22 Coffee Recipes That Put Your Standard Cup Of Joe To Shame

For many of us, the day doesn't begin until at least one large cup of coffee has made its way into our systems. That could mean guzzling a hot cup of joe poured from a drip machine at home, rushing to a neighborhood coffee shop for a quick to-go cup, or driving through your nearest Starbucks for a Frappuccino pitstop before work.

When you're drinking coffee every day of the week, though — sometimes even several cups of it a day — it's easy to get bored of the same brew. If you're looking for ways to make your coffee a touch more exciting than it is, we have here a list of recipes that will help you add some much-needed flair to your coffee-making skills at home. With recipes for copycat versions of drinks from your favorite coffee shops that you can easily recreate at home, you'll even end up saving a few dollars along the way. As a bonus, you'll also be able to make some of the best seasonal and limited-edition coffees all year round. Pumpkin spice lattes in summer, anyone?

Peppermint mochas and eggnog lattes may be wonderful, but if you're a gingerbread kinda person, this sweet and spice-filled latte, recipe developer Ting Dalton says, reminds her of "warm fires and the Christmas season." This gingerbread latte gets its flavor from more than just ginger powder; you'll need nutmeg, cinnamon, vanilla extract, molasses, and brown sugar as well. Serve the latte with a small gingerbread man to give you all the festive feels, or simply swirl whipped cream and sprinkle some nutmeg on top.

Recipe: Gingerbread Latte

Chick-Fil-A might not have been the first fast food chain to come to mind when you thought of coffee, at least not until the Frosted Coffee was added to the menu in 2016. Now with a loyal fanbase of its own, the cold coffee might be one of the best items on Chick-Fil-A's menu. With three simple ingredients by your side — instant coffee powder, water, and vanilla ice cream — you'll have yourself a Chick-Fil-A style Frosted Coffee in a matter of minutes. You can even swap the vanilla ice cream with a salted caramel one to give the coffee a sweet and salty twist.

Recipe: Copycat Chick-Fil-A Frosted Coffee

Did you wake up in the mood for Mariah Carey's jingles, a fire warming up the living room, a need for cozy PJs, and a sudden urge to curl up with a cup of Starbucks' Holiday Spice Flat White? While you take care of Mariah Carey, the fireplace, and the fuzzy PJs, we'll take care of the holiday flat white for you. Just gather nutmeg, cinnamon, ground cloves, and dried ginger for spice, skimmed milk powder for milk, and espresso powder for the caffeine. 

This copycat Starbucks Holiday Spice Flat White recipe gives you the option to switch up the spice blend, add flavored sugars of your liking, and use any plant-based milk as an alternative. What the recipe does insist that you do, though, is serve the coffee with a dust of cinnamon or cocoa powder on top.

Recipe: Copycat Starbucks Holiday Spice Flat White

This salted caramel iced coffee requires very little in time, effort, and ingredients but gives in return a fancy-schmalzy chilled coffee that is sweet, creamy, and strong enough for a solid caffeine kick at the same time. The milk in the recipe can be swapped with sweetened condensed milk for a drink that is on the sweeter side, and the caramel sauce can be switched with a chocolate one. You'll need a strong cup of percolated coffee, but if that's not your thing, two shots of espresso will do a fine job, too. No matter which one you choose, make sure that your hot coffee has cooled down before you add cold milk to it!

Recipe: Salted Caramel Iced Coffee

There are two monumental events that Starbucks fans look forward to the most: the comeback of the festive red cups before Christmas and the return of the iconic Pumpkin Spice Latte that unofficially marks the onset of autumn each year. While the internet speculates when the PSL will be back in 2022, we'd like to leave you with a recipe to make a copycat Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte at home for you to sip on while you wait. Stock up on pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice powder (or make your own blend at home) on your next grocery run and you'll have the two important ingredients that you need to make the glorious Starbucks-style PSL at home.

Recipe: Copycat Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte

If you prefer McDonald's over Starbucks when it comes to the Pumpkin Spice Latte, worry not, for recipe developer Susan Olayinka has a homemade fix for that, too. While this copycat version is pretty darn close to the real thing, the only thing that Olayinka does differently is use plant-based oat milk over cow's milk in her latte. This, she says, gives the classic PSL a creamy and naturally sweet flavor. You'll also need to make your own spice blend for this latte using cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger at the very least, as well as black pepper and cardamom if you're aiming for perfection.

