Tired of paying too much in cash and calories for a simple latte? Learn how to make a vanilla-flavored latte at home that is refined sugar-free, healthy, and delicious in less than 10 minutes.
Friends, today I want to have a conversation about coffee with you. Well, another one considering I already talked to you about coffee when I shared my how to make homemade lattes post or when I showed you how to make healthy coffee creamer.
But, if you are a coffee lover, I know you don't mind another coffee conversation. And another latte recipe. This time: A vanilla latte recipe that is healthy and yummy - my favorite combination.
Since you’re here, I’m going to assume you’ll take a latte over plain coffee any day. I completely understand. Lattes, especially flavored ones, often taste better than black coffee (though you might change your mind if the coffee bean is really good).
In This Post You'll Find:
Lattes are also better for relaxing moments. I think most people, including me, associate plain coffee with busy mornings when everything is rushed and not enjoyed properly.
A latte, on the other hand, is the type of coffee you drink when you meet your friends or family for conversation and a good time. Am I right?
Either way, a vanilla latte tastes good. It’s such a classic.
A vanilla latte, well, is basically a latte with vanilla flavors. You can probably get it at any coffee shop, however, most coffee shops will use a sweetened, artificial vanilla flavor, which would take a healthy latte and turn it into a processed, not-to-healthy latte. I would love for you to learn how to make a vanilla latte at home so you can save time at the coffee store, and understand how simple they are to make.
Reasons You'll Love It
- A homemade latte is healthier.
- A homemade latte is cheaper.
- It's creamy and delicious.
- t's easy to adjust the flavors to fit your taste buds.
- It also saves time 🙂
Watch Me Make A Healthy Vanilla Latte (Recipe Video)
Ingredient Notes
Ok, ok, it’s easy to make a vanilla latte but… what's in a vanilla latte?
Let’s start with what's in a vanilla latte you can buy at a coffee shop, shall we? A regular vanilla latte contains:
- milk;
- espresso;
- vanilla syrup <--- refined sugar (probably high fructose corn syrup) and artificial vanilla flavors. Boo.
The milk and espresso are totally fine. The vanilla syrup, however... is not very good for you. Let’s look at the vanilla latte ingredients required by my vanilla latte recipe.
To make this vanilla latte, I use:
- espresso or strongly-brewed coffee; ← use good-quality, organic coffee (which I love brewing from my very own Better Than Yesterday blend which you can try HERE!)
- unsweetened almond milk
- full-fat coconut milk
- pure maple syrup
- pure vanilla extract
How To Make A Healthy Vanilla Latte
Let’s get straight to the point and talk about how to make vanilla lattes because I want to show you how easy it actually is.
- The first thing you need to do is to prep the vanilla latte ingredients.
- The second thing – make espresso or strongly-brewed coffee.
- The third step – combine the coffee with vanilla and the rest of the vanilla latte ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat for approximately 5 minutes.
- Transfer the liquid to a blender and blend until foamy.
- The last step – pour the vanilla latte into mugs and enjoy!
What do you think? Learning how to make a vanilla latte is pretty simple, right?
Substitutions
Sweetener: Pure maple syrup is much less processed than sugar-free vanilla syrup. I have a great guide on sugar substitutes if you want and here's way more info on quitting sugar, if you're interested! If you're looking to cut out as much sugar as possible, you could also add stevia or monk fruit sweetener.
Dairy: I usually go with unsweetened almond milk but if you want you can swap it out for your milk of choice. As for why I use almond milk, it’s just a preference. I personally like the taste of almond milk better in lattes.
Almond milk is also a great cow milk substitute for people who are vegan or lactose-intolerant. Aside from almond milk, I also use coconut milk, which adds a great richness to the vanilla latte and it’s also healthy - just grab the unsweetened option to avoid added sugars.
A Vanilla Latte Goes Well With:
- Breakfast Sandwich: A Lot of times, I like to grab a prepped freezer breakfast sandwich since I normally drink my latte in the morning.
- Wraps or Sandwiches: Wraps or sandwiches are a great choice, like this Turkey, Avocado and Hummus wrap.
- Omelets: If I have the time to cook in the morning or on the weekends, sometimes Dustin will make these omelets for everyone.
