Homemade White Chocolate Mocha Recipe

This dreamy homemade White Chocolate Mocha can be made with pantry staples in about 5 minutes. No need to leave the house to get your morning mocha!

I’ve shared a ton of Starbucks-inspired recipes on the site over the years like an Easy Homemade Mocha , my mom’s favorite Caramel Macchiato , a Pumpkin Spice Latte made two ways.

And I love them all because I love coffee, but today I’m finally sharing my personal Starbucks order of choice: a White Chocolate Mocha.

Photo of homemade white chocolate mocha with whipped cream and white chocolate shavings. - 1

Photo of homemade white chocolate mocha with whipped cream and white chocolate shavings. - 2

And if you’re here, I’m guessing you love these as much as I do. So next time you’re craving a sweet coffee treat in the morning but can’t bring yourself to put on pants and leave the house to get it, come back here for this recipe and make your White Chocolate Mocha at home.

What’s in a White Chocolate Mocha?

This is not an exact copycat version of Starbucks’ White Chocolate Mocha— their recipe uses condensed milk and espresso–two ingredients I’m guessing most people don’t have sitting around in the minute quantities needed to make one cup of coffee.

But this homemade version is just as good and will hit all those White Chocolate Mocha sweet spots. You will need:

Hot coffee: Use your favorite brand, brewed strong if you can.
White chocolate: Be sure to use high-quality white chocolate in your mocha. Cheap white chocolate chips that are great in cookies don’t have the best flavor for white chocolate drinks. If you wouldn’t eat a handful of them, don’t melt them down to flavor your coffee.
Milk: Any percent milk will work just fine here, but the higher fat your milk, the richer your drink will be.
Heavy cream: Heavy cream is optional but adds a little extra richness that is so good. And if you have too much heavy cream, go check out my post on what to do with leftover heavy cream.
Sugar: The white chocolate doesn’t provide quite enough sweetness to get that classic white chocolate mocha experience, so a little sugar is needed to sweeten things up. Start with the amount called for in the recipe and then add more to taste.

In-process photo of homemade white chocolate mocha being mixed. - 3

In-process photo of homemade white chocolate mocha being mixed. - 4

How to Make a White Chocolate Mocha at Home

White Chocolate Mochas are one of the easiest coffee drinks to make at home. You just need to complete 3 simple steps:

On the stove, heat milk to steaming and whisk in chopped chocolate until completely melted.
Pour hot coffee into an 8-ounce cup and pour milk mixture over your coffee.
Add sugar, stir everything together, and adjust to taste. If you want your drink a little sweeter, you can add sugar, a little richer, add cream.

Iced White Chocolate Mocha

Iced White Chocolate mochas are equally as easy to make at home. The ingredients are mostly the same, but the technique is a little different. Go check out my post on how to make an Iced White Chocolate Mocha or White Chocolate Mocha Frap.

Tips and Tricks

This recipe makes a little over 1 cup of coffee, enough to fill one 8-ounce mug. If you want to fill an over-sized mug, double the recipe.
If you’d like to make white chocolate shavings for the top of your mocha, use a vegetable peeler and run it down the edge of a piece of white chocolate bar to make the curls.

Wide picture of white chocolate mocha with whipped cream and chocolate shavings and strawberries in the background. - 5

Wide picture of white chocolate mocha with whipped cream and chocolate shavings and strawberries in the background. - 6

More Starbucks Copycat Recipes

Iced Mocha
Caramel Latte
Iced Caramel Macchiato
Chai Latte
Dulce de Leche Latte
White Chocolate Peppermint Mocha
Peppermint Mocha

Ingredients

White Chocolate Mocha

▢ 3/4 cup milk any percentage
▢ 1 tablespoon heavy cream optional
▢ 2 tablespoons ( 1oz ) white chocolate chopped (high-quality chips are fine)
▢ 1/2 cup strong coffee
▢ 1 teaspoon granulated sugar or to taste

Optional Toppings

▢ Whipped cream

Instructions

In a small saucepan, heat milk and optional cream until steaming.
Remove from heat and stir in chopped chocolate until melted and smooth. Whisk until foamy.
Pour coffee into an 8-ounce mug. Pour milk mixture over the top and stir in sugar to taste. Top with optional whipped cream and enjoy!

