Gingerbread Latte

It may only be August, but - as a food blogger - this is the time of year where I have to start getting into the holiday spirit - designing every manner of festive treat for the upcoming holiday season!

That said, it’s also the time of year where I’m thinking ahead to our cold weather camping trips, and coming up with delicious recipe options for keeping warm, hydrated, and protein-ed up.

Today’s recipe is as at-home sitting by the tree on Christmas morning, as it is at the gym, AND at a campsite!

I’m talking about my high protein homemade gingerbread latte recipe, of course!

Not your usual protein shake, this tastes and feels just like something you’d get at your local coffee shop.

This spicy homemade gingerbread latte also lower in sugar, fat, and calories than pretty much anything you’d find at the nearest Starbucks

For someone like me - who has a hard time keeping my protein intake up enough at ALL, nevermind when I’m camping - this is the BEST way to do so!

High Protein Gingerbread Coffee

I’ll usually do one gingerbread coffee up as my morning coffee, and then another one of my coffee drinks up in the afternoon.

I love that classic gingerbread flavor - it really does taste like a gingerbread cookie - and it’s such an easy recipe.

For efficiency, I tend to make these up in batches of 10 or so drink packets, and label them for future use. Then, they’re ready whenever I want a hot beverage.

Oh, and while it does make a strong coffee, no Nespresso machine or French press needed!

Anyway, I’ve done up about a dozen recipes for high protein instant drinks - some are soup, some coffee, and even a few tea options!

Be sure to check the link list - near the bottom of this post. They truly are my favorite things to pack as a quick, healthy snack in the camper

Anyway, let’s get to that easy recipe...

Ingredients

This recipe uses fairly simple ingredients, most of which you’ll either have on hand already, or be easy to find in any grocery store.

A few notes for you:

Vanilla Protein Powder

Vanilla Flavored Whey Protein Powder is not only what gives these gingerbread lattes their protein content, it also contributes some sweetness, AND takes the place of needing vanilla extract.

You can use whatever protein you like - whey or plant based - just be sure to use something that you actually like the flavour of, and - ideally - one that mixes up smoothly.

For me, that’s Revolution Nutrition's High Whey in Vanilla Cake.

Between my daily protein coffee shakes and all of the keto baking I do with it, I go through a ton of the stuff!

Sweetener

What you use is going to depend on your dietary needs.

As I stay low carb - even when camping - I use a Brown Sugar Substitute.

Specifically, I use Brown Sugar Allulose. I love it because it doesn’t have the weird cooling sensation that erythritol does.

That said, if you’re not watching your carbs, you can use either Light Brown Sugar or Dark Brown Sugar.

Personally, I recommend dark brown - it gives you a bit of that molasses flavour you expect in gingerbread.

Instant Coffee

Because these are done up as powdered mixes, I use Instant Coffee Granules (or instant espresso), rather than something like the brewed dark roast coffee (and shot of espresso, for stronger coffee) that tend to be used in coffee shops.

Instant coffee may have a bad rep, but I swear - when you mix it up in this drink, you’ll never know. The protein powder and spices definitely cover any “instant coffee” taste.

Milk or Water

You can use either milk or water to make up one of these gingerbread lattes... and you have a variety of milk options to choose from!

When I’m making this up on the road - as a cold drink - I’ll usually just use water.

That said, milk makes for a creamier, richer drink. When it comes to the hot drinks, you’ll get some froth if you use milk... but usually not, with water.

I try to moderate my dairy consumption, so I used Unsweetened Almond Milk.

Other non-dairy milks work fantastically in this recipe. My favourites are Oat milk, Cashew Milk, Flax Milk, Macadamia Milk, and coconut milk.

I just find they taste BETTER than regular milk, especially in sweet coffee drinks like this.

That said, if you’re fine with dairy milk... 2% milk, skim milk, or whole milk will all work well.

Remember, the more milk fat, the creamier the drink!

Spices

You can’t have a gingerbread latte without gingerbread spices, after all!

I use a fairly standard mix in this recipe:

Ground Ginger
Ground Cinnamon
Allspice
Ground Nutmeg

Shaker Bottle

While you can make these drinks up with a standard blender, immersion blender, or even a milk frother, I like to just shake them up like I do any other protein shake.

I love my 20 oz BlenderBottle for this, and all of my other protein drinks.

It’s a great size for them, sturdy, and the ball whisk inside ensures a smooth drink!

How to Make High Protein Gingerbread Lattes

The full recipe is in the recipe card at the bottom of this post, here is the visual walk through:

Before getting started, finely grind instant coffee in a mini food processor or spice grinder:

For Hot Protein Gingerbread Latte

Combine dry ingredients - or one baggie of mix, below - in a shaker bottle, mason jar, or blender.

Add hot water or steamed milk*; shake until coffee mixture is well combined, smooth, and with no undissolved coffee granules left on the bottom of the bottle.

Alternately, you can blend it with a handheld frother / electric milk frother, if you prefer.

Pour into a large mug.

Garnish with whipped cream if desired, enjoy right away!

For Protein Iced Gingerbread Latte

Combine dry ingredients in a shaker bottle or blender.

Add cold water or milk*; shake until well combined, smooth, and with no undissolved coffee granules left on the bottom of the bottle.

Pour into a large glass filled with ice, enjoy right away!

Pro Tip: For easier dissolving when making iced coffee, you can add a small amount of hot water or milk to the dry mix, shake until dissolved, then top up with cold liquid.

Another option is to make it with hot liquid, and chill it in the fridge for later use.

For Protein Powder Gingerbread Latte Mix Pouches

Measure dry ingredients directly into individual snack-sized plastic baggies, seal and shake well to combine.

Press as much air as possible out of each baggie, seal the zipper.

Transfer baggies to an airtight container, labeled with the date, recipe name, and a note to use 12 oz of water or milk*, if you like.

More High Protein Drink Mixes!

Looking for more high protein, low carb drink mixes that can be made ahead? I've developed a whole series of instant drink mix recipes:

Chai Latte (Low Carb, High Protein)
Cream of Chicken Soup (Low Carb, High Protein)
Cream of Mushroom Soup (Low Carb, High Protein)
Easy Bone Broth
Matcha Latte (Low Carb, High Protein)
Mocha Latte (Low Carb, High Protein)
Peanut Butter Hot Chocolate (Low Carb, High Protein)
Peppermint Mocha (Low Carb, High Protein)
Protein Cappuccino (Low Carb, High Protein)
Protein Hot Chocolate (Low Carb, High Protein)
Pumpkin Chai Latte (Low Carb, High Protein)
Pumpkin Spice Latte (Low Carb, High Protein)