What Makes This Hot Chocolate Healthier
Traditional hot chocolate is made with full fat milk and/or half and half and lots of white sugar to make it creamy and sweet. While delicious and nostalgic, I wanted to make a healthy hot chocolate recipe with some more wholesome ingredients that you can enjoy even if youre vegan or dairy free! This 4-ingredient healthy hot chocolate is:
- Made with both almond milk and coconut milk to keep it vegan and dairy free
- Naturally sweetened with only pure maple syrup
It took me a few times to perfect the recipe, but I truly believe that my healthy hot chocolate recipe is the BEST VEGAN & DAIRY FREE HOT CHOCOLATE EVER. Its creamy, perfectly sweet, with just the right amount of cocoa to keep it intense and rich-tasting.
How To Make: Step By Step
Once you have your ingredients, the latte comes together in just 5 minutes.
Brew the coffee and heat the milk, pumpkin puree, maple syrup, vanilla extract, and pumpkin pie spice over the stove-top or use the microwave. Heres how to make a healthier and delicious pumpkin spice latte, step-by-step
Tools Needed: coffee machine ,small saucepan, coffee cup, immersion blender or milk frother or fork.
Is Pumpkin Spice Latte Healthy
The spices in the drink like cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves pose many health benefits. However, the high number of calories and sugar in pumpkin spice lattes can affect your health. You might have to do rigorous workouts to burn those extra calories.
Even so, all hope is not lost. You can still make a healthy pumpkin spice latte by:
- Reducing the amount of sugar and whipped in your drink.
- Using skim milk instead of whole milk.
- Opting for non-dairy milk products.
- Controlling all the ingredients.
Recommended Reading: My Cafe Recipes Mojito Espresso
How To Make Our Perfectly Spiced Pumpkin Scones
These pumpkin scones are the best. We just love them. We add lots of pumpkin and fall spices to the dough and they have not one, but two glazes. One is a simple white glaze and the other, a pumpkin spice glaze that gets drizzled on top.
These scones are easy to make and worth the effort . The scones are fantastic warm and at room temperature. You can make them with or without the glazes we like both options.
Before we get to the glaze, lets talk about how to make the best scones.
The trick to making the best scones is cold butter if it isnt cold, youre done before you even get started. Its the cold bits of butter in scones that makes them tender. We use cold butter for every scone recipe on this blog including our cranberry cream scones and these blackberry lemon scones.
Its also really important to not overwork the dough the same goes for homemade flaky biscuits and butter pie crust.
To make the scones, we combine dry ingredients with lots of fall spices. Then we cut in cold butter. Do this by hand or by pulsing everything in a food processor.
When it resembles coarse crumbs, add the wet ingredients. This is where the pumpkin puree comes in. When mixed, youve got your dough. Pat it into a rectangle and then cut into whatever shape you like we go for triangles.
Sign Up For The Ak Back To Basics Series
In this FREE series, well be walking you through a new kitchen tutorial or cooking hack to help you gain confidence in the kitchen. Well release a brand new Back to Basics post every Sunday morning to kick off your week. Check out all of our latest ones here!
Be sure to join the AK VIP list so that you get each new post as soon as it goes out. Follow Ambitious Kitchen on , too, for more fun videos and tutorials to go with each weeks theme.
Don’t Miss: Keurig K-duo Essentials Single Serve & Carafe Coffee Maker
Does Pumpkin Spice Latte Have Caffeine
Its good to be conscious of everything you ingest into your body, especially regarding caffeine intake. I know you love the pumpkin spice latte. Thats why you are concerned about its caffeine content. Luckily, I am here to help you understand your favorite coffee drink better.
Pumpkin spice latte contains caffeine. The 16 fluid ounce serving size has 150mg of caffeine. Thats because the latte variant has brewed espresso, which contributes to the caffeine content in it.
Tips From The Betty Crocker Kitchens
- tip 1 Allow the Pumpkin-Spice Latte to cool, and serve over ice for a cold version.
- tip 2 If you do not have pumpkin pie spice at home, make your own by combining 1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon, 2 teaspoons of ground ginger and 1/2 teaspoon of ground nutmeg. This will make about 2 tablespoons of pumpkin pie spice mix.
Also Check: Where To Buy Turkish Coffee
Pumpkin Spice Latte Ingredients
Its easy to make your own PSL at home. Heres a quick explanation of what you will need. The full recipe is below.
Milk Use dairy or non-dairy milk. I love using homemade oat milk, but coconut or almond milk are also delicious.
Pumpkin Puree You can use canned puree or make your own. Heres our recipe for homemade pumpkin puree. Its quite simple to make!
We add the pumpkin puree as is, but some of our readers have complained that there is not enough pumpkin flavor in the latte. To battle this, you can simmer puree in a saucepan until it has reduced down by 1/3. This step will intensify the pumpkin flavor.
Sugar You can use regular sugar, brown sugar, simple syrup, maple syrup or honey! Its completely up to you.
