If you like coffee, you’ll love this recipe for an easy caramel macchiato. It’s made with homemade caramel sauce and delicious vanilla syrup that is sure to please your taste buds.
This caramel macchiato is great for a cold winter day or any day if you’re a fan of coffee.
Learn how to easily make a caramel macchiato with caramel sauce at home by reading the step-by-step recipe below.
What is a caramel macchiato?
A caramel macchiato is a simple drink to make at home. All you need is 2% fat milk, espresso coffee, vanilla syrup, and caramel sauce. You can buy the caramel sauce from a store or make it at home with a few simple ingredients.
The vanilla syrup can also be made at home with just three ingredients and can be made in a large batch, so you can make multiple drinks in the days to come.
You can substitute the 2% fat milk for a different dairy or dairy-free alternative if you want, as this caramel macchiato is great to make with any milk you have at home.
Have a look below for the full ingredient breakdown. You’ll read all about the ingredients used and how you can change them to your preference:
What ingredients are used in a caramel macchiato?
This caramel macchiato is easy to make at home, with just a few ingredients. If you want to get started with this recipe, collect the following items:
- 2% fat milk
- Espresso
- Vanilla syrup
- Caramel sauce
As I’ve talked about above, you can choose to use any milk you have at home. Milk alternatives work well with this recipe and taste delicious.
I’ve tried this recipe with soy milk and almond milk, and both milk alternatives tasted nice in combination with the caramel sauce and added vanilla flavor.
You can find the homemade caramel sauce and vanilla syrup recipes below the recipe card.
If you’d instead use store-bought sauces, feel free to do so. It’s much easier to make coffee with them so that you can enjoy this recipe faster.
However, if you’ve got the time, I do suggest making them from scratch. When making the add-ins from scratch, you can choose to add any flavoring to them, customizing them to your taste.
For the final and one of the most essential components of this drink, let’s talk coffee:
How to make espresso coffee at home
For this recipe, it’s best to use espresso coffee. The robust coffee notes taste great with the sweetness of the vanilla and caramel.
If you like to start your day with strong coffee, you can choose to use a double espresso shot in your drink.
Although the recipe is based around a single shot, you can change the recipe slightly by removing some milk and adding a shot of espresso for a more robust flavor.
On the other hand, if you prefer a sweeter coffee, you can always add more sweeteners to your coffee.
If I want to have a sweeter coffee, I prefer adding more caramel sauce because this adds a nice rounded flavor to the coffee.
To make espresso coffee at home, the best way to prepare it is using an espresso machine. If you have one at home, pull a single or double shot from the machine and use it for this recipe.
A few other options to make espresso-like coffee are using a Moka pot, AeroPress, or you can make some strong espresso-like coffee in a French press.
If you have yet to brew espresso coffee at home, then you can check out my beginner’s guide to brewing coffee, or you can click the names of the coffee brewers for a complete brewing guide.
If you’d rather use your Nespresso or Keurig machine, I suggest using a strong coffee pod so that the finished coffee is well-rounded and has a nicely balanced flavor.
Easy Caramel Macchiato
This caramel macchiato is perfect for any time of the day when you can use a pick-me-up!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (0.12 l) of 2% fat milk
- Single or double espresso shot
- 1 tbsp (15 grams) of vanilla syrup
- 1 tbsp (15 grams) of caramel sauce
Instructions
- Start by steaming the 2% fat milk. Aim for a slight foam in the milk so that you can add a drizzle of caramel sauce on top.
- Brew your espresso shot(s). You can choose any brewing technique for this. I brewed my espresso with the Moka pot.
- Combine the vanilla syrup and espresso shot(s) in a tall glass.
- Give this a stir so that the flavors are mixed well.
- Pour the steamed milk into the glass, preferably with a slightly foamed top.
- Drizzle the caramel sauce on top.
- Your caramel macchiato is done and ready to drink!
Notes
If you pour the milk into the glass slowly, you'll create those fantastic layers!
You can sweeten your caramel macchiato a bit more by adding more vanilla syrup or caramel sauce to your drink!
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Nutrition Information:
Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 108Total Fat: 4.9gSaturated Fat: 3gUnsaturated Fat: 0.6gCholesterol: 10mgSodium: 125mgCarbohydrates: 24.7gFiber: 1gSugar: 22.1gProtein: 4g
If you prefer making a sweeter coffee, the nutritional information may change as well.
How to make vanilla syrup at home
Vanilla syrup is one of the easiest and most delicious syrups you can make at home. It consists of the following ingredients:
- 1/2 cup or 120 grams of white granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup or 120 grams of cold tap water
- One vanilla bean
I prefer using white granulated sugar for this recipe, as it has a neutral flavor, which is perfect for this recipe, as you want as much vanilla flavor as possible.
The amounts listed above will make for a nice batch of vanilla syrup. You can make 8-10 coffees with this recipe, so you’ll have plenty leftover for another time.
To make the vanilla syrup at home, you can follow this easy 5-minute step-by-step guide below:
- In a small saucepan, combine the white granulated sugar and cold tap water.
- Split and deseed the vanilla bean. Add the vanilla seeds alongside the vanilla bean to the saucepan as well.
- By adding the split vanilla bean to the mixture, you’ll extract even more vanilla flavor, which is perfect for this recipe.
- Place the pan on the stove on medium to high heat.
- Heat the mixture until the sugar has fully dissolved. Keep stirring throughout to prevent the sugar from burning.
- This takes roughly 2-3 minutes, depending on the heat.
- After the sugar has fully dissolved, remove the pan from the heat.
- Let the vanilla syrup cool completely.
- After cooling, you can transfer it to a container for optimal storage.
- It will keep well in the fridge for a few days, which is perfect if you plan to make this recipe multiple times.
As you can see, the vanilla syrup is not hard to make and requires just a few minutes to complete. It’s the perfect add-in for most coffees.
You can also try adding it to your morning coffee instead of using raw sugar. It’s delicious and will bring your coffee to the next level.
For more information on how to make this vanilla syrup at home, check out my other article here!
What caramel sauce is best used?
The best caramel sauce for this recipe is a homemade one. Homemade caramel sauce is easy to make and is just as easy to make as vanilla syrup.
You can also use store-bought caramel sauce for this recipe. Store-bought caramel sauce can be quite a bit sweeter than the homemade kind, so be sure to taste it before adding it to your coffee, so you’re not making your coffee overly sweet.
If you want to make the homemade caramel sauce, you can check out the full recipe here.
Conclusion
A caramel macchiato is one of the easiest and most delicious coffee to drink. The combination of robust espresso coffee and the added sweetness of the caramel and vanilla syrup tastes terrific.
Preparing this coffee can seem like a lot of work, but once you have all the components ready, then you can make this coffee in just a few minutes, perfect to start your day or as a midday pick-me-up!
If you love to brew coffee like this, I suggest checking out the recipes I’ve listed below. All these coffees are sweetened and are worth a try.
Do you love to drink coffee with caramel sauce? Let me know by leaving a comment down below. If you have any other questions regarding coffee, you can also contact me directly by pressing the “Contact Me” button at the top!