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12 Healthy Indulgent Coffee Recipes To Make At Home
Indulgent healthy coffee drinks that aren’t black coffee and are bound to satisfy your taste buds.
Published January 20, 2022
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Susan Rov
Coffee experts@The Coffee Lab
If you love drinking coffee, you’ll be glad to know that coffee itself is healthy.
Coffee beans are high in antioxidants and the caffeine in coffee can give you a boost of energy, make you more focused as well as improve your performance.
And even though caffeine gets a lot of bad rap, it is healthy and safe to consume in moderation.
The problem is that people often add sugar and heavy or whipped cream to their coffee, which makes it unhealthy.
While a shot of espresso in the morning will give you a lovely energy boost, a Starbucks frappuccino that packs more than 400 calories shouldn’t be a part of your everyday routine.
So what are your other healthy coffee options to make at home besides drinking it black?
The good news is that there are plenty of healthy coffee alternatives that can satisfy your taste buds. Explore this coffee recipe list with the 12 indulgent coffee picks that are not only healthy but also delicious.
1. Healthy Iced Coffee
As is the case with most recipes, when you make your iced coffee at home, it’s healthier, lower in sugar and calories.
This is one of the simplest but also most popular healthy recipes at home that will provide a caffeinated refreshment on a hot summer’s day.
To make this drink, mix a cool cup of coffee or a double espresso with a half cup of milk of your choice, ice, vanilla extract and add an optional natural sweetener to taste. This way, your iced coffee has a subtle vanilla taste, is creamy and still healthy.
2. Almond Coffee
One of the easy ways how to make healthy coffee is by swapping the usual full-cream milk for a dairy-free alternative.
Almond milk is much lower in calories, makes the coffee milky and adds a subtle nutty flavour to your drink.
You can make your own hot or cold almond latte by simply following the standard recipe with this alternative milk that is better for you as well as the planet.
3. Healthy Mocha
A Mocha is one of the most indulgent coffee drinks. But most cafes add copious amounts of sugar-loaded chocolate syrup, which makes the drink unhealthy.
The good news is, making the healthy mocha alternative is easy and can be done at home by simply substituting the syrup with the real cocoa powder.
Aside from the rich chocolate flavour, the cocoa powder will also provide additional antioxidants and further health benefits, such as reducing inflammation and protecting you from heart disease, cancer and diabetes.
Simply stir in one or two teaspoons of cocoa powder into your espresso or brewed coffee and add your choice of milk to taste.
4. Bulletproof Coffee
Bulletproof coffee has been popularized by keto dieters around the world and while it is not low calorie, it is one of the best low sugar coffee drinks on the list that still has a rich creamy texture.
What makes this coffee so rich is not the cream but butter or ghee combined with MTC oil.
These superfood ingredients won’t affect your blood sugar levels and most bulletproof coffee fans claim that the drink makes them energized, improves brain function and gut health.
5. Cold Brew
Even if you can’t stomach drinking plain black coffee, you should still give the cold brew a chance.
While cold brew can technically be classified as black coffee and belongs to the category of low-calorie coffee recipes, in contrast to Americanos and espressos that are associated with their bitter taste, the cold brew tastes different.
The slow process of making a cold brew that can take up to 24 hours completely alters the taste, resulting in a more flavorful drink that is less acidic and easier to drink without any sweetener or milk.
Cold brew is also a great beverage that allows you to experiment with different flavours of various single-origin coffees. If you make this coffee drink from Kenyan coffee, you’ll experience a vibrant cup of fruity coffee even when you don’t add any flavour enhancers.
6. Healthy Coffee Smoothie
If you’re a fan of smoothies and you also need a caffeine boost in the morning, why not combine these two morning coffee drinks to make a breakfast coffee smoothie.
Simple blend your coffee with half a banana, cacao powder and your choice of milk for a thick morning drink. Add some oats and a tablespoon of peanut butter to create a well-balanced meal that is going to keep you full for hours.
7. Cashew And Date Coffee
The nutty coffee combinations don’t stop with almond milk. Cashew milk can make a great addition to coffee on its own and as a bonus, cashew will provide further health benefits, such as boosting brain health and immunity.
You can make this coffee beverage by making your own cashew milk by mixing cashews and water in a blender or you can combine all the ingredients straight away, using ¼ cup of cashews, one date and a cup of brewed coffee.
Cashews will make your coffee exceptionally creamy and adding one Medjool date will create naturally sweet caramel undertones that make this recipe the best healthy coffee option on the list.
8. Honey Gingerbread Latte
Don’t let anyone tell you that gingerbread is only for Christmas. Enjoy gingerbread on a daily basis by making this delicious healthy gingerbread latte.
To make this coffee at home combine gingerbread spices, such as ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom, add a teaspoon of honey and your choice of milk.
9. Low Calorie Frappuccino
Frappuccinos are among the most indulgent and sweetest coffee drinks available. But because of their high sugar content and plentiful use of heavy cream, they are unhealthy.
Unlike the Starbucks Frappuccino which can contain more than 400 calories, if you make your own version at home, it can contain only around 100 calories.
For a healthy Frappuccino, blend coffee, ice, low-calorie chocolate syrup, a teaspoon of stevia and a dash of half and half, for extra creaminess.
10. Chocolate Protein Coffee
Combine your daily caffeine boost with a decent amount of protein for a healthy start to the day which will also make you feel full for the whole morning.
For a simple healthy chocolate protein coffee blend almond chocolate milk with your favourite protein powder, and coffee. You can also use ice or frozen banana to make the beverage thicker.
11. Maple Oat Milk Latte
Oat milk is another dairy-free milk alternative that goes well with coffee and creates creamy lattes. Oat milk is also a great source of B vitamins and helps digestion so combining it with coffee will result in another one among the healthy coffee drinks.
Oat lattes and oat flat whites are popular among cafes around the world since this milk mixes with coffee really well. Add maple syrup or another natural sweetener for a coffee that is less than 50 calories.
12. Coconut Mocha Frappuccino
If you enjoy the exotic taste in your coffee, try healthy coffee recipes that contain coconut milk. This milk has anti-inflammatory, anti-microbial, anti-fungal properties and can also help to support your cardiovascular health.
For your homemade Coconut Mocha Frappuccino combine a cup of coffee with one tablespoon of cocoa powder, ½ cup of light coconut milk, ice and a teaspoon of natural sweeteners such as honey or maple syrup.
If you’re looking for more coffee recipes, browse our Brewing Guides.
About the author
Susan Rov
A retired barista who turned into a writer. I love discovering coffee flavors and learning more about the magic bean.
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