What Is Starbucks' Pumpkin Spice Sauce Made Of?

Starbucks and pumpkin spice lattes go hand in hand. Sure, nowadays, you can order a pumpkin spice latte at most coffee shops, but Starbucks is the one that made the drink so popular. Their pumpkin spice latte has most of the makings of a traditional latte, but with one key ingredient: Pumpkin spice sauce. So what is their pumpkin spice sauce made of anyway?

The sauce may be a key ingredient, but it's no secret ingredient — Starbucks has the recipe posted on their website. As it turns out, the syrup consists of 1 ½ cups of water, 1 ½ cups of sugar, 6 cinnamon sticks, 1 teaspoon of ground ginger, 1 teaspoon of ground cloves, 2 teaspoons of ground nutmeg, and, of course, pumpkin puree — 4 tablespoons of it, to be specific.

If you've tried the Starbucks pumpkin spice latte — and, thus, the pumpkin spice sauce — then this ingredient list probably makes a lot of sense. There's plenty of pumpkin puree to make sure that the pumpkin flavor is front and center, while there's just enough spices to round out the overall taste. Then, of course, there's sugar to make sure that the sauce — and whatever drink you make with it — is plenty sweet.

The pumpkin spice sauce is quite easy to make at home. In fact, it only requires three steps, which are listed on Starbucks' website along with the ingredient list. Essentially, all of the ingredients come together in a saucepan on the stove, then a cheesecloth is used to strain it. Before you know it, you'll have a batch of homemade pumpkin spice sauce — enough to make about eight drinks.

All that's left to do is decide which drinks you want to use that delicious sauce in. Of course, you'd be remiss not to make your own pumpkin spice latte. Starbucks uses three tablespoons of the sauce for the drink, so you can make your own latte per usual, then add in the right amount of sauce. Of course, feel free to add more or less sauce depending on how sweet and pumpkin-y you want your latte to be. To really go all out with the homemade pumpkin spice latte, top it with whipped cream and pumpkin pie spice, which can also be made at home.

You can also add a tablespoon or two to a simple glass of cold brew or iced coffee for some extra sweetness and flavor. Or, you can transform an oat milk honey latte into a pumpkin-infused version if you're in the mood for something extra sweet.