- Oatmeal: Lately though, Dustin and I have been really enjoying some oatmeal, like this Strawberries and Cream version.
More Latte and Coffee Recipes
- Homemade Chai Latte (Only 119 Calories)
- How to Make Homemade Lattes + 4 Latte Recipes
- How to Make Coffee Creamer + 5 Easy Coffee Creamers
- Homemade Healthy Pumpkin Spice Latte Recipe
Vanilla Latte
Equipment
- Saucepan
*This post may contain affiliate links for products I use often and highly recommend.
Ingredients
- 2 cups strongly-brewed coffee or espresso (Try the best coffee beans here)
- ¾ cups unsweetened almond milk
- ¾ cups full-fat coconut milk
- ⅓ cups pure maple syrup
- 1 ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Combine all of the ingredients in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Simmer for 5 minutes, whisking occasionally, until heated through and slightly frothy on top.
- Carefully transfer the liquid to a blender and cover the top with a towel. Blend on high for 30 seconds until foamy. Alternatively, use an immersion blender in the pot.
- Divide among four mugs and serve.
Video
Nutrition
Can I Make Iced Vanilla Lattes At Home?
To turn this vanilla latte recipe into an iced vanilla latte recipe, all you have to do is serve the drink on ice. It's best to allow the prepared, hot latte time to cool before adding to ice to minimize watering down the latte.
Basically, all you have to do is...
- Add ice to a tall glass;
- Pour the (chilled) vanilla latte over;
- Enjoy your iced vanilla latte.
What Coffee Beans Are The Best?
Now you know just how easy it is to whip up your own vanilla latte! You can definitely enjoy coffee shop quality lattes at home without the price tag and refined sugars. If you’re a coffee lover like me, you might know that quality lattes start with quality beans.
To get that premium latte experience, I’m proud to recommend my very own Better Than Yesterday blend of Cleanish Coffee. It's a balance of bright, sparkling fruit and deep, roasted flavors perfectly blend in with the pure vanilla extract. You’ll be happy to know it’s also fair-trade and organic.
This post contains affiliate links for products I use often and highly recommend.
New Bharat Studio
my boss is craving for this and i decide make this for all thanks
New Bharat Studio
my boss was craving for this, then I decided make this for us thanks
OrganicChick
WOW!!! I love the Panera bread Madagascar vanilla latte and once I learned the ingredients and calorie count I was on a mission finding something similar and I tried your recipe this morning and I love it!!! Thank you so much for your recipe, ingredients and step by step instructions. I used decaf (i know) and organic almond milk and it tasted amazing based on your measurements. Thank you for your time.
Lindsay
Great recipe and super easy!!
Can you please explain how using maple syrup is different than using refined sugar? All sugars regardless of what type are metabolized exactly the same once they enter the body. There is no such thing as "healthy sugar" even if they are natural so wouldn’t you need to eliminate the maple syrup?
OrganicChick
Why you hating on her recipe ? If YOU CHOOSE TO EAT ANY GLYCEMIC INDEX IT'S YOUR CHOICE. She is just sharing her recipe and if you don't want to add sugar then don't. Fyi maple has lower glycemic index then refined sugar and if ingest it once a day eat healthy overall and exercise it shouldn't make an impact. And if you are such a health nut most healthy people don't drink coffee... clap back
kennedy
So so so good! New favorite at home coffee recipe. I used 1/2 cup almond milk, 1/2 cup coffee, 1 tablespoon of maple syrup and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and it was perfect!
Justin M.
Hot liquid can damage a blender. I ruined my mom's blender.
Carrie G.
My daughter was craving a vanilla latte so I decided to make this for us. It's our new favorite! Thank you!
Robin Packwood
Would it be possible you could list the amount of ingredients for one serving, for the vanilla latte. I general just use unsweetened coconut milk do you think that will change the flavor too much ?
Kelsey
Robin,
I used roughly a 1/4 cup of almond, 1/4 of coconut milk, and a 1/4 of strong coffee combined with vanilla and maple syrup to takes. Yields about a small coffee cup worth. Sooo good.
Shouldn't change it too much me thinks. Try it and see what happens!
saurabh
nice information.