Easy Homemade Starbucks Iced Vanilla Coffee Recipe

Ingredients

See recipe card for exact measurements.

Ingredient Notes

coffee – we drink our daily coffee with just a little bit of milk so we make our coffee twice as strong when we are making at-home versions of our favorite coffee shop drinks. This can be made with coffee that has been allowed to cool to room temperature (or chilled in the fridge) or leftover coffee. You can also make this taste more like Starbucks if you buy their cold brew coffee, it is available at most grocery stores. 

vanilla syrup – we make our own vanilla syrup but you can use store bought, like Torani. Making your own is much cheaper than what you can buy and you just need simple ingredients you may already have. 

cold milk – we use whole milk most of the time because that is what we keep on-hand. You can use low-fat milk or 2% milk if that is what you have. Non dairy milk like soy milk, coconut milk, almond milk or oat milk will work if you are dairy free. 

ice – I use the ice cubes from the ice maker in my freezer, crushed ice will melt too fast so I recommend ice cubes. 

How to make homemade vanilla syrup

1. Add one cup water and one cup white sugar to a small saucepan, bring to a boil and cook until the sugar dissolves, usually about 2 minutes. Take off the heat and stir in 1 1/2 tablespoons of vanilla extract. 
2. Cool and transfer to a jar. It can be poured into a mason jar while it is still hot.

Alternative method using vanilla beans

1. Add one cup of water, one cup of sugar and one vanilla bean to a small saucepan and bring it to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. 
2. Allow to cool and strain, discard the vanilla pod.

How to make this vanilla iced coffee recipe

1. Pour coffee into a tall glass, add milk and vanilla syrup and stir to combine.
2. Fill the glass up the rest of the way with ice. 

What is vanilla iced coffee made of?

Making vanilla coffee at home is super easy and is a fraction of the price when compared to what you would spend at a coffee shop. All you need is brewed coffee, vanilla syrup to provide a sweet vanilla flavor, and milk of choice. 

Can I use vanilla extract instead of vanilla syrup?

Vanilla extract and vanilla syrup are different. Vanilla extract is used in combination with equal parts water and sugar to make vanilla syrup to be used in cold drinks. The syrup is evenly distributed into the liquid, it isn’t gritty and doesn’t sink to the bottom of iced coffee drinks. 

What is the secret to making good iced coffee?

Brew coffee about twice as strong as you would for hot coffee when making iced coffee. 

What are the ingredients in Starbucks vanilla iced coffee?

Iced Starbucks Blonde Vanilla Latte consists of 2 shots of blonde espresso, 4 pumps of vanilla syrup, 2% milk and ice. It can be customized to your liking. 

What’s the difference between a vanilla iced coffee and a vanilla iced latte?

An iced latte is made with espresso and iced coffee is made with brewed coffee or instant coffee. 

There is a great article over at Majesty Coffee that takes an in-depth look at the difference between iced vanilla coffee and an iced vanilla latte.