This iced golden milk turmeric latte is paleo and vegan, loaded with anti-inflammatory turmeric and other ancient, healing spices. It comes together so quickly and is naturally sweetened, super refreshing, and perfect for warmer weather. This iced golden milk turmeric latte is a modern take on an ancient healing drink, and you can feel fantastic about shaking up batches of this paleo and vegan drink!
A few years back, I fell madly in love with Ayurveda.
I’m not sure what prompted my obsession, but I was fascinated by this three-thousand-year-old holistic system of health, based on our individual compositions. It was the first time I really began to think that maybe the ideal diet varies from person to person.
Here’s the gist, at the most elementary and probably misrepresentative level:
Ayurveda is an ancient system of medicine, considered the oldest, or one of the oldest, in the world. Its tenets include universal interconnectedness, knowing and treating body composition, and balancing your body’s composition, rather than treating the symptoms.
There are three body compositions, or doshas, as they’re called in Ayurveda: pitta, vatta, kapha.
Me? I’m a pitta, through and through. If you knew me for five seconds you’d know I’m a pitta: a fiery Aries, ENTJ, type 4, type A+ go go go do do doer who lives in extremes. I run hot, flush easily, and crave spicy food daily. On top of that, I have a naturally muscular frame and tons of energy. So what does Ayurveda prescribe for me?
Well, at the core of it, I need to balance the fieriness, the oiliness, the spiciness. It’s recommended for me to eat cold and soothing foods, to not over-consume spicy and very pungent foods, to soothe my inner wild woman. Ayurveda is so interesting and nourishing, and I really think you should learn more about it!
Where did golden milk come from?
The interesting thing, though, is that in Ayurveda there’s something that’s recommended for all body types (or doshas): golden milk. I started regularly drinking this iced turmeric latte years ago when I first learned about it during my Ayurveda expeditions, and it’s recently absolutely exploded as a darling dish in the health world. Turmeric, specifically, known for its powerful anti-inflammatory properties, is experiencing a serious moment in the spotlight as an awesome superfood, and iced golden milk, a turmeric-spiked milk-based drink, is such a soothing way to ingest it.
In fact, I used to drink it hot every night! But since I’ve been pregnant, I’ve been craving cold and refreshing and invigorating daily, without the option to bolt through the Starbucks drive-thru for an iced macchiato too terribly often. Instead? The iced golden milk turmeric latte is here!
This iced golden milk turmeric latte is paleo and vegan, and it comes together super quickly and easily. To keep things simple, this iced golden milk turmeric latte recipe uses maple syrup to sweeten and powdered spices to season, meaning all it needs is a quick shake-up to be ready!
Because of the powerful combination of spices, this iced golden milk turmeric latte is a fantastic paleo & vegan afternoon pick-me-up, a perfect refresher in the warmer weather that you can feel great about consuming. My toddler even loves it! And I’m glad he does…
This iced golden milk turmeric latte…
- builds immunity
- supports the liver
- helps treat colds and coughs
- supports digestion
- purifies the blood
- supports your treatment of autoimmune disease
- and more.
Because of the relationship among all the spices, don’t skip any! If you have to skip one, you can leave the cardamom out; it’s in my recipe simply because I love the richness it gives the iced golden milk turmeric latte. However, you need the black pepper to activate all the power in the turmeric, so don’t skip it. I promise your drink won’t taste peppery!
How do I make golden milk?
Golden milk is, at its heart, a combination of just a few things: milk (typically a non-dairy milk), turmeric powder, a sweetener, and a couple other spices that help balance the turmeric and activate its powerful ingredients. This iced golden milk turmeric latte in particular is especially easy! You simply shake all the ingredients together with ice and strain over more ice. Delish.
Can I make this in bulk?
You can! You’ll just want to make sure you shake or stir very, very well the entire container before serving, as the spices will settle.
Can I heat this before chilling?
Absolutely, and this will help activate the curcumin in the turmeric. Simply heat all the ingredients together in a saucepan over low heat, stir well, then transfer to a heatproof container and chill fully. Serve over ice. This is a great idea for making this iced golden milk turmeric latte in bulk, too!
How to make this iced golden milk turmeric latte:
Shake very well. Alternately, stir all ingredients together vigorously.
