How to make Starbucks Pistachio Latte at Home – Starbucks Copycat Recipe
I was so excited last week when Starbucks came out with their new Pistachio Latte! I love all things pistachio, so I was hoping that I wouldn’t be disappointed with their new latte. The Starbucks description was “cozy flavors of sweet pistachio and rich brown butter paired with espresso and steamed milk.”
When I first tasted it, I hadn’t expected the brown butter flavor to be as prominent as it was. But boy was it amazing! And so easy to replicate at home.
My recipe makes two lattes, so you can either make them for two . . . or you can store the one in the fridge and put over ice the next day for an iced pistachio latte. An easy solution for how to make an iced pistachio latte!
Rather have hot chocolate? Our new Pistachio Hot Chocolate recipe is super yummy!
For this Starbucks copycat pistachio latte recipe you will just need a few ingredients.
- milk
- espresso
- butter
- pistachio flavoring
How to make a hot pistachio latte:
Brew 2-4 shots espresso. This depends on how strong you prefer the coffee in your latte. I used Starbucks espresso beans for my espresso. If you don’t have an espresso machine, just brew really strong coffee! It’ll work just as well. We love brewing strong coffee in a French press, and a French press will also double as your tool for milk frothing! We even have a post totally dedicated to how to froth milk using a French press 🙂
While your coffee is brewing, you can prepare the browned butter for the latte. I simply heated the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat until the butter is brown. It will turn quickly, so be sure to watch it and stir constantly so that it doesn’t burn.
Next step is to prepare the milk mixture for the latte. I combined my warm milk, pistachio flavor, browned butter, and sugar, and stirred well. I use my espresso machine to steam and froth my milk, but heating your milk in the microwave and using a French press will yield the same result!
I got this pistachio flavoring from Amazon, and it will make a LOT of lattes in my future 🙂
If you’d rather use pistachio flavored syrup, just skip the sugar in this recipe. Torani Pistachio Syrup or Monin Pistachio Syrup would both work just fine.
And lastly – the brown butter topping! This is just a tiny bit of your browned butter mixed with a bit of brown sugar. The perfect topping to a perfect latte.
YOU CAN PIN THIS FOR LATER! :
Copycat Starbucks Pistachio Latte
Creamy pistachio latte with rich browned butter and sugary topping
Ingredients
- 2-4 shots espresso
- 1.5 cups milk
- 1 T butter
- 1 tsp pistachio flavoring
- 2 T sugar or sweetener of choice
- 1/2 T brown sugar
Instructions
Prepare espresso using espresso machine, French press, or just by brewing very strong coffee. You should have about 1/2 cup espresso or very strong coffee.
While the coffee is brewing, heat the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Heat, stirring constantly, until the butter is browned. Remove from heat.
Heat milk in microwave until hot, but not boiling. If you have a milk steamer, steam the milk instead. After the milk is heated, stir in the pistachio flavor, 1/2 T. browned butter, and sugar or sweetener. Stir until well blended.
Mix together 1/2 T browned butter and 1/2 T brown sugar in a small bowl for the topping.
Divide the milk mixture into 2 cups, pour the espresso over the top, dividing that between the 2 cups as well.
Top with frothed milk and topping.
“What’s in a pistachio latte? Starbucks makes their pistachio lattes with espresso, milk, ‘pistachio sauce’ and a salted brown butter topping. This iced pistachio latte recipe is made with espresso, milk, and pistachio cream. In addition to pistachios, the pistachio cream contains milk powder and sugar.”, says Hummingbird High.
“The Pistachio Latte was a hot seller during its release and in its comeback the year after, so Starbucks decided to bring it back again for a third year in 2023. This latte is made with steamed milk and notes of nutty pistachio, then finished with comforting salted brown butter. Yum!”, says Taste of Home.
Parade.com says, “What does the Starbucks pistachio latte taste like? Espresso, steamed milk and brown butter (and, of course, pistachio) combine to create a perfectly smooth, sweet winter drink. The pistachio latte I ordered smelled heavenly and tasted light and sweet, almost reminiscent of the franchise’s white chocolate mocha.”
I just made this and it came out good! I didn’t have brown sugar so I just skipped the topping. I love the brown butter in this
The browned butter adds so much! 😍
I cannot wait to try. Once I get ingredients I will let you know how it comes out. Thanks
How about a recipe for a pistachio sauce? I already know how to buy premade syrup and add it to coffee.
It’s more than adding syrup to coffee — if you read the recipe, you’ll see that there is browned butter with brown sugar. This is a major element to getting that flavor that you get at Starbucks.