When I started graduate school for organic chemistry, nearly everyone had a coffee cup permanently glued to their hand by the end of the second week. First year students were required to take two classes, teach two undergraduate lab sessions, and attend three seminars each week. Add in grading the lab reports for those lower division classes, as well as completing our own problem sets, and caffeine immediately became a necessity. We barely got any sleep!
There was a reason the Chemistry Department always offered both cookies and coffee at those required seminars… They started at 4 pm, and without them, the entire lecture hall would’ve started snoring by the time the guest speaker finished their introduction!
Most grad students brought their own coffee in the mornings, usually in a travel mug since nearly everyone biked to campus. Armed with a pencil in one hand and coffee in the other, they sat through the early morning classes while scribbling down notes from the old-fashioned blackboards. Even the professors brought their own coffee to class!
Many of the first years walked across the courtyard to the student center in the afternoons to grab another pick-me-up from Starbucks on the days without seminars. With our very small grad student income, the majority opted for inexpensive plain cups of black coffee instead of fancier frappuccinos, cappuccinos, or lattes, but every once in a while during the fall… Someone would splurge for a pumpkin spice latte.
When my brother moved into his new graduate school student housing, I started thinking about my own grad school days… And I started craving this copycat ultimate healthy pumpkin spice latte as a result! It tastes — dare I say it? — even better than the original from Starbucks, and it costs just a fraction of the price!
Even better, this homemade pumpkin spice latte contains entirely wholesome and clean eating ingredients (along with delicious dairy-free options!). Nothing artificial, no sugar or refined sweeteners or syrups… And yes, unlike the very first PSLs way back in the day, this homemade one actually does include real pumpkin!
HOW TO MAKE THE BEST HEALTHY HOMEMADE PUMPKIN SPICE LATTE
Let’s go over how to make the best healthy homemade pumpkin spice latte! It’s really quick and easy to whip up, and you only need a few ingredients.
This healthy pumpkin spice latte (or PSL, for short!) starts with extra strong coffee. Yes, traditional lattes always use shots of espresso, but because most of us have regular coffee makers at home, not espresso machines, we’re using coffee. Since you’re adding more milk than coffee, it’s important to make the coffee extra strong so you can taste it. Besides, very few people turn down extra caffeine, right?
To that, we’ll add the hot milk mixture. You’ll make this by heating milk and pumpkin purée on the stove until they start to simmer. If you’d like, you can easily make this healthy pumpkin spice latte vegan and by using your preferred dairy-free milk! Soy milk, almond milk, cashew milk, and coconut milk all work.
Tip: My favorite non-dairy milk is unsweetened cashew milk. It’s thick and creamy with a very neutral flavor, and it’s a great way to make this copycat pumpkin spice latte dairy-free, sugar-free, and low calorie too!
Next come the spices and sweetener. You’ll use a blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger to create the iconic pumpkin spice flavor. Since they can tend to clump, whisk them into the hot milk very well!
Hint: “Pumpkin spice” is short for “pumpkin pie spice…” As in the spices used to make pumpkin pie! I like to make my own blend so I can control the ratio and amounts. (I’ve found some pre-made, store-bought jars rely too much on cinnamon and include far less of the other spices than I prefer!)
As for the sweetener, I like liquid stevia. Stevia is a no-calorie, sugar-free, plant-based sweetener, and it contains nothing overly refined or artificial (aka it’s clean eating friendly!). This brand that I use can be found at most health-oriented grocery stores, but I typically buy it online here because it’s the best price I’ve found! (And you’ll use it in all of these recipes of mine too. I promise it’s not a “one-time use” ingredient!)
Hint: Many stevia brands and products have different sweetness levels, so they’re not necessarily 1-for-1 substitutes for one another! If adding a different stevia product than the one I used, you may need to tweak the amount to suit your tastes.
Tip: If you’re not a stevia fan, then many other sweeteners work too! Pure maple syrup, monk fruit, sucralose, sugar-free maple syrup, coconut sugar… If it can dissolve in liquids, you should be able to substitute it! Again, just remember that you may need to adjust the amount to suit your tastes.
Once you’ve whisked the hot milk mixture until it’s frothy (which shouldn’t take very long at all!)… Then pour, sip, and enjoy your healthy homemade pumpkin spice latte! ♡
FAQS ABOUT THE ULTIMATE HEALTHY PUMPKIN SPICE LATTE
Is this homemade pumpkin spice latte sugar-free, dairy-free, vegan, clean eating, or low calorie?
