Vegan Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte Recipe
Today we are making a Vegan Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte Recipe! The fall season is here – as crisp air passes through the trees, leaves fall and crunch beneath our feet, the knit sweaters and knee-high boots come out, spooky season is just around the corner … and you know what else? Starbucks unveils their fall menu! Oh yes, the beloved Pumpkin Spice Latte (commonly called the PSL) is back. And so are all the fall-lovers, out buying pumpkins to decorate their home, putting up fall-scented candles, playing Hocus Pocus on repeat. And definitely stopping by to get a PSL as they go out to run errands!
This drink is one of the most popular fall drinks at Starbucks, and with good reason. Their website describes it as Our signature espresso and steamed milk with the celebrated flavour combination of pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg and clove. Enjoy it topped with whipped cream and real pumpkin-pie spices. Just reading their description is making me want one! It’s a delicious drink, with all the warm flavors you can expect around this time of year.
Because of its popularity, I wanted to go ahead and make a homemade version of this drink. Less sugar, more budget-friendly and easier to get your hands on any time of the day. And to make the vegan version, all we need to do is replace the regular milk with dairy-free milk. So let’s get onto making a homemade pumpkin spice latte!
Why You’ll Love This Vegan Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte Recipe
Low in Added Sugar: Starbucks version of the grande PSL has a whopping 50 grams of sugar, as per their website. That’s a lot of sugar! That’s more than the number of grams we need in an entire day. Having a homemade recipe on hand is great, and today’s recipe uses pure maple syrup as a sweetener. Because we aren’t using pumps of pumpkin spice syrup here, there’s much less sugar as compared to the regular drink. You can also use monkfruit sweetener or another low carb sweetener to have 0 grams of sugar overall.
Budget-Friendly: Buying a PSL every day (or even just getting a latte at Starbucks daily), really adds up. I recently tried the Royal English Breakfast Tea Latte – a medium size – and it cost me a total of $7 CAD! Insane for just one drink. Occasionally, trying Starbucks’ seasonal menu is great, but I don’t just want a hot pumpkin spice latte once in a while. I want it continuously, for all of pumpkin season. Twice a day, for the entirety of fall. Anyone else with me?!
The sweet smell of cinnamon, the warm cloves, a shot of espresso masked with oat milk and foam, all with the underlying pumpkin flavor. It’s too good to not try making a homemade latte. The at-home version is going to be way cheaper overall because it uses simple ingredients you can buy in large batches. Plus, you can have it whenever you want, not just when you drive by a Starbucks!
Substitutions: Coffee, Milk & Sugar
Oat Milk: Oat milk works great in this recipe because of its slightly sweet and nutty flavor. However, you can substitute your favorite non-dairy milk with a neutral taste, like cashew milk, almond milk or another plant-based milk (I don’t recommend soy milk, as it has a different taste when heated). For a very rich-tasting latte, use full-fat, canned coconut milk for half of the oat milk.
To keep it refined sugar-free, choose your favorite vegan, unsweetened milk of choice that does not contain any added sugar.
Maple Syrup: You can control the amount of sweetener as desired in this drink, so there is not as much sugar as a regular PSL would have. Substitute with another liquid sweetener, like agave nectar.
Espresso: If you don’t have an espresso machine, you can make an equivalent amount of strong coffee using instant coffee powder.
Substitutions: Pumpkin & Spices
Pumpkin Puree: Make sure to check the can of pumpkin purée before buying. Some brands add extra sugar and additives. Sometimes, it’s easy to mix up pumpkin pie filling with real pumpkin puree. I used a can of pure pumpkin puree, where the only ingredient listed is 100% pumpkin.
Vanilla Extract: For best results, use pure vanilla extract, without added artificial colors and dyes (like caramel color). You can use artificial vanilla flavor as well. However, it may come off as more bitter and not as smooth or sweet as the pure version.
Ground Spices: If you can’t get your hands on ground cinnamon, cloves, ginger and nutmeg, you can instead use an equivalent amount of pumpkin pie spice for all these fall spices. This will be a little over three-quarters of a teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice.
Specifically for the cinnamon, if you have fresh cinnamon sticks, grind these up in a spice grinder to make freshly ground cinnamon. This will make the flavor even better as compared to using the store-bought, pre-ground spice.
Vegan Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte Recipe Notes
- Gay Lea brand makes a vegan coconut whipped cream that comes out of an aerosol can, which is perfect for this recipe! You may be able to find other non-coconut-based, dairy-free whipped cream products, such as Reddi Whip’s almond-based whip.
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Vegan Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte Recipe
Equipment
- Milk Frother
- Stovetop Pot
- Strainer
Ingredients
- 1½ cups oat milk
- 2 tbsp pure maple syrup
- ¼ cup espresso
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ¼ cup pure pumpkin puree
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp ground nutmeg
- ⅛ tsp freshly ground ginger
- 1 medium ground clove
- vegan whipped cream optional
Instructions
- Add all ingredients in a small pot over high heat on the stove, except the optional whipped cream.
- Allow the milk to come to a boil. Turn off the heat. Add another tablespoon of maple syrup, if a sweeter drink is desired.
- Froth the mixture with a milk frother until frothy.
- Pour the drink through a strainer into a large mug, top with some whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Enjoy!
