Starbucks Copycat Iced Caramel Macchiato

Do you like iced coffee beverages as much as I do but hate paying almost $5 every time you want a fancy iced espresso drink at Starbucks? I thought so. Here's how you can save so much $$ by making your own coffeehouse drinks at home!

Now that spring is upon us, I find myself ditching the hot coffee most times in favor of their summery iced counterparts. In college I had a motto..."I'll drink iced [coffee] unless there is snow on the ground," which I now realize is mildly crazy. Sometimes there was snow on the ground and I insisted on holding my iced caramel macchiato with mittens on.

There's a time and a place for iced coffees. That time is NOW! At least it is in my neck of the woods. How's the weather where you are? Do you like iced coffee beverages as much as I do? Yes? Hate paying almost $5 every time you want a fancy iced espresso drink at Starbucks? SAME.

I have great news for you! I found a great way to make a delicious caramel macchiato without breaking the bank. If you're a coffee lover like I am, you'll likely have some of the ingredients already. You can make around 13 homemade iced caramel macchiatos at a fraction of the cost from Starbucks! I'll break it down for you cost-wise on how it can be done.

Cost of Caramel Macchiato Supplies

1 bottle Torani sugar free vanilla flavoring syrup (13 2 tablespoon serving size bottle) @ $5.49
13 k cups @ $.54 each (we get the huge box from Costco)=$7.02
Milk @ ~$3/gallon (you probably won't use an entire gallon making 13 of these)
Ice - FREE
Homemade caramel sauce - cost very minimal because you probably have all of the ingredients on hand already! (If not, jarred or ice cream topping caramel also works).

I think I might be in love with caramel sauce...and vanilla syrup.

And just coffee in general. So is life. Caramel macchiatos pair excellently with these healthier chocolate chip cookies...don't all cookies go well with coffee drinks?

Anyhow, that brings us to $15.51 total in supplies, roughly $1.19 per drink, and they are usually a bit larger than the grande size at Starbucks. I pay $4.76 with tax included for a grande iced caramel macchiato and limit myself to one a week for both health and financial well-being.

By making these homemade iced caramel macchiatos, you'll be saving over $3.57 per drink because these certainly make larger than a grande size but I only had the price of a grande to work with. If you make these iced caramel macchiatos for the duration of the vanilla syrup bottle, you'll save an astounding $46.37! Homemade caramel macchiatos for the win + all that money you saved! Now go buy yourself something nice! You deserve it! What's your favorite coffeehouse drink?

This recipe was lightly adapted from Eugenie Kitchen.

Love coffee drinks? Then you might love these other coffee beverages:

No-Espresso Machine Caramel Latte
How to Make Your Own Fancy Latte Stencil
How to Make Cold Brew Coffee Video Post
Cinnamon Sugar Latte
Raspberry Mocha