Yes — to everything! This healthy PSL is naturally sugar-free and clean eating. If you use dairy-free milk (I’m obsessed with unsweetened cashew milk!), then your pumpkin spice latte will also be vegan!
Aren’t lattes made with espresso, not coffee? So can I use espresso instead?
You’re right! Since many people own traditional coffee makers, I opted for double-strength coffee, but you can easily use two shots of espresso instead.
Would decaf coffee work?
Absolutely!
I don’t like coffee. Can I substitute tea?
You bet! Brew double-strength black tea instead… Or try my healthy pumpkin spice chai latte! (← I love it just as much as this traditional PSL!)
Can I use a different sweetener?
Yes again! I’ve included some different options and tips in the Notes section of the recipe, so check there. Almost any type will work, so feel free to substitute your favorite one!
What about pumpkin pie spice, instead of the trio of spices?
Definitely! You’ll need a generous ⅛ teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice to replace the cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger.
Can I make this pumpkin spice latte iced, rather than hot?
You sure can! Where I live, the weather often remains around 80°F until October, so… I completely understand craving iced coffee, rather than hot!
HEALTHY HOMEMADE PUMPKIN SPICE LATTE – RECIPE VIDEO
Ahhhhh. Pure bliss! And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! 🙂 ) I’d love to see your ultimate healthy pumpkin spice latte!
The Ultimate Healthy Pumpkin Spice Latte
Ingredients
- 1 cup (240mL) nonfat milk or non-dairy milk (see Notes!)
- 1 tbsp (15g) pumpkin purée (not pumpkin pie mix!)
- 4 drops liquid stevia (or adjusted to taste)
- ⅛ tsp ground cinnamon
- tiny pinch ground nutmeg
- tiny pinch ground ginger
- ¾ cup (180mL) extra strong coffee
Instructions
- Add the milk and pumpkin to a small pot. Heat over medium-low heat, stirring constantly with a whisk, until the mixture begins to simmer. Add in the stevia, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. Whisk the mixture until it becomes frothy.
- Add the coffee to a large mug, and pour the milk mixture on top.
Notes
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ Healthy Pumpkin Spice Chai Latte
♡ Healthy Pumpkin Spice Hot Chocolate
♡ Healthy Chocolate Pumpkin Spice Latte
♡ Healthy Pumpkin Spice Latte Oatmeal Cookies
♡ Healthy Pumpkin Spice Latte Scones
♡ Healthy Pumpkin Spice Latte Cinnamon Rolls
♡ Healthy Mint Chocolate Chip Frappuccino
♡ Healthy Almond Joy Frappuccino
♡ Healthy Chocolate Covered Strawberry Frappé
♡ …and the rest of Amy’s healthy pumpkin recipes!
I’m so thankful this recipe exists! Next time when I prepare my pumpkin spice latte, it’s gonna take me only a split second! Thank you for your hard work to to make this recipe a reality. I couldn’t for a better invention. Love it so much. Keep up with the great work, Amy.
You’re so sweet Sheri! I truly appreciate your kind words. 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think of this homemade PSL if you get a chance to try it!
How funny how we all have different taste for the time of year. I am still in a peach mode. Ha!! I will want to make apple recipes before long. I never think of pumpkin until at least Oct. or Nov. HA!!
Too funny Charlotte! I’ll eat peach treats as long as I can… Even right alongside pumpkin ones too. I love them both equally! 😉
If you end up making this homemade PSL in October or November, I’d love to hear what you think of it!
I LOVE THIS ARTICLE!!! So helpful, thanks for working hard on this. Really appreciate it.
I can’t wait to hear what you think of this homemade PSL once you get a chance to make it!
I almost unsubscribed from you posts because of everything low or nonfat. Some of the recipes I can modify and use full fat versions of ingredients, but most I cannot. I encourage you to do some research and hopefully you will find out that low and nonfat is NOT healthy. Our bodies need good fats. If you would like some references, I can suggest some. I quit low fat probably 15 to 20 years ago. I am 4’10” tall and weight 114. I just try to eat very healthy food. I drink raw full fat milk, lots of real butter, cheese, homemade whole wheat bread, etc. And I will be 76 in 2 weeks.
