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Make yourself this creamy, homemade vegan chai latte and save the trip to the coffee shop! It’s a cozy Starbucks-inspired drink filled with warm spices. This quick, easy gluten-free, dairy-free chai latte recipe does not need a homemade spice blend or chai concentrate.
It’s simple to make because it includes a shortcut that will save you time AND you can make it hot or iced. All you need is THREE simple ingredients and a few minutes to make it.
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The next time you're craving a warm, satisfying drink just like the one you can get from your local coffee shop, keep your pajamas on and make yourself this vegan chai latte at home!
This homemade version is the best because it can be customized, it’s quick and simple to make, and, of course, it's delicious!
What's Chai? And What's a Chai Latte?
Chai is tea mixed with milk. Masala chai, a spiced tea, the type of chai you'll use to make this latte, is a mixture of black loose-leaf tea or black tea bags, dried whole spices or ground spices, and milk.
A chai latte, a Westernized take on traditional masala chai, is a smooth, creamy, milky drink filled with spice flavour from a masala chai blend.
The spices in classic masala chai will depend on the blend and preferences but in general, you can expect to find a mixture of any of the following: cardamom pods, cinnamon, star anise, black peppercorns, cloves, fresh ginger, allspice, and fennel.
No need to worry about making a from-scratch blend, though. For this recipe, you'll be using a pre-made spice blend in the form of store-bought tea bags which makes this a super easy chai latte recipe that you will be sipping on in minutes!
Enjoy your tea latte with a vegan chai doughnut and bookmark these other delicious do-it-yourself vegan lattes:
DID YOU KNOW the word "chai" means "tea" in Hindi? So, when referring to a drink that contains chai, you don't need to add the word "tea," like "vegan chai tea latte" because technically, you would be saying "vegan tea tea latte!"
Ingredient and Substitution Note
Dairy-Free Milk - You can use any type you like...make it an almond milk chai latte, an oat milk chai latte, or a soy milk chai latte...the choice of milk is up to you, any will work. The only type I do not recommend is canned coconut milk, the coconut flavour will be way too overpowering.
I also recommend using non-dairy milk that is unsweetened and unflavoured so you are in full control of the flavour and sweetness level of your drink. You can use one that is sweetened, but you will need to taste and either add a little more or not add any sweetener at all.
Part of the milk called for in the recipe will be used for foaming, you can use the same milk or a different one for this if you'd like, such as a barista blend since they are a little thicker, creamier and foam up nicely.
Chai - A chai blend tea bag is all you need, no need to make a spice blend from scratch. Any high-quality brand will work, use your favourite. Look for them in the tea and coffee section of your grocery store. They can also be found online.
Sweetener - I like to use pure maple syrup as a sweetener for lattes but any sweetener, like vegan brown sugar, coconut sugar, cane sugar, or regular sugar will work fine. Sugar alternatives will also work in this recipe.
How to Make It
(Note: I’ve outlined the step-by-step on how to make this recipe here, but find the full recipe, ingredients, and directions in the recipe card at the end of this post.)
***I go through how to make a hot vegan chai latte with the following images. See the "Variations" section below for info on how to make a vegan iced chai latte.***
1. Warm the plant-based milk, separate ¼ cup to be used for foaming, and pour the rest into your mug.
2. Add the tea bag to the hot milk.
3. Allow the tea bag to steep.
4. When the steeping time is done, remove the tea bag, add sweetener and stir the drink. Taste it, and adjust the sweetener if needed.
Foaming the Milk
I use a simple handheld milk frother and it does the job perfectly. I recommend sticking with a simple one, like the one I have, unless you make lattes or specialty drinks quite often.
Add the warmed milk to a small cup or jar, and while frothing, tilt the hand frother to create a swirling whirlpool effect. This enables the air to flow into the milk quickly and evenly so it foams up and creates a decent froth.
Pour the foamed milk on top of the drink. You can sprinkle some cinnamon on top or add cinnamon sticks to the mug if you'd like.
There are so many vegan snacks you can have with your latte, how about vegan chocolate donuts, vegan almond flour chocolate chip cookies, or vegan oatmeal muffins?
Other ways to froth milk without a frother:
- add the milk to a blender (regular or high-speed) and blend until foamy.
- add the milk to a French press and push the plunger up and down until the milk is foamy.
- blend the milk with an immersion blender until it's foamy.
- add the milk to a small jar (like a mason jar), cover it, and shake until the milk is foamy.
- whisk the heated milk vigorously with a small whisk to add air to it and make it foamy. This method takes longer and the foam will not be as thick.
