This Peppermint Mocha Recipe is so easy and tastes just as good as Starbucks! This 10 minute recipe is the perfect way to enjoy a gourmet coffee right at home.
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Sometimes I think it’s a blessing that we live so far from any fast food joints or coffee shops. It really isn’t an option to run out and grab an expensive coffee drink or a bite to eat.
But there have definitely been times I’m sitting at home wishing I could run to Starbucks for a Peppermint Mocha. This craving happened one too many times, so I decided to take matters into my own hands.
And so this Peppermint Mocha Recipe was born. This recipe is so simple, way quicker than running to coffee shop, and just as delicious. Bonus: it’s a whole lot cheaper too!
If you love all things peppermint chocolate, then you’ll love my No Bake Peppermint Bark Cheesecake, Chocolate Peppermint Icebox Cookies, Layered Double Chocolate Peppermint Cake, or Peppermint Bark!
Ingredients Needed:
- Milk: I use whole milk, but feel free to use whatever milk you have in your fridge Non-dairy milk works great too!
- Sugar: for a little bit of sweetness!
- Cocoa Powder: use unsweetened powder to give your mocha its chocolate flavor.
- Coffee: brewed espresso or strong coffee both work great.
- Peppermint Flavor: to add peppermint flavor you can use: 1) mint extract, 2) half of a peppermint candy cane, or 3) peppermint syrup.
- Vanilla Extract: provides a touch of extra sweetness and adds some flavor depth.
- Toppings: we’re topping our Peppermint Mocha off with whipped cream and chocolate shavings.
How to Make a Peppermint Mocha
This delicious and cozy drink comes together in a total of 10 minutes…way faster than even running to your nearest Starbucks!
- Heat the milk: In a saucepan, heat milk, cocoa, and sugar until bubbles form and the sugar is dissolved.
- Add espresso and flavor: Mix in espresso, mint extract, and vanilla extract, then remove from the heat.
- Garnish and serve: Pour the mixture into a mug, top it with whip and chocolate, then sip away.
Peppermint Mocha FAQs
A mocha is essentially a chocolate latte. So, a peppermint mocha has all of the components of a latte (espresso and milk) plus chocolate and peppermint flavors.
Yes! A traditional Peppermint Mocha is made with brewed espresso. Our homemade Peppermint Mocha can be made using brewed espresso or strong brewed coffee.
This Peppermint Mocha is going to have a subtle coffee flavor because it contains ¾ cup of coffee. However, since you’re making it yourself, you can totally customize it. Love the coffee flavor? Add more. Prefer it to be a little sweeter? Add less.
Tips and Notes
- Use fresh coffee. It just tastes better!
- Warm over medium heat. I know it’s tempting to crank the heat up so it’s done faster, but all you’ll do there is burn the milk. Yuck!
- Make more. This recipe can super easily be doubled or tripled if you’re serving more people. Just use a bigger pan.
- Customize! The beauty of making your own coffee drink is that you can play around with amounts until you find your perfect flavor. Add more or less sweetener, make it more chocolatey, add another flavor like caramel…you really can’t go wrong!
Variations
- Make it white chocolate. Throw some white chocolate chips in with the milk while heating, then stir and let them melt. This is one of my favorite variations! Check out my Easy White Chocolate Mocha for more specific instructions.
- Make it non-dairy. You can easily make a dairy-free version by just using non-dairy milk in place of the whole milk.
- Lighten it up. For a skinny Peppermint Mocha, feel free to use a lower fat milk (1% or 2%) and a sugar replacement or natural sweetener.
- Ice it. Just serve it over ice! Cool the coffee first so you don’t water down your drink.
- Add more garnishes. Chocolate drizzle, crushed candy cane, chopped peanuts, caramel drizzle, you name it.
- Make it caffeine-free. Maybe you’re not big into caffeine or you want to drink this closer to bedtime. No problem! Just swap the regular coffee out for decaf!
Serving Suggestions
This Peppermint Mocha is a delicious way to start the day all on its own, but I love to enjoy it with breakfast too!
Serve it with Cinnamon Roll Bites, Instant Pot Egg Bites, Crockpot Breakfast Casserole, Monkey Bread, or any of your favorite breakfast/brunch recipes!
More Coffee Drinks You’ll Love
Peppermint Mocha Recipe
written by Ashley Fehr
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup whole milk
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3/4 cup brewed espresso or strong coffee
- 1/4 teaspoon mint extract or ½ peppermint candy cane or peppermint syrup
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
- whipped cream and chocolate shavings if desired
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, add milk, cocoa and sugar. Heat over medium heat until small bubbles begin to form around the edge and sugar has dissolved.
- Stir in espresso, mint extract and vanilla and remove from heat (if using a candy cane, be sure to let melt completely.)
- Serve in a large mug and top with whipped cream and chocolate shavings if desired.
Nutrition Information
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Rebecca D. says
This was so delicious. Such an easy recipe! I will be making this a lot this winter!
Camille says
This was so good and easy to make! Saving money one drink at a time 🙂 Thank you for the recipe. I will add less sugar next time.
Marie Elyse King says
Just made this this morning for brunch and it was a HIT!! So good! Everyone loved it. Made some homemade peppermint whip cream to go with it. Looking forward to saving money not going to Starbucks as much this season.
Kendall says
Wasn’t feeling like getting out and I came across this recipe and it’s amazing! I used 5 peppermints! Definitely will not be spending unnecessary money at Dunkin or Starbucks bc this is 10x better! Thank you so much for this amazing recipe!
Kim Archer says
it was amazing! I shared it!