Here’s how to make iced coffee at home! This iced coffee recipe makes a bold and creamy drink that’s even better than a coffeeshop.
There’s something about holding a creamy, bold and sweet iced coffee that makes life just a little bit better, right? Here we’ve devised the best way to make iced coffee at home: using cold brew concentrate! It gives the best rich, bold coffee flavor, and it’s cheaper and tastes better than at your local chain coffee shop! (And we’ve got a short cut, too.) Here’s how to make iced coffee at home: plus, all variations like iced espresso, iced lattes, iced cappuccinos, and more.
How to make iced coffee
The absolute best way to make iced coffee at home? Use cold brew. Cold brew has a smooth, refreshing flavor and even better: it makes a big pitcher that you can drink off of for days! This cold brew recipe makes enough for 9 servings, which is ideal because you only have to make the concentrate once for drinks all week long. All you’ll need to do is make sure to make it 24 hours before you’d like to drink it! Here’s how to make iced coffee (or keep reading for a shortcut):
- Grind 1 ½ cups dark roast coffee. Grind the coffee to a medium coarse grind and measure out 1 ½ cups of grounds. We’ve found dark roast coffee tastes best for cold brew.
- Add 6 cups filtered water in a large jar and mix. Add filtered water to the coffee grounds, and give it a little stir.
- Refrigerate and wait 24 hours! Here’s where the brewing magic happens: and you don’t need to do anything! Just wait while the coffee brews.
- Filter the coffee. Pour the coffee into a strainer with a towel placed inside. Then, your cold brew is ready to drink!
- Serve: Take ½ cup cold brew concentrate and mix it with 2 tablespoons milk or creamer and 1 teaspoon maple syrup.
Want a shortcut? Use strong coffee
Want a shortcut to quick and easy iced coffee? Make strong coffee! Make a double strength pot of coffee using your favorite method. Or, try it with Moka Pot coffee using a Bialetti coffee maker! It’s got the perfect bold, strong flavor for iced coffee.
Of course, you could also use purchased cold brew concentrate as a shortcut, too! Head to the recipe below to use the quantities for mixing up a glass.
Best milk for iced coffee
You can drink iced coffee black or mix it with a little dairy for some creamy body. We like it both ways! Here are some of the best ways to add richness and body:
- Whole or 2% milk: basic, pure and perfect
- Half and half or heavy cream: these add luxurious, creamy richness to the coffee
- Creamer: Any type of dairy or non-dairy creamer you have on hand works
- Oat milk or almond milk: Oat milk is our favorite for coffee, since it has a creamier body than almond milk
More iced coffee recipes
The recipe below is a basic iced coffee recipe. But there are lots of other ways to make an iced caffeinated beverage: with a French press, with espresso, as an iced latte, and more! Here are our favorite iced coffee recipes:
This small pitcher with a plunger is a genius tool for making various types of coffee. You might generally think of it for hot coffee, but the French press is great for cold coffee too! This recipe is ready in 10 minutes.
This iced coffee recipe is great for Chemex lovers and takes only 10 minutes! You don’t have to chill overnight or for hours: make it right when you’re craving it.
What’s more refreshing than an iced latte? It’s no wonder this espresso drink is massively popular. The combination of bitter coffee balanced by delicate sweetness and creamy, frothed milk is an absolute delight.
Want a cold coffee drink pick me up? Try Iced Espresso! This spin on iced coffee stars the bold, rich flavor of espresso. Drizzle in a little milk and a hint of simple syrup to balance out the flavor.
Here's how to make a homemade version of this Starbucks invention that tastes great. It’s deliciously nuanced, cozy, and just sweet enough, cinnamon forward with a warm nuance from the brown sugar syrup.
There’s something about an iced latte that’s irresistibly sippable: creamy, ice cold and scented with bittersweet coffee. This one is vanilla scented, which infuses another layer of cozy into the refreshing drink.
Here’s a refreshing espresso drink that all coffee lovers should try: the Iced Cappuccino! Combine espresso and a splash of milk with ice, then top it off with the Starbucks invention for iced drinks: Cold Foam! This extra fluffy, frothy layer mimics the steamed milk in a cappuccino and infuses an airy, lightly sweet lift to each sip.
Here’s a coffee drink that’s chocolaty, refreshing, and absolutely irresistible: try the Iced Mocha! This one is so deliciously easy to make at home, you’ll never need to go to a coffeeshop again. Just four ingredients make a frothy, creamy drink that’s luxuriously sippable, balancing bitter espresso with real chocolate and frothy milk.
Try either: Iced White Chocolate Mocha or Iced Mocha
The classic Americano is bold and bitter, and diluting creamy espresso with hot water opens up its flavor and lets you enjoy the cup a little longer. So why not try it iced? An Iced Americano is ultra refreshing, with the same big, bold flavors you love from a great Americano.
Cold brew coffee: it’s ultra smooth, perfectly chilled, and guess what? It’s beyond easy to make at home! The great thing about cold brew coffee: it requires virtually no special equipment and takes very little hands on time!
This recipe is…
Vegetarian and gluten-free. For plant-based, dairy-free, and vegan, use oat milk or almond milk.
Print
Iced Coffee
- Prep Time: 2 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 2 minutes
- Yield: 1 iced coffee 1x
Description
Here’s how to make iced coffee at home! Or, try these variations: Chemex Iced Coffee, French Press Iced Coffee, Iced Espresso, Iced Latte, Iced Cappuccino or Iced Americano.
Ingredients
- ½ cup cold brew coffee concentrate (or purchased cold brew), strong coffee, or Moka Pot coffee
- 2 tablespoons milk, creamer, oat milk, or almond milk
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup or simple syrup
- Ice
Instructions
- Make the cold brew coffee (it takes 24 hours, so plan accordingly!) or make strong coffee and let it cool to room temperature.
- Fill a glass with ice. Pour in the cold brew coffee concentrate (not diluted), milk, and maple syrup. Mix and enjoy!
- Category: Drink
- Method: Stirred
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: How to make iced coffee, iced coffee, iced coffee recipe
If you use Filipino grown coffee to make the cold brew, you’ll find it has a sweeter aroma and taste that’s well suited for iced lattes. There’s so much pimping up that can be done to a regular iced latte that regularly wasting $4 on a cafe bought one is just absurd.