Carne Asada Fries are a SoCal restaurant favorite, but they’re incredibly easy to make at home. Here’s how to make the best Carne Asada Fries you’ve ever eaten.

These fries make an irresistible appetizer for company or a decadent (and delicious) dinner for a night in.

With all that gooey cheese, gorgeous carne asada, and mountain of toppings, it’s the sort of dish that has major WOW factor when you put it on the table.

Overhead photo of Carne Asada Fries in a skillet. - 8

What are carne asada fries?

Carne asada fries are a Mexican-American dish that originated in the taco shops of San Diego in the ’90s. And the dish is exactly what it sounds like, crispy fries loaded with chunks of carne asada and then topped with cheese and usually sour cream and guacamole.

Ingredient Overview

Steak: You can use leftover carne asada here if you have it, but I prefer to make the carne asada from scratch. The best cuts of meat for carne asada are flank steak, flap meat, and skirt steak. All cook up beautifully over quick, high heat and have fantastic beefy flavor. I like flap meat best of the three, but go with whatever is available and cheapest in your area.
Marinade: We’re using my favorite Carne Asada Marinade for this recipe. It’s citrus-based, so it’s packed with flavor and the acids from the lemon, lime, and orange juices help tenderize the steak as it marinates.
Fries: I call for a 28-ounce bag of frozen fries in the recipe. Big hearty fries like steak-cut fries stand up well to the weight of the toppings but any fries will work. If you’d like to make homemade fries, try the fry recipe from my Cheese Fries (but double or triple it).
Cheese: Use your favorite melty cheese here. Cheddar works beautifully as do Mexican-style blends. Feel free to use pre-shredded bagged cheese to cut down on grating time.
Pico de Gallo and Guacamole : Make your own or grab pre-made containers at the grocery store.
Sour cream, lime juice, and chopped cilantro: A big dollop of sour cream, squeeze of lime juice and handful of chopped cilantro complement and help balance the rest of the flavors in your skillet. They’re optional but highly recommended.

More Topping Ideas

There’s really no limit on the types of toppings you can add to your fries. Go forth and make the carne asada nacho fries of your dreams. For more topping ideas, start with:

Refried beans
Black or pinto beans
Corn
Nacho Cheese Sauce or Cheese Sauce
Olives

How to Make The Best Carne Asada Fries (Tips & Tricks)

Give your meat a nice long marinade. You can marinate your carne asada for as little as 4 hours, but it really benefits from 12+ hours, up to 24 to really soak up all the flavor from the marinade.
Cook the carne asada over quick, high heat. In this recipe, I call for cooking it under the broiler because it cooks up quick and beautifully with little charred bits that you’ll be stealing off the cutting board.
Bake your fries until just done. Since you’ll be topping your cooked fries with cheese and returning them to the oven, you don’t want them too soft/crispy to start with or they’ll be overcooked by the time your cheese melts.
Heat any ingredients that should be served warm. If adding extra ingredients like beans or corn to your fries (or if your carne asada has cooled significantly), heat them before layering them over the cooked fries because they might not warm all the way through in the short time it takes for the cheese to melt.

How can I make my steak tender?

The key to tender carne asada is starting with the right cut of meat (flap meat, flank steak, or skirt steak), cooking it no higher than medium doneness 140-150°F, and cutting your steak against the grain when slicing it into pieces.

Here’s an excellent article on what happens when you cut meat across the grain, but basically, you are cutting the muscle fibers into shorter pieces which leads to a less chewy, more tender bite of meat.

Can I make these carne asada fries in advance?

Any dish involving fries is best eaten immediately, so I don’t recommend cooking this dish in advance, but you can prepare all the ingredients ahead of time. Carne asada can be cooked the day before and the rest of the ingredients bought or chopped 24 to 48 hours in advance.

Then all you have to do when it’s time to serve the carne asada fries is reheat the carne asada, cook the fries, and assemble everything.

How to reheat carne asada fries?

