like this recipe but I think it needs a scoop of vanilla ice cream. 🙂
raven says
So what machine did you invest in does anyone have any ideas of some good ones? I’m looking to buy one because Starbucks is killing me! lol
Zee says
I bet I can gain weight just looking at that whipped cream.. But it looks delicious though.. I shall try it without the cream.. thanks for sharing 🙂