Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Sauce for Coffee & Tea

Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Sauce

It’s that time of year again … Pumpkin Spice Season! And what better way to celebrate the warm spice flavors of fall than to make your own homemade Starbucks Pumpkin Spice sauce.

Using just a few ingredients, this copycat Starbucks recipe is simple to whip up.

And the best part…you can make your own at-home pumpkin spice lattes with it.

All you have to do is add this decadent syrup to your favorite coffee or tea, and top it with whipped cream and pumpkin pie spice.

What is Pumpkin Spice Syrup?

Starbucks pumpkin spice syrup, also called sauce, is the base they add to each and every pumpkin spice latte, pumpkin spice frappuccino, pumpkin cream cold brew and is used for making their creamy pumpkin cold foam drink topping.

On a side note, since I’m a tea drinker I like to create my own Iced Pumpkin Cream Chai and this warm and cozy Pumpkin Spice Chai Latte.

This yummy sauce layer is what transforms a regular Starbucks espresso or chai into a beverage hundreds of millions of people have purchased since its debut in 2003.

Around 2015, however, the official Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Syrup underwent a makeover.

Real pumpkin puree was added to the recipe and its new label became Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Sauce.

So don’t be confused if you see the words syrup and sauce used interchangeably. Both refer to the same delicious pumpkin-y concoction.

Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Sauce Ingredients

The real Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Sauce contains sugar, condensed milk, pumpkin puree, and natural flavoring. When I developed this recipe in 2019, that ingredient label was an important clue in figuring out what made the Starbucks sauce different from the pumpkin syrups I was finding online.

One thing I noticed right away was the condensed milk. Many copycat recipes use a simple syrup with pumpkin puree added, but they leave out the condensed milk. I think that’s a big miss because the condensed milk helps give the sauce its rich, creamy quality.

If you would like a non-dairy pumpkin syrup to add to your drinks, try my homemade pumpkin spice simple syrup recipe.

Homemade Pumpkin Sauce Ingredients

• pumpkin puree
• sweetened condensed milk
• pumpkin pie spice
• sugar
• water
• salt

How to Make Homemade Pumpkin Spice Syrup

Making your own batch of pumpkin spice sauce only takes a few ingredients and a few minutes. Plus, it makes enough to store in the refrigerator and use every time you get a taste for a latte.

The ingredients are mixed on a warm stove top in order to dissolve the sugar.

It’s important to lower the temperature once the simple syrup reaches a boil.

Make Simple Syrup

The first step is to make a simple syrup. This is easily accomplished by combining equal parts of water and sugar and warming it up slowly (about five minutes) until the sugar is dissolved. You know it’s done when the cloudiness goes away and the syrup becomes clear.

Did you know you can also make your own flavored syrup to add to coffee and tea?

The advantage of syrup over other sweeteners is that the sugar is already dissolved. This way the sweetness is evenly distributed throughout the drink.

Take a look at a few of my Starbucks copycat syrup recipes for vanilla syrup, classic syrup, cinnamon dolce syrup and caramel syrup.

Add Pumpkin Puree and Other Ingredients

The second and final step to making homemade pumpkin spice sauce is to add the pumpkin, condensed milk and spice to the syrup mixture. Stir everything together, let it sit on a warm stove for a minute or two and you’re done!

I can’t even begin to tell you how simple it is to make this sauce. Most importantly, it’s delicious!

Of course, you can adjust the amount of sugar depending on your taste preference; just be sure to always use equal parts of water and sugar.

As you may know, my daughter is a Starbucks barista. This makes her the perfect taste tester since she’s so familiar with the taste of the “real” Starbucks pumpkin syrup.

She tasted the sauce on its own and also made a pumpkin spice latte at home with it.

And her verdict is … drum roll please … my homemade pumpkin sauce tastes very similar to Starbucks, but she likes it even better!

More Pumpkin Spice Recipes to Try

If you’re looking for more ways to enjoy pumpkin spice drinks throughout the fall, here are some more of my favorite recipes to try!

• Starbucks Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew
• Starbucks Iced Pumpkin Cream Chai
• Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino
• Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Creme Frappuccino – the one without coffee
• Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Creme Steamer
• Hot Pumpkin Chai Latte
• Pumpkin Pie Latte with Pie Crust Topping
• Homemade Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamer
• Pumpkin Cream Cold Foam
• Pumpkin Spice Simple Syrup for Drinks

Without further ado, here’s my copycat recipe:

Pumpkin Spice Sauce Recipe