Ube latte is a delicious blend of coffee and sweet and nutty ube flavor. Easy to make and perfect for any ube lover, this drink is a must-try for any coffee lover that wants a delicious twist to their latte!
✅ Why This Recipe Works
Easy to make – No hours of prepping or complicated techniques needed. All you need is to make the ube mixture and add coffee!
Flavorful and well-balanced – Pairing the ube flavor with delicious almond milk creates a delicious ube latte from the comfort of your home.
Low in calories – Similar to my healthy pumpkin spice latte and chai latte recipe, this traditionally decadent recipe was specially developed to be healthier and lower in calories so that you can enjoy this delicious latte without getting off track on your fitness goals
💭 What is Ube?
Ube is a purple yam commonly used in Filipino cuisine due to its nutty and sweet taste. It has a bright purple color that comes from natural pigments known as anthocyanins. Ube is popularly used in desserts like cakes, ice cream, and other recipes like this latte.
Check out this article to learn more about ube.
🍎 Calories and Nutrition – Make It Healthy
Ube lattes are usually not the healthiest thing on the menu when ordering out, as it’s often served with heavy cream, coconut milk, or other high-fat dairy products as well as an excessive amount of sugar. A typical ube latte can easily be upwards of 400 calories, making it less than ideal for weight loss.
Thankfully, it’s really easy to make a few tweaks and make a much healthier ube latte. With this recipe, I made an ube latte with only 56 calories with x grams of protein, 3 grams of fat, and 1 grams of carbs.
Here’s what I did to make mine healthier:
- Used almond milk, which is the lowest-calorie milk option. The flavor also pairs well with the nutty ube flavor.
- Portioned amount of sweetener used. I used 1 teaspoon of simple syrup, which is only 15 calories.
- Omitted usage of whipped cream, coconut milk, or other higher fat mix-ins that are typically in an ube latte.
For a detailed breakdown of each ingredient, their portioning, and how they make up the nutrition profile of this ube latte recipe, you may refer to the table below:
📋 Ingredient Notes
To make your own ube latte at home, you’ll need the following ingredients.
Ube Extract – Similar to vanilla extract but with ube flavor. This is essential for the ube flavor of the latte. You can either get it from a Filipino market or online.
Simple Syrup – This is essential for accentuating the flavor of the ube. If you don’t have simple syrup, you can easily make it by using equal parts sugar and water and heating it in a saucepan.
Almond Milk – I like almond milk because it’s one of the lowest calorie milk alternatives and pairs well with the flavor of the ube. My favorite brand is Califia Farms.
Espresso – I used 1 shot of espresso. If you don’t have an espresso machine, you can opt for one of the options in the next section.
See my recipe card below for a complete list of the ingredients with measurements.
☕ Options for Coffee
For those of you who do not own an espresso machine, many other alternatives can also be used in its place:
- Black coffee – This will be less intense in flavor than espresso, but will be just as delicious. You can make this with a pour-over, Aeropress, or french press.
- Nespresso – Another good alternative to espresso if you have the machine for it
- Instant coffee – You can make traditional coffee or whip it to make a dalgona ube latte
📖 Substitutions and Variations
Ube extract alternatives – You can also opt to use ube halaya (ube jam) or ube powder. If using halaya, you may want to consider stirring more thoroughly and omitting the sugar, since halaya already has sugar added to it.
Make it hot – Mix the milk and the ube extract before steaming the milk, and add it over a shot of espresso or hot coffee.
Caffeine free – Skip the caffeine and enjoy it as a delicious ube milk instead.
With other milk – Skim milk, macadamia milk, and soy milk are other great low-calorie options. Check out this article for other low calorie milk options.
Alternative sweeteners – You can also use stevia or monk fruit sweetener to sweeten the latte to your liking.
🔪 Step-By-Step Instructions
Make the ube milk mixture – In a glass, mix the ube extract and simple syrup with the almond milk. Stir thoroughly until the sweetener and ube extract is thoroughly mixed with the milk. [Photo 1]
Add Ice – Add ice cubes to the glass if desired.
Prepare the espresso – Make the espresso or your coffee of choice.
Assemble the latte – Top the glass with coffee. Serve with a straw if desired, as this will help you drink the latte uniformly. [Photo 2]
💭 Recipe FAQs
Ube has a distinct, sweet, and nutty flavor that is often compared to that of vanilla or sweet potato. The taste can be described as a combination of floral, earthy, and slightly savory notes. Some people also detect hints of coconut or caramel in the flavor of ube. Overall, the taste of ube is unique and delicious, which is why it has become a popular ingredient in desserts and drinks.
Ube and taro are root vegetables that differ in appearance, taste, texture, and culinary uses. Ube is purple, slightly sweet and nutty, while taro is light brown or white with purple specks, mild, and slightly fibrous. Both are used in various dishes but in different ways across different cuisines.
💡 Tips and Tricks
Layered latte – To make a beautifully layered latte, first add the sweetened ube flavored milk (ie, the milk with the sweetener and ube extract), then add more milk on top if desired, and the coffee on top.
Use a straw or mix – While layered lattes look beautiful, I recommend using a straw to drink or mixing the latte thoroughly before drinking so you can taste everything uniformly.
🍽 Recipe FAQs
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟rating in the recipe card below & if you REALLY like this recipe, consider a review further down the page. Thank you!
🍳 Recipe
Ube Latte Recipe
Ingredients
- 2-3 drops Ube Extract
- 1 shot Espresso
- 1 cup Almond Milk
- 1 teaspoon Simple Syrup
Instructions
- Make the ube milk mixture – In a glass, mix the ube extract and simple syrup with the almond milk. Stir thoroughly until the sweetener and ube extract is thoroughly mixed with the milk.
- Add Ice – Add ice cubes to the glass if desired.
- Prepare the espresso – Make the espresso or your coffee of choice.
- Assemble the latte – Top the glass with coffee. Serve with a straw if desired, as this will help you drink the latte uniformly.
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