For more info about foaming milk, read this article filled with tips on how to froth milk.
Variations
- Make it decaffeinated by using a caffeine-free tea bag.
- Make it without foam and just add the milk you would have foamed to the drink. You can also substitute homemade dairy-free whipped cream (like this coconut whipped cream) or a store-bought one for the foam. (Read this article "Is Cool Whip Vegan" for a list of vegan whipped cream brands to look for.)
- Make it a "dirty chai latte" by adding a freshly brewed shot of espresso or strongly brewed coffee to your drink.
- Make it a vanilla chai latte by adding ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract to your drink.
- Add extra spice by sprinkling a little bit of your favourite spice on top of the drink, like pumpkin spice, cinnamon, or nutmeg to make your already spicy homemade chai latte a little spicier!
- Make it an unsweetened chai latte by making it without sugar or any sweetener.
- Make it an iced chai latte by using cold milk and ice. See the recipe notes for the detailed method.
Tips for Success
- Use unsweetened, unflavoured milk so you can be fully in charge of the sweetness and flavour.
- Heat the milk only until it's steaming. Get the milk nice and warm, but don't let it boil (it can boil over quickly if you aren't keeping an eye on it!). Take it off the heat when it starts to steam.
- Make sure your tea bag is fresh and has not expired. This will ensure your latte has the best and strongest flavour. An old tea bag will make a weak-flavoured drink.
- For an extra creamy drink, grab your milk frother and whip up your drink once it's in the mug, but do this before you layer on the foam.
- If you are making an iced latte, make chai ice cubes by freezing brewed chai in an ice cube tray. This will help keep your drink from getting watery as the ice melts.
- Read through the recipe before getting started and read through this post from top to bottom for lots of tips to make this recipe perfectly, every single time.
- Follow the recipe exactly as it’s written for the very best results.
If You Make This Recipe...
Let me know how you liked your non-dairy chai latte! Please leave me a comment and star rating below or you can post a picture on Instagram and tag me so I can see it! (I’m @delightfuladventures on Instagram.)
If You Like This Recipe...
You may like this recipe for vegan hot chocolate mix or some of these other cozy, homemade vegan hot drinks:
Vegan Chai Latte
Suggested Equipment:
Ingredients:
- 1 chai tea bag
- 1 ½ cups (360ml) unsweetened dairy-free milk (divided)
- sweetener to taste
Instructions:
- Add the dairy-free milk to a small pot.
- Place the pot over medium-high heat and heat for 2 ½ - 3 minutes or until the milk is steaming. Don't allow it to boil.
- Remove the pot from the heat and carefully separate ¼ cup of the milk and set it aside. Pour the rest of the hot milk into a mug.
- Add the tea bag and let it steep for 5 minutes.
- After the steeping time has ended, remove the tea bag and add sweetener, stir, taste, and adjust as necessary.
- Froth the ¼ cup of separated milk using a milk frother until it's foamy. Pour onto the top of the drink.
- Garnish the latte with a dusting of cinnamon or serve with a cinnamon stick (optional). Serve.
Recipe Notes:
- Please read all of the information above, as well as the notes below before making this recipe.
- This recipe makes 1 ½ cups of chai latte. Double, triple, or quadruple as needed.
- For the best results, use unsweetened, unflavoured milk to control the flavour and sweetness. If all you have is sweetened milk, you will need to adjust the amount of sweetener accordingly.
- Any sweetener will work, use your favourite, like maple syrup, brown, coconut, cane, or white sugar. You can also use a sugar alternative.
- To make it in the microwave, do step 1, then add the rest of the dairy-free milk to a mug and microwave in 25-30 second intervals, whisking in between each interval, until it's steaming. Keep a close eye on it so it doesn't boil. Proceed with step 3.
- Make it an iced vegan chai latte by steeping the tea in ¼ cup of boiled water for 5 minutes. After it has finished steeping, add the steeped chai and sweetener to a tall glass and stir. If you are using granulated sweetener, stir until all, or almost all of the granules have dissolved. Fill the glass with lots of ice, pour in 1 ¼ cups of cold dairy-free milk, stir, taste, and adjust the sweetener if needed.
- Nutrition info is for the full recipe prepared as written using almond milk and 2 teaspoons of maple syrup as the sweetener. The data below is only to be used as a rough guide. Click to learn how nutrition info is determined on this website.
Hiroshi says
It tastes delicious with a teaspoon of loose leaf chai spice and Assam black tea steeped and then blended together along with the mylk and sweetener and put over ice. Thank you for the recipe. 🙂
Gwen Leron says
I'm so glad you enjoyed it 🙂