Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew (Starbucks Copycat)

Why You’ll Love this Starbucks Copycat Recipe

Quick and easy to make. This is such an easy recipe to pull off at home, and it only takes a few minutes to whip together! 

Light, sweet, and refreshing. A vanilla sweet cream cold brew tastes like a vanilla-forward sweetened iced coffee. This simple and delicious coffee is perfect to sip on when the weather is warm.

Cost effective. There’s no need to spend a lot of money on these at the coffee shop! This delicious coffee drink is super easy to make at home. Save even more money by making your own homemade vanilla syrup and your own cold brew too!

Ingredients Needed

Heavy Whipping Cream. You’ll need heavy cream to make the perfect sweet vanilla cream. 

Skim Milk or 2% Milk. Used in addition to the heavy cream to lighten things up a smidge.

Vanilla Simple Syrup. This is what adds the vanilla flavor and sweetness in this vanilla cold foam recipe. You can make your own vanilla syrup (I’d highly recommend it!) or use store bought syrup. Popular purchased options (that you may even see at your local coffeeshop) are Starbucks vanilla syrup, Torani vanilla syrup, or Monin vanilla syrup.

Cold Brew Coffee. You can use homemade cold brew or pre-made cold brew in this recipe. I personally use this easy cold brew coffee recipe for mine, using freshly ground medium roast coffee beans from a local coffee shop.

Ice Cubes. Used to keep your drink nice and cold.

See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.

Recipe Variations and Substitutions

• Make it extra creamy by using whole milk instead of the skim or 2%. Want an extra decadent experience? Use whole milk with your heavy cream for your cold foam.
• Use half and half. Cut down on the number of ingredients (or use what you have on hand) by replacing the heavy cream and milk with half and half.
• Amp up the sweetness and vanilla flavor. If you prefer extra sweet coffees, add additional vanilla simple syrup to your milk mixture when making the cold foam. You could even add a teaspoon of vanilla extract straight to your coffee if you want your drink really vanilla-y.
• Make it dairy free. If you need a non-dairy milk option, I’d recommend trying oat milk because it froths really well. You could also try using coconut milk. Please note doing so won’t make an exact replica of the Starbucks version, but it will still be delicious.

Possible Dietary Restrictions?

This Starbucks copycat recipe is vegetarian and gluten free as written. See below for modification to make this a dairy-free coffee recipe.

• Make this into a dairy-free iced coffee replace the heavy whipping cream and other milk with oat milk! Note your vanilla sweet cold foam may not be quite as creamy, but it will still make a lovely cold coffee drink.

Expert Tips

Make sure to use a liquid measuring cup (or vessel) that has at least 2x the capacity needed for frothing the vanilla sweet cream cold foam. Bigger is better here because frothing your heavy cream, milk, and vanilla syrup will nearly double your liquid’s volume! Having a large enough liquid measuring cup (or whatever vessel you want to use) helps ensure you’re not creating a tidal wave over the edge (I maybe know this from experience…learn from my mess, no need to create your own).

Helpful Equipment

Using a milk frother to make your vanilla sweet cream cold foam is super helpful in this recipe! I personally love and use this handheld frother for my coffee drinks. You could also use an electric milk frother if preferred.

Serve your drink in a tall glass, like a highball glass or tall juice glass. You could also serve this up in a large mason jar!

I also recommend using reusable straws when you can because they’re a better option for the environment.