Oh this sounds so yummy! I love anything pumpkin spice. I wonder if you could make this for cold brew coffee too?
I really appreciate your interest in my recipe, Ben! Once the milk mixture has fully cooled, I think you could easily add it to cold-brew coffee. I’d love to hear what you think of that if you try it!
Has anyone tried this with decaf coffee?
Yes! I’ve become more sensitive to caffeine, so I generally make mine with decaf coffee now. It works equally well and tastes just as delicious! 🙂 I’d love to hear what you think of this pumpkin spice latte if you try making it, Kris!
I made this just as written, and it taste nothing like a pumpkin latte. I can barely even taste the cinnamon, ginger, or even nutmeg.
It means a lot that you tried my recipe, Renee! That sounds disappointing and not like how this latte should taste, so I’d love to work with you to figure out what happened. In order to do so, I have some questions for you! 🙂
I understand you couldn’t really taste the spices. Were you able to taste the pumpkin?
Did you make any substitutions or modifications to the recipe, including those listed in the Notes section?
Which milk option did you use?
What brand of pumpkin purée did you use?
Did you use the same liquid stevia as I did?
If not, what sweetener did you substitute (brand + product name!), and how much of it did you use?
How did you brew your extra strong coffee?
What brands of spices did you use? (I know it seems like a silly question to ask, but I’ve found that there are a few brands whose flavors aren’t quite as strong, as well as a couple whose flavors are on the opposite end of the spectrum and completely overpowering! That’s why I like to ask. 😉 )
Do you have a ⅛ measuring teaspoon, or did you use another measuring spoon to measure the cinnamon? (I have a few of them because they’re quite handy, but I realize not everyone does!)
I know I just asked a LOT of questions, but I’ll have a much better idea of the culprit once I know your answers to all of them! 🙂
Thank you so much for your reply. I did the recipe as written. The Stevia drops I used are great value liquid, no calorie Stevia. I tried it with fairlife 2% milk, we did not have any non-fat, which maybe is my issue. Then I tried it with almond milk. I did use 1/8 teaspoon measuring for the cinnamon. The brand of pumpkin I used is Libbys 100% pure pumpkin. I hope I did not leave anything out and really do. We use a delongi coffee pot that actually grinds the beans, and we have the ability to do two levels of strong, so I did bold.
Hope you can offer suggestions and I can turn my review around. Have a great day!
It’s my pleasure, Renee! I’m happy to help. 🙂 Thanks for sharing your answers — this info is really helpful with narrowing down potential culprits! Based on your replies, I have some follow-up questions below.
Were you able to taste the pumpkin? Or did your PSL taste like a latte consisting of coffee + milk and nothing else?
What brands of spices did you use?
How much of the Great Value liquid stevia did you add? (It’s not as strong/concentrated as the one that I use, so if you didn’t adjust the amount, that could factor into your latte’s flavor!)
Did the almond milk version yield a different flavor than the PSL made with Fairlife 2% milk?
I looked into the all-in-one coffee makers on the De’Longhi website. (I’m assuming that’s what you have, but I could easily be wrong!) I saw that they have light, gold, and bold settings. Is that what you’re referring to when you mentioned the two different levels of strong?
Thanks so much for your patience, Renee! We’re getting really close! 🙂
Hello! You’re absolutely correct on our DeLonghi coffee maker with the light, gold and bold types.
When I made it with the Fairlifemilk, it did taste mostly like milk and coffee. I use great value organic spices.
When it came to the almond milk, I could barely taste the pumpkin and feel that you’re onto something with my Stevia drops that maybe I need to put a bit more in there and play around with it.
I’m also going to try around with my spices. Where are you say a pinch? I’m going to add a bit more and see if that also helps me. After talking about it with my husband, he was like, you know not everybody’s taste buds or the same. He might be onto something! Thank you so much for trying to walk me through this will get there!
I will be out of town through to next Tuesday. If for some reason, I do not get back to you in a timely matter.
Thank you for all of this info too, Renee! That’s good to know about the De’Longhi coffee maker.