Strain over two cups full of ice and drink! If you want the “ombré” look, stir together the almond milk with 1/2 tablespoon maple syrup. Pour over two glasses filled with ice. In a cocktail shaker, mix together the remaining ingredients and shake very well. Strain over your iced almond milk.
Make sure you stir it regularly if you don’t drink it quickly – the spices will settle.
Other recipes you’ll love (if you like this iced golden milk!):
- Frozen Golden Milk Turmeric Frappuccino
- Coconut Curry Turmeric Chicken (Whole30)
- Healthy Pink Drink Strawberry Refresher
Iced Golden Milk Turmeric Latte (Paleo, Vegan)
This iced golden milk turmeric latte is paleo and vegan, loaded with anti-inflammatory turmeric and other ancient, healing spices. It comes together so quickly and is naturally sweetened, super refreshing, and perfect for warmer weather. This iced golden milk turmeric latte is a modern take on an ancient healing drink, and you can feel fantastic about shaking up batches of this paleo and vegan drink!
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups coconut milk from carton vanilla or plain is fine
- 1 1/2 cups unsweetened plain almond milk
- 3 Tbsp. maple syrup divided if you'd prefer an "ombré" look
- 1 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
- 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
- Pinch ground black pepper
- Pinch ground cardamom
- 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice and shake well. Pour over ice and enjoy!
- If you'd like to pour the "golden milk" part over plain milk, like in my photos, combine the almond milk with 1/2 tablespoon maple syrup and stir well. Pour over two glasses filled with ice. In a cocktail shake, combine the coconut milk, all the spices, 2 1/2 tablespoons maple syrup, and plenty of ice. Shake well and pour over cups filled with ice and sweetened almond milk. Enjoy!
Can you drink this hot?
Absolutely! It’s delicious warm and perfect before bed 🙂
I just tried your recipe last night and it is so amazing! It’s definitely going to a be a staple in my life. I have a hard time getting calcium in my diet cause I’m dairy free and I don’t just like to drink milk(or dairy free milk). I used pea protein milk (didn’t have any coconut) I also thought I had ginger but I didn’t so I used allspice instead. But I’m definitely going to be picking up some coconut milk and ginger to try the recipe exactly.
So happy you liked it!! You’ll love it with coconut too 🙂
I LOVE iced lattes (and anything iced in the summer). I also discovered a love of turmeric lattes only in the last year or so. I’ve been enjoying your recipe almost every day for the last couple of weeks and it’s perfect! 🙂
I wanted to love this because I’m giving up coffee and thought finding a New morning drink that’s healthy would be awesome. I don’t hate it. I think my problem with it is the cinnamon. I’m not a fan of the smell and not a big fan of the flavor and I feel like it overpowers this drink a little. With that said, it’s nice and creamy and healthy. I am gonna try it again without the cinnamon.
I wanted to add that I tried again with 1/8 tsp of cinnamon versus the 1/4 tsp the recipe called for. And it’s delicious! There’s nothing wrong with the original recipe, it was just my tastebuds hating cinnamon lol. Thank you for sharing the recipe!
This is the BEST golden milk recipe! I used unsweetenened Coconut milk (no almond). So creamy and delicious!
Question! Looks delicious but do you think honey would work just as good as maple syrup?
You’ll have to make sure it dissolves just as well, so I’d whisk it well before adding ice, but otherwise it should be fine!
I love the taste of this drink, but the spices separate so quickly I have to drink it fast and sit there with a spoon to constantly stir it. Is there something I’m doing wrong??
A couple of the spices do not dissolve in cold liquid, so you WILL have to stir it somewhat. But blending it quickly in a blender is a great solution too! It will help things stay together longer 🙂
Just made this with rice milk instead of the coconut – since we didn’t have any. It’s delicious! The flavors are fantastic and I’m definitely going to keep this on my make a lot recipe lists.
This is such a good idea!! I need this in my tummy RIGHT NOW!! Haha!! I will be making this next week – just watch this space… thanks for the recipe 🙂 x
Love it! But no reusable cup? I think we all should reduce plastic consumption.
That was strictly a food styling decision to mimic coffeehouse creations 🙂 We do not use single-use plastic in our home.
What a lovely, refreshing drink! I just made this because it popped up on my Pinterest feed and I had all of the ingredients. I gave it a little buzz in my blender, as it was my most accessible container.
I am sooo glad you liked it! And using a personal blender cup is so perfect