Vanillaand Pumpkin Pie Spice A little vanilla extract goes a long way and it makes the latte so tasty. For the spices, use a store-bought blend or make your own. Heres our simple pumpkin pie spice blend.
Hot Coffee Lattes in coffee shops have espresso added to them, so the coffee is usually a bit stronger. I like brewing my coffee strong for homemade lattes. You can also use cold coffee or cold brew .
Whipped Cream This is completely optional, but I love it!
How To Make The Perfect Pumpkin Spice Latte
Tip: Feel free to add more or less of each ingredient, depending on how you like your latte. Add more coffee if you like it stronger, or less sugar if you prefer it less sweet.
Read Also: Does Coffee Affect Your Kidneys
Preparation Of The Pumpkin Spice Syrup
Before I get to the procedure of making the pepo spice latte, allow me to explain to you how to prepare your homemade pumpkin spice syrup.
The ingredients are:
- ¾ of a tablespoon ground cloves
- ¾ of a tablespoon ground ginger
- Four cinnamon sticks
- 11/2 tablespoons of ground nutmeg
- Three tablespoons of vine puree
La Colombe Canned Pumpkin Spice Latte
La Colombe
Theres no shame in buying a pre-made coffee drink,especially when theyre this delicious. This PSL from KCM favorite La Colombe is lactose free, made with real coffee , and has the caffeine equivalent of one and half cups of black coffee. You can easily pour it over ice for a beautifully chilled drink that only takes seconds to make.
You May Like: White And Walnut Coffee Table
Ingredients For A Real Food Pumpkin Spice Latte
I like using raw, grass-fed milk, but not everyone can have dairy. This coffee recipe is naturally gluten-free, but you can also make it dairy-free. Sub coconut milk, almond milk, oat milk, or macadamia milk. These are easy to find in the store, but homemade nut milk is cheaper and less watered down.
I use a half-teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice, but you can use your own blend of cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg if you dont have pie spice on hand. It tastes similar to chai, but without the cardamom or black pepper. The pure vanilla extract rounds out the warming spices in this coffee drink.
How To Make It
Start by heating the milk, pumpkin puree, sugar, pumpkin pie spices, and vanilla extract on the stove.
Then mix the pumpkin spice milk with the strong coffee. Divide it between two mugs and add whipped cream. Simple, quick, and no coffee shop lines.
Recipe Update: Since publishing this recipe in 2012, some readers have commented that the latte doesnt have a strong enough pumpkin flavor. If you are worried about this, one thing you might try is to cook the pumpkin puree down before adding it to the milk mixture. . This way, the pumpkin flavor will concentrate. Id imagine that you could do this in a larger batch and then keep the concentrated puree in the fridge for when you are ready to make your next latte. I hope that helps! Joanne
Also Check: Does Xtend Ripped Have Caffeine
S To Preparing Your Pumpkin Spice Latte
Since the pepo spice syrup is now ready, its time for me to take you through the steps for making a pumpkin spice latte.
Ingredients Youll Need To Make A Pumpkin Spice Latte
- Pumpkin purée: Youll need a couple of tablespoons of pumpkin puree for this recipe. I like to use canned pumpkin, but you can also make your own pumpkin puree at home. If going with canned pumpkin, make sure its not the pumpkin pie filling. You want just plain pumpkin purée.
- Coffee: Youll need a robust-tasting coffee for this recipe. I used black coffee, but you could use decaf if you prefer. Expresso also works great in this recipe. If you prefer a more mild coffee taste, you can use a lighter-tasting coffee like a blonde roast.
- Pumpkin pie spice mix: You can easily make your own pumpkin pie spice at home with a simple recipe. Or you can buy it premixed at the store.
- Milk: Youll need milk for this recipe. I used almond milk because thats what I had on hand, but you could use any kind of milk whole milk, soy milk, oat milk, etc.
- Vanilla extract: A little bit of vanilla extract adds a nice flavor to this latte.
- Sweetener: I used cane sugar to sweeten my latte, but you could use any kind of sweetener honey, agave nectar, stevia, etc.
Read Also: Can Decaf Coffee Cause Migraines
More Easy Pumpkin Recipes
- Easy Homemade Pumpkin Pancakes How to make fluffy pumpkin pancakes from scratch.
- No Fail Pumpkin Pie How to make classic, unfussy pumpkin pie from scratch. This is our favorite way to make pumpkin pie. Its easy, too!
- Homemade Pumpkin Spice Lattes How to make the best pumpkin spice latte at home with pumpkin puree, coffee, milk, and fall spices. Better than store-bought!
- Easy Pumpkin Mac and Cheese How to make extra creamy pumpkin mac and cheese in under 1 hour. The perfect Fall dinner!
