Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew {Starbucks Copycat}

Sometimes simple is best and this Starbucks Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew copycat recipe is proof! The refreshing iced coffee drink is so easy to make at home with cold brew, vanilla syrup, and a simple homemade vanilla sweet cream.

Jump to:

• 🥤 What is a Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew?
• ❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
• 🗒 Ingredients
• 🍦 How to make vanilla sweet cream
• 🧋 How to make vanilla sweet cream cold brew
• ⏲️ How to store
• 🎉 Variations on recipe
• ☕️ Do I need to use cold brew?
• ⚡️ How much caffeine is in this drink?
• 🧊 More Starbucks cold brew recipes
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

There are some drinks at Starbucks that you're totally OK enjoying for a limited time only. And then there are some that you need to stick around forever.

The Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew is a forever kind of drink. It's not the fanciest of iced coffees and there's nothing complicated about it. But it's smooth and creamy and deliciously sweet and flavorful.

Pretty much everything you want on a hot day or when you have a craving for something a little bit sweet and refreshing.

It's simple to order at Starbucks, but also incredibly easy to make at home with this easy Starbucks copycat recipe!

🥤 What is a Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew?

If you're a fan of cold brew and sweet and creamy vanilla flavor, this Starbucks drink is perfect for you!

It's simply cold brew with vanilla simple syrup and a deliciously creamy vanilla sweet cream. That's it!

According to the coffee shop, the cold brew coffee is "accented with vanilla and topped with a delicate float of house-made vanilla sweet cream that cascades throughout the cup. It's over-the-top and super-smooth."

It's so simple and absolutely perfect.

❤️ Why you'll love this recipe

Smooth cold brew and creamy vanilla swirls... What's not to love?

Even better, this iced coffee is so, so easy to make at home. You can prep the vanilla sweet cream in advance and just add it to your cold brew when you're ready to enjoy.

Something tells me this Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew copycat recipe will change your whole summer!

🗒 Ingredients

Unlike many Starbucks drinks, there's nothing complicated about this Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew. Here's everything you need to make the drink (be sure to view the recipe card at the bottom of this post for ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions):

• Cold brew: you can brew your own cold brew with your favorite cold brew recipe or use Starbucks cold brew (I buy their cold brew in the refrigerated section of my grocery store, but you can also buy the cold brew concentrate) or another brand cold brew. To make sure the drink is as close to the original as possible, be sure to use a black cold brew. If you don't have cold brew, you can use the iced coffee of your choice.
  
• Ice cubes
  
• Vanilla syrup: you can make homemade vanilla syrup using my recipe or you can purchase a bottle of it. I like Starbucks vanilla syrup, but you can use any brand.
  
• Vanilla sweet cream: my recipe is below, but some brands are also introducing store-bought options if you prefer. I don't think vanilla creamer is quite the same, but it can be used as a substitute as well.

And for the vanilla cream sweet cream, you need:

• 2% milk
  
• Heavy cream
  
• Vanilla syrup: again, you can make your own or use a store-bought version.

Such simple ingredients!

🍦 How to make vanilla sweet cream

I've been obsessed with making this vanilla sweet cream and keeping it in a jar in my fridge.

I always drink my hot coffee black, but when I'm enjoying iced coffee or cold brew, I love adding this cold cream to it! And it's so easy to make.

I have a whole post on how to make sweet cream cold foam, but for this recipe, you only need to make the first part of it: the sweet cream.

No need to turn it into a cold foam!

All you have to do is add 2% milk, heavy cream, and vanilla syrup to a mason jar and shake well to combine.

This is your vanilla sweet cream!

If you don't have a jar, you can mix all the ingredients in a bowl.

Keep the sweet cream in the fridge until ready to use.

🧋 How to make vanilla sweet cream cold brew

Once you have your vanilla sweet cream made, it's easy to whip up this drink whenever you're in the mood.

