Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino {Starbucks Copycat}

The Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino is a creamy fall coffee drink made with milk, pumpkin spice sauce, espresso, and ice. This copycat version comes together in a blender and tastes just like the one from the coffee shop!

Jump to:

• 🧡 Why this recipe works
• 🗒 Ingredients
• 🎃 Recipe tips
• 🐝 How to make a caffeine-free version
• 🎉 Variations on recipe
• ☕️ More Starbucks fall drink recipes
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

I've been building Starbucks copycat drinks for about 10 years now. And somehow I never developed a copycat recipe for the Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino.

And I've made and posted about A LOT of really delicious Frappuccinos here on We are not Martha. So, it's time to present you with the perfect Frappuccino for fall. It's packed with flavors of pumpkin spice (and everything nice) and is just what the season calls for.

It's especially perfect for that "in-between" seasons time when there's a chill in the air, but the sun is still shining and afternoons can get warm. It's sweet and refreshing, but will have you feeling so excited about fall.

🧡 Why this recipe works

It's built just like the one at Starbucks: the coffee shop's pumpkin sauce is condensed milk-based, so mine is too. Trust me, you'll want to use a sauce over a syrup! You can either make or purchase the sauce.

It's easy to make in a blender: all you have to do is add the milk, coffee, pumpkin spice sauce, and ice into a blender. It truly couldn't be easier.

Make or purchase the sauce: the pumpkin spice sauce is so easy to make and one batch covers a bunch of drinks (including the Pumpkin Cream Chai Tea Latte), but you can also purchase a bottle of sauce.

Make the coffee version or the crème version: the standard Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino at Starbucks includes espresso. But they also have a "crème" version that is coffee-free. I'll show you how to make both types!

Xanthan powder makes this more Frappuccino-y than other copycats: I highly recommend buying some xanthan gum if you want to make Frappuccinos regularly. It helps keep the drink from separating and thickens it without changing the taste at all. Without it, your drink will likely be more icy than frothy. You can use cornstarch as a substitute if you want.

🗒 Ingredients

Here's everything you need for this delicious Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino (be sure to view the recipe card at the bottom of this post for ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions):

• Whole milk
• Espresso: or strongly brewed coffee, cooled. If you don't want coffee in your Frappuccino, you can skip it!
• Pumpkin spice sauce: store-bought or with the homemade recipe I share in this post
• Xanthan gum: this is optional for thickening the Frappuccino. You can substitute with cornstarch, but you'll need to use a little bit more
• Ice
• Whipped cream
• Pumpkin pie spice: for topping

If you're planning to make the pumpkin spice sauce yourself, you'll need:

• Fat-free sweetened condensed milk: you can use regular if you can't find fat-free
• Pumpkin puree: make sure it's 100% pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling
• Pumpkin pie spice
• Salt
• Vanilla extract

🎃 Recipe tips

• If you're making your own pumpkin spice sauce, I like to use fat-free sweetened condensed milk to make it as close to Starbucks' recipe as possible. But I've also made it with regular sweetened condensed milk and that works just fine, too.
  
• The sauce is plenty sweet from the sweetened condensed milk and doesn't need any additional sugar.

• Heat ingredients for just 5 minutes, until they're just starting to bubble.

• I like to keep my sauce in a mason jar. When stored in an airtight container in the fridge, the sauce should keep fresh for about a week.

• The sauce will continue to thicken as it cools.

• I recommend cooling the coffee before adding it to the blender. In fact, your Frappuccino will be best if all your ingredients are very cold. That means letting your pumpkin sauce and espresso chill and using milk right out of the fridge.

• Blend your Frappuccino longer than you think you need to; for a good 30 to 45 seconds so the xanthan gum can do its thing and you get that signature thick texture.

• If you want even more pumpkin flavor, you can blend in some extra ground pumpkin pie spice.

• Taste after blending and add more pumpkin pie sauce or a little vanilla syrup if more sweetness/flavor is needed.

• Be sure to top the Frappuccino with lots of whipped cream and pumpkin pie spice. This brings the drink to a whole new level!

I'm thrilled with how easy and close-to-the-original this Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino is. It's thick, creamy, and packed with pumpkin spice flavor.

Why have I waited so long to make my own version?? Now I'll be sipping these all fall long. No coffee shop visit required!

🐝 How to make a caffeine-free version

If you prefer caffeine-free Frappuccinos or don't like coffee, it's easy to make the crème version of the Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino!

When adding your ingredients to the blender, simply replace the ¼ cup espresso with ¼ cup additional milk. Or you can replace the espresso with half-and-half for a richer drink.

Note that your Frappuccino will be a bit paler in color without the added coffee.

🎉 Variations on recipe

Another great thing about making your own Frappuccinos at home is that you can easily adjust them to your own personal tastes!

Here are some fun ideas for jazzing up the Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino:

• If you like a sweeter Frappuccino, you can always add more pumpkin spice sauce or a little vanilla syrup.
• Instead of whipped cream, you can top the Frappuccino with pumpkin cream cold foam.
• Drizzle caramel sauce over the drink.
• Swap the whole milk out for the dairy or non-dairy alternative you like best. Almond milk or Coconut milk should work well, but note that swapping milks may result in a Frappuccino that's not quite as thick and frothy as one made with whole milk.
• Add an extra shot of espresso if you want some extra caffeine.
• Sprinkle crushed graham crackers or gingersnaps over the whipped cream for more yummy flavor.

☕️ More Starbucks fall drink recipes

Fall is one of my favorite times at Starbucks and here are some of my favorite fall drink copycat recipes:

When you know how to make the drinks at home, you can enjoy pumpkin and apple drinks all year round!

Refreshing and creamy and packed with pumpkin spice flavor. How can you not love the Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino??

Now that I have such a robust library of Starbucks drinks recipes, I'm going to keep going back to develop recipes for the classics that I've never done.

Should the Pumpkin Spice Latte be next??

📖 Recipe