Recipe: Copycat McDonald's Pumpkin Spice Latte

Coffee and cola? This combination may be to java lovers what pineapple on pizza is to pizza enthusiasts, but hold off on your judgment for a moment. Recipe developer Kristen Carli says that cola and coffee make for a drink that is "perfect on hot summer afternoons [with a] taste [that's] strong and sweet." Even Coca-Cola released a Coca-Cola with Coffee beverage in 2021, so there might be something with this coffee and cola pairing here. Considering you only need cold brew, cola, and a cup of ice, why not make this drink and find out where you stand on the coffee-cola combination for yourself? Carli even walks you through the process of making your own cold brew at home if you're up for the extra task.

Recipe: Cold Brew Cola

Now that we've made a (hopefully) convincing case for cold brew and cola, recipe developer Kristen Carli has another fun recipe for adventurous coffee drinkers to try. This time, Carli recommends that everyone try mixing a cold brew with equal amounts of cream soda as well as vanilla extract, and sip on it while the drink is still carbonated and fizzy. The vanilla extract enhances the flavors of the cream soda and makes a slightly sweet coffee which she says will be a hit for anybody who likes to add a bit of milk or sugar to balance their usual coffees.

Recipe: Cold Brew Vanilla Soda

Spices can do wonders to amp up your at-home coffee game. Don't believe it? Try this spiced brown sugar latte and find out for yourself! Recipe developer Susan Olayinka says that this latte not only tastes similar to Starbucks' Iced Brown Sugar Oatmilk Shaken Espresso from which it is inspired but might even be, dare we say, better. The most important part of this recipe is making a brown sugar and cinnamon syrup, which serves as the latte's base, but from there on, there are several ways to tweak the spiced latte. You can swap the instant coffee powder with any brewed coffee of your liking or even use plant-based milk instead of dairy.

Recipe: Spiced Brown Sugar Latte

Everyone knows that protein is the gold standard for all that is good for you. It reduces hunger and cravings, increases muscle mass, helps with weight loss, and helps your body recover from injuries (via Healthline). So while the rest of us scoured for ways to up our protein intake through supplements and powders in our smoothies, oat bowls, pancakes, and shakes, TikTok seemed to have found an ingenious solution: protein powder in coffee (aka proffee). Best made with an unflavoured protein powder, you can drink this protein coffee hot or even store it in the refrigerator to enjoy an iced version later.

Recipe: High Protein Coffee

Craving a Dunkin' iced coffee? This copycat version will give you a Dunkin' iced coffee quicker than it would take for you to drive there in the first place! All you need is sugar and instant coffee dissolved in hot water, brewed coffee, or cold brew. Allow your coffee to cool down, add ice, and swirl in some milk or creamer, and that's pretty much all there is to this iced coffee. The best part about making your own iced coffee at home, however, is that you can add all sorts of syrups to your drink. Hazelnut? Chocolate? Hazelnut AND chocolate? Why not? Who's to stop you from going all out?

Recipe: Copycat Dunkin' Iced Coffee

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a time during which many recipes have gone viral online, particularly because people are cooking at home more. In fact, it brought us not only new recipes but also beloved ones. It rekindled folks' love for banana bread, created a certain fascination with feta pasta, and helped people discover the frothy Dalgona coffee. Dalgona, or whipped coffee as it goes by, requires only instant coffee, sugar, and water for you to whip it together using an electric whisk or a hand foamer until you have a creamy golden foam. Plop a few spoons of your coffee foam onto a glass of hot or iced milk, dunk a nice biscuit into it, and ta-da! You have yourself a coffee that continues to impress, even today.

Recipe: Dalgona Coffee

Mochas in any form are a treat for anybody who could never choose between chocolate and coffee. Serve them cold as a frappe on a hot summer day, however, and you have a winner. This copycat mocha frappe requires a little bit of prep and preplanning to make it taste exactly like the way McDonald's makes 'em, but once you freeze your coffee into ice cubes overnight, you'll find that the frappe comes together rather quickly the next day. Choose your hot chocolate powder wisely, play around with your milk and sweeteners, spend time on the finishing touches, and work fast; the details will decide how much your mocha frappe tastes as if it was just bought from a McDonald's nearby.

Recipe: Copycat McDonald's Mocha Frappe

There's a reason why Starbucks calls its icy beverages Frappuccino, whereas its counterparts call theirs frappe. Starbucks, it turns out, has trademarked its iconic drink. While all this jargon may make Starbucks' Frappuccinos seem like something you could never replicate at home, you'll be surprised to know just how easy it is to make the drink yourself. With the help of a high-powered blender and just under two cups of ice, you'll even be able to get the Frappuccino's texture right: chilled liquid at the bottom and tiny ice chips on top. The best part? You can bring out your inner Starbucks barista and use all sorts of syrups, sauces, and mix-ins to make this frap your own.

