This skinny iced caramel macchiato is my healthier take on the more traditional caramel macchiato you might know (and love). Featuring our 2-Ingredient Caramel Sauce, it consists of only 4 simple ingredients and comes together in 5 minutes.
Summer calls for iced coffee drinks and this skinny caramel macchiato is the newest addition to our coffee recipes. It combines some bold espresso flavors with sweet caramel flavors and has become our go-to coffee on hot summer days.
If you liked our peanut butter coffee recipe, then this one won't disappoint either!
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Why you'll love this recipe
- It's lower in calories than more traditional caramel macchiato recipes.
- There are no unnecessary ingredients included- no artificial sweeteners, heavy cream, preservatives or coloring!
- It's much cheaper than getting it at your local coffee shop.
What is a macchiato?
Simply put, a classic espresso macchiato is one (or more) shots of rich, dark espresso with only a dash of milk.
A latte macchiato on the other hand is milk with only a small amount of coffee added. So the coffee flavors aren't as strong.
What is a skinny caramel macchiato?
A caramel macchiato describes a caramel-flavored coffee. An iced caramel macchiato is simply a regular caramel macchiato turned into a cold coffee drink by adding some ice cubes.
We refer to our recipe as "skinny" because it's a healthier caramel macchiato with fewer calories and no artificial ingredients such as food coloring or preservatives.
Ingredients & Substitution Notes
- Cold Coffee: You can use different types of coffee, depending on how strong (flavored) you like your coffee drinks. Espresso has a much stronger flavor (and more caffeine) than filter coffee for instance.
- Milk of choice: Our favorite type of milk when it comes to coffee is unsweetened oat milk (especially the barista versions!). You can also use almond milk, soy milk or regular whole milk. The more fat content in your milk, the creamier your coffee will turn out. If you would like to add some coconut flavors, feel free to use light coconut milk instead of regular milk. This will result in a creamy macchiato (but also in more calories).
- Peanut Butter: Make sure to use natural peanut butter that consists of only peanuts without any additives.
- Maple Syrup: I recommend checking the label and using pure maple syrup, again, without any additives.
See recipe card for quantities.
Step-by-step photo instructions
Preparing this caramel macchiato requires 2 simple steps and comes together in 5 minutes.
STEP 1: Caramel sauce. Add natural peanut butter and maple syrup to a small bowl.
Stir with a whisk until well combined.
STEP 2: Assemble. Fill ½ of a serving glass with ice cubes. Add your brewed, cold coffee.
Then add in caramel sauce and give it a good stir.
Finally, add the milk.
Top off with some frothy milk and an extra drizzle of caramel sauce.
Top Tips
- Type of Milk: This recipe works with any type of milk. However, if you want to include some milk foam on top (highly recommended by the way), then opt for a milk that froths well. Examples include regular cow's milk or barista versions of non-dairy milk alternatives.
- Natural Peanut Butter: It's important that you use natural peanut butter that consists of 100% peanuts. Otherwise, the caramel sauce won't turn out the same!
- Pure Maple Syrup: For best results, I highly recommend using pure maple syrup without any artificial flavoring, coloring or other ingredients. More often than not you'll see brands adding all sorts of ingredients such as corn syrup, preservatives or thickening agents. Checking the label is definitely worth it here!
Variations
- Type of Milk: Turn this into a vegan caramel macchiato by choosing a dairy-free milk of choice. The higher the fat content of the milk, the creamier your coffee will be. We love barista oat milk.
- Amount of Milk: You can customize the taste of this caramel macchiato by adjusting the amount of milk. Enjoy it as a classic macchiato with only a splash of milk or a latte macchiato with more milk.
- Amount of pb caramel: Feel free to adjust the amount of caramel to the amount of coffee. For small coffee sizes, 1 teaspoon of peanut butter and 1-2 tablespoon of maple syrup will create enough flavor. For large coffee sizes, I would recommend doubling the amount of pb caramel.
- Sugar-free: This coffee is refined sugar-free and uses pure maple syrup as a sweetener. I'm afraid this recipe can't be made completely sugar-free since the maple syrup is needed to make the caramel sauce and can't be replaced with a sugar substitute.