As mentioned above, fries are best eaten immediately, but it you have leftovers, there are some things you can do to make them the best leftovers they can be. Preheat your oven to 400°F and line a baking tray with parchment paper or greased foil. Scrape any sour cream and guacamole left on your fries onto a small plate and set aside to add back to the fries later (you don’t want those going in the oven).

Then spread the carne asada fries out on the prepared baking sheet in an even layer and bake until everything is heated through. Reheating time will vary depending on the number of fries you have, but start checking on them at 7 minutes.

Once everything is hot, scoop it all back on a plate, add the sour cream and guacamole, and enjoy!

More Carne Asada Recipes

Carne Asada Salad
Carne Asada Burrito Bowls
Carne Asada Sandwiches
Carne Asada Tacos

Ingredients

Special Equipment

▢ Instant-read thermometer optional, but nice to have
▢ Foil

Marinade

▢ 1/2 cup orange juice bottled is fine
▢ 1/2 cup soy sauce low-sodium is fine
▢ 1/4 cup lemon juice bottled is fine
▢ 1/4 cup olive oil
▢ 2 tablespoons lime juice bottled is fine
▢ 2 cloves garlic pressed or diced
▢ 1 teaspoon chili powder
▢ 1 teaspoon ground cumin
▢ 1 teaspoon paprika
▢ 1 teaspoon dried oregano
▢ 1 teaspoon black pepper
▢ 1/4 teaspoon ground chipotle chili pepper OR 1 teaspoon finely chopped, canned chipotle pepper optional
▢ 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro chopped, about 3/4-1 cup very loosely packed

Meat

▢ 1 1/2 to 2 pounds skirt, flank, or flap steak

Carne Asada Fries

▢ 1 28-ounce bag frozen fries
▢ 1 to 2 cups shredded cheese
▢ 1 cup pico de gallo
▢ 1/2 cup sour cream
▢ 1/2 cup guacamole
▢ Chopped cilantro optional for topping
▢ 1 jalapeno sliced, optional for topping

Instructions

Carne Asada Marinade

Combine and stir together all marinade ingredients. Transfer meat into a large plastic bag or container and pour marinade over the top. Marinate for at least 4 hours, up to about 24, flipping the meat once halfway through.

Carne Asada

Adjust top rack of your oven to about 4 inches below the broiler. Heat broiler on high. Place meat on a foil-lined heavy-duty baking sheet or broiling pan and broil 4 to 6 minutes per side. Pull at 135°F for medium-rare, 145°F for medium.
Allow meat to rest for 10 minutes before slicing across the grain into strips or chunks. Tent with foil to keep warm while your fries cook.

Fries

While your meat rests, bake fries according to package instructions, until just done.
Set oven temperature to 350°F. If desired, pile cooked fries into a cast iron skillet or assemble fries on the baking sheet.
Top cooked fries with chopped carne asada and cheese. Return fries to the oven until cheese is melted, 5 to 7 minutes.
Add guacamole, pico de gallo, and sour cream. Sprinkle with cilantro and add sliced jalapenos if desired. Serve and enjoy!

Notes

This Creamy Chicken Noodle soup made from scratch (no condensed soup needed) is easy, warming, and delicious.

Hey, friends. I have another super simple, super easy, and super good soup recipe for you today, Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup. It’s classic chicken noodle soup made just a little cozier by adding a generous splash of heavy cream.

And as you know, heavy cream makes everything taste better.

Picture of Easy Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup in a red pot being ladled. - 14

Picture of Easy Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup in a red pot being ladled. - 15

My Favorite Chicken Soup

I have a ton of soup recipes on the site ( Ham and Potato Soup and my quick Tomato Soup are currently the most popular), but I’m going to be totally honest, I’ve been cheating on all them with this soup.

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup has been, far and away, the soup recipe I make most during sweater weather because it’s the perfect chilly evening, mid-week dinner.

It’s a cinch to throw together, with a mostly hands-off cooking time. And the finished soup is the perfect combo of creamy and warming with just enough richness to feel like comfort food without being heavy.

