Learn how to make a caramel frappe with this delicious, easy recipe. Not only will this homemade frappe save you money, but it’s also a great way to use up leftover coffee!
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I am a sucker for beverages, especially coffee beverages.
But since I believe that homemade is usually better and since I’m frugal and hate parting with $4 every time I want to quench my craving, I’ve been on a mission to figure out how to make my own homemade coffee drinks that mimic the ones I love at coffee shops.
I found a great iced coffee recipe years ago, but up until now, I just couldn’t find a homemade frappe that I truly loved.
That changed recently when I discovered the trick of using coffee ice cubes. Suddenly I could make a frappe at home that wasn’t mediocre!
And I’m excited to show you how to make a frappe too!
In my opinion, the problem with using regular ice cubes to get that slushy frappuccino texture is that it also ends up making the drink much too watery and weak.
By subbing coffee ice cubes, you suddenly get a nice, strong coffee flavor– just the way it should be!
RELATED: 12 Creative Uses for Leftover Coffee
I’ll warn you though, this homemade caramel frappe recipe makes a very thick frappe. If you want it a bit thinner you’ll probably need to add more milk or brewed coffee.
And if you think the coffee flavor should be stronger, feel free to sprinkle in a bit of instant coffee!
Homemade Caramel Frappe Recipe
Easy Homemade Caramel Frappe
Ingredients
- 1 cup strong, good quality coffee, frozen into cubes (see Notes below)
- ½ cup milk
- 3 tablespoons sugar or more to taste (see Notes below for a calorie free option)
- 2 tablespoons caramel syrup
- whipped cream and caramel syrup for top (optional)
Instructions
- Place all ingredients except whipped cream in blender.
- Blend until ice cubes are crushed. If you have trouble getting it thoroughly blended, let it sit for a couple of minutes and try again.**
- Top with whipped cream and drizzle with caramel syrup.
Notes
- For me, 1 cup is 7 ice cubes.
- After several months of making this, I’ve discovered that if you let it sit for 15 to 20 minutes before blending it works much better! I just get it ready as soon as I get up in the morning and by the time I get dressed and eat my breakfast, it’s ready to blend!
- To cut calories a bit, I now sub some of my favorite stevia for part of the sugar. By using some sugar, I don’t notice that unique stevia taste, but still get the benefit of fewer calories.
- If you want a stronger coffee flavor, add just a bit of instant coffee.
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Diana Rambles
This looks delish!!
Joy
Sounds yummy!
Summer
I am giddy with excitement to try this recipe!
ThriftyFrugalMom
I take it you enjoy coffee beverages as much as I do? Since, I’ve been making my own frappes, I seriously no longer am tempted to stop at Starbucks.
Gail
This looks delicious and just happens to be my favorite Starbucks flavor (although I’m also too frugal to pay for them very often). I’ve heard of freezing the coffee in an ice cube tray before, but I really need to give that a try. It sounds like it would make the beverage much better. Thanks for the recipe and tips.
ThriftyFrugalMom
Yes, the frozen coffee makes a HUGE difference! I tried for a long time to make homemade frappes using just ice and regular coffee and it just didn’t cut it for me. It also helps if you use good quality strong brewed coffee- give it a much better flavor!
Jamie
I’m going to have to try this out. One question – what is leftover coffee? Just kidding but I love it too much to have any leftover.
ThriftyFrugalMom
Sounds like you’ll have to make a pot just for this, then! 🙂 Hope you enjoy it. Making myself a homemade frappe has become one of the bright spots in my morning!
Elizabeth
Just pinned! This looks delicious!
Steph
Thanks for sharing! Caramel isn’t my favorite, but I think it would be easy enough to change that part. This will be a perfect surprise for my husband though!
ThriftyFrugalMom
I hope your hubby enjoys the surprise, Steph! 🙂 And actually, you might surprise yourself by liking this too. I’m not a huge caramel fan and often avoid it, but I don’t find the flavor overpowering in this frappe and therefore like it. But like you said, you can easily add chocolate syrup instead or tweak it to create other flavors too! Blessings!
keri
This looks delicious! I cannot wait to try it. Thanks for sharing at Tues Talk
Mary-Ann
Oh my goodness, this looks absolutely amazing! Definitely going to try making my caramel frap at home.
ThriftyFrugalMom
Making my own frappes at home has been one of my favorite money saving discoveries. Hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
Tasha
This looks amazing!!
ThriftyFrugalMom
Thanks, Tasha! I think it is. 😉 And I love that it’s simple to make and allows me the chance to enjoy a delicious beverage without shelling out $5!
Bonnie Lyn Smith
Looks great! I love these! Pinning!
Patrice
OMG… I just made this with chocolate instead of caramel….I will never buy a Frappuccino again!!!!! Thanks!
ThriftyFrugalMom
Patrice, thanks for letting me know how much you loved it! Your comment made my day. 🙂 Love that you were creative and made your own version. If you like peppermint, try adding a little bit of extract for a Peppermint Mocha frappe. So yummy!
