Pumpkin Chai Latte at Home that’s Better than Starbucks

Pumpkin chai latte tastes like a warm hug in the cooler days of autumn.  It can be made healthier and for pennies a mug when you make it at home.

No need to drive out to Starbucks to get your fill of Pumpkin Lattes when you can make Pumpkin Latte at home.  This recipe is for Pumpkin Chai Latte, but if you prefer coffee to tea, simply substitute a double shot of espresso for the chai tea and call it Pumpkin Spice Latte.  The rest of the recipe is the same.  Chai means “Life” in Hebrew, but tea in Hindi.  In the English mind it means a warm spicy tea, often with milk and honey.

Enough semantics.  What you really want to know is why there is no pumpkin in my pumpkin chai latte, right?  It’s because I stopped buying (and growing) pumpkins about 20 years ago.  I switched to growing (or buying) mostly butternut squash instead.

Why I prefer butternut squash to pumpkin

• Pumpkin and butternut squash can be used interchangably in recipes that call for pumpkin.
• Butternut squash is easier to peel, firmer, and drier than pumpkin.
• I broke an expensive butcher knife once cutting into a pumpkin.  I’ve never had a problem peeling butternut squash.
• Butternut squash also comes in a smaller size than pumpkin, allowing you to use just one squash for a recipe, instead of having a lot of leftover squash that you then have to process.
• Butternut squash will keep in a cool, dry place from harvest till April, without loss of quality, pumpkins need to be processed within 8 weeks of harvest, leaving a lot of pumpkin puree to freeze. Don’t try to can pumpkin puree.  Even with a pressure canner, it’s not considered safe.

Pumpkin Chai Latte at Home that’s Better than Starbucks

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• Author: Joybilee Farm
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 5 minutes
• Total Time: 20 minutes
• Yield: 2 servings 1x
• Category: Beverages

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Description

Pumpkin chai latte tastes like a warm hug in the cooler days of autumn.  It can be made healthier and for pennies a mug when you make it at home.

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Ingredients

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• 1 tablespoon butternut squash or pumpkin cooked, and drained
• 1 teaspoon. heavy cream
• ½ teaspoon organic cinnamon, ground
• ¼ teaspoon organic cardamom, ground
• ¼ teaspoon organic ginger, ground
• 1 tsp. maple syrup
•  1 cup milk, heated and frothed
• 1 cup of chai tea (I used two Tazo Chai Tea Bags per 2 cups boiling water)

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Instructions

• Cook 1 cup of cubed pumpkin or butternut squash until tender.  Drain but reserve the liquid for soup stock.  Mash with a fork.
• Remove 2 tablespoons of the cooked pumpkin, use the remainder for another recipe.  Add heavy cream and spices to the 2 tablespoons of mashed squash.  Using a stick blender, puree the mixture of squash and spices until smooth and thick.  This is the stick blender I use. Set aside.
• Make a small pot of tea using 2 cups of boiling water and 2 Tazo Chai Tea bags or make black tea and add this spice mix. This is a black chai tea.  If you prefer a tea without caffeine rooiboos chai or Tulsi Chai is caffeine-free, and can be substituted for black tea in this recipe.
• Meanwhile heat up 1 cup of milk — any kind of milk or milk substitute is fine.  Heat it on the stove top just until a skin begins to form.  Don’t let it boil.
• In another glass measuring cup or stainless steel frothing jug, froth the milk with a battery operated frother.  I use this one.

Assemble the Pumpkin Chai Latte as follows:

• Place 1 tablespoon of the pumpkin spice puree in the bottom of each of 2 mugs.
• Add 1/2 cup of strong chai tea to each mug.  Stir to mix the pumpkin puree with the tea.
• Top each mug with as much frothed milk as the mug will hold.  Stir lightly.

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Pumpkin Chai Latte

Yield 2 servings

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon butternut squash or pumpkin, cooked and drained
• 1 teaspoon. heavy cream
• ½ teaspoon organic cinnamon, ground
• ¼ teaspoon organic cardamom, ground
• ¼ teaspoon organic ginger, ground
• 1 tsp. maple syrup
• 1 cup milk, heated and frothed
• 1 cup of chai tea (I used two Tazo Chai Tea Bags per 2 cups boiling water)

Method:

1. Cook 1 cup of cubed pumpkin or butternut squash until tender.  Drain but reserve the liquid for soup stock.  Mash with a fork.
2. Remove 2 tablespoons of the cooked pumpkin, use the remainder for another recipe.
3. Add heavy cream and spices to the 2 tablespoons of mashed squash.  Using a stick blender, puree the mixture of squash and spices until smooth and thick.  This is the stick blender I use. Set aside.
4. Make a small pot of tea using 2 cups of boiling water and 2 Tazo Chai Tea bags or make black tea and add this spice mix. This is a black chai tea.  If you prefer a tea without caffeine rooibos chai or Tulsi Chai is caffeine-free, and can be substituted for black tea in this recipe.
5. Meanwhile, heat up 1 cup of milk — any kind of milk or milk substitute is fine.  Heat it on the stovetop just until a think skin begins to form on the top.  Don’t let it boil.
6. In another glass measuring cup or stainless steel frothing jug, froth the milk with a battery-operated frother.  I use this one.

Assemble the Pumpkin Chai Latte as follows:

Place 1 tablespoon of the pumpkin spice puree in the bottom of each of 2 mugs.

Add 1/2 cup of strong chai tea to each mug.  Stir to mix the pumpkin puree with the tea.

Top each mug with as much frothed milk as the mug will hold.  Stir lightly.

Enjoy.

To make a Pumpkin Spice Latte using espresso instead of tea

Make your espresso in the way you prefer.  I make mine in a mocha pot.

In the bottom of your mug put 1 or 2 shots of espresso.

Place 2 tsp. of pumpkin spice puree in the bottom of the mug and stir well.

Top the mug with as much frothed milk as your mug will hold.  Stir lightly.

Other ways to use squash instead of pumpkin

(I promise you won’t miss the pumpkin).

Once you’ve tasted the delicious pumpkin chai latte made with butternut squash instead of pumpkin, you’ll realize that your yearning for pumpkin in December is misplaced, when butternut squash is available all winter long.  Here are a few more ways to use this versatile vegetable, your family won’t even realize it’s not pumpkin.  But if you have a lot of pumpkin to use up, any of these recipes work just as well with pureed pumpkin as they do with butternut squash.

Pumpkin Spice Pizzelle Cookies

Pumpkin Spice Energy Balls with Maca

Butternut Spice Bundt Cake

Pumpkin Brownies

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Cheesecake

Gluten-Free Pumpkin Coffee Cake with Blood Orange Glaze

Your turn:

Have you tried to use squash in place of pumpkin in your favorite recipes?  How did it work for you?

Last updated  August 2019