Coffee Drink
Coffee Milkshake Recipe: Thick, Creamy and Easy
A coffee milkshake blends chilled coffee, vanilla ice cream and milk into a thick dessert drink. The ice cream supplies the body, while espresso adds a roasted contrast to the dairy sweetness.
Drink Snapshot
- Caffeine
- 75 mg referenceUSDA FDC 171891: 36 g prepared espressoThe espresso supplies the caffeine in this vanilla version.
- Calories
- Estimated 555 kcalFull batch; generic vanilla ice cream and whole milkRounded ingredient estimate for the full plain batch; toppings are excluded.
Serving, sugar and sources
- Serving
- 1 full batch; optionally share between two glasses
- Made with
- Chilled espresso, frozen vanilla ice cream and cold milk
- Sugar
- Estimated 56 g total. Sugar comes from the ice cream and milk. No extra sugar is added.
- Preparation
- About 5 minutes once espresso is chilled
USDA ingredient estimates cover the full plain batch. Divide the finished shake equally for two smaller portions. See the full calculation or label comparison.
Key Takeaways
- 1Vanilla ice cream lets the coffee supply the main contrast; coffee-flavored ice cream is optional.
- 2Chill the coffee first to keep the shake thick rather than melting the ice cream as you blend.
- 3Blend only until smooth and pourable, then serve immediately.
On This Page13 Sections
What Makes It a Milkshake?
Ice cream gives this recipe its body. The coffee and milk are blended through it rather than poured over a scoop. There is no plain ice to crush. Expect a spoon-coating shake that still pours.
Vanilla ice cream is my usual starting point for a coffee milkshake. I like the espresso supplying the other main flavor. Chocolate sauce can be enjoyable, but it makes the particular coffee less noticeable to me.
What Does Coffee Milkshake Taste Like?
A coffee milkshake tastes like vanilla ice cream with a roasted espresso streak running through every sip. It is sweet, dense and creamy enough to coat a spoon, with a little coffee bitterness lingering after the dairy sweetness. Unlike an ice-based frappé, its body comes from ice cream, so it feels fuller and less crystalline.
I prefer a cocoa-toned espresso in a vanilla milkshake because its bitter edge cuts through the sweet ice cream without needing chocolate sauce.
Coffee Milkshake Recipe
Recipe
Espresso Coffee Milkshake
- Makes:
- 1 large shake or 2 small shakes
- Time:
- About 5 minutes; espresso already chilled
Ingredients
- 36 g prepared espresso, chilled
- 250 g (8.8 oz) vanilla dairy ice cream
- 60 g (¼ US cup) cold whole milk
Equipment
- Blender suitable for thick frozen mixtures
- Scale
- Scoop or spoon
- Spatula
- 600 ml (20.3 US fl oz) glass, or two smaller glasses
Method
- Prepare. Measure 36 g already chilled espresso. Keep the ice cream frozen and the milk refrigerated until loading.
- Load the blender. Add 36 g chilled espresso, 250 g (8.8 oz) vanilla ice cream and 60 g (¼ US cup) cold whole milk in the order your blender recommends.
- Blend briefly. Blend just until smooth and pourable. Stop the motor before scraping down the sides.
- Serve. Pour into a chilled 600 ml (20.3 US fl oz) glass and serve immediately, or divide evenly between two smaller glasses.
Estimated nutrition: 555 kcal · 56 g total sugar. Per full batch, using vanilla ice cream and whole milk.
Portion choice: serve the full blend as one large shake, or divide it equally between two glasses. Each half has estimated totals of 280 kcal and 28 g total sugar using the same reference ingredients; the caffeine reference also halves.
For the espresso, 18 g dry coffee to 36 g liquid is one double-basket starting recipe; follow the espresso brewing method or your roaster's instructions. The espresso drink guide explains serving terminology. Measure finished espresso, not grounds, for the shake. To chill it quickly, put its small heatproof container in an ice-water bath, keeping the bath water out of the coffee.
Follow your blender's loading order and minimum-fill guidance. A smaller batch can be awkward in a large jar; blending the full recipe and dividing it is often more practical than running an underfilled machine.
KitchenAid's ice-cream milkshake recipe similarly advises brief blending and immediate serving. Adjust the time and speed to your appliance and the firmness of the ice cream.
Getting the Right Coffee Milkshake Texture
The shake should pour slowly and coat a spoon, with no hard ice-cream lumps. Stop once it is combined: prolonged blending and warm coffee both encourage melting. If it will not circulate, stop the motor and follow the maker's instructions; do not push a spoon into moving blades.
Change one thing at a time. If it is too thick to pour after a brief blend, add cold milk in 10 g (2 US tsp) increments. Each increment adds about 6 kcal and 0.5 g sugar with the reference whole milk. Write down the extra amount if you want to repeat the result. If it is already thin, more milk will not fix it.
Coffee Milkshake vs. Frappe, Float and Affogato
A café may use “frappe” or “milkshake” differently, so ask whether it contains ice cream.
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| Recipe | What supplies the cold body | How coffee is incorporated |
|---|---|---|
| Coffee milkshake | Vanilla ice cream | Chilled coffee blended throughout, with milk |
| Frappe coffee | Ice, with milk and sweetener | Coffee blended into an ice-based drink |
| Blended iced coffee | A frozen coffee component | Follow its recipe for a different frozen base |
| Coffee float | A scoop on a coffee drink | Coffee and ice cream initially remain separate |
| Affogato | A small scoop of ice cream or gelato | Hot espresso poured over, then eaten immediately |
Calories and Nutrition
The full plain recipe has estimated totals of 555 kcal and 56 g total sugar. “No extra sugar added” describes the method; the ice cream already supplies sugar. Whipped cream, chocolate sauce and other toppings pictured in the hero are excluded.
