Make this Starbucks-inspired vegan cold foam at home to pour over your favorite coffee and tea creations. This easy method is suitable for any dairy-free and vegan lifestyle!
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💡 The recipe in a nutshell
- Dairy-free cold foam
- 100% vegan
- Easy-to-make
- Ready in under 10 minutes
- Starbucks cold foam copycat
🤔 What is cold foam?
Cold foam is taking over Starbucks’ cold-drink menu since 2018! Simply put, it is frothed milk that is often flavored with a sweetener and extract. The milk is frothed without the use of heat or steam, making it the perfect topping for cold drinks!
👩🏽🍳 How to make vegan cold foam?
Typically dairy-based milk, such as cow’s milk, is used to make cold foam. To make vegan cold foam we recommend using vegan barista milk. Barista editions are specifically formulated to use in coffee and usually froth at cold temperatures.
- Place ingredients into a jar, milk pan or bowl.
- Froth until fluffy and creamy using a froth. (If you don’t have a froth it is also possible to use an electric mixer with the whisk attachment, a food processor, or a blender.)
- Pour dairy-free cold foam over ice or cold brew coffee or tea.
Tip: Top the vegan cold foam with cinnamon, and pumpkin spice, or drizzle with caramel, chocolate, or any other syrup you like to elevate your homemade cold foam. For flavor variations read here.
📋 Ingredients for Vegan Cold Foam
- Vegan Barista Milk
- Simple Syrup (or use our list for flavor variations)
- Vanilla Extract (optional)
- Pinch of salt (optional)
🥛 Vegan barista milk brands to use for cold foam
Whether you prefer oat, soy, coconut, or almond, these barista editions will help you to replicate dairy-free foam-topped drinks at home:
- Good Karma
- Califa
- Oatly
- Chobani
- Oatsome
- Hope and Sesame
- Minor Figures
- Ripple Foods
- Pacific Foods
- Nut Pods
- WhatIf Foods Bam Nut
- Elmhurst
- Myracle Kitchen
What’s the difference between barista milk and regular milk? Barista milk, also referred to as super milk, has more protein and is extra fatty and creamy. Additionally, it differs in emulsifiers, thickeners, and acidity regulators compared to regular plant-based milk. What’s more, barista milk is designed to produce microfoam which is great for latte art.
☕ Cold foam flavor variations
Starbucks offers various cold foam flavors. We listed some of our favorite variations and ingredients. Follow our basic recipe using the listed ingredients.
- Plain → follow the basic recipe (which you find at the end of the blog post)
- Oleato → read our Oleato guide to make a copycat of Starbucks’ olive oil coffee
- Vanilla sweet cream → use ½ tablespoon powdered sugar, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract on ½ cup (4 oz) of vegan barista milk
- Caramel → use 2 teaspoons caramel syrup, ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract on ½ cup (4 oz) of vegan barista milk
- Hazelnut → use 2 teaspoons hazelnut syrup, ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract on ½ cup (4 oz) of vegan barista milk
- Pumpkin cream → 1 tablespoon pumpkin puree, ⅛ teaspoon pumpkin spice, ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract on ½ cup (4 oz) of vegan barista milk
Optional: Add a pinch of salt to any of these to enhance the flavors.
💭 Common questions
- Is cold foam vegan? Cold foam is typically made with dairy-based milk making it non-vegan. However, it is possible to make cold foam out of plant-based milk. Our recipe is 100% vegan.
- Is Starbucks cold foam vegan? The classic Starbucks cold foam contains 2% milk, heavy cream, and sweet vanilla syrup. However, Starbucks offers oat milk cold foam as a substitute which is vegan.
- How to store cold foam? Cold foam is best fresh. However, you can store it for up to 3 days in the fridge in an air-tight container.
- How long does cold foam last? Well-frothed vegan barista milk foam maintains a fluffy and consistent cap over an iced coffee for roughly 30 minutes and slightly less over hot drinks. It stays fresh in an air-tight container for up to 3 days. Please keep in mind that the milk foam may not stay as fluffy being.
📖 Recipe
Vegan Cold Foam
Equipment
- froth
- jar, bowl, or milk pan
Ingredients
- ½ cup vegan barista milk (4 oz)
- 2 teaspoon simple syrup (or use our list for flavor variations)
Optional add-ins
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- A pinch of salt
Instructions
- Place ingredients into a jar, milk pan, or bowl.
- Froth until fluffy and creamy using a froth. (If you don’t have a froth it is also possible to use an electric mixer with the whisk attachment, a food processor, or a blender.)
- Pour over iced or cold brew coffee or tea. Enjoy!
The provided nutritional information is an estimate. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
PS: Don't forget to rate this recipe and leave a comment on your experience - this helps improve my recipes and serves you with the best instructions, tips, and substitution ideas. Plus, I love hearing about your takes on my recipes! Tag me on Instagram @thesimplesprinkle to show me your pictures.
My foam didn’t get very thick and settled into the coffee pretty quickly rather than sitting on top. Any suggestions for getting the foam to be thicker?
I am so sorry to hear! What brand of milk did you use? This might help me understand what happened, as some vegan barista milks are 'better' than others. Always check the package instructions too!
This was so delish. I made a double batch. Thanks for teaching me that there is a thing called Barista milk. I never knew it existed until know. So interesting that it has more protein.
Lovely vegan cold foam recipe! Perfect topping for cold brew!
Thanks for sharing this easy recipe. Love cold brew for summer and this is the perfect accompaniment.
Great cold foam recipe! It was great on my morning coffee and I also put a little bit of it on my oatmeal - also fantastic!
Didn't work 🙁 I'm guessing it's bc the barista milk didn't have enough fat so it came out liquidy. Going to get some canned coconut milk and vegan heavy cream and it should do the trick.
What brand of barista milk works?
Aw bummer that it didn’t work out this time! 😞 There’s actually a whole section in the blog post that goes over listing different barista milk brands 🙂
In my experience, soy barista milks tend to give the most consistent results, but it really can vary by brand. I always recommend checking the instructions on the carton too - some brands specifically note whether their milk is best for hot or cold frothing. Let me know how it goes with the canned coconut milk + vegan cream combo! That sounds promising! 💛