DIY Healthier Starbucks Recipes To Save Time & Money

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 If you’re a coffee lover like me, but don’t want the calorie bomb that comes along with your favorite Starbucks treat (or just want to save some money), look no further.  These are my 5 favorite, tasty Starbucks Copycat Recipes that are healthier, cheaper, and (BONUS) they don’t even require you to put on clothes. So lets check ’em out!

The Almighty PSL: Pumpkin Spice Latte

“Save calories, cut sugar, and enjoy your favorite fall coffee with THIS easy, delicious recipes.”

Nothing says fall like a grande Pumpkin Spice Latte.  I know its not for everyone, but it is definitely for me.  The thing is, when you order a grande unmodifed, it will set you back 390 calories, 14 grams of fat, 52 carbs, and WOW, the kicker…..50 grams of sugar., approx. 32 of those being ADDED sugar.  If you know me, you know I am totally against large amounts of added sugar. If I was going with a sugar bomb, I would have a slice of cake, cookie, or ice cream. Drinking your calories is not a wise choice.

You can use any coffee with this or try some of these:

• Our favorite cold brew: https://amzn.to/3yI4yoP
• Instant espresso (I don’t have an espresso machine): https://amzn.to/3X2AG0u
• Or go with a pod, the closest we have found is the Nespresso Double Espresso Scuro, dark roast, which will stand up to the mixture of flavors while still allowing you to taste the actual coffee: https://amzn.to/3yDnbKt
• You can also try the L’or brand which fits with Nespresso machine and at a fraction of the cost.  https://amzn.to/3V4vreh I think its pretty awesome and they have a variety pack where you can try multiple flavors.

Okay, so now we have the coffee out of the way, lets make our Healthy PSL….

Healthy PSL – Pumpkin Spice Latte Recpie:

What we’ll need:

1. 2 tablespoons of Pure Pumpkin Puree
2. Shot (or 2) of espresso or 1 cup of coffee
3. 1-1.5 cups of your milk of choice
4. Sweetener of choice: tablespoon of honey, maple syrup, regular sugar or stevia
5. ½ teaspoon pumpkin spice seasoning
6. ½ teaspoon cinnamon

You have two options in making this copycat Starbucks PSL:

1. Put it in a blender.  [CAUTION]: if the coffee is too hot, it can create pressure and you’ll have a mini-explosion.  Even if its warm, be sure not to overfill the blender.  Believe me, I have had several cleanups on aisle 9.    
2.  Put everything but the coffee it in a frother, then pour the coffee in. 

(This is the frother I use because its easy to clean, heats well, and mixes well, the trifecta: https://amzn.to/3wV6b1N)

Voila! You have a slimmed down version of this amazing staple to enjoy all fall. 

White Chocolate Mocha

Use the same coffee from above, and then we will just flavor it differently to get that White Chocolate Mocha goodness.

Here is what we need:

1. Shot (or 2) of espresso or 1 cup of coffee
2. ½ cup of milk of choice
3. ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract
4. 1 tablespoon condensed milk
5. 1 tablespoon of white chocolate chips

Make your coffee.  Add the vanilla, condensed milk and chocolate chips to a microwavable mug and heat for 20-30 seconds.  Mix it around, pour in milk, heat again.  Stir, mix in coffee.

Top with whip cream and/or cinnamon if you want to kick it up a notch.

Easy Shaken Brown Sugar “Oat” Milk Latte

1. Shot (or 2) of espresso or 1 cup of coffee
2. 1 cup of milk of choice
3. Dark brown sugar
4. 2/3 teaspoon of vanilla extract
5. water
6. pinch of salt

Make your brown sugar syrup, which is a simple syrup with brown sugar instead of white sugar.  This is what gives it the rich, nutty flavor. 

To make the Brown Sugar Syrup: whisk together in a medium saucepan: 1 cup dark brown sugar, ½ cup water, pinch of salt.  Bring to a boil, stir until all sugar is dissolved.  Add in your vanilla extract and pinch of salt.  Reduce, let simmer 1-2 minutes.  Pour into a glass container for future use.

Grab your favorite Stanley or Yeti.  Add ½-2/3 full with ice, pour your cooled coffee in, then your milk, then 1-2 spoons of your brown sugar, then SHAKE SHAKE SHAKE like your trying to get a workout in.

Skinny Iced Salted Caramel Macchiato Recipe

1. Shot (or 2) of espresso or 1 cup of coffee
2. ½ cup of milk of choice
3. Homemade salty caramel sauce
4. Ice

Make your salted caramel sauce: .5 cup of sugar, 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter (room temperature), 1/4 cup heavy cream, .5-.75 teaspoon flaky sea salt.

Pour sugar evenly in a saucepan, heat on medium, whisking as it begins to melt. Cook until it’s a deep amber.  Immediately add the butter, whisk until completely melted.  Slowly pour the cream in, keep whisking until smooth.  Add the salt, swirl/stir, then let cool.

Add ice to your favorite insulated mug, pour in cooled coffee, milk and a tablespoon of the caramel sauce.  Feel free to top it with whip cream and drizzle a little more caramel on top if you want it to look fancy! 

Skinny Caramel Frappe

1. 1 cup coffee, chilled
2. 1/4 cup International Delight Caramel Macchiato creamer
3. 2 cups coffee ice cubes (coffee frozen in ice cube trays), or regular ice cubes
4. optional toppings: whipped cream, caramel sauce, chocolate sauce, crushed pecans, sprinkles cinnamon.

Combine first 3 ingredients into your blender and pulse until smooth.  I go extra long, because I like it really smooth.  Top with your choice of toppings.

To keep sugar to a minimum, I recommend just 1-1.5 TBS of the creamer, and limiting toppings to whip cream and/or a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Note – For the smoothest possible texture, you want to go with the Vitamix Professional Grade.  If you need a more inexpensive, but still amazing quality, try to Vitamix Explorian. 

[This recipe is from Gimme Some Oven. Check out the full recipe HERE]

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Being healthy doesn’t have to be hard.  Enjoying your favorite coffee beverage doesn’t have to break the bank or your diet. 

If you really need your Starbucks fix but want to keep it healthier, my fave tip:  substitute 2% milk and reduce the number of pumps in your starbucks drink to lighten it up both in sugar and calories. 

Have any tweaks to make these better?!  Send them our way and we will add it into this post with a backlink to YOU!

Need a coffee maker?  I really just think Nespresso makes the best pod machine, but it is personally preference.  You can also go with Keurig and Starbucks pods! 

Here is the original Nespresso which works with the L’or line: https://amzn.to/3x5FJ5D

Here is the Nespresso Vertuo: https://amzn.to/3KnwaCg

Solid Keurig that will last numerous years: https://amzn.to/3X77Hc5

Other products in this post: 

• Vitamix Professional Grade
•  Vitamix Explorian
• Our favorite cold brew
• Instant Espresso for those without an espresso machine
• Nespresso Machine
• L’or machine, cheaper version that takes Nespresso pods
• Best Frother for foam (super easy cleanup)