How to Make the Easiest Iced Coffee Recipe at Home

It may be the first day of fall and October may be just around the corner, but it’s 75 degrees where I live and that means I’m still drinking iced coffee (almost) every morning. And why wouldn’t I? It’s so easy to make at home, and not to mention, it’s much cheaper than buying from Starbucks or Dunkin’. 

Even if you’re usually a hot coffee or espresso drinker, I encourage you to take a step out of your comfort zone and try this iced coffee recipe. And since Oct. 1 is International Coffee Day, it’s a good time to tap into your inner barista and learn a new coffee recipe. Here’s how to make your own iced coffee at home in a few simple steps. 

Read more: Here’s How Much You’ll Save Making Coffee at Home

Ingredients for homemade iced coffee 

Here are the essential ingredients and supplies you’ll need to whip up a delicious batch of iced coffee at home:

1. Freshly brewed coffee. (You can utilize your Keurig, automatic coffee pot, pour-over or any preferred brewing method.)
2. Ice cubes
3. A pitcher
4. Optional add-ons: sugar, simple syrups, flavored syrups, cream and milk, for example, to spice up your coffee

How to make delicious iced coffee at home

Here’s a straightforward, 3-step method to make iced coffee:

1. Brew several cups of coffee according to package or machine instructions. Allow your freshly brewed coffee to cool down completely. You can achieve this by letting it sit until it reaches room temperature. Better options, though, include pouring the coffee into a pitcher and placing it in the freezer for 30 minutes or planning ahead by refrigerating the coffee-filled pitcher overnight. (I recommend the latter.) And if you do opt for the pitcher-in-the-freezer method, it’s best to use plastic since glass can explode due to extreme temperature changes like going from scalding to freezing. 
2. Fill a glass with ice and pour the chilled coffee over it. It’s best to wait until the coffee is completely lukewarm or chilled to avoid ending up with weak, diluted coffee. 
3. Customize your iced coffee by adding your desired extras, such as cream or flavored syrup. 

Bonus tips 

Pro tip one: 

Freeze your brewed coffee in ice cube trays. When preparing your next cup of iced coffee, simply drop in a few coffee ice cubes and pour over your coffee to prevent water from diluting your coffee. 

Pro tip two:

If you are constantly forgetting to brew coffee ahead of time and are too impatient to wait for your coffee to cool down — I will be the first to admit that I simply cannot wait for my morning coffee — then you should consider buying a HyperChiller. It’s truly a game changer. 

All you’ll need to do is keep your handy HyperChiller in your freezer. Then when you have a scalding cup of coffee that you’d like to make chilled, just pour the hot liquid into the middle chamber of the HyperChiller, swirl it around for less than a minute and viola — your coffee is perfectly cold. 

Iced coffee versus cold brew

Iced coffee isn’t the same as cold brew coffee, though they are often confused. Iced coffee is less concentrated and has less caffeine. It is also much quicker and more convenient to make. 

Cold brew is delicious but more of a hassle. It often takes a whole day to brew and can require a specialized cold brew maker. (You could also use this method that only requires two mason jars.) But if you’re interested, CNET also has a guide for making the perfect cold brew coffee at home. 

For more, learn how to clean your Keurig the proper way and how to prevent coffee and tea from staining your mugs.