And I have to agree that once you start making these, you just aren’t very tempted to buy frappes anymore. Pretty much the only time I buy one now is if I’m out with friends and we are actually at a coffee shop to hang out.
laura
YES! I love making my own frappes! They are SO expensive, over 5 bucks up here–yikes.
ThriftyFrugalMom
I know! I haven’t bought one in ages because of making my own, but we were away over the weekend and I was craving one so we stopped at a coffee shop and I gulped pretty hard at the $5 price!
Kelly
Mmmm! Love this! Totally need to try!
ThriftyFrugalMom
It’s so good…better than most coffee shops, if I have to say so myself! I love that I can customize it and make it as sweet and as strong (coffee flavor) as I want.
Katya
Thank you for this recipe! I love frappes and it’s great to know it’s possible to perfectly make one at home. Can’t wait to try it! 🙂
ThriftyFrugalMom
Not too late at all! 🙂 Hope you can give it a try soon….I’m pretty sure that you’ll love it.
John Jones
I buy Starbucks Caramel frappies at Walmart, $2.50 each, and put them in the fridge. Problem is my kids like em to. This gets expensive, but works good when you’re in a hurry.
What about making these and storing in the fridge? Like for the week? Will it keep?
ThriftyFrugalMom
Yeah, the store bought ones definitely are super convenient! These homemade frappes won’t store well in the fridge. They’re made to be more slushy and when they melt, it’s not that they’re gross, they just lose some of their awesomeness. The storebought Starbucks frappes are more like what I would call iced coffee- strong coffee with milk and sugar added and if you like flavoring too. I have a recipe for a delicious one, but don’t have it on the blog yet. But if you Google iced coffee recipes, I’m pretty sure you could find a good one. Or if you’d like I can email you the recipe to the email address that you used when you commented. At any rate, iced coffee will easily keep for several days and I love it as store bought frappe substitution.
Lara
The perfect drink for our date night! No need spend $4 worth of frappe. Thank you!
ThriftyFrugalMom
Exactly! Save money and still enjoy a delicious drink. What’s not to love?
Beth
What size will this make? (Tall? Grande?)
ThriftyFrugalMom
That’s a good question. I’ve never poured into one of the Starbucks’ cups before to check, but I think it would actually be in between the two.
Elizabeth
It tastes delicious! My problem is, my frappe isnt getting thick enough! And I used 8 cubes and followed the other directions as it said. Is there anyway to make this even thicker!? Or is it my blender?
Lydia Beiler
Hmmm…are you thawing the ice cubes at all? My guess is that maybe you are thawing them too much and it’s keeping it from being as thick. My frappes are typically super thick, almost too thick sometimes. But if I let the ice melt too much before I blend it, it will become thin and not nearly as good. It could have something to do with your blender too. My old blender always made perfectly thick ones. We now have a super high powered blender and I can’t let my ice cubes thaw really at all (just enough to be able to get them out of the tray) because it crushes the ice so powerfully that the frappe becomes much thinner.
Does that help at all! I hope you can figure it out!
Jade
My husband loves caramel and this saves so much money over buying them at the store even. Thanks!
ThriftyFrugalMom
You’re welcome, Jade! I absolutely love that I don’t have to spend $5 anymore just to get my frappe fix. 🙂
Helene
You can’t go wrong with this caramel frappe, it’s a hit!
ThriftyFrugalMom
Glad you liked it! Sure is a favorite here. 🙂
James
I Love making my own frappe, and I love all your tips!
ThriftyFrugalMom
Glad it was helpful! And aren’t homemade frappes awesome?
Ruth Ann Stoltzfus
I’n not sure why I never tried this one before instead of all the other complicated ones I’ve tried. Made it this morning and it was so good! Subbed almond milk, my SF carmel syrup and stevia to fit my allergies and it was delicious. 🙂 Thank you!
ThriftyFrugalMom
So glad that you liked it, Ruth Ann! And thanks for taking the time to let me know. 🙂 Like you, I’m all for uncomplicated and basic, which was totally what inspired me to come up with this recipe. And I love how you were able to tweak it for your tastes and dietary needs too!
Kenzie
This was so helpful Thank you!!!
Lydia Beiler
Glad to hear it, Kenzie!
W J M
The trick to blending this without defrosting the coffee cubes is pour the liquid in the blender first, then add coffee cubes.
My experience from making adult beverages, otherwise you’ll wipeout the blades on the blender.
Haven’t tried tried this recipe yet, but looking forward to it.
Lydia Beiler
Thanks for that tip- it definitely does help make it a bit easier. From my experience though, this recipe barely has enough liquid though to still blend the beverage when the coffee cubes are fully frozen unless you have a Vitamix or another super high powered blender. I’d just hate to have someone wipeout their blender blades!
Della Koenig
Oh my goodness! So amazing ? Thank you for sharing ❤
Lydia Beiler
Sure thing! So glad you are enjoying it!