How To Make Cappuccino

Today I’ll show you how to make cappuccino or latte at home without a frother or a machine! The result of this super easy cappuccino recipe will be a cup of delicious cappuccino with thick creamy foam that stays a long time.

The best coffee for cappuccino is an espresso, but instant coffee or coffee alternatives (like chicory coffee) will work too!

When I say we’re making cappuccino, I don’t mean that sad thin foam that you get when you use a milk frother. Been there, done that. I’m talking creamier and thicker. The type you get at real good coffee places.

I learned how to make cappuccino after having a baby years ago and spending A LOT of time indoors. I just had to, because I was constantly tired and I’m too weak for black coffee. As Malcolm Gladwell suggested, I want my weak milky coffee! Preferably decaf. Yes, that will wake me up.

Little by little I started perfecting the cappuccino recipe and now I drink too much coffee. It’s decaf, but it still makes me shiver. Nothing can stop me.

Reasons To Make Cappuccino At Home

• You’ll save money
• When someone comes to visit, you don’t just offer “coffee”, no no no, you offer them THE best cappuccino ever. Your amazing skills will impress them and they will admire you and love you forever and ever.
• It actually tastes much, much better, because you can adjust the ingredients to your liking. For example, over the years the milk portion of my cappuccino became smaller and smaller. Much like cafe con leche. Just an espresso and a little bit of milk. Now I can’t even get a regular cappuccino at a coffee shop without overexplaining myself (apparently mostly wrongly). When I make cappuccino at home, no explaining needed and it takes 5 minutes. And it’s the best cappuccino I’ve gotten in a while.
• You now have a very important skill for life.

Cappuccino Vs. Latte

The difference between cappuccino and latte is the amount of milk you use to make them. With cappuccino you use coffee to milk 1:1, latte you use coffee to milk 1:2.

Cappuccino Ingredients

There are many varieties of cappuccino and other espresso drinks using different flavors, sprinkles, sugar and chocolate out there right now. However, the original and, in my opinion, best recipe for cappuccino has just two ingredients: milk and espresso.

Milk. You need full-fat milk. It makes the creamiest foam ever. I usually use normal, chilled whole milk. Dairy-free options could work as well. I actually tried some, but I never liked the taste in combination with coffee. If you do use dairy-free milk, soy or oat milk might be the best options, use the barista variety for best results.

Coffee. Better yet, an espresso. Regular coffee could also work, but the original recipe calls for espresso and I agree.

How To Make Cappuccino

Here’s how to do it:

1. Blend milk and heat it up
2. Make coffee
3. Add flavor to the coffee (optional)
4. Pour the milk into the coffee mug
5. Enjoy!

Now in more detail:

Step 1:

Pour milk into a high-speed blender and blend for 20-30 seconds. You can also use your hand blender to do this. I use refrigerated whole milk – makes a thicker and creamier consistency and I use about 1/3-1/2 cup. If you do want to make a latte, use more milk.

Step 2:

Pour the blended milk into a cooking pot and cook at medium heat until the milk is warm, but not boiling up. It takes about 1-2 minutes on my stove.

You can also use a microwave for this, but be careful because it doesn’t take long before the milk erupts like a volcano and covers everything. This sounds like a fun experiment, but it really isn’t. Whenever I use the microwave, I heat the blended milk for about 30 seconds.

Meanwhile

Make the coffee using your coffee or espresso machine, you can even use instant coffee. I use the mug that I drink out of and fill it with about ⅓ cup of coffee.

Optionally add some flavor to the coffee before you add the milk – it helps the flavor spread out more evenly. My favorite is cinnamon.

Step 3:

Pour the milk into the coffee, or if you’re using another mug: first pour the coffee in and then the milk. It probably tastes the same if you do it the other way around, but I like it this way.

And there you go – you made cappuccino (or latte)! Now, sit down and enjoy it!

Tips For The Best Cappuccino

• don’t overheat the milk – spilling over in the microwave or boiling on the stove will result in thinner foam
• use chilled, cold whole milk – makes the best foam
• use good coffee that you like
• if you want to add flavor, add it before you pour in the coffee – it will spread better and will fuse better with the coffee

And if you’re following a low-carb, dairy-free or vegan diet, make sure to also check out my creamy almond butter keto coffee. I started making this coffee when I tried the keto diet and it’s SO good.

I really hope you enjoy your morning cup of cappuccino now even more!

This recipe was first published in February 2019 and updated with new images and tips in August 2022.