Craving something sweet? Check out this homemade caramel ribbon crunch Frappuccino recipe!

It’s a delicious and easy way to satisfy your sweet tooth. Plus, it’s a great way to use up any leftover caramel sauce you might have.

You can make this Frappuccino with just a few ingredients and a few minutes of your time. Give it a try! You won’t be disappointed.

What is a caramel ribbon crunch Frappuccino?

A caramel ribbon crunch Frappuccino is a coffee-flavored drink with caramel and whipped cream on top. It’s made by blending ice, coffee, milk, and caramel sauce together. The whipped cream is then added on top, finishing the drink with a drizzle of caramel sauce and crunchy caramel bits.

Because this is a homemade recipe, you can choose which ingredients to use and make it however sweet you like it.

I’ll go over the ingredients that are needed below. Then, I’ll show you how to make your own caramel sauce and walk you through step-by-step how to make this delicious drink!

Tip: This caramel ribbon crunch Frappuccino uses the same basis as the basic Frappuccino. If this is your first time making this drink at home, I suggest you check out this recipe first.

What ingredients are needed to make this drink?

To make a caramel ribbon crunch Frappuccino at home, you’ll need to gather the following ingredients:

  • Strong coffee like espresso or regular brewed coffee will work. I prefer using espresso coffee because of the robust flavor, but brewed coffee is perfect if you like a sweeter Frappuccino.
  • Whole milk or any other milk that you have at home and like. Whole milk has a full flavor that I like in my drink, but low-fat or your favorite dairy-free milk will work perfectly well.
  • Caramel sauce is the main sweetener for this drink and is also used as a topping. You can use a homemade version (check out the recipe here) or use a store-bought version instead.
  • Caramel crunch topping is made by smashing caramel candy into small pieces. I’ll talk more about this below.
  • Crushed ice or regular ice cubes are used to make this drink refreshing and will thicken it. It’s best to use crushed ice for quicker results, but regular ice cubes work just as well; you’ll just need to blend the mixture longer to achieve the same results.
  • Whipped cream is the perfect add-on for that decadent touch and will hold the caramel drizzle and crunchy caramel bits on top of your Frappuccino!
All of the ingredients that are needed to make a caramel ribbon crunch Frappuccino at home.

As you can see, this recipe is made with quite a few ingredients. The best part, however, is that you probably have most of them at home because you can use whichever milk you have on hand, for example.

Now, let’s talk about how you can achieve those delicious caramel crunch bits without going through much trouble:

How do you make the caramel crunch topping?

Starbucks uses crunchy caramel sugar bits to finish the caramel ribbon crunch Frappuccino.

I found that it’s best to smash some kind of caramel candy into smaller pieces and use this as the topping.

The candy will break into nice-looking pieces that will provide the extra flavor and crunchy bits in your homemade Frappuccino.

I’m using Werther’s Original Hard Caramel Candy from Amazon:

They taste amazing, are affordable, and you can use them as a quick snack while making yourself this amazing blended drink!

You could also completely omit the candy topping if you don’t feel like going through the trouble.

Use a bit more caramel sauce as an alternative, or sprinkle some coarse white sugar on top.

Which coffee is best used in this Frappuccino?

For the best caramel ribbon crunch Frappuccino, I prefer using espresso as the coffee basis.

Espresso coffee has a more robust flavor than brewed coffee which I find pairs perfectly with the sweet caramel sauce.

Brewed espresso coffee in a small glass.

However, if you prefer a milder flavor, you can brew coffee with one of the following coffee brewers:

Any of the above-listed will make good-tasting coffee that will work in this recipe. Choose the right coffee beans for your taste to make it the perfect at-home beverage!

I prefer using medium or dark roasted coffee beans for the most amount of flavor.

Medium roasted and dark roasted coffee beans next to each other.
Medium roast on the left. Dark roast on the right

You can also find “espresso beans” in most grocery stores, but this is just a marketing term. Read more about these coffee beans and how they differ from regular coffee beans in this article.

If you’re interested, you can check out some of my favorite coffee beans for espresso coffee here.

Now, let’s go over a delicious way to make caramel sauce at home:

How do you make the caramel sauce at home?

