Pumpkin Spice Sauce (Starbucks Copycat)

5 from 2 votes
Jump to RecipeRate Recipe

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.

This pumpkin spice sauce is perfectly sweet, creamy and has everything you love and more about the popular Starbucks version. Use this homemade version to add delicious pumpkin flavor to a homemade pumpkin spice latte or even drizzle on desserts.

This post may contain affiliate links.

A spoonful of pumpkin spice sauce being lifted out of a mason jar.

Why you’ll love this

As soon as the fall season starts getting close, it’s pumpkin spice season! If you love all things pumpkin like me, making your own homemade pumpkin spice sauce is the perfect way to celebrate the best time of year!

If you love Starbucks pumpkin sauce, you have to give this copycat recipe a try (because coffee shop lattes get expensive!). This delicious recipe is perfectly sweet and full of creamy pumpkin spice flavor.

This pumpkin spice sauce is a little different than pumpkin “syrup” because it’s creamy, just like the Starbucks sauce!

While this recipe calls for more “indulgent” ingredients, I love making homemade coffee syrups and sauces at home because you have full control over how much you add to your coffee. This sauce adds just the right amount of creaminess and sweetness.

The best things about this pumpkin spice sauce recipe are that it’s easy to put together, uses simple ingredients like actual pumpkin puree, and only takes about 10 minutes.

You can use this pumpkin spice sauce to make your own at-home pumpkin spice lattes, add it to your regular cup of coffee, or even drizzle it on vanilla ice cream or on top of pancakes. You could even add this pumpkin pie sauce to hot chocolate.

It’s the perfect addition to your rotation of pumpkin recipes, so lets get into what you need!

Ingredients for pumpkin spice sauce laid out on a countertop with labels.
Want to save this recipe?
Just enter your email and get it sent to your inbox! Plus I’ll send you new recipes every week!

Ingredients

You only need a few real ingredients to make this simple recipe!

  1. Pumpkin puree: Make sure to grab real pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling from your local grocery store. Adding real pumpkin is a total game changer because it adds the real natural flavors of pumpkin and isn’t just pumpkin spice alone.
  2. Sweetened condensed milk: Sweetened condensed milk gives the sauce the same creaminess as the Starbucks pumpkin sauce. To make dairy free, you can use sweetened condensed coconut milk if you can find it.
  3. Brown sugar: Dark brown sugar is my favorite for a brown sugar syrup, which is the base of this sauce. You can use light brown sugar as well.
  4. Water: You’ll need water to create a syrup with the brown sugar.
  5. Vanilla: Here’s my favorite vanilla extract.
  6. Pumpkin pie spice: You’ll need pumpkin spice for that delicious blend of warm fall spices, my favorite! You can also use ground spices to make your own; pumpkin spice is usually a blend of ground ginger, ground cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice.
  7. Cinnamon: I love adding extra cinnamon to anything pumpkin spiced.
Pumpkin spice sauce in a mason jar with a spoon.

How to make pumpkin spice sauce

  1. First, make brown sugar simple syrup by combining brown sugar, water, and vanilla extract to a small saucepan and combine well using a wooden or silicone spoon. Bring ingredients to a boil and then immediately lower to simmer. Simmer for 3-4 minutes.
Brown sugar syrup in a pan.
  1. Stir in sweetened condensed milk, pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and vanilla extract. Bring to a simmer on low heat.
Brown sugar syrup, sweetened condensed milk, pumpkin and spices in a pan.
  1. Simmer for 3-4 minutes and then turn off heat and allow sauce to cool.
Finished pumpkin sauce in a pan.

How to store

Store extra pumpkin sauce in the fridge in an airtight container for up to a week.

A close up shot of the top of a jar of pumpkin spice sauce.

How to use

Hot drinks

To add to hot coffee or espresso, stir well until fully combined, then add milk or cream.

Cold drinks

To add to iced drinks like iced coffee, first stir into a small amount of hot coffee or espresso. To make sure it’s combined well, I recommend using a lid and shaking it up with ice.

