Mocha Frappuccino Recipe

This homemade mocha frappuccino recipe is really simple to pull off, and only requires 4 simple ingredients! Plus I’ll show how you can make this delicious recipe without a blender. Perfect for a hot day!

 

One of my favorite warm-weather drinks is a mocha frappuccino. That combination of chocolate flavor and coffee is 👌

Did you know that you can make a mocha frappe at home? And did you know that it’s actually super easy and only requires 4 ingredients?

Let me show you how it’s done with my simple recipe, and then you can avoid the lines at your local coffee shop when the mood strikes!

How to Make a Mocha Frappuccino:

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Ingredients:

As I said, you only need 4 basic ingredients for this Mocha Frappuccino recipe:

• Coffee
• Vanilla extract
• Chocolate milk
• Whipping cream

Let’s Talk About Chocolate Milk for a Second…

If I want to indulge in store-bought chocolate milk, I reach for Kalona SuperNatural organic chocolate milk. It’s certified organic and made with grass-fed whole milk, batch Pastuerized to just 145°F, is minimally processed, and only contains 5 ingredients.

Quick note: Kalona SuperNatural chocolate milk contains carrageenan, which is an ingredient that I typically avoid. I did a little digging, and found this article by Chris Kresser about carrageenan really helpful.
TL;DR: carrageenan’s harmful properties have been overblown, but it still warrants caution. So I think it’s okay for an occasional treat like chocolate milk.

Quick tip: I like to pour some Kalona SuperNatural whipping cream into my glass of chocolate milk. What can I say? I’m a cream fanatic. 

A Word About Coffee…

I have tested this recipe with coffee brewed from freshly ground beans, and with organic instant coffee. Both were delicious, but of course the instant coffee was a little easier to make.

Use a dark roast for a bold flavor.

For the brewed coffee, I used four Aeropress scoops of coffee beans, ground them to medium-fine, and filled with hot water to the 4 line on my Aeropress. This gave me about 1/3 cup of very strong brewed coffee.

For the instant coffee, I used one packet of Four Sigmatic instant mushroom coffee and added enough hot water to make 1/3 cup.

You could also use an espresso machine if you own one to make the strong coffee.

Note: If you use cold coffee, it won’t cool down your mocha frappe as much as hot coffee (duh).

Okay, let’s make a Mocha Frappuccino!

Prepping the Ingredients:

There are three different ways that you can get this drink icy cold: you can freeze the cream, freeze the coffee, or use ice cubes.

I measure out the cream or coffee and pour it into silicone ice cube trays. If you don’t own an ice cube tray, you could pour the cream or coffee into a plastic baggy, freeze it flat, then chop up the pieces before blending.

I’ll show you how to get a creamy mocha frappuccino without using a blender in a minute…

Making a Mocha Frappuccino:

Okay, now I’m going to show you two ways you can make a mocha frappuccino.

Method #1:

For the first method, simply place all of the ingredients into a blender jar and whiz until completely smooth. 

Pour the blended coffee into your favorite glass.

I find that if you use frozen cream the final drink will be a tad creamier, but there will be little flecks of frozen cream that can have an odd mouthfeel.

If this is of concern to you, use the coffee ice cubes or regular ice cubes instead.

You can experiment with each and decide which you prefer!

Method #2:

For the second method, we’re going to make a shakerato. This is a really cool way to make an iced latte without using a blender. All you need is a jar with a lid and some ice! Place all of the mocha frappucino ingredients into a quart jar.

Add about 5-6 ice cubes.

Screw the lid on and shake shake shake for about a minute.

Finally, pour the shakerato into a cup. You can strain out the ice or leave it in – whichever you prefer!

The shakerato isn’t quite as thick as a blended drink, but it’s really easy and doesn’t require you to freeze your cream or coffee first.

Serving:

To turn this into an extra special treat, you can add a dollop of homemade whipped cream on top.

A sprinkle of shaved chocolate makes it extra fancy. ✨

You could also do a drizzle of chocolate syrup or a dusting of cocoa powder.

What a decadent frozen drink! Mmmm…I just love that frozen mocha flavor!

Notes:

• This mocha frappuccino recipe is quite coffee forward. If you prefer a milder coffee flavor, you can reduce the amount or use regular coffee instead of espresso strength. Or, if you can’t get enough caffeine, go ahead and pour in extra coffee!
• The sweetness level in this recipe is just right for me, but you may find that you like yours sweeter. If that’s the case, you can either increase the amount of chocolate milk or add a glug of maple syrup.
• If you want to go crazy, you could try adding a scoop of peanut butter! 😍
• The way Starbucks gets their frappuccinos to stay emulsified is by using their Frappuccino base syrup, which contains xanthan gum. To mimic this, you can add 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon of xanthan gum to the blender.

More Summer Drink Recipes:

• Strawberry Protein Smoothie
• Lemonade Recipe
• Homemade Cream Sodas
• Blood Orange Lemonade
• Sparkling Strawberry Jasmine Green Tea

Starbucks Frappuccinos:

• Starbucks Matcha Frappuccino Recipe
• Double Chocolate Chip Frappuccino Recipe
• Starbucks Bottled Frappuccino Recipe

Other Starbucks Copycat Recipes:

• Starbucks Hot Matcha Latte
• Starbucks Chai Tea Latte
• How to make a Hot Mocha Latte
• Pumpkin Spice Latte
• Homemade London Fog Latte
• Dirty Chai Latte
• Homemade Oat Milk Latte
• Brown Sugar Oatmilk Shaken Espresso Recipe

 

Many thanks to Kalona SuperNatural for sponsoring this post – I love their products!

If you make this recipe and enjoy it, please consider coming back and giving it a star rating! Thank you!

Recipe Card:

Originally published on May 28, 2020 at 09:42. Updated on March 29, 2023