Kat's Kitchen

If you haven’t heard, Starbucks launched a new drink for fall: the Pecan Crunch Oatmilk Latte! There’s a hot version and an iced version with nondairy cold foam, and they are both fantastic.

It has been awhile since I’ve been this impressed with a Starbucks drink! However, per usual, I’m not impressed with the ridiculously high price per drink, so let me show you how you can make and enjoy this delicious fall beverage all season long!

Pecan Crunch Oatmilk Latte Ingredients:

• 1-2 tablespoons Homemade Pecan Syrup or Torani Butter Pecan Syrup
• 2-3 shots blonde espresso (about 2-3 ounces)- see all the different espresso making options in my post: 5 Ways To Make Espresso at Home
• 8 ounces oat milk– Starbucks uses a barista style oat milk to make the drink extra creamer (oatly barista edition)
• Ice cubes – if you’re making an iced version
• Nondairy Sweet Cream Cold Foam (recipe below)
• Crushed candied pecans for the pecan crunch topping

Nondairy Sweet Cream Cold Foam Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon Homemade Vanilla Syrup – or use store-bought like Torani
• 2 tablespoons barista style oat milk – the same that’s used in the base of the latte
• 3 tablespoons vanilla soy milk – this helps thicken up the cold foam, but feel free to use coconut whipping cream or dairy free heavy whipping cream

Now that we know which ingredients we need, let’s talk a bit about blonde espresso, and how to make it at home for our iced or hot Starbucks Pecan Crunch Oatmilk Latte!

What Is Blonde Espresso?

The term “blonde” in a coffee sense simply means the beans are a light roast. A blonde roast or a lighter roast coffee tends to have less intense/bold flavor, which many people, myself included, actually prefer in espresso! I will always opt for the blonde roast espresso at Starbucks no matter which espresso drink I order – latte, macchiato, mocha, shaken espresso, americano, etc!

Starbucks uses a blonde roast espresso for this drink, so to most accurately replicate the same flavor, we need to use blonde espresso at home too.

How Can I Make Blonde Espresso At Home?

There are five ways to make espresso at home:

• Instant Espresso Powder
• Nespresso Machine
• Moka Pot
• Aeropress
• Espresso Machine

See my 5 Ways To Make Espresso At Home blog post for step by step instructions of each espresso making method! Use a light roast coffee to make the “blonde” espresso shots. See a full list of my favorite coffees here.

How To Steam Milk For a Hot Latte?

All hot lattes require steamed milk as one of the ingredients. To steam milk at home, you have a few options:

1. Steam Wand: If you have an espresso machine with a steam wand attached to it, watch this Milk Steaming Video Tutorial for how to steam milk! You simply add milk to a milk frothing pitcher, insert the tip of the steam wand into the milk, and create air bubbles, heat and texture to create perfect, velvety steamed milk at home!
2. Electric Milk Frother: Add your milk to an electric milk frother, and select the hot setting. The milk frother will heat the milk as well as create a thick and foamy texture. The texture will be a little different than a typical steam wand, but it’s very similar and pleasant, and a great option if you don’t have an espresso machine with a steam wand.
3. Handheld Milk Frother: Add cold milk to a large coffee mug and place the mug in the microwave for 60 seconds. Alternatively, you can heat up milk in a pot on the stove until warm, just make sure to constantly stir it so it doesn’t burn. Once your milk is warm, insert a handheld milk frother into the warm milk. Froth the mixture until the milk doubles in size and becomes bubbly and frothy, and you have steamed milk for your hot latte!

Note, for an iced latte, you do not need to warm or steam the milk. Simply skip this step, and use cold milk straight from the fridge.

How To Make Homemade Pecan Syrup

See my Homemade Pecan Syrup recipe!

