an easy & natural recipe for homemade starbucks salted cream cold foam cold brew with only 4 ingredients! cold brew coffee, lightly sweetened with maple syrup, topped with a creamy salty-sweet cold foam, this salted cream cold foam cold brew coffee is the perfect salty-sweet coffee drink! this Recipe for Later!
pin this salted cream cold foam cold brew coffee recipe for later!!!
let’s talk about obsessions, because i’m currently obsessed, uhhhbsessed, OBSESSED with the salted cream cold foam cold brew.
have you tried it? do you love it? can you not stop thinking about it? do you find yourself craving one at 8 pm but you know you can’t have one because you’d be up all night, probably thinking about the laundry you accidentally left in your dryer & planning out the next time you’ll get a salted cream cold foam cold brew?
oh yeah. me. freaking. too. 
basically, i’ve had a salted cream cold foam cold brew every single day since i first tried it.
which, at $5 a pop, is kind of a problem.
but! i’ve fiddled around with a homemade version, & the good news is: my recipe just might be better than the original.
pin this salted cream cold foam cold brew coffee recipe for later!!!
homemade salted cream cold foam cold brew iced coffee recipe
pin this salted cream cold foam cold brew coffee recipe for later!!!
oh, hello, iced coffee lover.
this drink. it’s the coffee drink of my dreams! seriously! if you’re team year-round iced coffee (??♀️), you know that you can’t beat a cool & refreshing cold brew. but when you top your cool & refreshing cold brew off with a dollop of creamy salty-sweet foam? ???
salted cream cold foam cold brew = yes. puh-leeeeease.
if i have one complaint about starbucks’ salted cream cold foam cold brew, it’s how sweet they make theirs. they add a lot of caramelly sugar syrup that really, imho, takes away from the roasty, toasty coffee.
so! i changed things up a little bit. instead of adding that caramelly syrup, i use pure maple syrup. (in case you haven’t noticed…i have a major crush on all things maple.) it’s more DIY-friendly than making a caramel simple syrup, & it still has the caramelly notes without being so, so sweet & full of refined sugars.
a little maple. a little frothy salty sweet cold foam. a whole lotta cold brew coffee.
what more could you want?
how to make a homemade salted cream cold foam cold brew:
my salted cream cold brew is seriously so easy & cost-effective to make at home.
here’s what you need:
- cold brew coffee.
- milk. preferably skim for optimal froth-age. (or spring for half & half, or even heavy cream for optimal treat-age.)
- salt.
- maple syrup.
- optional: a milk frother.
4 ingredients, 1 optional gadget, & less than 5 minutes of prep time…that’s it!
first! brew your cold brew. my ultimate lazy girl cold brew hack is making a batch of cold brew in a french press. you add one cup of fresh coarsely ground coffee to a french press, then you fill it on up with water (about 4 cups, but seriously, who has time to measure these things?). let it sit overnight, then the next morning you’ve got yourself perfect cold brew that took about 2 minutes of active prep time to make.
(for the record, you can also just buy some cold brew at the store…no judgment here! this is my fave ready-made cold brew, and these cold brew coffee packs are a great convenience item.)
next! the salted cream cold foam.pop some skim milk(!) in a milk frother, with a little bit of salt & a little drizzle of maple for optimal salty-sweetness. i could seriously eat this stuff with my hands – it is SO freakin’ good!
i tested this recipe countless times with heavy cream & half & half, & while they were reallly good, they didn’t froth up the same way starbucks’ salted cream cold foam does. skim milk is the secret for a great, stiff cold foam.
if you don’t have a milk frother, you can replicate the foaminess by adding the milk to a jar & shaking it vigorously for a minute or two. it’ll be a little softer than by using a frother, but just as tasty. if you’re in the market for a milk frother, this is the one i use…it’s my favorite!
& last? you put the whole thing together. i add a little salt to my coffee, because my obsession for salty coffee is a little out of control now. & if i’m feeling fancy? a little extra maple syrup. 
if you like the sweetness levels of starbucks’ version, go ahead & add a little extra maple syrup (i share some thoughts on this in the Recipe Notes below!). & if you’re really looking for a total starbucks copycat recipe, know that you can buy their caramel syrup (or vanilla!) & use 4 pumps of it in 1 drink for an exact replica of a grande-sized drink at home.
