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Sweet and creamy Thai Iced Coffee with an easy coconut-milk-based vegan condensed milk recipe. All the same delicious flavors with none of the dairy! This is a healthier, paleo, and vegan version of everyone’s favorite iced coffee recipe.
What Makes This Recipe Great
The first time I had Thai iced coffee, my first thought was, “WHAT IS THIS CRACK THAT I’M DRINKING?” No joke. It was love at first taste. It’s the creamiest coffee ever. Deliciously sweet, and it basically tastes like coffee ice cream in liquid form.
In typical WGGA fashion, I wanted to re-create this delightful drink to make it a bit healthier, without sacrificing any flavor. The result? A dairy-free and vegan iced coffee with a creamy and delicious sweetened condensed milk substitute, made with canned coconut milk!
This drink is so decadent without a hint of dairy. Hot or cold, winter or summer, there is nothing better than an iced coffee treat. It’s the perfect pick-me-up without all the refined sugar and dairy. Yum!
Ingredient Notes
Brewed Coffee: You’ll want to use a pot of strongly brewed coffee, cooled. Use ground coffee or whole coffee beans, whichever you prefer.
Ice Cubes: Extra ice or light ice? Cubes or crushed? Your choice!
Plant-Based Milk: If you want any additional dairy-free creaminess beyond the vegan condensed milk.
Coconut Milk: I use a can of unsweetened, full-fat coconut milk. It’s thick and creamy and the perfect vegan substitute for sweetened condensed milk!
Maple Syrup: Pure maple syrup is the perfect substitute for cane sugar. It’s all-natural, super sweet, and has such a deep, lovely flavor.
Ground Cardamom Powder: You’ll find this in the spice aisle if you don’t have it on hand already.
Almond Extract: This is easy to find in the baking aisle of most local grocery stores.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Vegan Condensed Milk
- Place the coffee in the refrigerator to let it chill.
- Add coconut milk to a saucepan.
- Next, heat over medium-high heat while whisking continuously, until it starts to boil.
- Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and simmer. Whisk occasionally for 30 minutes until the mixture is reduced to half.
- Whisk in maple syrup, cardamom powder, and almond extract.
- Remove from heat and let it cool.
Thai Iced Coffee
- Place ice cubes in 4 glasses.
- Divide the coffee into the glasses.
- Whisk the sweetened condensed coconut milk and pour over the coffee.
- Stir together and enjoy! You can add more dairy-free milk if you want it creamier.
- Leftover vegan condensed milk will for 3-4 days in the refrigerator in an airtight container. It may separate while chilled, but you can give it a good shake or blend it before using it again.
Expert Tips
- Strong Coffee: To make sure your coffee is super yummy and not watered down, it’s important to make your coffee super strong. I used my espresso maker to brew my coffee, which turned out perfect. Add plenty of ice to keep it cold and enjoy every sip!
- Make Ahead: You can make this recipe ahead of time and enjoy it for a few days. Just make sure to whisk the condensed coconut milk or run it through a blender before pouring it over the coffee because it can separate as it sits in the refrigerator.
Recipe FAQs
Yes. The base of this delicious drink is strongly brewed coffee. The vegan condensed milk balances it out, but it is definitely a jolt of caffeine!
Because the coffee is so strong, it does have a lot of caffeine. If you’d like to enjoy this drink with less caffeine, use strong decaf coffee.
In a standard 12oz recipe there are about 190 calories, 31 carbs, and 31 grams of added sugar. In this recipe, a 12oz glass is 195 calories, 7 carbs, and 3 grams of added sugar! It’s a MUCH healthier version without all of the added sugar. And most of the calories come from healthy coconut fat.
More Delicious Vegan Beverages!
Hot Chocolate Matcha Latte with Almond Milk
Persimmon Latte | Hongshi Latte
Easy Thai Iced Coffee (with Condensed Coconut Milk!)