How To Make an Iced Starbucks Pecan Crunch Oatmilk Latte

1. Brew your blonde espresso shots using an espresso machine, Nespresso machine, Moka pot, Aeropress or instant espresso powder, then set aside.
2. To a separate cup, add the Homemade Pecan Syrup (or the Torani Butter Pecan Syrup).
3. Pour the blonde espresso shots over the syrup, and then add oat milk and ice. Stir with a spoon or straw until the cup feels cold to the touch from top to bottom, then set aside.
4. In a separate smaller cup, combine the cold foam ingredients: Vanilla Syrup, barista style oat milk, and soy milk.
5. Froth the mixture using a handheld milk frother for about 30-60 seconds or until thick and foamy.
6. Pour the Nondairy Sweet Cream Cold Foam over the iced pecan latte.
7. Add candied pecans to a Ziploc baggie, and crush the pecans using a rolling pin. Add the crushed candied pecans to the top of the cold foam, and enjoy!

How To Make a Hot Starbucks Pecan Crunch Oatmilk Latte

1. Brew your blonde espresso shots using an espresso machine, Nespresso machine, Moka pot, Aeropress or instant espresso powder, then set aside.
2. To a separate mug, add the Homemade Pecan Syrup (or the Torani Butter Pecan Syrup), and the blonde espresso shots.
3. Pour oat milk into a milk frothing pitcher and steam using a steam wand. You could also froth the milk inside an aerroccino, or microwave the milk for 60 seconds in the microwave and froth with a handheld milk frother until thick and frothy.
4. Pour the steamed/frothed oat milk over the syrup and espresso mixture.
5. Add candied pecans to a Ziploc baggie, and crush the pecans using a rolling pin. Add the crushed candied pecans to the top of the hot latte, and enjoy!

What Ratios Does Starbucks Use?

I like my lattes to be a bit more coffee tasting than milky tasting, so my ratios are a slightly different from Starbucks. If you want to most accurately replicate the Starbucks ratios for an Iced or Hot Pecan Crunch Oatmilk Latte, follow these ratios:

ICED PECAN CRUNCH OATMILK LATTE

	TALL	GRANDE	VENTI
PECAN SYRUP	3 PUMPS (1.5 TBSP)	4 PUMPS (2 TBSP)	6 PUMPS (3 TBSP)
ESPRESSO	1 SHOT	2 SHOTS	3 SHOTS
OATMILK	8 OUNCES	10 OUNCES	12 OUNCES
NONDAIRY VANILLA COLD FOAM	–	–	–

HOT PECAN CRUNCH OATMILK LATTE

	SHORT	TALL	GRANDE	VENTI
PECAN SYRUP	2 PUMPS (1 TBSP)	3 PUMPS (1.5 TBSP)	4 PUMPS (2 TBSP)	6 PUMPS (3 TBSP)
ESPRESSO	1 SHOT	1 SHOT	2 SHOTS	3 SHOTS
OATMILK	6 OUNCES	8 OUNCES	10 OUNCES	12 OUNCES

How Can I Make This Drink Lower Sugar or Lower Calories?

For a lower sugar/lower calorie version of this drink, feel free to make as many modifications as you’d like below:

• Make a sugar free pecan syrup using a sugar substitute instead of cane sugar.
• Use unsweetened almond milk instead of oat milk OR use a lower sugar/calorie oat milk like the Chobani Oatmilk Zero Sugar Unsweetened ( this oat milk has 50 calories per cup, and no sugars/no sugar alcohols/no sugar substitutes).
• Use a Sugar Free Vanilla Syrup instead of regular in the cold foam. You could also skip the cold foam entirely add just add cinnamon or top with sugar free whipped cream.
• For the topping, top with cinnamon instead of the pecan crunch topping.

How Can I Make this Drink A Frappuccino or a Blended Coffee?

Add the following to a blender:

• 2 tablespoons pecan syrup
• 8 ounces oat milk
• 1/8 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 2 teaspoons instant coffee
• 1 1/4 cup ice

Blend that all together and then pour into a cup. Top with whipped cream and crushed candied pecans.

How to Make This Drink Using a Keurig

1. Select the shot option on your Keurig to brew 4 ounces of coffee into your cup
2. Add your syrup and add 4-6 ounces of cold oat milk and add ice to fill the cup. (For a hot latte, add 4-6 ounces of STEAMED oat milk and no ice.
3. Make your cold foam for the iced latte and top with crushed candied pecans.

I hope you enjoy this recipe! Drop a comment below if you give this at home version a try, and I hope you have a very happy pecan-latte-makin fall!