Enjoy a skinny vanilla chai tea latte at home in about 15 minutes. This recipe is so easy and quick, and you'll save a lot of calories.
Fancy coffee house drinks are a bit of a weakness for me. A few years ago, I would get a cup one or more times a week when I was out. If I was out without kids, you could almost guarantee that I'd be stopping at the locally owned coffee shop in town before I headed to the store.
As much as I love my drinks, I couldn't keep buying them. They are expensive, and they are full of calories and sugar. I've been making my own skinny versions at home, and the taste is amazing.
You guys loved the skinny pumpkin spice latte that I posted last month, so today I'm bringing you this skinny vanilla chai tea latte recipe. Also try my skinny apple crisp macchiato recipe.
I wanted a recipe that was fairly easy, quick, and didn't require any special equipment (like a milk frother). After playing with the ingredients for a little bit, I think I've found just the right recipe.
Like most of my recipes, I'll give you a few options of ingredients to use. You can use your favorite milk and sweetener.
Want a decaf drink to enjoy after the kids go to bed? You can easily make this a decaf drink with a decaf tea so you won't be up all night.
Trust me, you will never miss the calories or carbs in this skinny vanilla chai tea latte recipe!
SKINNY VANILLA CHAI TEA LATTE RECIPE
Starbucks doesn't have a vanilla chai tea latte, but they do have a chai tea latte. It has vanilla in it, so we will just compare this drink with that drink. According to the Starbuck's website, a 16 ounce chai latte made with 2% milk has 240 calories, 4.5 grams of fat, 42 grams of sugars, and 45 grams of carbohydrates.
For 16 ounces of this skinny vanilla chai tea latte made with unsweetened almond milk, there are:
By making this skinny vanilla chai tea latte at home, I'm saving 54 calories and 14 grams of carbs and 17.6 grams of sugar! My version does have 2.7 more grams of fat, so be aware of that.
Nutrition information will vary based on the brand of milk you use and the type of milk. If you use half and half or whole milk, you will have different levels of fat and carbs.
In addition to reducing calories and carbs, I also wanted to control the ingredients in my drink. The Starbuck's drink has refined sugar, and I'm trying not to eat white sugar.
It also has "natural flavors". As I discussed in other posts, natural flavors aren't necessarily good. They could be good or something that I wouldn't normally eat, but we just don't know.
Anything that comes from nature can be called a natural flavor. We have no idea what plant or animal it came from.
MILK CHOICE
You can use coconut milk, almond milk, or cows milk in this recipe. I prefer unsweetened almond milk because I think it has the best flavor in my homemade skinny drinks, but you can use your favorite milk choice.
If you do use cows milk, use half and half or whole milk if you are watching your carbs. The fat count is higher, but they have fewer carbs than skim or 2 percent milk.
If you want to calculate your nutritional information, just go to Very Well Fit to enter in your milk of choice.
CHAI TEA
I used Twinings Ultra Spice Chai tea. It has a little more spices than regular chai tea, but it tastes amazing even when you add more spices to the drink.
You can use a decaf Spiced Chai tea that you can use if you want a decaf drink. Caffeine has been affecting me in the evenings, so I've been using decaf after early afternoon.
For a better quality tea, try Teabloom's vanilla chai loose tea.
SWEETENER
Instead of using refined sugar, I used coconut sugar
I use coconut sugar because I think it tastes the most like white sugar, but it has a lower glycemic index than white sugar. This means that it won't raise your blood sugar as much as white sugar.
You could also use honey, stevia, or your sweetener of choice. You can add other sweeteners when you add the spice since they won't need to be heated.
INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups unsweetened almond milk
- 2 chai tea bags
- 2 tablespoons coconut sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon cloves
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
DIRECTIONS
STEP #1
Heat the almond milk and coconut sugar over low to medium heat until steaming, about 130 degrees.
STEP #2
Remove from heat and add two chai tea bags. Let steep for 5 minutes.
STEP #3
Remove the tea bags and squeeze. I used my tongs to get all of the flavor out of the tea bags.
STEP #4
Add the vanilla and spices and stir well. My cinnamon clumped, so I used a whisk to stir it. This frothes it a little, too.
Pour into a mug, top with cinnamon if you want, and enjoy your skinny vanilla chai tea latte.
While I much prefer to drink coffee, this is an amazing latte to make at home. Seriously, you would never know that it's a skinny vanilla chai tea latte recipe!
I've made this both with half and half and unflavored almond milk, but I prefer the unsweetened almond milk. The half and half was just too thick for my liking, although it did taste amazing.
If you're going to enjoy your skinny vanilla chai tea latte at home, then you need a cute mug from which to drink.
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| Wears Black, Loves Chai, Avoids People |
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| Chai Snob |
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| Chai Time |
Vanilla Chai Tea Latte From a Tea Bag
Ingredients
- 2 cups unsweetened almond milk or cow's milk
- 2 chai tea bags
- 2 tablespoons coconut sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/8 teaspoon cloves
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
Instructions
- Heat the almond milk and coconut sugar over low to medium heat until steaming, about 130 degrees.
- Remove from heat and add two chai tea bags. Let steep for 5 minutes.
- Remove the tea bags and squeeze. I used my tongs to get all of the flavor out of the tea bags.
- Add the vanilla and spices and stir well. My cinnamon clumped, so I used a whisk to stir it. This frothes it a little, too.
Calories
250.80Fat (grams)
10.10Sat. Fat (grams)
3.44Carbs (grams)
30.21Fiber (grams)
2.46Net carbs
27.75Sugar (grams)
12.77Protein (grams)
10.90Sodium (milligrams)
135.00Cholesterol (grams)
19.60