Ingredients
- 4 cups strongly brewed coffee
- Ice cubes
- Additional dairy free milk, optional
Vegan Condensed Milk
- 14 oz can of full-fat coconut milk
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/4 tsp cardamom powder
- 1/4 tsp almond extract
Instructions
- Place the coffee in the refrigerator to let it chill.
- Add coconut milk in a saucepan.
- Heat over medium high heat while whisking continuously, until it starts to boil.
- Once it starts to boil, immediately reduce the heat to low. Simmer while whisking occasionally for 30 minutes or until the mixture is reduced to half.
- Whisk in maple syrup, cardamom powder, and almond extract.
- Remove from heat and let it cool.
- Place ice cubes in 4 glasses.
- Divide the coffee into the glasses.
- Whisk the sweetened condensed coconut milk if it's separated, and pour over the coffee.
- Stir together and enjoy! You can add more dairy free milk if you want it creamier.
- Leftover condensed coconut milk will for 3-4 days in the refrigerator in an airtight container. It may separate while chilled, but you can give it a good shake or blend it before using again.
Notes
Expert Tips
- Strong Coffee: To make sure your coffee is super yummy and not watered down, it’s important to make your coffee super strong. I used my espresso maker to brew my coffee, which turned out perfect. Then you can add plenty of ice to keep it cold and enjoy every sip!
- Make Ahead: You can make this recipe ahead of time and enjoy it for a few days. Just make sure to whisk the condensed coconut milk or run it through a blender before pouring it over the coffee because it can separate as it sits in the refrigerator.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I’ m a big butter coffee lover so your coconut milk Thai iced coffee recipe sounds delicious, especially since it’s paleo which is diabetic friendly. Thank you 🙂
My wife and and I tried this and enjoyed it thoroughly
Tried this recipe today it was easy to follow but the cardamom powder didn’t really absorb as well and the coconut milk gets lumpy and I poured my creamer into my coffee it clumped into little pieces. it wasn’t as pictured did I do something wrong???
Can I use buy coconut milk in carton instead of in the can ?
I used
(native Forrest simply organic Coconut Milk canned )
( frontier co-op ground cardamom )
Almond extract
Hey Rebecca, did you make sure to lower the heat as soon as it started to boil? If it boils at high heat for too long, it can curdle. Coconut milk in a carton has too low of a fat content so it won’t thicken right. I suggest the canned version.
Ok great thank you! I will make it again continuing using canned ! I thought I messed up that part of It haha ! The creamer tasted great! But yah it did get lumpy
Thanks !
I have another question do you use the thick part of the coconut milk in the can ??
I haven’t used it any other way, but I bet it’s delicious over fruits or even to make ice cream!
Thanks for sharing! Can I make a batch or is it better one at a time?
I do think it tastes best fresh, but you can definitely store in the fridge. The condense coconut milk might separate so just make sure to stir or shake well to enjoy leftovers.
I have a vegan coconut condensed milk that I found at a health food store, but haven’t tried it. If I was to use this, would I just pour it straight into iced coffee, or would I still need to heat up with maple syrup and spices?
Can the sweetened condensed milk be stored in the fridge? If so for how long?
You can for 3-4 days in the refrigerator. You do need to shake it well before each use because it may separate.
Just a thought if you are on the keto diet use a different alternative for the maple syrup it is loaded with Carbs and Sugar
This recipe isn’t keto. Maple syrup is a healthier sugar for those people who aren’t trying to be low carb, and there’s only a minimal amount in this recipe.
what kind of cardamom did you use
Thai iced coffee is my absolute favorite and my (nursing) daughter is intolerant of dairy so I was sooo excited for this recipe but I messed the condensed milk up somehow, it turned greyish and when I took it out of the fridge this morning it was almost solid but I mixed it and gave it a shot and it came out of the jar kind of lumpy and separated once it hit my coffee. I’m going to try a better quality coconut milk and simmer not quite as long, fingers crossed!
Oh no! That’s so weird that it changed colors. Let me know if it happens again and I’ll investigate if something is wrong with the recipe.
It seems like there have been plenty of successes, my bet is user error 😉 I’m trying it again tomorrow after I can get to the store for some more coconut milk!