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup Ingredient Tips

Onions, carrots, and celery: You can’t go wrong with this classic trio for chicken noodle soup, but if you want to add more veggies, go for it. Corn, peas, and even a few handfuls of spinach (stirred in at the end of the cooking time) would all be delicious additions.
Boneless skinless chicken breasts: I call for chicken breasts in the recipe, but you can use cooked thighs if you prefer or save time by grabbing a rotisserie chicken at the store and shredding it up for your soup.
Chicken broth: Store-bought chicken broth works fantastically in this recipe, but if you have homemade chicken stock or a chicken carcass and some extra time, Homemade Chicken Stock really makes this soup over-the-top amazing.
Heavy Cream: This recipe uses just enough heavy cream to give it a creamy richness without dramatically increasing the calories.
Pasta: What’s the best pasta for chicken soup? The best pasta for chicken soup is whatever pasta you like to eat in your chicken soup. You can use classic egg noodles, medium shells, or even elbow macaroni or spaghetti noodles.

Photo of Easy Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup in a white bowl. - 16

Photo of Easy Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup in a white bowl. - 17

How to Make Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup

This recipe starts by cooking a couple of boneless, skinless chicken breasts in your soup pot with a combo of frying and poaching. (If you want to see step by step photos of the process, check out my posts How to Cook Shredded Chicken or How to Cook Chicken for Recipes .)

You’ll brown both sides of salted and peppered chicken breasts to help develop their flavor and then add water to the pot and simmer until the chicken is cooked through so you wind up with very flavorful and moist chicken. Plus the bit of liquid the chicken gets cooked in is going to give the broth a great flavor boost when you add it back to the pot later.

Once your chicken is cooked, you’ll set that and any juices aside to cool and then it’s just soup business as usual. Cook some onions and garlic with a bit of butter, and add broth or homemade chicken stock if you’ve got it (the best!), carrots, and celery, and simmer for 20 minutes.
Add the pasta, any kind you like —I’m partial to shells for this soup, but egg noodles are also a good option, along with the spices and then cook until the pasta is just al dente.
Shred or dice the chicken and add it along with any juices and heavy cream to the pot. Simmer for 1 minute to let the flavors meld, and then dish up and enjoy!

Photo of Easy Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup in a pot with heavy cream being added. - 18

Photo of Easy Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup in a pot with heavy cream being added. - 19

Can You Freeze Chicken Noodle Soup?

Yes! This soup freezes fantastically , and I almost always have a couple servings of it in my freezer. BUT you’ll need to modify the recipe slightly.

Noodles do not freeze well in soup (they get mushy), so just omit the noodles when cooking and let the soup simmer until the veggies are just barely tender. Freeze the soup either all together or in single-serving portions. When you’re ready to eat, defrost the soup in the refrigerator and then reheat in either the microwave or on the stove.

Cook noodles separately either 1 1/2 cups for a full batch or 1-ounce per serving for individual servings, and then drain and add them to the heated soup and you’ve got soup from the freezer without mushy noodles!

To see some of my other favorite freezer recipes, check out this (super long) post I wrote all about Freezer Meals .

Can I make this recipe ahead of time?

Absolutely. You can make the soup up to 48 hours in advance. Some people don’t like the texture of noodles after they’ve been sitting in soup, so if that’s you, you can omit the noodles when you make the soup.

Just before serving, cook the noodles separately in generously salted water, drain, and then add to the reheated soup.

What to serve with Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup?

I’ll admit, I’m lazy, and when it’s just me or my immediate family, I just pair this soup with a slice of store-bought French bread and call dinner done.

I feel like soups with vegetables in them are kind of a complete meal, so don’t feel like you have to add a side dish, but if you want to, you can never go wrong with Roasted Broccoli , Roasted Zucchini or Butter and Garlic Green Beans .

If you feel like baking and have some buttermilk sitting around, Cheddar Scones are killer with this soup. And obviously, don’t forget dessert. I think a small-batch of M&M Cookies pairs particularly well, but that’s just me. 😉

Overhead photo of Easy Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup. - 20

Overhead photo of Easy Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup. - 21

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe Notes

This recipe won’t use up a full carton of heavy cream. If you’re not sure what to do with the leftovers, check out my post of What to Do With Leftover Whipping Cream .
For small households: This soup makes excellent leftovers, so I always make a full batch, but if you’d like to make it Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup for Two, the recipe halves cleanly with no preparation changes.
For a creamier soup, feel free to add more heavy cream until the soup reaches your desired level of creaminess.
While I usually recommend prepping all your ingredients before you start cooking, you’ll have some downtime once you put your chicken on to cook, so I like to use that time to do my vegetable peeling and chopping.

