Easy Dalgona Whipped Coffee

Easy Dalgona Whipped Coffee is simple to make and just like having Starbucks at home! Ready in just minutes, add the sweetened whipped coffee over the milk of your choice. This can be customized to be dairy free by using coconut, soy, or almond milk. I like to top it with whipped cream, caramel sauce, and chocolate syrup!

I have been enjoying the Pioneer Woman “at Home” episodes that have been airing on Food Network. Ree’s children, nephew, and their friends film the show, and it’s a much more realistic picture of someone cooking at home. Lots of outtakes which are so funny, and she makes mistakes that they don’t edit out. I constantly make mistakes when cooking, so it makes me feel better to know I’m not alone!

On one of these episodes, Ree mentioned this Dalgona Whipped Coffee. She started with instant coffee, water, and sugar, and whipped it with an electric mixer. Minutes later she had this fabulous coffee foam! I couldn’t believe it! I had to try it immediately, and it worked!

The foamy coffee is layered on top of iced milk. You can stir it up a little or just leave it layered and drink the milk through the foam, sort of like the cold foam drinks at Starbucks. I was so excited to have a drink that tasted like Starbucks at home! It’s so easy and literally takes only minutes to make.

What is Dalgona Whipped Coffee?

I did a little digging (via Wikipedia) and learned that this whipped coffee trend became popular in South Korea during quarantine and quickly spread all over the world. It was initially said to taste like a Korean toffee called dalgona, hence the name.

I love Starbucks but haven’t been to one since early March when the stay at home orders were put in place in my area. Having a version of a fancy Starbucks drink that I can make at home has helped make quarantine a little more bearable. As I’ve said before, it’s the little things at a time like this.

How to Make Dalgona Coffee

While I first saw this whipped coffee on Pioneer Woman’s show, I found a Delgona coffee recipe on Starbuck’s website that I used as a starting point. According to Wikipedia, it is important to use instant coffee rather than ground coffee beans because of how the coffee granules are dried.

I would majorly penalize my students for using the phrase “according to Wikipedia,” but for the purposes of this recipe, let’s just say that I can’t see why anyone would want to use ground beans anyway. They wouldn’t dissolve in the water, and you’d just end up with watery bits of coffee beans. I’m guessing you could make this whipped coffee with espresso instant powder, but I haven’t tried that yet. I love this Medaglia D’Oro brand.

I’ve wondered how essential the sugar is for getting the coffee to whip. I’ll have to test that out. While I typically don’t add sugar or sweetener to my coffee drinks, I can see how the sugar helps with the whipping, so I didn’t want to leave it out.

The Steps

First, you’ll add instant coffee granules, water, and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer. If you only have a hand mixer, you can add the ingredients to a large bowl. I’m sure you could make this by hand with a wire whisk, but it would likely take longer than using an electric mixer.

I have made this both in my stand mixer using the whisk attachment and with my hand mixer using the wire whisk attachments. It takes around 4 minutes, so I prefer using the stand mixer so I can just turn it on and then get the glasses of milk ready.

This whipped coffee recipe is for two servings. I’ve tried cutting it in half, and it didn’t work well. The volume of liquid is so small that it’s hard to whip it. Perhaps using a smaller bowl with a handheld mixer would work better when making just 1 serving.

You’ll want to beat the coffee mixture until it forms a nice, thick foam.

You can add some ice and milk to two glasses, about half way up. I used cow’s milk but you can use any kind of milk that you prefer. The whipped coffee is then layered on top of the milk.

You can mix it up a little if you’d like, or just drink it like it is. The milk will flow through the foam when you take a drink, so you get a little of both. This is how the cold foam drinks at Starbucks work, but in that case the coffee is on the bottom. If you want a little decadence, you can add some whipped cream, caramel sauce, and chocolate syrup.

Customizing the Whipped Coffee

One of my favorite things about Starbucks is the ability to customize your drink order. In fact, they encourage it. The entire menu is built around having to be super specific about how you’d like your drink: tall or grande, iced or hot, caff or decaf, skim or 2%, whip or no whip? While some people scoff at all of these choices, this is perfect for someone like me. My thesis advisor use to call me Sally Albright after Meg Ryan’s character in “When Harry Met Sally.”

Sally: I’d like the pie heated, and I don’t want the ice cream on top, I want it on the side, and I’d like strawberry instead of vanilla if you have it. If not, then no ice cream, just whipped cream but only if it’s real. If it’s out of a can, then nothing.

Server: Not even the pie?

Sally: No, just the pie, but then not heated.

While Harry later insists that Sally is “high maintenance,” she says, “Well, I just want it the way I want it.” My sentiments exactly!

Just like at Starbucks, this homemade Easy Dalgona Whipped Coffee can be customized just the way you like it. You can use regular or decaf instant coffee, or perhaps even instant espresso powder. The whipped foamy coffee can be spooned over iced or warm milk. You can use cow’s milk, coconut milk, soy milk, or almond milk for a dairy free drink. You can add flavoring, like cinnamon, vanilla, peppermint, caramel, or even chocolate to make it mocha flavored. Serve it plain or add whipped cream, caramel sauce, or chocolate syrup. This drink can be adjusted to fit your unique taste and/or dietary restrictions.

If you love Starbucks but don’t want to leave the house, this is great “at home” alternative!

Looking for more Coffee Recipes?

Check out these recipes featuring Coffee:
Espresso Chocolate Chip Shortbread Cookies
Mocha Cheesecake
Mini Mocha Cheesecakes
Triple Chocolate Biscotti
Mocha Cream Cake
Ina’s Outrageous Brownies
Pumpkin Latte
Chocolate Fudge Layer Cake with Coffee Buttercream