If you haven’t heard of the Whole30 before, it’s a month long elimination diet – no grains, dairy, sweeteners, legumes. You then slowly reintroduce one category at a time to see how your body reacts. When you are a latte lover in the morning with maple syrup or homemade coconut sugar vanilla syrup…. this seems like a super daunting month full of bitter, gross, unsweetened coffee. I’d rather not drink it at all if it’s unsweetened. Not to fear, there is a bit of a workaround here. Although date syrup is NOT allowed, actual dates ARE allowed as they fall into the fruit category. During my last Whole30, the ultimate date latte was born. I drank this almost everyday. Since then, I have worked on variations, to make it work for each season! So here we are, my Whole30 Pumpkin Spice Latte Recipe.
[This post contains affiliate links. This means I may make a small commission if you purchase through these links. I’m only going to recommend products that I have tried and love! Sarah is also a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.]
Benefits of Dates
- Naturally sweet fruit
- Antioxidant rich
- Low glycemic index
- Rich in fiber and iron
- If you’ve been pregnant, you may have heard they help you go into labor naturally, although I don’t think they helped me either pregnancy lol.
- Great substitute for caramel flavors in desserts, easy to blend and mold for different treats.
Which type of Date to use? Medjool or Deglet Noor?
Honestly, use whatever you have!
Medjool dates are a little bit bigger and softer, and a tiny bit sweeter.
I often buy THIS brand here, which is organic and I often buy at my local Whole Foods, and also dates from Trader Joes or Thrive Market! I also love the brand Joolies and they sell their organic “ugly” dates in bulk for a great deal!
Deglet Noor dates are conversely, a little bit smaller, a little bit tougher and a tiny bit less sweet.
I have used both, and find the results are equally delicious! If I had to choose I’d vote for Medjool for sure! More versatile!
How to make the perfect Whole30 Pumpkin Spice Latte Recipe
Whole30 Pumpkin Spice Latte Ingredients
- Dates
- Almond milk (unsweetened)
- Espresso or coffee
- Pumpkin puree
- Pumpkin pie spice
- Vanilla extract (now Whole30 compliant!)
- *I’ve seen Vanilla Bean Paste also float around in many recipes – check the ingredients here because a lot of them have sugar added in them from what I can tell. Stick with pure vanilla extract or a fresh vanilla bean scraped!
Prepare your espresso or strong coffee
Whether you have an espresso machine, or an Aeropress, or a french press, use whatever you enjoy the most! I typically brew one shot in my Aeropress.
Prepare your dates
Soak your dates in the hot coffee or espresso while you prepare the rest of the drink! usually a minute or 2 is enough to soften them. I typically soak them in a mug that I made my Aeropress shot in, then will transfer to the Nutribullet cup to blend after.
Add your Pumpkin + Spice + Vanilla
Add in your pumpkin puree, pumpkin spice and vanilla extract and transfer all of this to your blender, or Nutribullet.
Here is where I also add a hefty splash of my almond milk to make the mixture blend easier and cool it down slightly before blending. It’s about 1/4 cup of milk. Then pulse or blend for 30-60 seconds.
Choose the best Almond Milk
Favorite super clean Almond milk brands:
- JOI Almond Milk Concentrate
- Three Trees Almond Milk
- Malk Almond Milk
Put it all together
Iced Latte: There are 2 ways you can go about this!
- Blender method: you can add in the rest of your milk directly to the blender and blend, about 1/4-1/2 cup and then pour directly over ice for an iced latte. See note*
- Frother style: I like to make mine into a cold foam style latte, so I froth my almond milk in my Instant Pot milk frother (which is an excellent milk frother for both cold and hot). I pour the coffee mix over ice, then I put the frothed milk on top!
*Note: if you don’t like the little blended date bits at the bottom of your glass, then feel free to strain your mixture into your glass over ice.
Hot Latte:
Froth or steam your milk, such as in the Instant Pot milk frother, put your coffee into your mug and add the frothed hot milk on top!
Lastly, you have to sprinkle a pinch of pumpkin pie spice on top and voila! A Whole30 Pumpkin Spice Latte Recipe is complete!
What is the best strainer for coffee drinks?
I prefer either a julep strainer or a cocktail strainer. In the photo above I’m using a cocktail strainer. Last year for Father’s day I bought Mike a bunch of fancy cocktail making equipment and we use them all the time and the copper items have not tarnished at all yet!
If you don’t have either of these, a fine mesh sieve will work just fine but harder to be more precise when straining into your mug or cup!
Why use a frother for your latte recipe?
I love a good froth or cold foam on top of my lattes. Cold Brew with Cold foam is like basically a staple at Starbucks these days, but you can make a similar vibe at home if you have a frother! There are loads of different ones out there. My dad picked out the Instant Pot frother as a gift for me and it works SO WELL! I have been using it for a couple years now mostly for cold but also warmed lattes (it works for both!) It does depend on your milk, not all plant based milks foam the same. My family also has the Nespresso frother which works for both warm and cold foams and that works amazing too but a bit pricer.
Best frothed clean Almond milk is hands down Three Trees brand – nothing froths up the way this brand does! Malk is a runner up, and JOI you can get a little froth with especially since you blend first, and can get a little foam upon remixing after fridge storage.
Alright, let’s get to my favorite date latte, turned into the best whole30 pumpkin spice latte recipe!
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Brew 1 shot of espresso or strong coffee (about an ounce)1 shot espresso or strong coffee (about an ounce)
- Soak your pitted dates in the espresso for about 1-2 minutes to soften2 medjool or deglet noor dates, pitted
- Add pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla extract and 1/4 cup almond milk to coffee and dates.1/2 cup almond milk, for frother , 1 tsp pumpkin puree, 1/8 tsp pumpkin pie spice, 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- Blend in Nutribullet or blender on high for 30-60 seconds.
- Optional: Strain with a julep strainer or cocktail strainer into your glass or mug before next steps for ICED or HOT
- For ICED: pour coffee date mix over ice
- Add remaining 1/2 cup almond milk to frother and froth on cold setting for ICED1/2 cup almond milk, for frother
- Pour frothed milk on top of iced mixture and top with a sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice
- Optional alternative: pour all 3/4 cup almond milk directly into blender and blend with the coffee/date/pumpkin spice mixture and pour this strained or unstrained over ice and enjoy!
- For HOT: Pout coffee date mix into preferred mug.
- Add 1/2 cup remaining almond milk to frother and froth on heat setting.
- Pour frother milk on top of coffee date mixture with a sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice
Notes
Final Thoughts
I truly love the date latte, and I love this PSL twist for a taste of pumpkin season. I hope you enjoyed this Whole30 Pumpkin Spice Latte Recipe and trying dates out in your lattes. If you try this let me know in the comments below or on IG! I would love to know what you think!
xo – Sarah