- Sweeter: On the other hand, if you prefer a sweeter drink, simply add more maple syrup or sweetener of choice.
- Low-fat: Choose a low-fat milk alternative such as unsweetened almond milk or oat milk. These types of milk don't froth very well though.
- Coffee: This recipe works best with cold-brew coffee or cold brew concentrate but also with espresso or filter coffee. Allow the coffee to cool for about 10-15 minutes before adding it on top of the ice cubes. This will result in a less watered-down coffee because the ice will melt much slower.
- Decaf: Try our decaf cold brew for a decaf version.
Add-in and topping ideas
- Vanilla extract: Add a teaspoon of pure vanilla extract for some delicious subtle vanilla flavors.
- Frothy Milk: We love adding some foamy milk on top. When using a non-dairy milk, make sure to opt for a barista version of your favorite brand to achieve a velvety-rich foam.
- Whipped Cream: Our vegan whipped cream makes also makes an excellent topping.
- Extra caramel: Or add a drizzle of extra caramel as a topping for a little added indulgence.
- Dash of cinnamon
Serving Suggestions
- Afternoon pick-me-up: We love having this iced drink as our afternoon coffee, especially on warmer days.
- Breakfast: Serve this coffee alongside some overnight oats, fluffy pancakes or banana bread.
- Dessert: It also taste amazing in combination with a sweet treat such as our peanut butter brownies or chocolate cookies.
FAQ
According to the Starbucks menu, their medium-sized iced caramel macchiato comes in at 250 calories, 4.5g of saturated fat and 25g of cholesterol. Our version below not only has lower calories but also very little amount of saturated fat, no cholesterol and no artificial syrups or flavors.
The pb flavors aren't overly present in my opinion (such as in our peanut butter coffee recipe). That being said, if you hate the taste of peanut butter, this recipe probably isn't for you.
If you own an espresso machine, then I would recommend using 2 shots of espresso to create some strong coffee flavors. Alternatively, you could also use filter coffee, cold brew coffee or even decaf coffee if you can't have caffeine.
More drinks to try
📖 Recipe
Skinny Iced Caramel Macchiato
Ingredients
- ½ cup (115 ml) brewed coffee *cold, see notes
- ¼ - ¾ cup (65 - 170 ml) milk of choice *see notes
- 1 teaspoon natural peanut butter
- 1-2 tablespoon (1 tablespoon) maple syrup
- ice cubes to serve
Instructions
- Whisk together peanut butter and maple syrup until you end up with a caramel-like sauce (see step-by-step photos). Depending on the consisteny of your peanut butter you'll need 1-2 tablespoon of maple syrup to create a thin sauce.
- Fill a serving glass halfway with ice cubes.
- Add the caramel sauce and give it a good stir. For a lightly sweetened macchiato, add only half of the sauce. Taste and work your way up from there.
- Add your milk of choice and top off with some frothy milk and a drizzle of caramel (optional).
- Stir well (so that the caramel doesn't sit at the bottom), taste and adjust taste and sweetness (see notes).
- Enjoy right away!
Video
Notes
- Coffee: This recipe works with espresso, filter coffee but also cold-brew coffee. Allow the coffee to cool for about 10-15 minutes before adding it on top of the ice cubes.
- Type of Milk: This recipe works with any type of milk. However, if you want to include some milk foam on top (highly recommended by the way), then opt for a type of milk that froths well. Examples would include regular cow's milk or barista versions of non-dairy milk alternatives.
- Amount of Milk: You can customize the taste of this caramel macchiato by adjusting the amount of milk. Enjoy it as a classic macchiato with only a splash of milk or a latte macchiato with more milk.
- Amount of pb caramel: Feel free to adjust the amount of caramel to the amount of coffee. For small coffee sizes, 1 teaspoon of peanut butter and 1-2 tablespoon of maple syrup will create enough flavor. For large coffee sizes, I would recommend doubling the amount of pb caramel.
- Sweetness: Add more maple syrup or a sweetener of choice for a sweeter coffee.
- See more variations and add-in suggestions above.
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