& that’s it! seriously…5 minutes (if that!), 4 ingredients, & endless homemade salted cream cold foam cold brew coffees.
make, sip, repeat.
if you love this salted cream cold foam cold brew coffee recipe, here are a few other coffee recipes you have to try!
- bulletproof coffee protein latte
- fresh mint cold brew iced coffee with dark chocolate swirls
- blood orange cold brew iced coffee
- porter spiked cold brew iced coffee
- chocolate coconut cold brew overnight oats
- all
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thank you so much for reading & supporting plays well with butter. this post includes affiliate links for products i truly love & use on the reg in my own home. all opinions are always my own! should you make a purchase using one of these links, pwwb with earn a small commission at no extra cost to you, which helps me continue to bring you great original content. ???
salted cream cold foam cold brew coffee
5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 4.6 from 9 reviews
- Author: jess larson | plays well with butter
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: serves 1 (is easily multiplied!) 1x
- Category: coffee, beverages
- Method: no-cook
- Cuisine: American
Description
an easy & natural recipe for homemade starbucks salted cream cold foam cold brew with only 4 ingredients! cold brew coffee, lightly sweetened with maple syrup, topped with a creamy salty-sweet cold foam, this salted cream cold foam cold brew coffee is the perfect salty-sweet coffee drink!
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 cup cold brew coffee (see Recipe Notes)
- ¼ cup skim milk (see Recipe Notes)
- ⅛ teaspoon Kosher salt (see Recipe Notes)
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup, divided
Instructions
- Make the salted cream cold foam: Add the skim milk, Kosher salt, and ½ tablespoon of the maple syrup to a milk frother. Using the frother’s cold froth setting, froth the salted cream until thick and creamy. I do 2 cycles of cold frothing using my Nespresso frother, about 2 minutes. If you do not have a frother, you can also add everything into a jar and shake it until it gets whipped & frothy.
- Make the salted cream cold foam cold brew coffee: Add the cold brew to a glass, over ice. Stir in the remaining ½ tablespoon maple syrup. If you like a sweeter cold brew coffee, go ahead and add in a little extra maple syrup. If you like unsweetened cold brew coffee, feel free to leave it out. Pour or spoon the salted cream cold foam over top. Enjoy!
Notes
- A note on the sweetness level: I typically drink my coffee black and find the salted cream cold foam cold brew at Starbucks to be way too sweet to my liking. This recipe, as written, is a happy medium. If you like black coffee, go ahead and omit the added maple syrup in the cold brew. If you like a level of sweetness closer to Starbucks, add a full tablespoon of maple to the cold brew.
- Milk:I tested this recipe countless times with different milks, & time after time skim milk won out for the most Starbucks-like foam. It’s light + airy, and has the perfect amount of body. Using an alternative milk (nut milk, oat milk, coconut milk, etc.)may work, so long as you use a brand that you know froths well (e.g. “barista blend” style milks). Using heavy cream or half & half will result in a ridiculously creamy treat…so good, but notquite like the Starbucks version.
- Salt: This recipe, as written, uses Kosher salt, or another flaky salt, specifically. This is my favorite brand. If you are using table salt, do not use a full ⅛ teaspoon – it will be way too salty! Just use a pinch, then add more as needed!
- Cold vs hot: The salted cream cold foam is delicious over hot coffee too…just saying!
- DIY cold brew coffee: Cold brew is a staple in my kitchen, & it’s super easy to make: Add 1 cup whole coffee beans to a coffee grinder and coarsely grind. Add your coffee grounds to a French Press, along with 4 cups of water. Let it sit at room temp overnight, then enjoy all week long! This is a great coffee for cold brew. This is the grinder I’ve owned & loved for the past decade. For French presses, I’m obsessed with this one, though I also used this one for a long time!
- Other cold brew coffees: Cold brew is readily available in LOTS of different ways at the grocery store these days. This is my fave ready-made cold brew, and these cold brew coffee packs are a great convenience item.
