This post may include affiliate links; see our disclosure policy.
The Mocha Frappe is a frozen coffee drink that’s so easy to whip up at home! All you need are 4 ingredients, plus ice.
You don’t need to venture out of the house when you’re craving a frappe: try this sweet and frosty homemade Mocha Frappe! It’s as easy as 4 ingredients, ice, and a blender. This one comes out fluffy and chocolaty, with a subtle bitter coffee finish. It’s irresistibly sippable and takes just 2 minutes to blend up. Usually we tend toward more classic coffee drinks…but this one is just too good!
Ingredients in a mocha frappe
A frappé is a frozen coffee drink of blended instant coffee, sugar and water or milk. It was invented in Greece in the 1950’s by Dimitris Vakondios, who worked for coffee company Nescafe. So it’s no surprise the classic frappé was made with Nescafe instant coffee! A similar drink at Starbucks is the Frappuccino: it’s sweeter and creamier and made with espresso.
This mocha frappe recipe takes inspiration from the classic, and adds a twist of chocolate similar to the drink you can find at McDonalds. This one tastes better, in our opinion! It’s sweetened just enough, and it’s chocolaty and frothy. Here’s what you’ll need (or head to the recipe below):
- Instant espresso powder
- Milk
- Sugar
- Cocoa powder
- Ice
The magic ingredient: instant espresso powder
The important ingredient in a frappe? This mocha frappe uses instant espresso powder. It’s ideal for a frappe because it adds coffee flavor without watering down the drink. We tried a few variations with coffee, but instant espresso powder brought just the right bitter flavor. Espresso powder is key to get that mocha flavor (since a Mocha is made with espresso, not coffee.)
The instant espresso powder we used was Delallo brand, but there are lots of other great brands out there. Side bonus: you can also use it for desserts, like tiramisu! Often chocolate cake recipes call for espresso powder because it brings out the chocolate flavor (like this chocolate zucchini cake).
Toppings for a mocha frappe
It’s not necessary to top a mocha frappe with whipped cream: and we’re not huge sweet coffee drink people, so we typically don’t. But it does make it look so much more festive! Here are a few options for toppings:
- Whipped cream: Homemade whipped cream is infinitely better than the store-bought stuff; and easy to make, too
- Chocolate sauce: It’s fun and festive with a little drizzle
- Chopped or shaved chocolate: Chocolate shavings also look great
- Sprinkles: Why not?
- Festive straws: It’s all about the presentation! We like these striped paper straws.
Variation: vegan and dairy free
Want to make a vegan or dairy free mocha frappe? It’s easy: just use oat milk instead of dairy milk! Oat milk is our ideal for coffee drinks because of its creamy texture and neutral flavor. We much prefer it to something like almond milk or soy milk. But feel free to use whatever non-dairy milk you prefer.
What to do for the topping? Make Vegan Whipped Cream! It’s easy and comes out perfectly fluffy (you just have to think ahead a few hours).
More coffee drinks
Love making coffee drinks at home? Here are some of our top coffee drinks and espresso drinks to make:
- Try a classic Mocha or a Mocha Cappuccino
- Make a simple Espresso Tonic
- Blend up a Frozen Coffee
- Grab an Iced Mocha or Iced White Chocolate Mocha
- Opt for a Iced Brown Sugar Oat Milk Espresso or Iced Americano
- Go for a Iced Coffee, Vanilla Iced Coffee or Cold Brew Coffee
This mocha frappe recipe is…
Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free and gluten-free.
Mocha Frappe
The Mocha Frappe is a frozen coffee drink that’s so easy to whip up at home! All you need are 4 ingredients, plus ice.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 1 drink 1x
- Category: Drink
- Method: Blended
- Cuisine: Coffee
- Diet: Vegan
Ingredients
- ¾ cup milk (or oat milk for dairy free)
- 1 ½ tablespoons sugar*
- 1 tablespoon instant espresso powder
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
- 1 cup ice
- Whipped cream (optional)
- Chocolate sauce, to drizzle (optional)
Instructions
- Place the milk, sugar, espresso powder and cocoa powder in a blender and blend a few seconds until combined.
- Add the ice and blend until creamy. Top with whipped cream and a drizzle of chocolate sauce, if desired.
Notes
*The flavor comes out pleasantly sweet. If you prefer very sweet coffee drinks, feel free to adjust the sugar to your taste.
Great easy recipe
I dont think I’ve ordered a frapuccino from Starbucks or the like in nearly 20 years.
Having a jar of instant espresso powder I purchased to add to my brownies I looked for something to do with it and came across this. It is 100% Excellent! I love that I tried it today! Pro tip, add 1/4 tsp of xanthan gum for stabilizing the texture. 10/10 recommend.
I made the mint mocha version (using 1/8tsp of peppermint extract) as suggested in the comments, topped with torani dark chocolate syrup and a generous dollop of homemade whipped cream (using the whipped cream recipe provided by this same website) and my husband who loathes the taste of coffee loved it to death. I recommend this recipe highly.
Could you turn the mocha frappe into a boogie drink. If so what would you use?
I love trying out new things. I thought all these coffee drinks were for a high class people but they are really easy to make with just a bit of ingredients. I will try the recipes and get back to you. Thanks for making it simple.
Hello. This is a great recipe! I just love it and think I am now addicted. I was wondering, do you have a receipt for a Mint Mocha Frappe?
Oh wonderful, we’re so glad! We don’t have a mint mocha frappe recipe, but you could try adding peppermint extract to this one! Start small with about 1/8 teaspoon and increase if necessary — it’s potent stuff!
Made this today using monk fruit sweetener instead of sugar and it came out amazing! This is going to be my new summer fav! Thank you!!
Great recipes (vegan)
Can’t wait to go shopping for the ingredients so that I can try them!!!