Make your own McDonald’s Mocha Frappe at home with this easy copycat recipe! It’s the perfect cold coffee drink for Spring and Summer, and many readers have reported they like it better than the original drive-thru version!
This Mocha Frappe copycat recipe is great for an afternoon pick-me-up, and SO delicious! We love love making our own versions of restaurant favorites at home… like this Copycat Wendy’s Frosty, and Classic Shamrock Shake. This is one of my Copycat Recipes you’ll definitely want to keep on hand!
MOCHA FRAPPE RECIPE
Overpaying for a coffee drink is SO a thing of the past. This incredibly easy to make copycat mocha frappe tastes better than the original!!
I have a slight, okay, fairly decently sized addiction to McDonald’s Mocha Frappe’s. They. Are. SO. Good!! There’s one thing I don’t like though… they can be pricey!
A cheapskate at heart, I just can’t justify spending $4 each time I get a craving… so I went on a mission to find out how to make them at home.
They’re so frothy, so icy, so creamy, and SOOOO full of chocolate and coffee flavor!
HOW TO MAKE
- Brew coffee and let cool. Alternatively you could use cold leftover coffee!
- Pour into clean ice cube trays and freeze. This is great to do ahead of time, so you don’t have to wait when you want a frappe!
- Add frozen coffee cubes, milk, syrup and sugar to blender. Blend until the coffee ice cubes are broken down and the mixture is the texture you’re looking for.
- Pour into glasses and garnish. Garnishing is optional, but if you want that classic McDonald’s look, you’ll want to add whipped cream, and a drizzle of chocolate syrup.
- I usually get a little “extra” and add some chocolate shavings and sometimes garnish with a sprig of fresh mint if I have some. You totally don’t have to do this lol.
ADDITIONAL COOKING TIPS
There’s a secret to getting that perfect flavor/frozen texture… and I’ll share it with you.
Frozen. Coffee.
Oh yes, that’s right. Just brew up some of your favorite coffee (or even decaf if you prefer), and let it cool to room temperature. Pour the cooled coffee into ice cube trays and pop them in the freezer until frozen.
So you might be wondering, “why can’t I just use regular coffee and add ice cubes??“. Well, in short, you can lol. But as the ice melts, it will water down your drink 🙁 Boo!! So by freezing the coffee into ice cubes, you get the frozen component to make it nice and icy, but without diluting your drink!
VARIATIONS OF THIS RECIPE
- DAIRY – I created this recipe using almond milk, since that’s what I had on hand at the time. However, I’ve since tested this recipe using soy milk, regular dairy milk, and half and half (a US dairy product of half milk and half cream).
- REDUCED SUGAR – Several readers have asked if this recipe could be made using sugar-free or reduced sugar products. And yes, it certainly can! Sugar-free chocolate syrup is a great alternative for regular syrup. And sugar alternatives can be used in place of the granulated sugar. Alternately, the granulated sugar can be omitted… it’s really a matter of taste and how sweet you like things.
- OTHER FLAVORS – If you’d like, other flavors of syrups can be used in place of the plain chocolate. Torani makes some great syrups, as does Ghirardelli. My favorites are caramel, and a salted chocolate caramel syrup!
- The mint is really nice as a garnish, but you could add some peppermint extract to make this a festive holiday peppermint mocha drink!
MAKING MOCHA FRAPPES AHEAD OF TIME
Since this is a frozen drink, this is a recipe that’s truly best made right before serving.
However you can do the first part of this recipe ahead of time. Brew the coffee and let cool (or use leftover cooled coffee). Pour into ice cube trays and freeze until frozen solid. Add the cubes to a freezer bag and freeze for up to 2 months.
STORAGE
Leftovers can be placed in to a freezer-safe container and frozen for up to a month. Thaw before drinking.
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT FOR THIS RECIPE
- Blender – This is the blender I usually use when I make this recipe… it’s got great power and doesn’t break the bank.
- Torani Syrups – you may be able to find these in your grocery store, I just wanted to show you all the options.
- Ghirardelli Syrups – not as many varieties as Torani, but great flavor.
BE SURE TO SCROLL DOWN TO CHECK OUT OTHER READERS’ COMMENTS FOR TIPS AND REVIEWS.
AND DON’T FORGET, IF YOU’VE MADE THIS RECIPE, LEAVE A COMMENT AND PLEASE GIVE IT A STAR RATING LETTING ME KNOW HOW YOU ENJOYED IT!
Recipe originally published in 2016, and has been updated in 2020 with additional information
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!
Ingredients
- 2 cups cold coffee
- 2 cups unsweetened almond milk (or regular dairy milk)
- 3 1/2 Tbsp chocolate syrup
- 3 1/2 Tbsp granulated sugar
- Whipped cream for garnish
- Extra chocolate syrup for garnish
- Chocolate bar shaved, for garnish
Instructions
- Brew coffee and let cool to almost room temperature.
- Carefully pour coffee into ice cube trays and freeze.
