Iced Pecan Crunch Oatmilk Latte (Starbucks copycat!)
This Iced Pecan Crunch Oatmilk Latte is a blonde roast espresso oatmilk latte flavored with nutty toasted pecan syrup. It’s topped with creamy sweet cream cold foam, sprinkled with a sweet-and-salty pecan crunch topping, and is perfect for fall!
I did extensive testing on both the homemade pecan syrup (but of course, as Ina Garten says, storebought is fine!) and irresistible DIY pecan crunch topping, which you can make once to use all season! Don’t miss this Starbucks copycat recipe!
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Do you love all the seasonal Starbucks drinks but don’t love the hefty price tag every. single. time? Girl SAME.
So when I go to my favorite not-so-local coffee shop these days, it’s often for some flavor inspiration so I can try to replicate my fancy drink du jour at home, like my absolute favorite lavender cream matcha latte or pumpkin cream cold brew. I love being able to make Starbucks-style drinks for friends who come over too!
My latest copycat recipe is their new fall drink, this Iced Pecan Crunch Oatmilk Latte. I’m a sucker for all the nutty flavors like pecan, chestnut praline, and pistachio!
For this recipe, I recommend taking a little time to make some homemade pecan coffee syrup and immediately afterward making the pecan crunch topping in this post. You’ll have enough syrup for about a dozen lattes, and you’ll be set for the whole season with the pecan crunch topping.
After that initial prep, your fancy lattes will only take a couple minutes to whip up each time!
Ingredients for Iced Pecan Crunch Oatmilk Latte
Ingredients for Pecan Crunch Topping
Substitutions and variations
- Use pecan syrup, caramel syrup, or real maple syrup instead of vanilla in the cold foam for a different flavor combo!
- Don’t feel like making pecan crunch topping? You can use some sanding sugar (large sugar crystals) or crushed pecans instead. McCormick also has some flavored finishing sugars for coffee that are pretty good! I think this maple brown sugar one would be great on this latte. I highly recommend the homemade pecan crunch topping though!
How to make pecan crunch topping for coffee
It may seem like a small thing, but I think the sweet-and-salty pecan crunch topping is key to replicating the Starbucks pecan crunch oatmilk latte at home. After all, if the crunch wasn’t important, it wouldn’t be in the name!
Add pecans to a food processor. If you've just made homemade pecan coffee syrup, use a quarter cup of the strained out candied pecans. Pulse the mixture until pecans are very finely chopped, but not a paste (images 1-2, below).
Add sugar, pecan syrup, and salt. Pulse in the food processor again until just combined. Don't blend it too much or you will make the sugar too fine, and the final consistency won't be as perfect! It should look like moist sand (images 3-4).
Dry the mixture in the oven. Spread the sugar mixture on a parchment-lined baking sheet (image 5) and bake in the oven at 200℉, breaking up any clumps every 15 minutes, until fully dry. At first you may be able to break up clumps with a spatula, but as it dries, it will be easier to crumble them up with your hands (images 6-7). This will take 30-45 minutes total depending on how dry your pecans were to start.
Crumble and store. Crumble the crunch topping into small pieces and store in a jar or spice shaker (images 8-10). You can roll up the parchment paper to use as a funnel! (image 9).
The great news is you should only have to do this once and you're set for the whole season! It will be shelf stable for months.
How to make an iced pecan crunch oatmilk latte
Making homemade pecan syrup is essentially simmering the ingredients, blending them with an regular or immersion blender, and straining. Check out my post on how to make pecan coffee syrup for more details.
Once you have your pecan syrup and pecan crunch topping ready to go, making the latte itself is a cinch!
Mix espresso, pecan syrup, and oatmilk. Brew two shots of blonde espresso. Add to a glass or tumbler with 1-2 tablespoons of pecan syrup, depending on how sweet you like your drink, and add ice. Swirl around to mix and add oat milk. Leave about an inch or inch and a half at the top of the glass to make room for cold foam (images 1-4). (Note: In my photos I show adding the oat milk first and then the ice, but I think adding the ice first will make it less splashy).
Blend your vanilla cold foam. Mix heavy cream, milk, and vanilla syrup in a small pitcher or liquid measuring cup. Froth with a handheld milk frother until fluffy but pourable (images 5-6).
