If you love the Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew from Starbucks, you're going to love this easy and affordable copycat recipe you can at home. You need a few simple ingredients and can make a batch once that will last a few days.
Jump to:
- What is in the Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew?
- Why We Love This Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew Recipe
- Ingredient Notes
- Frequently Asked Questions
- How to Make Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew
- How to Make Cold Brew Coffee
- Prefer to watch instead of read?
- Recipe Substitutions and Variations
- Our favorite pumpkin cream cold brew products
- Expert Tips
- Storage Instructions
- Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew Recipe
- Comments
I wait all year for Starbucks to release their pumpkin drinks. The pumpkin cream cold brew is THE BEST. It's one of my favorite drinks during the pumpkin season.
What is in the Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew?
The main ingredients in the pumpkin cream cold brew are of course, cold brew, as well as vanilla syrup and a sweet pumpkin sweet cream on top.
The Starbucks pumpkin cream cold brew is an iced drink made with cold brew coffee that's sweetened with vanilla syrup, then topped with a pumpkin cream.
It's so much better than the PSL in my opinion (though it's probably tied with our homemade iced pumpkin spice latte). What I don't love about the Starbucks version: the ingredient list or the price tag. So I came up with this homemade Starbucks Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew for you (and me!).
And if you couldn't tell we love a good Starbucks copycat recipe. Just look at our iced pumpkin spice latte, keto pink drink, dragon drink, and tutorial on how to make vanilla sweet cream cold foam.
Why We Love This Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew Recipe
- It's really affordable! It's made with ingredients you probably already have.
- You get to control what's in it. It's a cleaner version without any added ingredients or fillers and it uses real pumpkin. Make it as sweet or not sweet as you want!
- We're sharing a dairy free option, which is so awesome because although I love the Starbs version, I don't eat much dairy. I'm also sharing a dairy option if you don't like coconut.
Ingredient Notes
- Coconut cream or heavy cream: you can use a full fat can of coconut milk or buy coconut cream separately. You'll chill the can to separate the coconut milk/water from the cream and only use the cream part! You can find this in either the baking aisle or the ethnic foods aisle (i.e Asian cuisine). The Starbucks version uses heavy whipping cream so use that if you aren't dairy-free.
- Real pumpkin puree: this is not pumpkin pie filling, it's just plain 100% pumpkin!
- Sweetener: I used powdered Truvia sugar, but maple syrup would be great too.
- Pumpkin pie spice: this is what gives the drink so much pumpkin flavor! Adjust more or less based on your taste.
- Vanilla extract: get a good pure vanilla for this because it really makes a difference!
- Milk: this helps thin out the coconut cream and makes it super smooth. We used almond milk.
- Cold brew: you can use your favorite store bought or homemade cold brew or iced coffee.
- Optional coffee flavor: feel free to add sweetener to your actual cold brew before making the cream! I like to add a vanilla syrup or even just some maple syrup to sweeten it a bit.
Frequently Asked Questions
Compared to several of their other seasonal coffees, the cold brew isn't as sweet. The coffee is sweetened, and so it the cream, but it's not as overall sweet, in my opinion. To make it less sweet, ask for sugar free vanilla syrup in the cold brew or ask to omit it all together.
Mixing the pumpkin cream cold brew after you make it is a personal preference! I love how the pumpkin cream sits on top, which makes it the first sip I take. It will melt slightly and start to mix together while you drink it. However, you can mix it right away and enjoy it that way.
There are 250 calories and 31g of sugar in the 16oz Starbucks version.
How to Make Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew
- Prepare the cold brew: You can use a store bought cold brew or brew a really strong batch of coffee at home and chill it in the fridge. Feel free to add a sugar free vanilla syrup, regular vanilla syrup or maple syrup to your coffee to sweeten it.
- Blend the pumpkin cream: Next, add all of the pumpkin cream ingredients to the blender and blend on high for about 30 seconds until it's completely smooth.
- Serve: pour the cold brew in a glass over ice then top it with a generous serving of pumpkin cream. Top with a dusting of extra pumpkin pie spice.
