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Some days, I just need a treat to get me through the day. This homemade cinnamon dolce latte recipe hits that “2pm treat” for me while still getting some nourishment from the dairy-free oat milk and natural sweetener. Skip the drive-thru and savor this delightful, guilt-free Starbucks copycat latte instead—it’s divine!
Better than Starbucks Cinnamon Dolce Latte
Before I dive into the recipe, let’s talk about my first love—the Starbucks Cinnamon Dolce Latte. Cinnamon dolce means “cinnamon sweet,” which essentially has a brown sugar flavoring. In my 20’s, I spent my lunch break in line at Starbucks, ordering this drink every single day. Yes. Every single day.
It’s addictively sweet, perfectly caffeinated and packed with cinnamon. Yet aside from the wonderful caffeine, the dolce syrup and whipped cream contain: “natural flavors, carrageenan, potassium sorbate, cane syrup, citric acid and diglycerides.”
The more I embrace a plant-based diet, the less I want to put ingredients like that in my body. None of that is real food…it’s processed to become consumable—and it’s created in a factory. No bueno. That’s why I decided to make my own homemade version.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Oat Milk: Creamy, plant-based milk that adds a smooth and dairy-free base to the latte. Opt for unsweetened varieties to avoid added sugars.
- Coconut Sugar: A natural sweetener with a subtle caramel flavor to enhance the drink’s sweetness and healthier than white sugar. Look for organic coconut sugar. You can also use maple syrup or honey.
- Vanilla Extract: A touch of vanilla adds depth and a warm, sweet aroma. Choose pure vanilla extract over imitation for a richer flavor.
- Ground Cinnamon: Adds a cozy spice flavor, essential to the cinnamon dolce profile. I like to grind my own cinnamon sticks. You can purchase them whole at your local grocery store and grind them at home.
- Espresso Shot or Strong Coffee: The bold coffee base balances the sweetness and spice and gives you a big boost of energy. Choose high-quality, freshly roasted beans; fair trade and organic options are excellent choices.
How to Make a Cinnamon Dolce Latte
These days I am not even a huge fan of sweet coffee anymore (I prefer this unsweetened healthy coffee recipe more than anything)… yet this cinnamon dolce latte recipe has been hitting the spot lately.
Here’s my instructions to make this:
- Start with an oat milk brand of your choice. I like to use oat milk with the highest fat content (aka barista blend), which makes it creamy and filling. If you’ve got time and feeling adventurous, you can make your own oat milk.
- Add all the cinnamon dolce latte ingredients (except for the espresso) to a high-powered blender and blend for 4 minutes to heat up the mixture (yes, your blender can heat up your latte). I use the Vitamix A3500 and their new Aer Disk Container that is designed to froth milk. If you don’t have a high-powered blender, then heat the oat milk on the stove (or microwave) before adding to the blender.
- While blending, pull the espresso shot (or make the instant coffee concentrate with 2 oz of hot water). Pour the shot (or strong coffee) into a mug, then add the warmed oat milk mixture. I use my Rancilio Silva Espresso Machine to pull espresso shots (we take coffee very seriously in my home). You can also use an Aeropress or high quality instant coffee in about 2 ounces of hot water to create an “espresso alternative.” Feel free to use decaf beans if you’re sensitive to caffeine.
- Top with a sprinkle of cinnamon, then enjoy!
How to Froth Milk
Blending milk in a high-speed blender creates a natural froth on the top. You can also use a handheld whisk, milk frother, hand mixer or a steam wand to froth the warm milk and create that nice foamy top layer to sip and enjoy.
Skinny Cinnamon Dolce Latte Variation
The below cinnamon dolce recipe is for a traditional Cinnamon Dolce Latte, yet can easily be adjusted to become a “skinny version” if you’re watching your blood sugar levels or have a dietary concern. Just swap out the coconut sugar with your favorite sugar-free sweetener of choice and enjoy!
If you don’t wanna go sugar-free, yet want less sugar, then start with our base recipe and just decrease the the amount of coconut sugar (or omit completely). You could also swap coconut sugar for a dash of monk fruit or stevia if you use those.
Iced Cinnamon Dolce Latte Variation
This recipe also tastes amazing as an iced cinnamon dolce latte. Put it all directly into a mason jar (no blender needed), add ice and a lid. Give it a good shake and you’re ready to enjoy. You could even swap out the espresso for concentrated cold brew (Stumptown cold brew is really smooth) to enhance the coffee flavors.
Common Questions
A latte is traditionally a shot of espresso mixed with hot milk. A cinnamon dolce latte is an espresso shot, hot milk, sweetener and cinnamon that became famous when Starbucks added it to their menu.
Replace cow’s milk 1:1 with your favorite non-dairy milk in any latte. I prefer oat milk in my lattes because it is super creamy and froths the best. You can also use almond milk, cashew milk and coconut milk to create a nice vegan latte.
If you want to make your low calorie latte, use stevia, monkfruit or your go-to sugar-free sweetener. If you prefer to stay more natural, just decrease or omit the sweetener completely and enjoy the subtle natural sweetness that comes from the cinnamon and oat.
