Enjoy a homemade iced coffee all summer long with this recipe to make it cheap and easy. An easy iced coffee is just a few minutes away!
There are so many variations to jazz it up, too! From adding Homemade Peppermint Syrup to pouring it over Coffee Cubes, your homemade iced coffee will never be ho-hum. Keep a bottle of Cold Brew Concentrate on hand to make it all quick and easy!
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I’m so old, I remember when Starbucks wasn’t a household name and the Frappuccino didn’t yet exist! Admittedly, I became fast friends with hot steaming mochas and the Salted Caramel Mocha Frap. Yum!
However, as prices continue to rise and my whole family decided to dial down our sugar intake, I find that making a Homemade Iced Coffee is the way to go.
Why Make This
It’s got less sugar. While an iced coffee drink from the cafe is certainly convenient, making your own is a lot healthier because you can control the ingredients. Some of those commercial coffee drinks contain over 8 teaspoons of sugar!
It’s more affordable. With gas prices and inflation what they are, we need to save everywhere we can. You can save a veritable bundle when you make a homemade iced coffee drinks instead of buying it in a shop.
It’s delicious. If you love iced coffee, then you’re going to enjoy making your own — as often as you like.
Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make this Homemade Iced Coffee recipe:
cold coffee or cold brew concentrate – You can brew your own ground coffee or cold brew concentrate or you can buy the commercial variety. Keep in mind it’s easy and cheap to DIY.
ice cubes – These can be traditional ice, frozen milk cubes, or coffee cubes. Just pour the liquid of your choice into ice cube trays. It’s really up to you. Adding a combo to your Homemade Iced Coffee is fun because it adds visual interest and extra flavor.
add-ins – You can make your Homemade Iced Coffee with just coffee and ice or you can ramp it up with a number of add-ins, including syrups (see the list below) as well as sweetened condensed milk, milk, cream, cinnamon, cocoa, sugar, honey, or maple syrup.
Syrups
Commercial syrups can be pricey as well as full of stuff you may not want in your drink. Reading some labels is always surprising. Blending up your own homemade syrups is super simple and offers you a great way to add flavor to cold drinks and desserts.
Check out these easy, homemade syrups for the perfect iced coffee:
- Homemade Mocha Chocolate Syrup – I make this with coffee, but you can also make it with water if you prefer. This is a great dessert syrup as well.
- Honey Syrup – This syrup is a great way to naturally sweeten cold drinks. You can also use it in mixed drinks.
- Simple Sugar Syrup – Simple syrup is what the coffee house uses to sweeten an iced coffee. Now you can make your own. You can also use it in mixed drinks. Add a bit of vanilla when you’re making the syrup for a vanilla iced coffee.
- Peppermint Syrup – This is simple syrup steeped in fresh mint. It’s delicious in mojitos, too.
- Chocolate Mint Syrup – This is great for making a Peppermint Mocha. It’s also good on ice cream.
Syrups should keep in the fridge for at least a week. Keep a supply on hand for all kinds of deliciousness.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Making a Homemade Iced Coffee is super easy!
- Place the ice cubes in a tall glass.
- Pour in the coffee. Add milk or half and half to taste.
- If desired, sweeten to taste with honey or maple syrup. Serve chilled.
Variations
You can vary your Homemade Iced Coffee in lots of different ways. Try one of the following iced coffee recipes:
Iced coffee – Serve cold coffee over coffee cubes. Add a shot of simple syrup or flavored syrup if you like.
Iced Latte – Combine cold coffee and milk to taste. Serve over coffee cubes.
Iced Coconut and Cinnamon Latte – Combine cold coffee and light canned coconut milk to taste. Serve over coffee cubes. Sprinkle with cinnamon.
Iced Mocha – Combine coffee, milk, and chocolate syrup (see recipes below) to taste. Serve over coffee cubes.
Ice-Blended Mocha – In a blender, blend cold coffee, coffee cubes, chocolate syrup , and milk to taste. Top with whipped cream, if desired.
Cold Coffee Milk – Serve cold milk over coffee cubes. You can do this with tea cubes, too.
Pretty much any barista-made coffee drink that you enjoy, you can recreate at home. With a little creativity, you can make your favorites on a daily basis without the high tab.
FAQs
Pretty much! You can vary it by adding syrups and creamers, but that’s the basic. Super simple and much cheaper than buying it at the cafe.
You betcha. Just as you can turn hot tea into iced tea, you can do the same with coffee. Either allow it to cool and pour it over ice or brew it very strong and pour the hot coffee over a cup of ice. Some of the ice will melt and dilute the coffee, but since it’s strong enough, it won’t matter.
You can use leftover brewed coffee, cold brew coffee, instant coffee, or espresso. Just add it to ice and add your sweeteners or creamers as desired.
Coffee Drinks
Iced Coffee
Ingredients
- ice cubes for serving
- ½ cup cold brew concentrate or strongly brewed coffee or espresso, cooled
- milk or half and half to taste
Instructions
- Place the ice cubes in a tall glass.
- Pour in the coffee. Add milk or half and half to taste.
- If desired, sweeten to taste with honey or maple syrup.
Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally published on June 13, 2015. It has been updated for content and clarity.
Jennifer
I just made the mocha chocolate syrup – and this may not be possible… could I make it less sweet? If you used a stronger coffee and added a nutmeg maybe? is that possible?
Big fan 🙂 you’re my go to recipe spot!!
Jessica Fisher
The sugar is what makes it thicken, so yes, a stronger coffee would cut the sweetness a bit. You can use less in your recipes that you’re using it in, too.
Carmen
I’ve been using your Mason jar method for the past couple of mornings – love it! Once I got a good method down for straining the grounds out, I was good to go. It will definitely save me from my $4 morning coffee run.
Jessica Fisher
Yay! So glad to hear it’s working out for you!
claire
I can’t wait to make the coffee concentrate! Thank you!
karen
I love cold brew coffee! I add a pinch of stevia leaves (found in the bulk tea section) to my coffee grinds. It sweetens the coffee just enough.
Jessica Fisher
Great tip. Thanks!
Stephanie M.
I love serving iced coffee in the summer. Sometimes, I’ll have one ready when my husband comes home. Many times I make them when we have friends or family over for dinner. But I frequently make a pot of coffee and then put it in the fridge for when I’m in the mood to make some. I make it the way I’ve seen it in the cafe’s in Germany. Every day there between the hours of 2:00 and 4:00, especially on the weekends, most people are sitting at a café or in their home drinking coffee and having cake. This seems to be what goes on all over Germany because I’ve been there so many times and have seen it all over. But they don’t just pour coffee in a cup with ice cubes. It’s a dessert on it’s own over there. Wherever you go, if you ask for an iced coffee it gets served like this: a scoop of vanilla ice cream in a tall glass; coffee poured over the ice cream, a little whipped cream on top of the coffee and a small cookie stuck in the whipped cream with a tall spoon known as an iced coffee spoon standing in the glass. This is the only way I know iced coffee and this is the way I serve it and everyone loves it. I usually also stick a sliced strawberry next to the cookie in the whipped cream.
Jessica Fisher
I love affogatos, too. YUMMY! I also love that you go the extra mile to present things so nice!