simple hit counter

Homemade Starbucks-style frappuccinos

Vision Forum Deal of the Day: save 40-90%!

If you love Starbucks but can’t afford the habit, try my addiction instead.  We’ve been sipping homemade cold coffee that tastes like the Starbucks-in-a-bottle for years, but now we’re taking it to a new level.

With our new blender (courtesy of Swagbucks), we are now serving them frozen.  There are some definite perks to forgoing the a/c in South Texas.  I have the perfect excuse to sip these treats all day long!

Each of my daughters seems to find her own area of expertise in the kitchen, and 11yo Megan has become our blender-meister.  Here is the recipe she has developed for fraps.

Starbucks-style Frappuccino

makes 2 grande (16 oz each)

  • 3 cups ice
  • 1 1/2 Tbs. instant coffee -  I use decaf.  A good national brand tastes best, but even the cheap stuff will make you regret you ever paid $4 for a frap.
  • 3 Tbs. granulated sugar
  • 2 cups milk
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream -  Not strictly necessary, but makes it even yummier.  Try this at your own risk.

Blend til smooth and enjoy.  Drink with a straw.  Remember to share, because this was 2 large servings.

options:

  1. Mocha: add 2 Tbs. of unsweetened cocoa powder.
  2. Java Chip: blend in chocolate chips
  3. Caramel Macchiato: replace the sugar with a 1/3 cup of caramel sauce.
  4. Get really fancy and top it with real whipped cream.
  5. Try drinking it all yourself.
Print Friendly

Related posts:

  1. Questions from the trenches
  2. Recipe
  3. Coffee Can Ice Cream
  4. I froze a billion times today
  5. Oatmeal Cookie Mix

Comments

  1. Miss Jocelyn adds her thoughts::

    Oh goodness… I have been trying all week to figure out a blend that doesn’t just take like coffee or water! LOL I even search (on swagbucks!) for a starbucks recipe…. I will have to try this one. Thank you for posting it. : )

  2. Jacque adds her thoughts::

    I love the Frappucinos! But we won’t support Starbucks! SOOOO… I am GLAD you posted this!
    THANKS!
    Now to let Amanda and Jocelyn know about it!

    ~gotta love Swagbucks, huh!?

    Have a GREAT week!

  3. Amanda adds her thoughts::

    those sound great! Can’t wait to try them.
    There was some cold STRONG coffee sitting in the coffee pot the other day and I mixed in some hazelnut creamer and chocolate syrup with it and poured over ice! it tasted almost as good as a frapp, but not quite! I think it was missing the whipping cream.
    thanks for sharing this! :)

  4. Jacque adds her thoughts::

    Hahahaaa… I was wondering if they got it from Twitter and we were all commenting at the same time! I guess so! ;)

  5. Annchan adds her thoughts::

    I have been making these for a while but here’s a tip. Take left over coffee (Or make fresh but cooled down) and make ice cubes with it. use the coffee cubes instead of water cubes. I find when I do this I use a little more milk or cream and it comes out so fantastic.

  6. mrs darling adds her thoughts::

    I dont have instant coffee. Would it work ya think to reduce some of the milk and use regular coffee. Ive been looking all over for a recipe like this and Ive just been winging it which means sometimes they are good and sometimes not! LOL

  7. Quinn adds her thoughts::

    I’m so glad that you posted this! Just yesterday, I walked into the kitchen and found my husband trying to make one and he wasn’t very happy with the results! I’m going to treat him to one of these tonight now that summer has finally arrived in OH (we’re on a whoppin’ day 2 of 85-90 degree heat this year!) Thanks a million!

  8. Old Paths adds her thoughts::

    Oh thank you thank you thank you!! I love Mocha fraps for a rare treat and will be trying this out!!

  9. Cardamom adds her thoughts::

    Ooooh, I will definitely be trying this! My mouth is watering and I’m talking myself into walking next door to my mom’s to see if she has instant coffee… thanks for distracting me! :-)

  10. tara lacayo adds her thoughts::

    yummy. I soooo miss coffee, but my body just does not agree with it anymore!!! I still love to smell it though!!!!! Enjoy a cup for me!!!!!

  11. sara adds her thoughts::

    SO excited to make these for myself and the hubby tonight!
    thanks!!!!

  12. Amy :) adds her thoughts::

    Uh-oh… I feel a new addiction coming on!

    Amy :)

  13. Fra Chris adds her thoughts::

    People need to be made aware that Starbucks gives super $$$$ to both Planned Parenthood and Gay Rights organizations. Every time you pay for a cup of their coffee you are paying for someone’s abortion…

    • kimc adds her thoughts::

      Fra Chris,
      You’re absolutely right, and I should have added something to that effect: “If you can’t afford the habit or your conscience won’t allow you to patronize the company…”
      We have certainly questioned whether we ought to do so, and that’s part of the reason I’m tickled to have my own Starbucks-free alternative.