More Homemade Coffee Shop Recipes
I love a good, cozy coffee shop and often seek out new places to try when traveling. Yet making your fav drinks at home is often less expensive, healthier, and fun! Here are a few recipes to try:
- Daily coffee: This is how I enjoy my coffee each day.
- Matcha latte: Hot or cold this is a great natural pick-me-up.
- Rich coffee smoothie: I love when smoothies and natural energy combine in this delicious ‘energy drink’.
- Dalgona coffee: This is more than just a trend, it’s an incredible way to enjoy a cup of joe.
- Golden milk: A coffee alternative to soothe inflammation.
- Chai Tea Latte: My go-to winter beverage.
What is your fav specialty drink to recreate at home? Leave a comment and let me know!
Cinnamon Dolce Latte
Ingredients
- 6 oz oat milk
- 2 tbsp coconut sugar
- ¼ tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon ground
- 2 oz espresso shot or 2 oz strong coffee
Instructions
- Add all ingredients (except espresso) to blender.
- Blend on high for 4 minutes to heat the milk. If you don't have a high speed blender, you can heat the oat milk to desired temperature on stovetop or microwave before adding to the blender.
- Pull espresso shot (or instant coffee in notes) while milk is warming in blender.
- Add espresso shot to coffee mug and pour hot oat milk on top.
- Sprinkle with extra cinnamon.
Video
Notes
- If you don’t have espresso machine, you can add 1 serving instant coffee to 2oz hot water.
- You can also heat the milk on stovetop or in a microwave before adding to the blender.
- Swap oat milk with any plant milk you want, just know the creaminess will vary based on the type of milk used.
- Swap coconut sugar with maple sugar, or go sugar free with raw stevia.
- If using instant coffee, know that you will taste it. So if you’re picky, find a quality brand!
- You can also use cold brew coffee in place of an espresso shot, if you want this to be iced. In this case, only blend ingredients to combine, not to warm.
I love the method of using the blender to heat the milk! I used moka pot espresso and homemade unstrained oat milk. For sweetness I used a combination of dates and maple syrup.
This was so tasty! Love how creamy the oat milk made it.
Hi Erin! Oat milk is perfect for this recipe, the creaminess is unmatched!
It was very creamy and the perfect start to my work day!
Hi Jessica! So glad you loved this one!
Loved this Cinnamon Dolce Latte! I could drink this every day! Thanks for the recipe!
I can’t wait to try this one in the morning! Thanks Jen!
I found this delightful recipe on this Simple Green Smoothie site and made it yesterday, so delicious!
It’s a favorite!!!
Thanks Jen and all!
I don’t drink coffee very often so I made this with Dandy Blend. I used Elmhurst Milked Oats, pure maple syrup (don’t have coconut sugar), and pure vanilla extract (instead of vanilla bean powder). It was very good (albeit quite sweet) and I’d like to try it again with coconut sugar and vanilla bean powder.
Thank you, Jen, for giving us awesome plant-based alternatives for all of our favorite foods and drinks!
We can always count on Jen for the healthy alternatives hook-up! 😀
Got my oat milk to make this tomorrow morning. Can’t wait!
Woo hoo! Let us know how you like it! 😀
I could not find coconut sugar at the supermarket. Can I replace coconut sugar with another sugar?
Hi Daniel! You can sub raw honey or if you are looking for a vegan option, pure maple syrup or date sugar. 🙂
Wow this is so very awesome! Thank you. I love it. I used Oatly Barista oat milk and Stok cold brew heated up because I don’t have an espresso machine. If mine was awesome, imagine how much better it is with espresso!
Way to be resourceful, Colleen! Glad you liked it. 🙂
Thanks for sharing. I appreciate the alternative options! Where did you get your nifty grinder from?
I think I’ve realized that what I like about lattes is the texture of the milk, which has really opened me up to trying different plant-based alternatives. Looking forward to trying this version with oat milk! I doubt I’ll miss the dairy milk in it, and the pictures and video are awesome. Where can I get countertops like that?!?!
I bet this CDL with oat milk would taste delicious!
What a cute video. I can’t wait to try this recipe. I’ll use my aeropress as I don’t have a fancy espresso machine… yet!
Sounds good, Rosalie! Let us know what you think after you try it. 🙂
Can you tell me more about the vanilla bean?? I saw somewhere here that it’s vanilla bean powder? Is this something you purchase in store? hmmmm- I make look into an Aeropress to make this :). It looks yummy!
Hey Dana! You can buy vanilla bean powder online or you can make your own using a spice grinder.
The video was so fun and totally showed me that it was possible to make this. Since i don’t have espresso, I made a strong cup of french press and poured 1/3 cup into the mug. It turned out really well. I like my coffee sweet, so the 2 TBS coconut sugar was spot on. It’s crazy how much this reminded me of the CDL at Starbucks, but def felt more decadent and healthy making it at home. I truly felt like I just treated myself and might make this a weekly event. Thanks Jen for the recipe… and happy Mother’s Day to you and your family.
So glad you enjoyed the drink and it’s great to know you can make it even if you don’t have espresso!
This is excellent and thank you for the latte recipe!!
I used only 1T coconut sugar and is plenty sweet.
Glad you like it and for the folks who like their coffee drinks less sweet, that’s a great tip! 🙂