Recipe for Iced Coffee with Caramel Syrup

This recipe for homemade caramel iced coffee couldn't be easier to whip up and is a welcome treat any time of day or year.

I'm pretty proud of the fact that if you google "caramel coffee," my recipe will most likely come up first.

Mocha hot chocolate, affogato coffee, and cardamom tea lattes are just a few of my favorite specialty beverages, and I enjoy both preparing them and instructing others on how to make them at home.

I'm hoping I've persuaded you to make some caramel syrup for your coffee.

Prepared that Good Come on, then.

One of the simple pleasures in life is picking up an iced coffee from the drive-through at lunchtime. There's always a long line at the Starbucks close to me, but I can get a cold treat and be out of McDonald's in under a minute.

Although I'm aware of its popularity, I've never tried Dunkin' Donuts' iced coffee.

For nine out of ten times, the drive-through bartender serves me a delicious beverage. Unfortunately, irregularities occur at a rate of 10% of the time. Either there isn't enough caramel in it, or there's wayyyy too much.

Your iced caramel coffee made at home will always taste great and be prepared exactly to your liking. It's easy to make while the bacon bakes, so you can get it ready for brunch in no time.

You get to decide how much creaminess there is. Either very mildly sweet or so sugary that it overpowers the coffee's flavor. You decide

To begin, you'll need freshly brewed coffee that has cooled down a bit. Possible you still have some coffee in the pot from the morning. For this caramel iced coffee, that's the perfect amount of sweetness.

An alternative is to brew some iced coffee. If you're interested in making cold brew, NPR has a great method that's also simple and effective for making salted caramel cream cold brew.

Then, put some ice in a tall glass (I used a short glass for the photos, but the recipe is for a 12-ounce drink, the size of a Starbucks "tall" beverage).

Coffee and caramel syrup are poured over ice and stirred together with a long spoon or chopstick until the caramel has dissolved. Only a moment or two is needed.

After that (more on that below), you'll add your preferred creamer to this iced caramel coffee, whether it's dairy or non-dairy, and stir again.

Add whipped cream and caramel sauce on top if you want to make it extra decadent.

When hosting a brunch buffet, I like to set up a caramel iced coffee bar so guests can make their own drinks.

Totally Use whatever dairy or non-dairy substitute you prefer. You can eat anything from your refrigerator here.

Due to the presence of a toddler in my household, whole milk is a constant pantry staple. You know what? Having a steady supply of whole milk is one of those things I don't mind having on hand all the time. It makes a deliciously decadent s'mores hot chocolate and is great for baking.

However, this caramel iced coffee recipe works just as well with oat milk, soy milk, rice milk, coconut milk, cashew milk, or pretty much any other kind of milk you can think of.

Avoid using dairy altogether by forgoing the whipped cream or switching to a non-dairy alternative in this iced caramel coffee.

A quick internet search revealed that Reddi Wip produces a dairy-free whipped topping, but I have yet to come across it in any of the stores near me. Do you know of a good dairy-free substitute for whipped cream? If so, please share it with me in the comments!

Here's my little-known trick for making this cocktail even more exciting:

When making this caramel iced coffee (and also when sprinkling sea salt on top of Baileys brownies), I always use a pinch of sea salt (Maldon brand is my favorite). Indeed, salted caramel's widespread popularity can be attributed to its undeniable deliciousness.

I like to add a dash of sea salt to my iced caramel coffee because I believe that salt brings out the sweetness of the caramel.

Syrups and sauces are two distinct offerings at Starbucks and other high-end coffee shops.

The syrups are the transparent liquids sold in large containers with dispensers. All flavored beverages rely on these flavor boosters.

If you order a caramel iced coffee, you can expect to see the barista add these flavor pumps right away.

However, once the drink is prepared, a different ingredient, a sauce, is used as a garnish (typically drizzled atop whipped cream).

Caramel sauce was used as a topping for the iced coffee depicted in the photos, and caramel syrup was used to flavor the beverage.

If you'd like to try your hand at making caramel sauce in the microwave, I have a recipe for you. However, I find that a store-bought sauce (typically Torani) tastes just as good (if not better) in most situations.