  14. Calico Zak adds her thoughts::

    Those were great!!

  15. Charlotte adds her thoughts::

    I also use frozen coffee cubes rather than ice cubes. I just learned of this a few weeks ago and found it tastes so much better (I use this as the coffee) and even after it melts it is good since there’s no extra water. Worth all the trouble to make and wait for them to freeze! i think it tastes better than Starbucks.

  16. Kate adds her thoughts::

    Thanks so much Kim! I used to have this recipe–or something like it. I’ve misplaced it over the years, and was just lamenting that fact last week! Cooooooold coffee drinks are one of my absolute favorites, and during one pregnancy, the only thing that would calm my perpetually upset stomach. :) Thank you, thank you!!

  17. Rachel adds her thoughts::

    YUM- I’ve been making iced coffee at home, but this will be even better :)

  18. Andrea adds her thoughts::

    *she asks herself “what on earth got you to read this post?”*

    This is just aweful. Terrible. Horrible. I have NO blender!!!

    Why don’t you just give me a paper cut and pour lemon juice on it…

  19. Leanne Gilchrist adds her thoughts::

    We love blended coffee drinks here, way cheaper than coffee out and tastes better too!

    I’m wanting a Vitamix blender someday….*sigh*

  20. Colleen adds her thoughts::

    Ummm…. can I just say that these are great??? I’ve made a batch yesterday and today! I can’t wait to use coffee cubes instead, too. The java chip method is awesome! Thank you!

  21. Teresa adds her thoughts::

    Whoa…thanks for posting the info about Starbucks and what they support and your alternative frap (yours is indeed much better) They won’t be seeing me in their drive-thru anymore! We are keepin’ it cool in Ca thanks to Y’all!

  22. Corrie adds her thoughts::

    Thanks for this! Another idea – I cut the milk, ice, and sugar by just a little bit and added a big scoop of vanilla ice cream. YUM!

  23. Terri adds her thoughts::

    Thanks for the recipe! One of my roommates moved out and left some instant coffee behind, this is a perfect way to use it up. I suggest drinking it in a frosted glass!

  24. Chelsea adds her thoughts::

    I had NO idea Starbucks supported such things! Glad I don’t frequent there anymore. :) Just made one of these this morning, and it was amazing! All the ingredients were in my kitchen. Cheaper than Starbucks too!

  25. person adds her thoughts::

    if you dont have a blender try this.
    You Will Need
    1.coffee
    2.gallon and quart size bag
    3.fav. creamer and sugar
    4.palm full of salt
    5.lots of ice
    How To Prepare
    1.get a gallon bag quart sized bag
    2.make your coffee with the amount of sugar and creamer you like
    3.put ice and salt into gallon bag
    4.put coffee into quart sized bag
    5.seal bag of coffee realy well and place into bag of ice
    6.shake bag for 2 min or so and check to see if its the right consistancy. if not shake another min. reapete until desired consistancy
    7.top with wipped creme and caramel or chocolatte (optional)
    8.enjoy
    i just moved and cant find my blender!!! i got all the ingrediants and noticed that i cant find my blender. it suks case this recipe sounds good.
    u can also freeze any of your fav. drinks by usin the salt and ice thing

  26. person adds her thoughts::

    also make shure u refrigerate the coffee!!!!!!!!!!!

  27. Junglewife adds her thoughts::

    I make these all the time! We live in the remote mountains of Indonesia so the closest Starbucks is in Bali and I just can’t wait for my frappuccino! I use powdered milk because that is what we can get here, and also add some powdered creamer for extra “creaminess” but otherwise my “recipe” is very similar to yours. In fact, I should make one this morning… :-)

    My Bosch blender broke and while I am waiting for a replacement to arrive, I just couldn’t live without my smoothies and blended coffees, so I had to borrow a blender from a friend in the meantime! Guess I really am addicted!

Why wasn't my comment published?

Trackbacks

  1. [...] Frappucino: make several ahead of time and freeze in empty water bottles. Make a little weaker than the recipe states, since you won't be diluting it over ice: try 1 tsp. instant coffee, 2 tsp. sugar and 16-20 oz. lowfat milk. Shake, sip and squish into a slushy as it slowly defrosts. Great for picnics and hot summer afternoon errands in the car. Mmmmm. Coffee. [...]

  2. [...] Lunch is often a peanut-butter/banana smoothie, made with frozen bananas.  I'm also partial to homemade frappuccinos.  The kids enjoy a koolaid slushie nearly every afternoon in the summer.  Our blender is earning [...]

  3. [...] have a glass with LOTS of ice (which makes it go farther too). We also enjoy the Coghlan’s homemade frappuccinos (made with creamy raw milk!) and this wonderful Orange Julius recipe from Cultivating Home. I [...]

Go ahead. Make my day.

*