Recipe updated, originally posted October 2012. Since posting this in 2012, we have tweaked the recipe to be more clear. Adam and Joanne
Native Pet Pumpkin Powder
Chewy
Alright, this one is admittedly a little extra. If you want to share the pumpkin spice love with your four-legged friends, then this pumpkin powder is the way to do it. While its not quite a PSL, it is a great food topper for cats and dogs or lick mat additive for dogs. You can mix this powder with water or yogurt to thicken it up, too. Pumpkin is full of fiber that helps promote healthy digestion and bowel movements, can help settle upset tummies, and is great for pets with food sensitivities.
Don’t Miss: How To Make Good Instant Coffee
Pumpkin Spice Latte At Starbucks
A very popular hot beverage, the Pumpkin Spice Latte returns to Starbucks at the end of every August, along with other pumpkin spice drinks like Iced Pumpkin Spice Latte and Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew.
All pumpkin spice drinks are made using a pumpkin spice sauce that contains sugar, pumpkin puree, and condensed skim milk.
The Pumpkin Spice Latte is topped with whipped cream and a sprinkle of pumpkin spice topping, which is a blend of warming spices like cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves.
The drink comes in 4 sizes: short, tall, grande, and venti. Like all other lattes, its made with 2% milk but it can always be customized with any milk Starbucks offers, including oatmilk and almond.
- Use store-bought or homemade pumpkin spice sauce or pumpkin spice syrup.
- MilkThe Pumpkin Spice Latte at Starbucks is made with 2% milk but you can use any milk you like.
- Heavy creamThis is to make the whipped cream.
- Vanilla syrupTo sweeten and flavor the whipped cream, just like the one at Starbucks. Use store-bought or homemade vanilla syrup.
- A blend of warming spices like cinnamon and nutmeg, this is sprinkled on top of the whipped cream. Make your own pumpkin spice topping using my homemade version below.
What Kind Of Milk Is Best For A Latte
Starbucks, unless otherwise specified, uses whole milk. That will likely make your homemade latte taste the most similar to their version.
However, 2% milk is also another fine option to shave off some fat and calories. As a bonus, I get the best results in my milk steamer and frother when I use 2% rather than whole milk.
I am not a fan of skim or fat-free milk in my coffee drinks because they taste lifeless to me, but if youre used to this, Im sure you can give it a whirl.
You can also try using plant-based milks such as almond or soy and see how it works for you.
Don’t Miss: How Much Caffeine Is In Donut Shop K Cup
What Is Pumpkin Pie Spice Mix Made Of
You can buy pumpkin pie spice at the store, but we typically make our own. Again, you probably already have everything you need in your spice cabinet to make it.
Our essential blend combines the following:
We use these three spices when making our favorite pumpkin pie and are beyond happy with them, but you can include one or more of the following spices to make the spice blend a little more complex:
- Nutmeg is bittersweet, warm, and earthy. I prefer freshly grated nutmeg, but ground works.
- Allspice is the dried berry of the Pimenta dioica tree and tastes like a combination of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and pepper.
- Cayenne pepper adds a bit of heat to the blend. A small amount does the trick.
- Black pepper adds a little heat and complexity.
What Is In A Pumpkin Spice Latte
Starbucks has made this drink wildly popular, and their version is made with milk, espresso, and a pumpkin spice syrup, which contains sugar, milk, natural flavors, and more.
This healthy Pumpkin Spice latte is a lighter alternative, using 5 easy ingredients.
- Pumpkin pie spice
It tastes like a decadent coffee drink, without using refined sugar or preservatives. You can use 2% milk, skim, or your favorite non-dairy milk to make it at home!
Read Also: What Is The Best K Cup Coffee Brand
Pumpkin Spice Latte Recipe Ingredients
Heres what youll need to make this pumpkin spice latte recipe:
- Pumpkin, of course! A few tablespoons of canned pumpkin puree enhance the lattes creamy texture and add essential pumpkin flavor.
- Espresso, cold brew, or strong coffee I use 2 shots of espresso or a half cup of either type of coffee.
- Milk Any type you like! I typically use almond milk because its what I keep on hand, but oat milk and regular milk are also great.
- Maple syrup It sweetens the latte and adds delicious maple flavor.
- Pumpkin pie spice I make my own with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and ground cloves. It gives this latte the perfect pumpkin spice taste!
- Vanilla extract For warm depth of flavor.
- And a pinch of sea saltTo make all the flavors pop!
Find the complete recipe with measurements below.
Option #: Buy A Milk Frother
There are lots of gadgets and appliances that steam and froth milk. I have an older version of this milk steamer and frother and love it!
It gets the milk very hot which I love, as well as very stiff and frothy. For $40 bucks, the convenience of having steamed and very frothed milk in 90 seconds is totally worth it to me.
I always feel like what is the point of frothing milk if its kind of loose and basically like ordinary milk? I figure I may as well just zap a bit of milk in the microwave and add it straight to coffee if all I was looking for was that it was warmed.
Don’t Miss: Does Sugar Free Coffee Creamer Raise Blood Sugar