When the craving for a cold, blended coffee drink hits, waiting in a long drive-thru line is the last thing I want to do. This 2-minute homemade frappuccino with vanilla ice cream is my daily dose of instant gratification throughout the summer. It’s unbelievably quick, and the balanced sweetness makes it even better than the coffee shop version.
One day I mixed some vanilla ice cream into my coffee and I realized that it tasted exactly like a vanilla frappe from a coffee shop (shocker, I know! how did I think they even made them?)!
This is now my favorite way to have coffee during the summertime.
I definitely don’t do this every morning, but every now and then (especially on those super hot days) I’ll pull out the blender to whip this up and it never disappoints!
It’s got just enough sweetness like a fancy Frappuccino from a high end coffee shop, but it actually still tastes like coffee instead of an avalanche of sweetness (no shade intended because I too enjoy my fair share of mocha-macchi-dolce-ccinos).
☕ Ingredients
After all, if you’re wanting to make the best possible frozen coffee drink ever, you’re going to need to know a bit about how to make it happen!
✔️Vanilla ice cream – There is nothing more creamy than some tasty vanilla ice cream. It makes the perfect base for this drink.
✔️Coffee – I recommending brewing some very strong coffee and placing it in the fridge to give it time to chill. If you’re enjoying this later in the day, feel free to use strongly brewed decaf coffee.
✔️Milk – Use dairy milk, soy, almond, cashew, or any kind of milk alternatives you like.
✔️Sweetener of choice – Regular white sugar always works in a pinch. If you’re going for healthier options, coconut sugar and agave syrup are some of my favorites. I do enjoy using low-calorie sweeteners like stevia and erythritol sometimes. The latter is know for having a ‘cool’ aftertaste – this doesn’t really matter when used in a cold drink like a frappuccino. If anything, it makes it even more refreshing!
🥤 Instructions
👉Step 1: Mix the ice and the ice cream together in the blender.
👉Step 2: Add in the coffee and the sweetener. Use a sweetener to your liking. I felt the ice cream added enough, so I didn’t add more.
👉Step 3: Pour this yummy coffee drink into a glass, top with whipped cream, drizzle with chocolate sauce, and enjoy!
📌 Expert Tips
🔸Experiment with different ice cream flavors.
🔸Add some caramel sauce in place of the chocolate syrup.
🔸The key to an intense coffee flavor is using a strong brewed coffee.
🔸For an extra-intense coffee flavor, try freezing your chilled strong coffee in an ice cube tray. Using coffee ice cubes instead of regular ice cubes is my favorite trick to make sure the drink never gets watered down as it melts!
❓ Recipe FAQs
I make a fresh pot of REALLY strong coffee for this recipe. Your standard cup of joe won’t taste as strong when it is mixed with ice cream. Definitely go for the strongest coffee you can. I am not a fan of spending money on something I won’t use very often, so I steer away from using store-bought coffee concentrates. I find that brewing a strong pot does the trick.
While my recipe is shown above, there are actually a few different ways to make a homemade Frappuccino.
The main components are brewed coffee and then an additive of a combination of ice, milk, sugar, and syrup. Frappuccinos are flavored using different ingredients, which just adds to the tasty fun!
Optional Sweeteners include sweetened condensed milk or agave nectar. If you don’t use vanilla ice cream (and you’d be insane not to!) add a teaspoon of vanilla extract.
If you make up a Frappuccino, but don’t get the chance to enjoy it right away, why not save it overnight by sticking it in the fridge? That way, when you wake up you can easily get your fix with little to no work on your part.
The easiest way to keep a Frappuccino in the fridge overnight is to brew the coffee ahead of time and then simply let it chill. Add in the rest of the ingredients the next day when you’re ready to drink it.
Absolutely! Add them to a freezer-safe jar or container, and freeze to enjoy later. Storing them in the freezer for up to 3 months is possible! I like to use freezer safe mason jars. You’ll know that they’re freezer safe, as there is an embossed snowflake on the glass.
A lot of people actually do get the two mixed-up. (And that’s okay! We can’t all be Frappuccino experts!) The main difference between the two is that a frappe is actually made using instant coffee and a frappuccino is made using brewed coffee. Who knew, right?! Use that bit of trivia on your next girls’ breakfast out. 😇
For a dairy-free version, this recipe works wonderfully with your favorite dairy-free vanilla ice cream and a non-dairy milk like almond or oat milk! To make it without ice cream altogether, you can blend the chilled coffee, your milk of choice, sweetener, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, and about 1 cup of ice until smooth. It won’t be quite as creamy, but it’ll still be a delicious and frosty treat!
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Tried this recipe? Please leave a star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. You can also stay in touch with me through social media by following me on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook!
Homemade Frappuccino with Vanilla Ice Cream
Ingredients
- 1 cup Vanilla Ice Cream
- 8 oz Strong Coffee chilled
- ⅓ cup Ice
- Sweetener of Choice to taste, optional
- A bit of Almond/Soy/Dairy Milk optional, makes it creamier
Instructions
- Blend ice and vanilla ice cream in the blender
- Pour in coffee and any sweetener
- Pour into a glass and enjoy.
- Add Whipped Cream and Chocolate Sauce
Notes
Nutrition
Hi!
Ginny Collins is a passionate foodie and recipe creator of Savor and Savvy and Kitchenlaughter. Indoors she focuses on easy, quick recipes for busy families and kitchen basics. Outdoors, she focuses on backyard grilling and smoking to bring family and friends together. She is a lifelong learner who is always taking cooking classes on her travels overseas and stateside. Her work has been featured on MSN, Parade, Fox News, Yahoo, Cosmopolitan, Elle, and many local news outlets. She lives in Florida where you will find her outside on the water in her kayak, riding her bike on trails, and planning her next overseas adventure.
Tastes like a Starbucks frapp
this was delicious! i am looking forward to trying this again
Awesome! Its creamy delicious!!
Breyers no sugar added vanilla ice cream worked well with Torani sugar free syrup
That is awesome!! Thanks for letting us know! Cutting those calories is awesome!
GG
Thanks for the 5 stars, Brandon!! Enjoy!
what specific brand ice cream are you using that keeps this to 137 calories per serving?
Hi Donna! The recipe plug in uses the average just like Google does. I think the bigger note here is this is for 2 servings! So that one cup of ice cream divided by 2 servings. If you Google ½ cup of ice cream, it is 137 calories. Coffee is 0 calories. I hope that helps any confusion that this caused! 🙂 Thanks for asking and popping by!