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Perfect Iced Coffee with no coffee maker required! It’s made from a concentrated homemade cold brew, then finished with creamy half and half, sweet sugar, a hint of vanilla and plenty of ice. It’s such a refreshing drink on a hot day!
Homemade Iced Coffee
Making iced coffee at home is such an easy process and you only need a few ingredients. The key is just using robust, richly roasted coffee beans and allowing a generous soak time.
When you make at home you get to make it as mild or intense in flavor as you’d like, and adjust it to be as sweet or creamy as you’d like as well. You’ve also got the option to make it with regular or decaf coffee as well.
No need to leave the house early to take the extra time to stop by the coffee shop when you can make it at home in minutes (just plan some extra time to let the ground beans soak overnight).
Plus you don’t need any fancy equipment here. You have the option of using store-bought coarsely ground coffee beans or grinding whole beans on your own.
Then from there you just need a sieve, and cheesecloth or a coffee filter to strain it.
It’s a delicious iced coffee that’s equally as good as you’ll get at any coffee shop and you can make it for a fraction of the cost!
Iced Coffee Recipe Ingredients
- 1 cup coffee beans, dark or medium roast
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 cup half and half, divided
- 3 cups water, plus more to dilute
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Plenty of ice
Possible Substitutes and Variations
- Creamer: Heavy cream or whole milk will work in place of half and half. If using whole milk though I recommend reducing water added to the coffee brew (in step 5) then using 1/2 cup milk per serving so it’s creamier).
- An excellent non-dairy substitute for half and half is to use canned coconut cream or canned coconut milk (you may need to melt slightly if it’s solidified).
- Sweetener: Raw sugar, white sugar, brown sugar, honey, or maple syrup will work for the sugar option. You could also use sugar substitutes such as stevia, though you’ll need to adjust amount according to it’s equivalent (with Stevia you should only need about 1/4 to 1/2 tsp here per serving.
- Coffee: You can use pre-ground coffee beans if you don’t have a coffee grinder or food processor. Purchase coarse ground beans so it’s not too difficult to strain the finer grind.
- Flavors: If you’d like you can add various flavors to the coffee such as cocoa, cinnamon, pumpkin spice, almond or hazelnut extract, or natural caramel flavor.
- A vanilla bean is a great substitute for vanilla extract, just stir the seeds in after you’ve strained the coffee. You could even steep the pod with the coffee concentrate.
How to Make Iced Coffee
- Coarse grind coffee: Place coffee beans in a coffee grinder (mine is smaller so I work with 1/2 cup at a time), and pulse in quick bursts, stopping and shaking machine occasionally, until beans are coarsely ground.
- If you don’t have a grinder and are using coarsely ground store-bought beans then skip the first step above.
- Soak coffee with water: Pour 3 cups water into a large jar along with the coarsely ground coffee. Cover and shake. Let rest 12 to 24 hours at room temperature.
- Strain grounds: Place two layers of cheesecloth over a fine mesh sieve (a coffee filter works as well to set over the sieve it just takes much longer to strain through). Then place sieve over a large liquid measuring cup or pitcher.
- Dilute as desired, flavor with vanilla: Pour coffee mixture into sieve to remove the solids. Let drain then lift cheesecloth and squeeze excess moisture from beans (while still holding it over the sieve to catch any loose bits). Add desired amount of water to dilute to taste (depending on how strong you want it about 1/2 cup to 2 cups). Stir in the vanilla.
- Sweeten, serve over ice with half and half: Cover and chill mixture up to 1 week (or serve right away). When ready to serve dissolve 1 Tbsp sugar with 1/4 of the mixture. Pour 1/4 of coffee mixture into a glass over plenty of ice, then pour in 1/4 cup half and half.
- Stir and serve.
Making Iced Coffee with a Coffee Maker
- Another option to making iced coffee is just to brew a standard cup of coffee in your coffee maker, using something like a Keurig and pods (I like this one and brew pods like these).
- Let the hot coffee chill thoroughly in the fridge. Then sweeten as desired, stir in plenty of ice, a small splash of vanilla, and half and half or cream.
- For the ratios you’ll want about 1 cup dark or medium chilled coffee, 1/4 cup half and half, 1 Tbsp sugar and 1/4 tsp of vanilla. And don’t forget the ice of course.
More Refreshing Drink Recipes
Iced Coffee
Perfect Iced Coffee and no coffee maker required! It’s made from a concentrated homemade cold brew, then finished with creamy half and half, sweet sugar, a hint of vanilla and plenty of ice. It’s such a refreshing drink on a hot day!
Servings: 4
- 1 cup coffee beans,* dark roast or medium roast
- 1/4 cup sugar,** or to taste
- 1 cup half and half,*** divided
- 3 cups water, plus more to dilute
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Plenty of ice
-
Place coffee beans in a coffee grinder (mine is smaller so I work with 1/2 cup at a time), and pulse in quick bursts, stopping and shaking machine occasionally, until beans are coarsely ground.
-
If you don’t have a grinder and are using coarsely ground store-bought beans then skip the first step above.
-
Pour 3 cups water into a large jar along with the coarsely ground coffee. Cover and shake. Let rest 12 to 24 hours at room temperature.
-
Place two layers of cheesecloth over a fine mesh sieve (a coffee filter works as well to set over the sieve it just takes much longer to strain through). Then place sieve over a large liquid measuring cup or pitcher.
-
Pour coffee mixture into sieve to remove the solids. Let drain then lift cheesecloth and squeeze excess moisture from beans (while still holding it over the sieve to catch any loose bits). Add desired amount of water to dilute to taste (depending on how strong you want it about 1/2 cup to 2 cups water. Keep in mind the ice will melt and dilute it more later). Stir in the vanilla.
-
Cover and chill mixture up to 1 week (or serve right away). When ready to serve dissolve 1 Tbsp sugar with 1/4 of the mixture. Pour 1/4 of coffee mixture into a glass over plenty of ice, then pour in 1/4 cup half and half.
-
Stir and serve.
- *If you don’t have a coffee grinder you could use store-bought coarsely ground coffee such as gevalia brand which is good in this recipe. Another option is to use whole beans and to try blending a food processor to a coarse consistency.
- **Raw sugar, white sugar, brown sugar, honey or maple syrup will all work well. Even 1/4 to 1/2 tsp stevia could be substituted per serving.
- ***Whole milk or heavy cream can be used in place of half and half. If using milk use a little less water and go with 1/2 cup whole milk per serving. Another good option would be to use canned coconut cream or canned coconut milk.
Making Iced Coffee with a Coffee Maker
- Another option to making iced coffee is just to brew a standard cup of coffee in your coffee maker, using something like a Keurig and pods (I like this one and brew pods like these).
- Let the hot coffee chill thoroughly in the fridge. Then sweeten as desired, stir in plenty of ice, a small splash of vanilla, and half and half or cream.
- For the ratios you’ll want about 1 cup dark or medium chilled coffee, 1/4 cup half and half, 1 Tbsp sugar and 1/4 tsp of vanilla. And don’t forget the ice of course.
Nutrition Facts
Iced Coffee
Amount Per Serving
Calories 133
Calories from Fat 63
% Daily Value*
Fat 7g11%
Saturated Fat 4g25%
Polyunsaturated Fat 0.3g
Monounsaturated Fat 2g
Cholesterol 21mg7%
Sodium 51mg2%
Potassium 198mg6%
Carbohydrates 15g5%
Sugar 15g17%
Protein 2g4%
Vitamin A 214IU4%
Vitamin C 1mg1%
Calcium 75mg8%
Iron 0.1mg1%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
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