More Soup & Stew Recipes

Chicken Noodle Soup for One
Chicken Carcass Soup
Chicken Parm Soup
Mom’s Sunday Beef Stew
Cheesy Sausage Potato Soup

Ingredients

▢ 2 medium ( about 1 pound ) boneless skinless chicken breasts
▢ Salt and pepper
▢ Cooking spray or olive oil
▢ Filtered water
▢ 1 tablespoon ( 14g ) butter
▢ 1/2 large onion diced (about 3/4 cup)
▢ 2 large cloves garlic minced or pressed
▢ 2 large carrots peeled and sliced
▢ 2 celery ribs sliced
▢ 8 cups chicken broth
▢ 1 1/2 cups ( about 4oz ) uncooked pasta
▢ 1/4 heaping teaspoon dried oregano
▢ 1/4 heaping teaspoon dried basil
▢ 1/2 cup heavy cream *

Instructions

Cook the Chicken

Generously salt and pepper both sides of your chicken breasts.
Heat a large pot with a lid over medium-high heat. Grease with cooking spray or a light drizzle of olive oil. Place chicken breasts in the pan and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until well-browned. Flip chicken and repeat. Once both sides are browned, add about 1/2-inch of filtered water to the bottom of the pot (it doesn’t need to be exact). Cover the pot and turn heat down to medium.
Cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until chicken is cooked through and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center of the breasts reads 165°F (170°F if you’re going to shred the chicken). Check occasionally to make sure the water hasn’t all evaporated, adding more if necessary. Larger breasts will take longer to cook, so be sure to check for doneness before removing from heat.
Transfer chicken and any liquid left in the pot to a plate or bowl (the liquid has a ton of extra flavor).

Make the Soup

Return pot to the stove and melt butter over medium heat. Add onions and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until edges begin to turn translucent. Add garlic and cook for 30 seconds, until it just begins to turn golden.
Add carrots, celery, and broth. Bring to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes.
Add noodles and spices and cook according to noodle package instructions, until noodles are just al dente.
While your noodles cook, dice or shred the chicken. Once noodles are al dente, add chicken and any juices back to the pot along with the heavy cream. Add more salt and pepper to taste.
Bring to a simmer and cook for 1 minute, until chicken is reheated.
Serve and enjoy!

Notes

This dreamy homemade White Chocolate Mocha can be made with pantry staples in about 5 minutes. No need to leave the house to get your morning mocha!

I’ve shared a ton of Starbucks-inspired recipes on the site over the years like an Easy Homemade Mocha , my mom’s favorite Caramel Macchiato , a Pumpkin Spice Latte made two ways.

And I love them all because I love coffee, but today I’m finally sharing my personal Starbucks order of choice: a White Chocolate Mocha.

Photo of homemade white chocolate mocha with whipped cream and white chocolate shavings. - 23

What’s in a White Chocolate Mocha?

But this homemade version is just as good and will hit all those White Chocolate Mocha sweet spots. You will need:

Hot coffee: Use your favorite brand, brewed strong if you can.
White chocolate: Be sure to use high-quality white chocolate in your mocha. Cheap white chocolate chips that are great in cookies don’t have the best flavor for white chocolate drinks. If you wouldn’t eat a handful of them, don’t melt them down to flavor your coffee.
Milk: Any percent milk will work just fine here, but the higher fat your milk, the richer your drink will be.
Heavy cream: Heavy cream is optional but adds a little extra richness that is so good. And if you have too much heavy cream, go check out my post on what to do with leftover heavy cream.
Sugar: The white chocolate doesn’t provide quite enough sweetness to get that classic white chocolate mocha experience, so a little sugar is needed to sweeten things up. Start with the amount called for in the recipe and then add more to taste.

In-process photo of homemade white chocolate mocha being mixed. - 24