Desserts

You can use this sauce to drizzle on your favorite desserts immediately after making it. If it’s being stored in the fridge you’ll likely need to let it sit at room temperature for a few minutes before using so that it’s thin enough.

A spoonful of pumpkin spice sauce being lifted out of a mason jar.

More drink recipes you’ll love

A close up shot of a spoonful of brown sugar syrup.
5 from 4 votes

Easy Brown Sugar Simple Syrup for Coffee

Brown sugar simple syrup made with just three ingredients, perfect for adding to coffee, tea, or even desserts.
View Recipe
A close up shot of a mason jar full of sugar cookie cough syrup with a spoon dripping some into the jar.
5 from 2 votes
Sweet and buttery homemade sugar cookie coffee syrup made with simple ingredients to replace your favorite seasonal Starbucks flavor!
View Recipe
Iced brown sugar coffee and milk swirled in a large mason jar.
5 from 1 vote

Iced Brown Sugar Coffee

Perfectly sweet and creamy brown sugar iced coffee made with simple ingredients and homemade brown sugar syrup.
View Recipe
A spoonful of pumpkin spice sauce being lifted out of a mason jar.
5 from 2 votes

Pumpkin Spice Sauce

Sweet and creamy pumpkin spice sauce for coffee or topping desserts.
Jamie N, Registered Dietitian
Cook: 10 minutes
Servings: 32
Save this recipe!
Get this sent to your inbox, plus get new recipes from us every week!

Ingredients 

  • 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
  • 3/4 cup water
  • 14 oz. sweetened condensed milk
  • 1/3 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions 

  • First, make brown sugar simple syrup by combining brown sugar, water, and vanilla extract to a small saucepan and combine well using a wooden or silicone spoon. Bring ingredients to a boil and then immediately lower to simmer. Simmer for 3-4 minutes.
  • Stir in sweetened condensed milk, pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, and vanilla extract. Bring to a simmer on low heat. Note: some of the spices may float to the top but will continue to mix in as the sauce cooks and cools.
  • Simmer for 3-4 minutes and then turn off heat and allow sauce to cool.
  • To add to hot coffee or tea, stir well until fully combined and add milk or cream.
  • To add to iced coffee, stir into a small amount of hot coffee or espresso first and then shake well after adding to iced coffee.

Notes

Cooled and refrigerated sauce will be thick. If mixing into cold beverages, it needs to be stirred into hot liquid first, like hot coffee or espresso.

Nutrition

Serving: 1tbsp | Calories: 54kcal | Carbohydrates: 10g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.04g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 4mg | Sodium: 17mg | Potassium: 57mg | Fiber: 0.1g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 431IU | Vitamin C: 0.4mg | Calcium: 40mg | Iron: 0.1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated and should only be used as an estimate.

Did you try this recipe?Leave a comment + star rating below!

Hi, I'm Jamie

Iโ€™m a Registered Dietitian of over 10 years and I love creating simple, delicious recipes that leave you feeling good, too. Healthy eating doesnโ€™t have to be complicated! Let me show you with easy healthy recipes and realistic nutrition tips.

Related Posts

5 from 2 votes (1 rating without comment)

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




4 Comments

  1. Liz says:

    5 stars
    Haven’t even added this to my coffee but I taste tested it while making, obviously! And I’m so excited for tomorrow morning. The 1/3 cup called for is the perfect amount since I make a lot of recipes that call for 1 cup of pumpkin and then am left with an awkward amount. Thanks again for another fun recipe!

    1. Jamie N, Registered Dietitian says:

      SO yummy, right!? Thanks for leaving a review ๐Ÿ™‚

  2. Anne-Christeline says:

    Help ! My sauce is not saucing ๐Ÿ˜…
    It taste good but it’s runny/liquidy, not thick like yours even after a night in the fridge…
    I think I’ll have to re-heat it in order to reduce it
    Do you think it’s a great idea ?
    Thank you and have a Nice one !

    1. Jamie N, Registered Dietitian says:

      Hi! Did you use sweetened condensed milk that comes in a can? This sauce is actually very very thick, so I’m wondering if you used a different kind of milk.