From baristas, I’ve learned that the higher the milk fat percentage, the less pronounced the other flavors of the drink will be. This is why many baristas recommend nonfat milk for things like chai lattes or pumpkin spice lattes — it’s much easier to taste the spice flavors! When made with 1%, 2%, or whole milk, the taste of the spices (and pumpkin, if it’s a PSL!) will be more subtle. Because “classic” unsweetened almond milk (ie the kind that’s around 30 calories per cup) has a really high water-to-almond ratio, it typically yields lattes with flavors much closer to nonfat milk, if not slightly better (in the sense that it’ll be easier to taste the other flavors).
If I understand correctly, it sounds like that was true for your homemade versions with 2% milk and almond milk, where it was a bit easier to taste the pumpkin with the almond milk. Does that seem accurate?
Yes, I’d highly recommend adding a bit more of the Great Value liquid stevia! The brand that I use is more concentrated. Based on their sweetness conversion charts, you’ll need about 1.5x as much of the Great Value liquid stevia to achieve the same sweetness level. I know their squirt bottle isn’t the easiest when it comes to measuring “drops,” but since it didn’t taste quite right, maybe it’s worth trying a half squeeze or so? It’s always easier to add more, like a full squeeze, if that doesn’t taste sweet enough! The sweetener also helps with bringing out the pumpkin flavor, so hopefully adding more will improve your PSL’s flavor and better suit your tastes.
Since you have a ⅛ measuring teaspoon, let’s reference that for the pinch! For a tiny pinch, I’d use between ⅛ to ¼ of that, depending on how strong you prefer your spice flavors to be. You can also try using more cinnamon, if you like stronger spice flavors. I really do! 😉 (As a little side note, I’ve switched to almost exclusively using Saigon cinnamon because it has a slightly stronger, richer, and fuller flavor. It’s a bit sweeter too. I highly recommend it!)
I think the best thing to try next would be to use almond milk, more sweetener, and a bit more spices (especially if your “pinch” quantity wasn’t quite as substantial as the ⅛ teaspoon measuring spoon reference above!). Then if you decide to use 2% milk again, I’d recommend further increasing the pumpkin and spices (or decreasing the milk!) to compensate.
How does all of this sound? Does it make sense?
Take all the time you need to reply too. I hope you have a fantastic trip! 🙂
He’s so much for walking me through this. I will try all of your suggestions the next time I make this. Again, I will be going out of town, so I’m more than likely will not be trying to make it again until later next week. Have a great weekend and a good holiday weekend as well!
You’re welcome, Renee! No rush whatsoever. I’ll keep an eye out for a note from you next week — and I have my fingers crossed that your next PSL turns out really well! 😉
I hope you have a wonderful holiday weekend too! Safe travels!
I just want to mention that if you have a vitamix blender, you can just dump everything in and run it on high until it’s hot. Whether it’s PSL, mocha, peppermint latte etc. it’s awesome to be able to mix and heat and it comes out very smooth. Just thought I’d throw that out there. Works great for cold drinks too. Frozen coffee cubes, dairy and sweetener/flavour of choice and it’s done! Sorry sbux
I have heard great things about those Vitamix blenders! Thanks so much for sharing, Dana! 🙂
I’m not sure what I did wrong but my mixture was super chunky. I strained it and it tasted good. I did add a hit of pumpkin spice because wasn’t strong of pumpkin.
It means a lot that you tried our recipe, Meghan! That sounds disappointing and not at all like how this pumpkin spice latte is supposed to turn out, so we’d love to work with you to figure out what happened. In order to do so, we have some questions for you! 🙂
Did you make any substitutions or modifications to the recipe, including those listed in the Notes section?
How big were your “pinches” of nutmeg and ginger?
Did you use nonfat milk or something else?
What brands of milk and pumpkin purée did you use?
Could you tell what color the chunks were (ie more white or more yellow/orange)? I completely understand if the answer is no, but I still wanted to double check! 😉
What level heat did you use? Medium-low, like in the recipe instructions — or perhaps something higher, such as medium or medium-high?
Did you stir constantly?
Did the milk mixture ever come to a boil?
I know I just asked a LOT of questions, but we’ll have a better idea of the culprit once we know your answers to all of them! 🙂
I redid the recipe today. Stirred it more plus added alittle more pumpkin and it was perfect! Thanks!
Yay! I’m so happy to hear you had better success this time, Meghan! Thanks so much for taking the time to let us know! 🙂
Thank you for making this! Do you have a Chai tea pumpkin latte recipe?
We do, actually! You can find our pumpkin spice chai latte here! I’d love to hear what you think if you try that one too, Meghan! 😉