Chai Creme Frappuccino Recipe: Sweet, Spicy, Delicious

Starbucks Chai Crème Frappuccino is the perfect drink to transition from summer to fall. It’s creamy, icy, and refreshing, but the notes of warm spice and vanilla will put you in the mind of pumpkin season. 

Our super easy copycat recipe is even simpler than hitting the drive-thru, with only three steps standing between you and sweet satisfaction. Try it when you’re ready to mix up your summer drinks routine.

What Is A Chai Creme Frappuccino?

A Chai Crème Frappuccino is a Starbucks menu creation that puts the warm flavors of their chai tea latte into a refreshing iced drink. Like all Starbucks Frappuccinos, it’s a blended beverage, though this flavor contains no coffee. Think of Pumpkin Pie Spice Frappuccino, with a twist. It blends chai concentrate syrup, creme frappuccino syrup, whole milk, and ice into a creamy beverage. It’s topped with whipped cream that has been sweetened with vanilla syrup and a dusting of ground cinnamon.

What Is Chai?

North Americans typically say “chai tea” to refer to black tea with added flavors of warm spices, usually cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, star anise, black pepper, and ginger (1). The drink was born in India, where chai simply means tea (masala chai is the term for spiced tea). So when you say “chai tea,” you’re really saying “tea tea.” But we won’t worry about that here.

What Is In A Chai Creme Frappuccino?

The Starbucks Chai Crème Frappuccino has a laundry list of ingredients, some of which are familiar (ice, milk, cinnamon) and some of which are foreign to the home cook (crème frappuccino syrup, carrageenan, potassium sorbate, citric acid, natural flavors).

Our Starbucks Frappuccino recipe keeps the good stuff and skips the unpronounceables. The base of our chai frappuccino is simply chai concentrate, milk, ice, and (optionally) xanthan gum. Let’s look at each ingredient in a bit more detail:

How To Make Chai Tea Concentrate

You can buy chai tea concentrate from brands like Tazo, which is available online and in most grocery stores. But it is also easy to make your own.

• Combine 4 cups of water and 12 chai tea bags in a medium saucepan and bring it to a boil. 
• Reduce the heat and let simmer for 15 minutes. 
• Remove the teabags and stir in ¼ cup of white sugar, or to taste. 
• This mixture will keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks in the fridge.

Making your own concentrate gives you more control over flavors. Add more or less sugar, or substitute honey or another sweetener. Add cinnamon sticks, other whole spices, ginger juice, or a vanilla bean to play with the flavors.

What Is Xanthan Gum?

Xanthan gum is a gluten-free soluble fiber derived from fermented sugar (2). This food additive has been deemed safe by the FDA and is found in many consumer products. You may never have heard of it, but there’s a good chance you’ve consumed it in the last week.

Starbucks adds xanthan gum to frappuccinos to give them a thick and stable consistency. You can do the same to your homemade frappuccino, and it takes only a tiny amount of the powder. However, if you’d rather avoid it, you can leave it out. Your chai frappuccino will be an equally tasty but slightly less creamy blend.

Milk And Milk Alternatives

Starbucks Chai Crème Frappuccino uses whole milk, and so do we. It is rich and creamy without being too heavy. For a more decadent drink, you can use half-and-half (a great choice if you’re omitting the xanthan gum). Or try heavy cream or Greek yogurt for an almost ice cream-like consistency. Substituting skim or partially skim milk will lead to a lower-fat drink, but it won’t carry quite the same creamy satisfaction.

Vegans or dairy-free coffee lovers can also enjoy this Starbucks Chai Crème Frappuccino recipe. Substitute the milk and whipping cream with dairy-free alternatives. We love oat, almond, or cashew milk in the frappuccino body. And coconut whipped cream is a surprisingly wonderful flavor to combine with the warm chai flavors.

How To Make Starbucks Chai Creme Frappuccino

Making Starbucks Chai Crème Frappuccino is so easy that you’ll wonder why you ever paid a barista to do it for you. Just follow these three simple steps. And once you’ve got them mastered, be sure to try our S’mores Frappuccino recipe for another refreshing summertime treat.

Step 1: Prepare The Sweetened Whipped Cream

Put the heavy cream, sugar, and vanilla extract into a large bowl. Using a hand mixer or whisk, whip the mixture until medium peaks form.

Tightly cover the bowl, and keep it in the fridge until ready to use. Vanilla whipped cream keeps in the fridge for 24 hours. So feel free to multiply the recipe if you’ve got big frappuccino plans.

Step 2: Blend The Chai Frappuccino Ingredients

Combine the ice, milk, chai concentrate, and xanthan gum in a blender. Blend it until you reach a smooth and uniform consistency. Don’t blend for too long, or you’ll melt the ice and end up with a drink that’s more watery rather than thick and creamy

Step 3: Assemble And Serve

Pour the blended frappuccino into a chilled tall glass. Top it with the sweetened vanilla whipped cream and a sprinkle of ground cinnamon.

Final Thoughts

Chai Crème Frappuccino might be my favorite drink at Starbucks. It’s so creamy and refreshing. It isn’t overly caffeinated but puts just enough pep in my step to power me through an afternoon at work. 

This copycat Chai Frappuccino recipe is even better! It’s healthier and gives me more control over flavors, calories, and sweetness. And once I have chai tea concentrate in the fridge, I can make it even faster than I can drive to the local drive-thru.