My Dairy-Free Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew features smooth, cold brew coffee topped with a creamy, cloud-like pumpkin oat milk foam and a hint of warm spices. All the flavors of fall in a delicious and refreshing coffee drink you can make at home!
When pumpkin spice lattes start popping up on the menu at Starbucks, that means fall has really arrived! Personally, the drink I look forward to the most this time of year is their Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew. Living in Florida, it's hot all year round so I almost always order cold drinks from Starbucks.
This tasty drink features smooth, sweet cold brew coffee topped with a creamy, cloud-like pumpkin cream cold foam. It's finished with a dusting of pumpkin spice topping, which has hints of cinnamon and nutmeg.
I decided to make my own dairy-free version of Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew using creamy oat milk. Not only is my recipe vegan and dairy-free, it also has less calories and sugar than the Starbucks version, which has a generous amount of cream and vanilla syrup.
Plus, this recipe is really easy to make at home and only has 6 ingredients!
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Why You'll Love This Drink
- Tastes like fall- full of fall flavors like pumpkin, maple, and cinnamon
- Uses oat milk instead of dairy milk- contains no lactose, nuts, soy or gluten
- Lighter than Starbucks- less calories and sugar
- Easy to make- only 6 ingredients!
- Cheaper than Starbucks
What is Cold Foam?
Cold foam has been popping up on coffeehouse menus everywhere. Although it sounds really fancy, it's really just cold, frothy milk. And it's actually super easy to make at home!
Cold foam is the light, frothy milk topping that is used to top cold coffee drinks like cold brew, iced coffee, and iced lattes.
Unlike the traditional hot, steamed milk used to top hot coffee drinks, cold foam is made by frothing cold milk. This is a much better option than topping your cold coffee with hot milk that will melt down into your drink!
Dairy-Free Cold Foam
Dairy-free cold foam is cold foam made with dairy milk alternatives. Traditional cold foam is made with cow's milk. Dairy-free cold foam is made with milk alternatives like oat milk, almond milk, soy milk or coconut milk.
For my recipe, I make an oat milk cold foam. This means that my cold foam is dairy-free and vegan.
Oat milk has become popular recently and for good reason. It's a dairy-free, vegan-friendly milk alternative that's made by soaking, blending and straining oats.
Oat milk is often enriched with many nutrients and is a good source of several vitamins, minerals and fiber. It's a good option for people with food allergies or intolerances as it contains no lactose, nuts, soy or gluten (if made from certified gluten-free oats).
Oat milk has a mildly nutty flavor which works really well with the pumpkin and spices in this tasty coffee drink. It's also very creamy and whips up to a nice frothy consistency, making it perfect for drinks like this Dairy-Free Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew.
How To Make Cold Foam
Cold foam is really easy to make! All you do is foam up cold milk with a milk frother until it's light and airy. You can also add additional ingredients to flavor the milk like flavored syrups or spices.
To foam up the milk, you can use an electric frother that you plug in or a simple handheld frother. It's light, easy to use, and inexpensive.
If you don't have a milk frother, you can even use a good old fashioned mason jar. Pour some of the pumpkin "cream" in and shake, shake, shake until foamy.
For this drink I make a pumpkin oat milk cold foam with oat milk and canned pumpkin. This vegan cold foam is flavored with warm spices and sweetened lightly with maple syrup.
For this pumpkin cold foam, I actually heat the ingredients together first rather than foaming up the cold mixture. This is so that the spices can infuse the milk better. Then I let the milk cool down before frothing it.
I usually make a large jar of it and store it in the fridge so that I can enjoy it over several days.
Ingredients
Recipe Ingredients and substitutions:
- Cold brew coffee- you can buy cold brew from the grocery store or make your own
- Oat milk- I use plain, unsweetened oat milk so that I can control the amount of sugar
- Canned pumpkin puree- make sure to use 100% pure canned pumpkin rather than pumpkin pie filling
- Vanilla extract
- Maple syrup- you can substitute agave or honey (if not vegan)
- Pumpkin pie spice- a spice blend that typically contains cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, and cloves.
Step-By-Step Instructions
- Step 1- Heat oat milk, pumpkin puree, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, and maple syrup in a saucepan on the stove. Pour the mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a mason jar and let it cool in the fridge. Straining is optional but makes it easier to froth the milk because it removes any small pieces of pumpkin.
- Step 2- Once cool, pour about ¼ cup of the pumpkin oat milk "cream" into a frothing pitcher or cup. Foam it up with a handheld frother until it's nice and creamy.
- Step 3- Fill a glass with ice. I like to use fun ice cube molds like these molds to make large round or square ice cubes. Then pour in some store-bought or homemade cold brew coffee. If desired, you can stir in a little sweetener of your choice (Starbucks adds a lot of sweetness with a couple of pumps of vanilla syrup).
- Step 4- Pour the pumpkin cream cold foam on top. Garnish with pumpkin pie spice or cinnamon. Insert straw and enjoy!
Smooth, cold coffee topped with a creamy, cloud-like pumpkin foam and warm spices. All the flavors of fall in a delicious and refreshing coffee drink. Enjoy!
Recipe FAQs
No. The Starbucks pumpkin cream cold brew contains dairy.
Cold brew is coffee that's made by steeping coffee grinds in cold water instead of hot water. When coffee comes into contact with the intense heat of boiling water, a specific chemical reaction occurs. With cold-brewing, that chemical reaction doesn't occur so it creates a different flavor profile than drip coffee. The result is that cold brew is less bitter and has a smooth, almost sweet flavor.
Yes, cold foam can be made with non-dairy milk like oat milk, almond milk or coconut milk. I like to use oat milk because it whips up to a nice frothy consistency.
Pumpkin pie spice is a blend of spices and typically contains a mixture of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, and allspice.
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Recipe
Dairy-Free Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew (Starbucks Copycat)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups unsweetened oat milk
- 3 tablespoons canned pumpkin puree
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice plus extra for garnish
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- Cold brew coffee (bottled or homemade)
- 1-3 teaspoons sweetener of your choice, optional
Instructions
- Heat the oat milk, pumpkin puree, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, and maple syrup in saucepan over medium heat for a few minutes, whisking to combine. Do not bring to a boil. Remove from heat and pour the mixture through a fine mesh strainer (optional) into a mason jar or large glass. Cool in the refrigerator until ready to use.
- Pour some of the pumpkin oat milk into a frothing pitcher or cup (I use about ¼ cup per glass of cold brew). Foam it with a hand-held milk frother for 15-30 seconds until foamy.
- Fill a glass with ice and pour in about a cup of cold brew coffee. Add sweetener of your choice (like sugar, maple syrup, Stevia, etc.), if desired.
- Pour the frothed pumpkin oat milk cold foam into the glasses. Garnish with pumpkin pie spice. Serve immediately.
- Store the remaining pumpkin oat milk "cream" in a sealed jar in the fridge.
Crystal says
This didn’t froth well for me. It didn’t get creamy. I used Walnut milk instead of oat. I’m not sure if that’s why?
Dr. Sonali Ruder says
Hi Crystal! Yes, walnut milk does not froth well. Check out this list of the best milks for frothing on the Food Network website. As you can see, after dairy milk, the next best option is oat milk, which produces a creamy foam. Room temperature almond milk and soy milk are other good options.
https://www.foodnetwork.com/how-to/packages/food-network-essentials/the-best-milks-for-frothing
janet says
So happy to see this copycat recipe! I love the pumpkin cream cold brew, but it's a bit indulgent. I'm looking forward to trying this healthier version.
sonaliruder says
Thanks, Janet! Let me know how it goes if you try it out!