Just fill a large glass with ice (I recommend a 16 ounce glass for this recipe).

Stir in about 1 ounce of vanilla syrup.

And pour in the vanilla sweet cream.

I think 1 ½ ounces of sweet cream is pretty standard as to what Starbucks uses in a grande, but you can, of course, use more or less.

This amount is absolute perfection to me as you can still taste the robust coffee, but get lots of sweet and creamy vanilla notes, too.

And just like that this Starbucks Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew copycat has become my official drink of summer.

It looks like such a fancy iced coffee drink, but it's incredibly easy to whip up and so refreshing and delicious.

⏲️ How to store

You can store the vanilla sweet cream in a mason jar or other airtight container in your fridge for however long the milk and cream are good for.

I'm planning to keep a jar of it in my fridge at all times during the warm weather.

I don't recommend adding the sweet cream to the coffee until you're ready to enjoy the drink.

🎉 Variations on recipe

I love that the Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew is one of the simpler Starbucks drinks.

And I don't think it needs anything else in it. At all. That said, if you're looking to jazz it up, there are lots of things you can do!

Here are some ideas:

• Add vanilla cold foam: you can turn some of that sweet cream into a foam with my vanilla cold foam recipe and top the cold brew with it.
  
• Try another flavor sweet cream: if you don't want vanilla, you can make a variety of different flavors, including chocolate sweet cream, a cinnamon caramel sweet cream, a pistachio sweet cream, a lavender sweet cream, or a pumpkin sweet cream.

• Add a different flavor syrup: instead of vanilla syrup, or in addition to the vanilla syrup, you can add another flavor. I especially recommend caramel syrup, cinnamon dolce syrup, or hazelnut syrup.

• Make it sugar-free: you can use sugar-free vanilla syrup in both the coffee and the sweet cream if you prefer.

• Add some spice: sprinkle cinnamon, nutmeg, or pumpkin spice over the coffee.

• Add sauce: stir in a caramel sauce or a white mocha sauce into the cold brew coffee.

• Add extract: for extra flavor, mix in the extract of your choice like vanilla extract, almond extract, etc.

• Make the sweet vanilla cream with the dairy or non-dairy alternative of your choice: coconut milk would add in some tasty flavor and almond milk, oat milk, or soy milk would also be delicious.

• Top it off: top your drink off with whipped cream or chocolate shavings.

• Give the drink an adult twist: serve the cold brew to your friends on the weekend with a splash of Bailey's or Kahlúa; the perfect addition for a party.

That vanilla sweet cream really does cascade through the cup and it's absolutely glorious!

☕️ Do I need to use cold brew?

You can use any coffee you want to make this iced drink! Starbucks makes theirs with cold brew and I love the robust flavor it brings, but you can use the iced coffee of your choice.

In fact, you can even add the vanilla syrup and vanilla sweet cream into your hot coffee!

⚡️ How much caffeine is in this drink?

According to Starbucks, there are 185 mg in the Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew. How much is in your make-at-home version will depend on which type of cold brew or coffee you use.

Note that cold brew typically has more caffeine than the standard iced coffee.

I don't think I realized how much I loved iced coffee until I tried cold brew. It's just so smooth and delicious.

🧊 More Starbucks cold brew recipes

I love making homemade versions of Starbucks cold brew coffees as they're some of my very favorite coffee drinks. Here are some of the best:

And if you're not in the mood for coffee, you should try this Iced Lavender Cream Oatmilk Matcha!

I'm always coming up with easy drink recipes for Starbucks' menu items, so be sure to come back for more!

No matter all the awesome flavors of drinks Starbucks keeps coming out with, so many people agree that vanilla is the best flavor and this creamy coffee drink is their star menu item.

Luckily, it's also the easiest to whip up at home!

If you try this delicious coffee drink, please let me know in the comments below! Did you enjoy it simply as is or did you add in any fun ingredients?

📖 Recipe