Recipe: Easy Frappuccino

There are lattes, and there are Dunkin Signature Lattes — and anybody who has tried the latter knows that Dunkin's Signature Lattes are a league of their own. While your typical latte is simply espresso, steamed milk, and milk foam layered together, a Signature Latte, in Dunkin's words, is "a next-level Dunkin' latte featuring exciting flavors and toppings, handcrafted for an artful presentation and a smooth taste." This copycat Dunkin Signature Latte recipe will give your usual latte a bigger, better, and caramel-ier makeover that is befitting of its "signature" title. With a homemade caramel sauce made from maple syrup, coconut oil, and cashew butter, plus some whipped cream and cinnamon, lattes will never be the same for you again.

Recipe: Copycat Dunkin' Donuts Signature Latte

If your idea of a snack is eating peanut butter by the spoon straight from a jar, this peanut butter latte is going to be your new go-to cup of java each morning. For those skeptical of this nut and coffee combination, recipe developer Jaime Bachtell-Shelbert insists that it's a welcome change in the world of sugar syrup-flavored coffees. "The peanut butter brings that nutty flavor, and the honey adds a touch of sweetness," she says. You could drink it with a sprinkle of cinnamon on top but there's also the option of garnishing the coffee with whipped cream and cinnamon sticks to give it a bit of oomph!

Recipe: Peanut Butter Latte

While waiting in anticipation to see your favorite Christmas coffees return to Starbucks' menu is thrilling, there's nothing more disappointing than watching them gradually disappear after the holidays are over. That's another 11 long months of waiting yet again! This copycat Starbucks recipe will make sure that you don't have to countdown the weeks till the Toasted White Chocolate Mocha makes a return this year (if it returns at all that is). With dulce de leche sauce, milk, white chocolate chips, and espresso, it's Toasted White Chocolate Mocha all year round!

Recipe: Copycat Starbucks Toasted White Chocolate Mocha

This recipe begins by breaking down the ingredient list of Starbucks' Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew to make a copycat version that is as close to the real deal as possible: cold brew coffee sweetened with vanilla syrup, a "pumpkin cream cold foam" made from a pumpkin spice sauce, and pumpkin spice on top. The secret ingredient that sets this recipe apart from other copycat versions is the use of sweetened condensed milk to make the pumpkin spice sauce. The condensed milk is what helps give the cold brew that thick and smooth texture along with its pumpkin spice flavor!

Recipe: Copycat Starbucks Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew

Tired of your regular cup of joe but can't be bothered to make elaborate syrups, frappes, or spice blends? There's nothing simpler for you than this cinnamon coffee. All you need other than coffee grounds and water is cinnamon. Yup, that's it! You can use either a pour-over or a drip coffee maker, pop in the cinnamon powder with coffee grounds in the filter, and brew it as you usually would. Depending on the ingredients, effort, and time that you can spare, serve the cinnamon coffee as it is, or with whipped cream, more cinnamon powder, and cookies on the side. Alternatively, you can even have the coffee with steamed milk or enjoy it iced!

Recipe: Cinnamon Coffee

Starbucks has a certain reputation for being extravagant with its Frappuccinos. Take the Mocha Cookie Crumble Frappuccino, for example. It contains layers of coffee, mocha sauce, milk, whipped cream, chocolate cookie crumble, some more vanilla whipped cream, mocha drizzle, and cookie crumbles... phew! Who could imagine replicating that at home now? As it turns out, recipe developer Susan Olayinka promises that this copycat version is "quite easy." Once you plan and freeze your coffee into ice cubes in advance, this frap comes together in five minutes with the help of some hot chocolate powder, caster sugar, and 11 Oreo cookies!

Recipe: Copycat Starbucks Mocha Cookie Crumble Frappuccino

On the easier side of the extravagant Starbucks Frappuccinos spectrum, this copycat Caramel Frap can come together in as little as five minutes. The key to emulsifying and blending this Frappuccino properly, recipe developer Mackenzie Ryan explains, is xanthan gum. While it is an optional ingredient, Ryan says that it's an essential one to add if you like to sip your fraps over the course of a few hours. Xanthan gum is what will keep your drink nice and creamy the whole time without it separating into different liquids.

Recipe: Copycat Starbucks Caramel Frappuccino

Now this one may not be everyone's cup of tea (or cup of coffee, shall we say?) but fans of whiskey and Baileys will be stoked to know that this coffee doubles up as a nice cocktail, too! Although Irish coffee is typically made with hot coffee and Irish whiskey, recipe developer Jaime Shelbert adds a twist by mixing Bailey's Irish cream into the whipped cream that goes on top of the coffee. It's perfect for mornings when you need a splash of booze along with your coffee, as an after-dinner drink, or when you're looking for need a warm nightcap.

Recipe: Irish Coffee