How to Make Cold Brew Coffee
The base of this drink is coffee after all, so you want to start with a quality cold brew for the most delicious drink. It's super simple to make at home, you just need a day or two in advance. Make a batch of cold brew over the weekend and keep it in your fridge for the week.
- Grind your coffee beans on the most coarse setting.
- Combine the coffee grounds in a large jar (like a mason jar) with water.
- Cover and let the coffee steep for about 18 hours at room temp or in the fridge.
- Strain the coffee through a cheesecloth or fine mesh strainer into a clean jar.
If you're in a pinch with time and can't make cold brew: brew a very strong pot of hot coffee and let it cool slightly, then add ice cubes.
Prefer to watch instead of read?
Recipe Substitutions and Variations
- Coconut cream: if you aren't dairy free or don't like coconut, feel free to use heavy cream. Omit the almond milk and blend the mixture longer to allow more air bubble to make the heavy creamy fluffy.
- Truvia powder: this is a zero calorie sweetener that dissolves really easily in the cream so it's not grainy. You could try maple syrup too. Another option is to make a simple syrup by dissolving sugar in boiling water on the stove. You could add all of these to the cold brew itself too.
Our favorite pumpkin cream cold brew products
Become a barista and stock your kitchen with all the coffee things (affiliate links)
- This coffee grinder is great to get course ground coffee.
- Handheld milk frother, immersion blender or high speed blender to whip up the pumpkin cream.
- Cheesecloth and mason jar for making the cold brew.
Expert Tips
- The consistency of the coconut cream could vary based on how long it's in the fridge. If your coconut cream is really hard and thick, you may need to add more almond milk to thin it out.
- Add more or less sweetener depending on your taste.
Storage Instructions
Blended pumpkin cream will last in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days. You could make a batch, store the cream in the fridge for the next day and have an easy pumpkin cream cold brew ready when you wake up.
If you make this recipe, I’d love for you to give it a star rating ★ below. You can also tag me on Instagram so I can see it!
More drinks you'll love:
- Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Foam
- Starbucks keto pink drink
- Iced matcha latte
- Mocha coconut iced coffee
- Pumpkin spice bulletproof coffee
Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup full fat coconut cream or heavy cream (chill coconut milk 2 hours, we're only using the cream on top)
- 2 tablespoons pumpkin puree
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar or monkfruit/truvia powdered sugar use more if you want it sweeter
- ¾ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice plus more for dusting
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 tablespoons almond milk plus more if needed
- 20 ounces store bought or homemade cold brew coffee
- Optional: vanilla extract and sweetener for cold brew *see notes
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Add the coconut cream, pumpkin pure, your sweetener of choice, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla and almond milk to a blender. Blend on high for about 30 seconds, until it's smooth and creamy. Add more almond milk a tablespoon at a time if it's too thick. Taste the mixture and add more sweetener if you want to.
- Pour the cold brew over a cup of ice. Add any additional sweetener you want to the coffee like vanilla syrup, maple syrup or a simple syrup.
- Top the iced coffee with the prepared pumpkin cream and dust extra pumpkin pie spice on top.
Notes
- Sugar free or regular vanilla syrup
- Liquid stevia
- Pure maple syrup
- Simple syrup: dissolve granulated sugar in boiling water on the stove.
Amy says
How much heavy cream do you sub for the coconut? Since we're only using the separated part of the 14oz can (and I really hate the taste of coconut) I wanted to try the other option. Thanks!
Molly Thompson says
Hey Amy! It's about 1/2 cup!
ashley lober says
Hey! Do you mean pumpkin puree?
Molly Thompson says
Sure do!! 🙂
Megan says
I used coconut cream and it split- any advice for how to keep this from happening?
Alex says
I love the taste of coconut but it never blended well. There were small pieces of the coconut cream that felt like lard when sipping. So i tried again with the silk heavy cream and it was delicious! Finally found a way to have my starbucks pumpkin at home! Thank you!