Copycat McDonald's Pumpkin Spice Latte Recipe

If you're craving a McDonald's Pumpkin Spice Latte out of season or you're just having a hard time maintaining the financial commitment to your habit (seriously, though, when did coffee get so expensive?), this is the recipe for you. Susan Olayinka of The Flexible Fridge has managed to recreate the original PSL to a t, blending spices, frothed milk, instant coffee, and the pumpkin purée that gives this cult fave coffee beverage its name.

Olayinka's only real deviation from the classic? A plant-based twist that, to hear her tell it, makes it even tastier. "This McDonald's Pumpkin Spice Latte recipe is pretty close to the original," she says, "however, I used oat milk instead of regular cow's milk because I find oat milk has a very creamy taste and it's naturally sweet."

So if you're jonesing for a PSL, drive on past the McDonald's drive-thru and go instead to the supermarket: It's time to become your own favorite barista at home.

To make this McDonald's Pumpkin Spice Latte recipe, the first thing you need to do is raid your spice cabinet. You'll be combining ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, black pepper, and cardamom to create the eponymous pumpkin spice, though Olayinka notes you can also pare things down to just the essentials: nutmeg, cinnamon, and ginger. You'll also need some pumpkin purée — canned is great — as well as the milk of your choice and instant coffee granules.

UK-based Olayinka uses caster sugar for this recipe, which is similar to superfine sugar in the States. Regular granulated sugar also works — just make sure it's fully dissolved in the milk before pouring out your latte.

To begin making this McDonald's Pumpkin Spice Latte recipe, start by heating the milk and pumpkin purée in a small saucepan, stirring with a silicone spatula until fully combined, about 20 seconds. Don't step away from the milk while it heats: Milk, even the plant-based kind, has a tendency to jump rapidly from a gentle simmer to a boil-over, which isn't fun to clean up (especially if you haven't had your morning coffee yet!).

While the milk and pumpkin heat, grind the cardamom pod in a mortar and pestle until you achieve a fine powder. You could also go for ground cardamom instead, but Olayinka notes that the whole pod adds far more flavor to this pumpkin spice latte.

"I always prefer to use whole spices and then grind them up for this McDonald's Pumpkin Spice Latte recipe," she says, "because I feel that the taste is stronger."

Once the milk is warm and the pumpkin is incorporated, it's time to add the rest of the ingredients to this McDonald's Pumpkin Spice Latte recipe. Add the cardamom you ground as well as the ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, pepper, sugar, and instant coffee. Stir until the sugar and coffee have melted into the liquid and everything is well-combined, a further 20 seconds or so. Take your time here — you don't want any weird lumps in your drink.

The last step for this McDonald's Pumpkin Spice Latte recipe is foaming the milk. Use the foaming attachment on a cappuccino machine or an electric whisk to help the milk become frothy and light.

"If you don't have an electric whisk or a foamer, that's no problem," says Olayinka. "Just use a manual whisk or a fork to whisk the milk. We just need some air bubbles in it to make it slightly foamy."

It's time to serve this McDonald's Pumpkin Spice Latte recipe! Pour the lattes into serving glasses, and top them with the foam. Sprinkle with an extra dash of cinnamon, and enjoy!

If you like your PSLs iced, consider making up a big batch of the mixture, chilling it down, and keeping it in a pitcher in the fridge. This way, it'll be easy to grab it, pour it over ice, and take it on the go! Who doesn't want their favorite coffee drink ready to go in their fridge at all times?