Pour cold foam and sprinkle on some pecan crunch topping. Pour on your foam, add a little crunch to the top and enjoy immediately! (images 7-8) Drink from a sip lid or from the rim of the glass, not with a straw, so you can enjoy a little cold foam and a little latte in every sip. Yum!!
Tips & Tricks
- Enjoy this drink immediately after making it, or the vanilla sweet cream will start to clump up.
- Drink from the rim, not with a straw. This allows you to get both the refreshing oat milk latte and the fluffy vanilla sweet cream in every sip. A tumbler with a sip lid works too!
- Some like it sweeter. A grande latte at Starbucks uses 4 pumps of syrup, which is about 2 tablespoons. I always order mine with half the pumps, so I use 1 tablespoon in my latte.
- Take your time with the pecan crunch topping. It really does need to dry out slowly at a low 200 degrees Fahrenheit. Cranking the temp up to even 250 was too much; it bubbled up around the edges instead of just drying out, and the final texture wasn't as crunchy!
Serving suggestions
Enjoy your iced pecan crunch oatmilk latte with a fall pastry, like some cardamom orange scones or cinnamon spice upside down apple coffee cake.
More Starbucks copycat recipes you'll love
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Iced Pecan Crunch Oatmilk Latte
Print RecipeEquipment
- handheld milk frother (if you don't have one, you may use a lidded jar)
Ingredients
For the Iced Pecan Crunch Oatmilk Latte
- 2 shots blonde roast espresso
- 1-2 tablespoons pecan coffee syrup see note 1
- 6 oz. ice
- 8 oz. oat milk barista style
- 3 tablespoons heavy cream
- 2 tablespoons milk preferably 2%
- 1 tablespoon vanilla syrup
- pecan crunch topping or alternative see note 2
For the Pecan Crunch Topping
- ¼ cup candied pecans see note 3
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon pecan coffee syrup
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
For the Pecan Crunch Topping
- Preheat your oven to 200℉ and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Add pecans to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until pecans are very finely chopped, but not enough to turn them into a paste. They should be the texture of coarse sand.
- Add sugar, syrup, and salt to the food processor and pulse just until combined. Do not overblend or the sugar will become too fine!
- Lay the sugar mixture out on prepared baking sheet in a thin layer. Bake for 30-45 minutes until sugar is completely dry, removing every 15 minutes to break up any clumps. I find it easiest to break up the clumps with my hands, but you'll need to let it cool for a couple minutes first to avoid burning yourself on the sugar!
- When the sugar is completely dry and cooled, break up any clumps and transfer to an 8 oz. shaker jar or airtight container for storage. You should only have to do this once to have enough for the whole season!
For the Iced Pecan Crunch Oatmilk Latte
- Brew two shots of blonde roast espresso and add them to a 16 oz. glass or tumbler. Mix in pecan syrup and add ice. Fill the rest of the glass with oat milk, leaving 1-2 inches at the top for cold foam, and give the drink a quick stir to blend flavors.
- In a small pitcher or liquid measuring cup, add heavy cream, milk, and vanilla syrup. Blend with a handheld milk frother until thick and creamy but still pourable. If you don't have a milk frother, add ingredients to a lidded jar and shake vigorously until fluffy.
- Pour cold foam on top of the latte and top with plenty of pecan crunch topping. Enjoy immediately from the rim of the glass or from a sip lid for the best experience!
Notes
- Amount of syrup: Starbucks uses 4 pumps of syrup in their grande size lattes, which is equivalent to about 2 tablespoons. I usually order my lattes with half the syrup so I use 1 tablespoon. Adjust the amount of syrup according to your preference!
- Substitutes for pecan crunch topping: If you don't feel like making your own pecan crunch topping, you can substitute finely ground pecans, coarse sanding sugar, or a readymade topping. McCormick makes flavored finishing sugars that work great for this. I think the Maple Brown Sugar or English Toffee flavor would go really well.
- Pecans for pecan crunch topping: If you've just made pecan coffee syrup, use the candied pecans you strained out of the syrup. If you are using storebought pecan syrup, or if you used the strained out pecans already, use regular baking pecans and an extra tablespoon of pecan syrup.
