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Starbucks Bottled Frappuccino Recipe

Learn how to make the Starbucks Bottled Frappuccino at home for a fraction of the cost with my simple Starbucks copycat recipe!
001Skiing is my favorite winter sport. Feeling the snow swish beneath my feet as I slide down the “mountain” (in Minnesota, the closest things we have to mountains are very large hills).

It’s always fun to plan out our lunches for skiing, trying to come up with something special and delicious. A few weeks ago, I decided that Frappuccinos would be a lovely treat. Creamy coffee drinks are my favorite.

Thus I purchased a pack of bottled Starbucks Frappuccions at the grocery store. The words “low-fat” on the bottle disturbed me a bit, but I was sure they would be yummy anyhow. Alas, not so. We found them to be overly sweet and thin.  

We dumped in some cream and they were improved immensely. But I was sure I could make something better myself.

Sure enough, I was able to produce something rich and creamy with much better flavor and less sweetener.

That’s the beauty of making it yourself – you can customize it to your own personal tastes!

Here is my method for making your own creamy bottled Frappuccino drink at home.

Video Tutorial:

 

Here’s a video tutorial in case you learn better that way! The written tutorial is below:

All of the ingredients needed to make the Starbucks Bottled Frappuccino at home!

NOTE: Some links are affiliate. All opinions are 100% my own, of course! If you click a link and make a purchase, I will earn a small commission. This has zero impact on the price you pay, and it helps Buttered Side Up out! Thank you!

Ingredients:

Here’s everything you’ll need to make this DIY Frappuccino: 

  • 1/2 cup espresso or strongly brewed coffee: I recommend purchasing dark roast coffee beans for this Frappuccino for a nice roasty flavor. I have use Starbucks coffee in the past, and it’s decent. But these days I really like to source organic, mold-free, Fair Trade coffee (here’s an organic, fair trade coffee available on Amazon). 
  • 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons milk: I like to use whole milk to ensure that the final drink is nice and creamy. If you actually prefer low-fat milk, I guess you can use it. If you have to. You could even use chocolate milk and skip the sweetener for a super easy mocha version. 
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream: Yup. We’re adding cream as well. Feel free to substitute with more milk if you prefer a less creamy coffee. 
  • 1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoon maple syrup: I usually have maple syrup on hand, so this is the perfect sweetener for me. But if you prefer you could use vanilla syrup instead. Or you could use chocolate syrup for a mocha Frappuccino flavor. You could also add a tablespoon of cocoa powder if you don’t have any syrup on hand. Make sure to taste the drink as it might need more sweetener with the added bitterness of the cocoa. Or use caramel syrup for a recreation of the Starbucks caramel Frappuccino. 
  • 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract: This is optional, but I like to add a little bit of pure vanilla extract (NOT imitation vanilla flavor). Here’s an organic, fair trade vanilla extract available on Amazon. I really like the extra flavor it lends to this drink. Of course you can leave it out if you’re using vanilla syrup. 

 

How to Make Starbucks Bottled Frappuccino At Home:

Okay, the process for making this is pretty complicated. 

I’m totally joking. It’s extremely simple.

A cup of strongly brewed Aeropress coffee.

Making the Coffee:

First things first: you’ll want to make your coffee. 

You’ll want to use a really strongly brewed coffee to keep the coffee taste robust. 

You could use an Aeropress, instant coffee, a French press, Moka pot, or espresso machine to achieve this. Make sure to check out my video with instructions for how to make espresso without an espresso machine for detailed instructions.

I also have a video tutorial for how to make cold brew in a French press, which would be perfect for this recipe. 

Once the coffee is brewed, transfer it to the refrigerator to chill. 

Pouring the cream into the jar to make the bottled frappuccino.

Putting the Drink Together:

Place the cold coffee along with the rest of the ingredients into a glass jar, put the lid on, and give it a good shake. 

I recommend saving the bottles from the Starbucks Frappuccino drink you purchased to make your homemade version. Or you could purchase a glass bottle. 

The Starbucks bottled Frappuccino comes in 2 main sizes: the smaller size is about 9.5 ounces, and the larger size is about 13.7 ounces. 

So if you’d like to make the smaller version, you could purchase these Weck .25 liter (8 ounce) juice jars. Or you can find this Bormiloli Rocco 13.5 ounce bottle at Target.  Or these 12 ounce glass milk bottles on Amazon

You can add ice cubes if you want to drink this right away like an iced coffee. 

Or, if you’re making this ahead of time, simply place in the refrigerator until chilled. 

Cost Breakdown:

A 9.5 ounce bottled Starbucks Frappuccino drink will set you back about $1.90 per bottle. My homemade Frappuccino, which is about 8 ounces, will only cost about 87 cents per bottle if you use conventional ingredients and vanilla syrup. That’s about half price!

If you use maple syrup and vanilla syrup, it will be more like $1.13 per serving. 

And if you use all organic ingredients in my homemade version, including mold free coffee, it will set you back $3.47. The bulk of that price goes into the coffee, which is quite expensive these days. If you use the Amazon brand organic fair trade coffee, it will be about $2.97 per serving. 

I’m actually surprised by how much coffee costs these days!

A jar of homemade Starbucks bottled Frappuccino on a white counter with white subway tile backsplash in the background.

 

Notes:

  • This drink is meant to be customizable to your personal preferences. I like the coffee flavor to me fairly strong, so keep that in mind. 
  • Feel free to double the recipe for a larger Frappuccino! The original recipe will make a good amount to fit into the 9.5 ounce Starbucks Frappuccino bottle.
  • As I mentioned above, you can swap out the syrup to achieve different flavors. You could use chocolate syrup, caramel syrup, etc. 

So that’s my copycat Starbucks Frappuccino recipe (but better than the original TBH)! Make sure to check out this other yummy recipes as well:

 

More Copycat Starbucks Drinks:

More Iced Drink Recipes:

A jar of homemade Starbucks bottled Frappuccino on a white counter with white subway tile backsplash in the background.

Starbucks Bottled Frappuccino Recipe

Making the iconic Starbucks bottled frappuccino at home is so easy with my simple recipe!

Course Drinks
Cuisine American
Keyword Coffee
Prep Time 5 minutes
Coffee Brewing Time Estimate 5 minutes
Servings 1
Calories 275 kcal
Author Erica Lea

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup espresso or strongly brewed coffee (see note)
  • 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons whole milk (none of this low-fat stuff)
  • 1/4 cup heavy cream (oh yeah)
  • 1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons pure maple syrup (see note)
  • 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. Brew your espresso or coffee and place in the refrigerator until cold, about an hour or so. Alternatively, you can add ice to the final drink if you want to enjoy it right away.

  2. Add the remaining ingredients and stir or give it a few vigorous shakes (if using a bottle). Taste and adjust the ratio of milk, syrup, etc. Keep going until you love it. Enjoy!

  3. This should keep in the refrigerator for a few days. I haven’t experimented with keeping it longer!

This post was originally published February 16, 2012 on my previous blog. I posted it here on Buttered Side Up on January 19, 2015, at 9:00. It was updated on October 18, 2022.

 

 

 
 
 
 
 
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PS: This was the fourth photo I posted on Instagram. I liked it so much I included it in my blog post. 🙂

Recipe Rating




Erica Lea

Tuesday 20th of January 2015

Hope you enjoy! I need to make a batch for myself as well. :)

Mimsie

Tuesday 20th of January 2015

I'm not the person who asked you to re-post this, but I am glad you did. I will be giving this a try very soon. Thanks!