- Add frozen coffee cubes, almond milk, chocolate syrup and sugar to blender.
- Blend until desired texture is reached.
- Top with whipped cream, a drizzle of chocolate syrup and shaved chocolate if you'd like.
Want to save this recipe for later? Click the heart in the bottom right corner to save to your own recipe box!
Chef Tips
Video
Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Tonya says
Yumyumyum
F**k Off says
This webpage sucks. So difficult to wade through you droning on about nothing. Post a recipe or don’t. F**king millennials.
The Chunky Chef says
Oh you poor dear, you must be brand new to the internet. Welcome! There are literally ads on every website, or 99% of them, most of which actually have more ads than my website. However, for people just like you, who can’t be bothered to read (or scroll), I’ve handily provided a “jump to recipe” button that takes you RIGHT to the recipe. You’d probably be better off just buying your frappe, since you’d actually have to read to make the recipe, however. Please have a day just as fabulous as you are.
Carissa says
Amazing response! Sorry this person came here to spread their awfulness on your great recipe. I love how you handled it. Also just tried the recipe and it’s so good!! Thank you!
Surley Temple says
This recipe turned out pretty good! Also, side note, if you do not want to wait to freeze the coffee, what I did was mix instant coffee (around 3-4 teaspoons) and then mixed it with the milk. Then I used 2-2 1/4 cups of ice, blended it, and bam, good frap. Also for the garnish, I topped it with cocoa powder. Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Bonnie gillikin says
I love 💘 this recipe how could you make it for one
Amanda says
So glad you love it! If you hover over the servings number, a slider will appear and you can adjust the servings 🙂
David Bond says
Is there a certain brand of coffee you would use?
Or
How do you make your coffee?
I’m not a coffee maker myself.
Amanda says
I’m not a coffee drinker anymore, but when I make this I just brew the coffee in our Keurig. My husband is a big fan of Dunkin Donuts original blend, so that’s what I use 🙂
Adrienne says
McDonald’s doesn’t use milk in their Frappes…..They use vanilla ice cream, which eliminates the need for ice cubes. You just blend the same way and add your flavoring and the strong coffee.
Sarah says
actually, thats how they make shakes, not frappes. frappes are made with a bag of frappe base and ice… at least thats how they did it at the mcds i worked at
Lindsey keohn says
awesome drink!! I’m going to make this again!! 👌🏻😘
Miss Cre says
Great Recipe I give it 5 out of five stars. To make it a summertime Cocktail try adding Bailey’s Irish Cream! It makes a perfect treat for the adults.
Jayna Penner says
was very good !!! 👌🏻
Aera says
My hubby absolutely adores the Frappes from McDonald’s and always wants one so now he has one for breakfast and loves them. Thank you so much
Paula Dupre says
Absolutely the best!! Thank you for this yummy recipe!
Pam says
Could you use flavored coffee to make different flavors?
Amanda says
Yes, that would be delicious! 🙂
Sharon says
I don’t have chocolate syrup on hand usually but I do have Hershey’s unsweetened cocoa powder. Could you suggest an equivalent substitute using the cocoa powder in place of the chocolate syrup? Thank you!
Amanda says
I’ve only tested this recipe as written. So without testing and retesting it myself, I can’t say for certain if that would work. If you try it, I’d love to know how it turns out!
Holly says
You mentioned milk and half n half. Did you add both or was it one or the other?
Amanda says
In the written recipe, I use almond milk… but as I mentioned in the post, you can use any dairy product you have on hand. The milk and half and half are just suggestions 🙂
Lion says
I want to know what how much coffee and water for the coffee cubes. I tried making it and it didn’t have much coffee taste in it.
Amanda says
There’s no water listed in this recipe… you just pour the coffee into the ice cube trays and freeze it. You end up with solid coffee cubes. If you diluted with water, then that’s probably why you didn’t notice much coffee flavor.
Lion says
Oh thank you, and I tried it’s wonderful.
Dawn says
You said to use 2 cups of coffee, my question is, how many ice cubes do you generally use that is equivalent to about 2 cups of coffee?
Amanda says
It’s just however many ice cubes the 2 cups of coffee will make. In a standard ice cube tray, each ice cube slot holds roughly 1oz each (2 Tbsp), so by that math, approximately 16 ice cubes made out of the 2 cups of coffee.
Linda says
Delicious!!!
BJ says
You’re calling it syrup in the recipe but the link takes you to the sauces. Which one are we supposed to use?
Amanda says
The results from that search query on the link must have changed at some point over the past few years. The Torani sauces are what I use.
Manuel says
I’ve tried a lot of different recipes for mocha frappes and this is one of the best! thanks for sharing!
Gina says
Having to put 2 cups of almond milk it won’t dilute the flavor?
Amanda says
No 🙂 This is a mocha frappe, so while there’s coffee flavor, but it’s not going to taste like strong black coffee.
Mojoblogs says
Been craving this since last week and there’s no Mcdonald’s near me. Glad I found this. Thank you! I am so excited to try this 🙂
Val says
Delicious recipe!