A Pumpkin Spice Latte With 77 Calories

18 November 3, 2010 ‹ newer older ›

Do you have any buddies who anxiously await the arrival of the Starbucks' Pumpkin Spice Latte? It has been here for a month and people love it.

A Venti (20 ounces) will set you back 510 Calories! (whole milk and whipped cream included)

ummm, ouch. There is 60% of your daily value of saturated fat in this single drink.

But, I am sure Snack Girl readers aren't ordering the whipped cream and the whole milk. And you guys are probably going with the TALL size (still 200 calories). You can have all kind of fun on Starbucks' website playing with what you add to their drinks (Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte).

Frankly, I don't like the Pumpkin Spice Latte because I find it too sweet. I do adore pumpkin spice so I thought I would attempt my own version. It turns out that ANYONE can make their own pumpkin spice latte.

Why would you want to make your own? You will save:

Calories - mine is 130 calories less than Starbucks' lite version
Money - saved about $2.50
The Environment - no paper cup and lid to toss away

You don't need an espresso maker with a milk frother to make this drink. You can buy a milk frother that runs on batteries called an Aerolatte (see below). I have one (first saw it in Europe) and it works great!

Buy some pumpkin spice from the baking section of your supermarket, skim milk, sugar, and you are ready to go. Try adding just one teaspoon of sugar and see if you like it. You don't need a lot of sugar to make this taste delicious.

How do you deal with the Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte?

Pumpkin Spice Latte Recipe

4 ounces coffee or espresso
1/2 cup skim or nonfat milk
2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (plus extra to dust on top)

Brew coffee and heat milk until hot in microwave. Foam milk with Aerolatte or other milk frother. Mix sugar and pumpkin pie spice in coffee and pour milk on top. Enjoy!

77 calories, 0.2g fat, 14.8 g carbohydrates, 4.3 g protein

Aerolatte Milk Frother, Satin

~~$19.99~~ $19.89

Want to read about snacks?
The Snack Girl Reveal
Want To Prevent Breast Cancer? Try This Awesome Snack
Cut Your Morning Sugar Consumption in Half With This Cereal
A "No Peel" Apple Recipe To Make You Swoon

Never miss a post: Subscribe (it's free)

18 Comments:

Love that! I seem to be addicted to anything pumpkin this fall, so I will try it out. I find the starbucks version way to sweet as well so this is a great alternative! I will be posting a delicious low cal pumpkin bites recipe later to go along with the latte!

gina@concierge4moms on November 3, 2010

I've been making my own this year using strong regular coffee and skim or 2% milk. I make a simple syrup using 1c. water, 1/3 c sugar, and 2t Nu-Stevia. (It's not a thick syrup but works fine.) After turning off the heat I add the pumpkin spice, let cool, put in a small glass jar & refrigerate until ready. Usually 1T does the trick with the same amounts of coffee & milk in your recipe.

Bernadette Cooper on November 3, 2010

Looks so yummy can't wait to make.

Mrs. Mix It on November 3, 2010

LOVE THIS!!! I'm definitely going to try this and I always have pumpkin spice on hand for the holidays - they help make a great cookie! I like the Pumpkin spice latte but I've been treating all those drinks like dessert or a treat. If I get coffee from outside I get plain coffee and add a little milk (skim) and 3 packets of sugar (equal to 1 tablespoon of sugar = 60 calories). So this is incredibly appealing to me as something to make at home with less calories. Have you tried it with the Almond milk?

Sneeka on November 3, 2010

This is amazing! I have to tell all of my friends! Great job.

Sarah on November 3, 2010

I absolutely LOVE my areolatte milk frother. I use it every single morning to make very cheap latte's. It ROCKS!

Alice on November 3, 2010

YUM! For some reason every year I always want to get an Eggnog Latte and every year I'm dissappointed by it. I need to get a milk frother and make my own lattes! Yay! Thanks!

stephv on November 3, 2010

Hi. I have lactose intolerance so regular lattes (even skim) are a special treat with complications. I CAN handle, however, a small splash of milk or half & half in regular coffee. So what I do during pumpkin spice latte season, when hanging out at a Starbucks on my computer, is to order a tall bold coffee with room for cream, ask for a single pump of pumpkin spice sauce, add half a packet of stevia and a couple ounces of whole milk, and it's yummy and decadent.

Sue on November 3, 2010

I definitely need to try this. I can't do milk or soy milk, and I *think* that the pumpkin spice latte isn't gluten-free, so it's off of my menu. But this I could modify and make for myself! :)

Alta on November 6, 2010

I bought one of these at Bed Bath and Beyond (only place I could find that actually stocked them in the store) and it is awesome. Did not know these existed until reading it on here. Thank you. Also, ordered Bittman's cookbook after the recipe you had on here and so far we have made the Greek nachos and an artichoke spinach pasta. Both were amazing. The Greek nachos were so good my husband sent me to the store to get stuff to make again. We had a friend over who doesn't normally eat healthy and I think at first he felt mislead because I mentioned 'nachos'. These are nothing like what one normally thinks of as nachos. He thought they were great too and gobbled it up as well. Husband and I joked it was probably the healthiest thing his friend had eaten in a while...

T. on November 8, 2010

Silk Soy milk has Pumpkin Spice, Chocolate Mint and Nog in my local grocery store, I am definately stocking up for the cheaper, lower calorie "do it yourself" version.

Laura on November 8, 2010

In my post I meant to say AeroLatte. Forgot to mention what 'it' was. Anyway, thanks again.

T. on November 10, 2010

I don't drink coffee, but that sounds so delicious. I love anything pumpkin, I wonder if it would work with hot chocolate...?

kristy on November 12, 2010

low-cal pumpkin spice latte.
just mix
1 cup french vanilla coffee
2Tbsp. Pumpkin Spice creamer (got mine at ALDI)
2tsp. splenda

It's delicious and low low low on calories!
Enjoy!

Pumpkinspice on December 2, 2010