Caramel Cappuccino

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

This creamy caramel cappuccino recipe is easy to make at home in under 5 minutes. This rich, caramel coffee is a delicious Starbucks or McDonalds copycat recipe!

Caramel and coffee always make a tasty combination. For other caramel-based coffee drinks, try this caramel iced coffee, this salted caramel macchiato or this Starbucks salted caramel mocha.

For other flavored, creative latte recipes, try this maple latte, this vanilla oat milk latte or this peanut butter latte.

Jump to:

• Why You’ll Love This Recipe
• Ingredients & Substitutions
• Equipment
• Step By Step Instructions
• Variations
• Expert Tips
• Recipes FAQs
• 📖 Recipe

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• This caramel cappuccino is incredibly easy to make and takes less than 5 minutes — so it’s perfect for busy mornings.
• Making a copycat recipe at home is much less expensive than buying one at McDonalds or Starbucks.
• This cappuccino has just the right amount of caramel flavor and is not overly sweet (although it’s easy to make it sweeter if you want a decadent drink!).

Ingredients & Substitutions

• Caramel Sauce: This recipe will work with either a caramel sauce that is made for coffee, or one that is meant for ice cream. However, the caramel sauces made for ice cream may be a bit sweeter than those for coffee— so you may need to reduce the amount you add.
• Espresso: Use a freshly brewed espresso. If you only have coffee, brew an extra strong black coffee. If you want to use instant espresso, use a high quality instant espresso.
• Milk: Use regular milk or whole milk. For a dairy-free alternative, use oat milk. Make sure to use an oat milk labelled as “barista” so it will froth well.

Equipment

Here is the equipment you will need to make this caramel cappuccino:

• An espresso maker to brew high quality espresso.
• An electric frother or a handheld frother to froth the milk

Step By Step Instructions

Step 1: Mix the caramel sauce into the freshly brewed espresso.

Step 2: Use an electric frother to froth the milk. Pour on top of the espresso. Optionally, add an extra drizzle of caramel sauce on top.

Variations

• White Chocolate Caramel Cappuccino: Replace ½ tablespoon of caramel sauce with ½ tablespoon of white chocolate sauce or melted white chocolate.
• Salted Caramel Cappuccino: Instead of regular caramel sauce, use a salted caramel sauce. Or, use regular caramel sauce and stir in a pinch of sea salt in with the caramel sauce and espresso.
• Iced Caramel Cappuccino: For an iced cappuccino, froth the milk on the “cold” setting on your electric frother. Serve the cappuccino over ice. Make sure to mix the caramel sauce into the espresso while it is still hot, before you pour it over ice. Otherwise, it may clump up.

Expert Tips

• Use quality espresso. A high quality, freshly brewed espresso makes a huge difference in the overall taste of the cappuccino. Use high quality coffee beans and grind them fresh before brewing the espresso.
• Make it a single. If two espresso shots is too strong for you, you can make this recipe with only one espresso shot without having to adjust the proportions of the other ingredients.
• Adjust the sweetness. This caramel cappuccino is not overly sweet. However, if you are looking for an extra sweet drink, you can add up to double the amount of caramel sauce. You could also add in a spoonful of granulated sugar instead of adding extra caramel sauce. Or, make it extra decadent by topping it with this salted caramel cold foam. For a less sweet cappuccino, halve the amount of caramel sauce.
• If you don’t have a frother, use a mason jar. The best results for frothing milk are with an electric frother. However, if you don’t have one, you can warm milk in the microwave for 30 seconds and then vigorously shake it in a sealed mason jar for another 30 seconds until it froths up. Serve immediately as the froth won’t last as long.

Recipes FAQs

Print

📖 Recipe