Chestnut Praline Latte {Starbucks Copycat}

If the Starbucks Chestnut Praline Latte is your go-to holiday coffee order, you'll love this easy homemade version. It's made with espresso, creamy steamed milk, a homemade chestnut praline syrup, and a crunchy praline topping.

It's chestnut praline season at Starbucks and fans are so excited the famous holiday latte is back!

We'll be honest; chestnuts don't sound like they'd make the best holiday coffee drink ever, but the Chestnut Praline Latte is absolutely delicious. It's nutty, caramel-like, and creamy.

And the cozy holiday latte is easy to make at home with my simple copycat recipe!

❤️ Why this recipe works

Here's what makes my homemade Chestnut Praline Latte recipe the best copycat around:

Can be quick and simple or entirely homemade: the drink has a few components and I share the store-bought ingredients you can use to make each, as well as recipes for making each component from scratch.

Follows Starbucks' recipe as closely as possible: I also strive to make my drinks taste as close to the Starbucks' versions as possible and this one uses a syrup and topping just like they do. Plus, the components are used in very similar measurements.

Real chestnuts are used in my syrup: if you're making the chestnut praline syrup from scratch, you'll use real roasted chestnuts, which means you'll get the earthy nutty flavor.

Ingredients are simple: the ingredient list make look a bit long, but other than espresso, milk, chestnuts, and pecans, you mostly need spices.

Easy to customize: one reason I love making Starbucks' lattes at home is because I can customize them however I want them. It's easy to make this drink sweeter or less sweet and to add even more flavors to it.

🗒 Ingredients

Here's what you need for the copycat Chestnut Praline Latte (be sure to view the recipe card at the bottom of the card for ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions):

• Brewed espresso or strongly brewed coffee
• Chestnut praline syrup: you can use store-bought chestnut praline syrup or make homemade with the recipe I share
• 2% milk: or the dairy/non-dairy alternative of your choice
• Whipped cream
• Chestnut praline topping: I share my recipe, but you can also simple chop up store-bought pralines (I actually recommend these cinnamon toffee pecans)

If you're making your own syrup, here's what you need:

• Water
• Granulated sugar
• Brown sugar
• Ground cinnamon
• Ground nutmeg
• Ground clove
• Salt
• Chopped roasted chestnuts
• Vanilla extract

And if you're making your own topping, you'll need:

• Pecans
• Granulated sugar
• Brown sugar
• Water
• Ground cinnamon
• Ground ginger
• Ground nutmeg
• Ground cloves
• Salt

☕️ Recipe tips

• For syrup, use roasted unsweetened chestnuts. These are my favorite chestnuts to use.

• Once syrup has thickened, you'll want to use the back of a spoon or a masher to firmly press and mash the chestnuts into the syrup to release flavor. Then, let the chestnuts steep for about 10 minutes for optimal flavor.

• Even though drink is hot, I recommend letting the syrup cool completely before using as it will continue to thicken as it cools.

• If making your own chestnut praline topping, you don't actually need chestnuts! It's mainly just spiced sugared pecans.

• Once you've coated the pecans in the spiced syrup, and baked them, you'll want to crush them to use as topping.

• If you don't want to make the homemade topping, I recommend using something like these cinnamon toffee pecans.

• Starbucks uses their espresso roast and a steamed 2% milk.
  
• I recommend steaming the milk to about 150-155 degrees F using an espresso machine, handheld frother, countertop frother, microwave, or stovetop. You can add a little froth, too, if you want, but you'll also be topping with whipped cream!

• If you don't want to use 2% milk, you can use whatever kind of milk you want, or a dairy alternative, like oat milk, almond milk, or soy milk.

• Don't forget the whipped cream and chestnut praline topping! Be sure to drink immediately after topping as the whipped cream will melt into the drink as time goes on.

And get your comfy clothes on, settle in on the couch (preferably by the Christmas tree or a fireplace), and sip your deliciously nutty and creamy Chestnut Praline Latte.

Try not to sing "chestnuts roasting on an open fire" and maybe stick to "chestnuts and pralines make the perfect latte" instead.

🎉 Variations on recipe

Though I try to make my copycat drinks as close to the Starbucks versions as I can, there are lots of ways you can make the drink your own. Here are some ideas:

• If the latte is too sweet for you, you can cut down on the amount of syrup used or add an additional shot of espresso.
• Of course, you can also add more syrup to the latte for more sweetness and chestnut praline flavor.
• If you want the chestnut flavor to be more prominent, you can try the latte with a blonde roast coffee instead.
• Feel free to use whatever type of milk or non-dairy alternative you like best.
• If you want an iced chestnut praline latte, just pour the espresso and syrup over ice and top with milk, whipped cream, and topping.
• You could also use the syrup to make a chestnut praline cold foam (use my copycat cold foam recipe).
• Add a little mocha sauce in for some chocolate flavor.
• Rim the glass in the chestnut praline crumble or some coarse sugar.

🎄 More Starbucks holiday drinks

November and December are my favorite seasons at Starbucks because of all the fabulous holiday drinks! Here are some of my favorite copycat recipes:

I hope they keep coming out with new drinks!

But for now, I'm pretty happy sipping on a homemade Chestnut Praline Latte while I'm wrapping gifts this holiday season.

📖 Recipe