The caramel sauce is made by adding sugar and a splash of water to a saucepan and melting the sugar in a pan until it is a deep amber color.

Then, you slowly add cream to the mixture and whisk until smooth. Finally, add vanilla extract and salt to taste if you want this. It’s best to let it cool down before adding these extra flavors.

To make the sauce even better, you can add some butter for richness and flavor. You can stir it in after adding the heavy cream. It’ll look like this after you’ve stored it properly and have let it cool:

Homemade caramel sauce.

This recipe makes enough for about eight servings of two tablespoons. You’ll need three tablespoons of it for this recipe, so you’ll have plenty left over to make other caramel-flavored drinks like:

If you want to try this recipe, you can find the complete step-by-step guide here. Over there, I’ll show you the stages of the sugar melting so you can easily follow along.

How do you make a caramel ribbon crunch Frappuccino?

To make a caramel ribbon crunch Frappuccino, you can have a look at the steps involved below. For the complete recipe, scroll down a bit further.

  • Brew your coffee. This can be espresso or regular brewed coffee, and let it cool.
  • Pour the milk, cooled coffee, and caramel sauce into the blender.
  • Add the ice to the blender cup.
  • Blend on high speed until slightly chunky and not overly smooth.
  • Pour the mixture into a glass and serve with whipped cream, a drizzle of caramel sauce, and crunchy caramel pieces.

The caramel ribbon crunch Frappuccino is almost identical to the regular caramel Frappuccino, except for the crunchy caramel bits on top.

I also like to add more coffee to this version and a bit more caramel sauce for extra sweetness.

Now that you know about the easy steps that are required to make this Frappuccino at home, you can follow along with the recipe card listed below:

Homemade Caramel Ribbon Crunch Frappuccino

Caramel ribbon crunch Frappuccino. ready to be enjoyed.

This is the perfect Frappuccino recipe if you love a sweet, smooth, caffeinated drink. You can make it in just a few minutes, so it's perfect for a hot summer day!

Prep Time 3 minutes
Additional Time 2 minutes
Total Time 5 minutes

Ingredients

  • Three espresso shots (3 oz or 90 ml) or 1/2 cup (120 ml) of brewed coffee
  • 1/2 cup (0.12 l) of whole milk
  • 1 cup (240 grams) of crushed ice (or regular ice cubes)
  • 3 tbsp (45 grams) of caramel sauce
  • 1 tbsp (8 grams) of caramel crunch topping
  • A serving of whipped cream to taste

Instructions

  1. Start by brewing your espresso or regular coffee. For the smoothest and most icy Frappuccino, it's best to let the coffee cool completely before using it.
  2. Once the coffee is cooled completely, add it to a blender cup along with two tablespoons of the caramel sauce and the milk.
  3. Then add the crushed ice or regular ice cubes to the rest of the ingredients.
  4. Blend the mixture on high speed until a slightly chunky mixture appears that isn't overly smooth.
  5. Pour the Frappuccino base into a tall glass of choice.
  6. Add a generous amount of whipped cream of your liking to the base mixture.
  7. Finish the coffee with a drizzle of the remaining caramel sauce and the caramel crunch topping.
  8. Serve as soon as possible, and enjoy!

Notes

Brew the coffee before heading to bed, and let it cool in the fridge overnight if you want to make this Frappuccino first thing in the morning.

Recommended Products

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Nutrition Information:

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 344Total Fat: 12.5gSaturated Fat: 5.6gUnsaturated Fat: 3.9gCholesterol: 54mgSodium: 80.3mgCarbohydrates: 49.1gSugar: 49gProtein: 4g

Conclusion

So, there you have it! My recipe for a delicious caramel ribbon crunch Frappuccino that you can make at home with just a few simple ingredients.

I love that you can customize it to taste according to your preferences, and you can make your own caramel crunch topping with any caramel candy you have lying around the house.

If you want to try more homemade Frappuccino recipes, I’ve listed a few below that taste amazing!

More Frappuccino recipes to try

Picture of Jeffrey, Author at Your Dream Coffee
Author

On my coffee blog you will find everything you need in order to start brewing coffee at home. Ranging from the basics; to the newest coffee recipes everybody talks about! You can learn more about me here.

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