An Ingredient-by-Ingredient Calculation
Ingredient-by-ingredient estimate
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| Ingredient | Defined quantity | Calories | Total sugar |
|---|---|---|---|
| USDA vanilla ice cream, FDC 167575 | 250 g | 517.5 kcal | 53 g |
| Whole milk, FDC 171265 | 60 g | 36.6 kcal | 3.03 g |
| Prepared espresso, FDC 171891 | 36 g | 3.24 kcal | 0 g reference |
| Full recipe | 346 g ingredient input | 557.34 kcal, rounded to 555 | 56.03 g, rounded to 56 |
The source rates per 100 g are 207 kcal / 21.2 g sugar for vanilla ice cream, 61 kcal / 5.05 g for whole milk and 9 kcal / 0 g for espresso. These generic ingredient estimates count the full batch.
For caffeine, the prepared-espresso reference supplies 212 mg per 100 g. 212 × 36 ÷ 100 = 76.32 mg, rounded to 75 mg for the full recipe.
Portion Size Matters More Than a Name
| Change, with the same 36 g coffee and 60 g (¼ US cup) milk unless stated | Estimated result |
|---|---|
| Share the full shake equally | 280 kcal and 28 g sugar per half; caffeine reference also halves |
| Use 250 g (8.8 oz) of USDA rich vanilla, FDC 167573 instead | 660 kcal and 55 g sugar for the full batch |
| Add optional toppings | Add their measured amounts using the package labels |
For equal portions, mix fully and divide the finished shake by weight between two tared glasses. To calculate your carton, multiply its per-serving values by the number of labeled servings actually used. A lower-fat or plant-based substitute is not automatically lower in sugar.
How Much Caffeine Is in a Coffee Milkshake?
About 75 mg caffeine is the reference for the full recipe, based on 36 g prepared espresso. Actual caffeine varies with the coffee and extraction; the dry-coffee dose alone cannot tell you how much reaches the glass.
The vanilla-ice-cream record has 0 mg caffeine, but coffee-flavored or chocolate ice cream can add more. More milk or melted ice cream reduces concentration; it does not remove the caffeine already added. For less caffeine, substitute decaf espresso, whose residual caffeine is still product- and brew-dependent. Do not carry the regular-espresso 75 mg estimate into a decaf or instant-coffee variation.
Troubleshooting a Coffee Milkshake
| Problem | Useful next move |
|---|---|
| Thin before you can serve it | Start with colder coffee and firmer ice cream; shorten blending and serve promptly |
| Too thick for the blender | Stop, check the manual and minimum fill, then add cold milk a little at a time if needed |
| Coffee flavor disappears | Choose a more concentrated or more assertive-tasting coffee; avoid adding a large mug of weak coffee that thins the shake |
| Gritty coffee particles | Use brewed and filtered coffee, or fully dissolved instant coffee; grounds do not dissolve |
| Too sweet | Try a less-sweet ice cream by its label, or make smaller portions; adding syrup will move the other way |
Variations
With Instant Coffee
Replace the espresso with 36 g (1.3 oz) prepared instant coffee: dissolve your chosen product's suggested serving in a little warm water, then add cold water until the total solution weighs 36 g (1.3 oz) and chill. Keep the 250 g (8.8 oz) ice cream and 60 g (¼ US cup) milk unchanged initially. The instant-coffee guide covers dissolving and mixing; Dairy Farmers of Canada's coffee milkshake offers a different method, dissolving instant coffee into milk before blending.
Without Ice Cream
Choose blended iced coffee or frappe coffee for an ice-based alternative. Ice cream supplies the thickness in this milkshake, so leaving it out requires a different recipe. A frozen-banana version makes a different style of shake.
Mocha or Dairy-Free
Chocolate ice cream or a measured chocolate sauce makes a mocha-style variation; account for its sugar and possible caffeine. For dairy-free, use both a suitable frozen dessert and a plant-based milk. Read both labels, including allergen information; changing only the milk leaves dairy ice cream in the drink.
Serving and Food Safety
Blend when you are ready to drink. You can prepare and refrigerate the coffee separately, but a fully blended shake changes texture as it sits. Keep milk refrigerated at 4°C / 40°F or below and ice cream frozen until needed. The FDA's storage guidance limits perishable food at room temperature to two hours, or one hour above 32°C / 90°F.
Common Coffee Milkshake Questions
Can I Make It Without a Blender?
Let the ice cream soften only enough to stir, then whisk or mash it with chilled coffee and milk in a bowl. Expect a looser or less uniform texture than a blended shake. Use a spacious bowl rather than shaking a sealed container of very thick frozen ingredients.
Do I Need Coffee-Flavored Ice Cream?
No. This recipe gets coffee flavor from prepared espresso. Coffee ice cream is an optional replacement with a separate caffeine and nutrition basis.
Editor's Take
Sources and Further Reading
7 references
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Method and ingredients
Serving calculations
- USDA FoodData CentralVanilla ice cream: FDC 167575207 kcal and 21.2 g total sugar per 100 g; base ice-cream example.(opens in a new tab)
- USDA FoodData CentralRich vanilla: FDC 167573249 kcal and 20.6 g sugar per 100 g; separate comparison.(opens in a new tab)
- USDA FoodData CentralWhole milk: FDC 17126561 kcal and 5.05 g total sugar per 100 g.(opens in a new tab)
- USDA FoodData CentralPrepared espresso: FDC 1718919 kcal and 212 mg caffeine per 100 g; reference for 36 g prepared coffee.(opens in a new tab)