Deliciously warming and cozy, this spiced milk recipe combines fragrant spices for an indulgent afternoon treat! Super easy to make as a caffeine free hot milk drink, it comes together fast on the stovetop in less than 10 minutes.
Do check out my nutmeg drink for another easy flavorful caffeine free idea!
Now you may have noticed that I'm quite a fan of cozy caffeine free drinks, with my ginger milk and cardamom drink being made on repeat in the colder months! Both so easy to make with pantry staples.
This warm spiced milk recipe is super simple and we use a blend of fragrant spices to make a quick, easy and very delicious hot drink. And there's no need for a coffee machine, let me show you how to make this spiced milk right on the stovetop!
Looking for a milk-free option? My tea lovers may wish to see my pomegranate tea recipe and my ginger lemongrass tea as are both so refreshing!
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⭐ Why this recipe is so good
Delicious fragrant spices. We combine turmeric, ginger and cardamom for a cozy spiced milk drink.
Caffeine free. If coffee doesn't work for you, this caffeine free option is a good swap I think!
Pantry staples. With just pantry staples of spices, maple syrup and plant milk of your choice, hopefully you won't need to run to the store to make this recipe!
☕ Ingredients
All the ingredients and their quantities are set out in the recipe card below.
Some notes on a few of them:
- Plant milk - use the option that works best for you. The choice of milk will slightly vary the taste, particularly if you use coconut milk in my experience (still good though!).
- Turmeric powder - for that brilliant yellow color and slight hint of spice.
- Ginger - it's easy to use either a piece of root ginger or ground ginger for this recipe.
- Cardamon powder - for even more flavorful spice!
- Maple syrup - adds a lovely touch of sweetness and offsets the slightly more savory taste of the turmeric.
📖 Swaps and variations
Add a pinch of cinnamon. This is optional, and may not be suitable for my low histamine readers.
Add a pinch of black pepper. Again, this is optional, but is often advised as a complement to turmeric.
Swap maple syrup for honey. Both give a nice sweetness. If using honey, the recipe will be vegetarian but not vegan.
🔪 Step by step instructions
Making this spiced milk is super easy, and all you need in terms of equipment is a regular pan and a balloon whisk. No need for an expensive coffee machine!
All the instructions are in the recipe card below, but these step by step photos should help guide you.
Step 1: Combine drink ingredients
Combine your plant milk, turmeric powder, cardamom powder and either ground ginger or root ginger to a pan (image 1).
Step 2: Heat the milk
Bring the spiced milk to a very light simmer, whisking to break up the clumps of spices (image 2). Heat for 4-5 minutes, stir through the maple syrup, then place a small sieve over your cup and strain the milk through.
💭 Recipe tips and notes
- Whisk the milk well so that the spices infuse. A simple balloon whisk is fine to use.
- I suggest to not boil the hot milk as it can alter the flavor. Instead, just bring to a very light simmer.
- If you are using ground spices you don't have to strain the milk, but I like to do so as it can remove any slightly gritty specks.
📋 Frequently asked questions
Yes, you can easily use ground ginger. It's quite pungent so adjust the amount to preference.
You can use any type of milk, and it's best to choose the one that suits you best. For some that's oat milk or almond milk, but soy milk and coconut milk (the pouring kind, not the type from a can) are also possible options if they work for you.
Yes, this spiced hot drink is caffeine free as we don't use coffee or English breakfast tea.
🍽 How to serve
Cozy drinks call for equally cozy cookies, snacks and desserts don't you think?! Why not try:
- My very popular spelt cookies with honey or my spiced cardamom oat cookies as a fun snack.
- Curl up on the couch with my spiced oat milk rice pudding or my rhubarb and apple crisp for a healthy dessert.
- If turmeric is one of your go-to ingredients, then how about my turmeric ginger oatmeal for a tasty breakfast? And enjoy my turmeric ginger energy balls as a fun healthy snack!
🍹 More fun drinks
Find fun mocktails for summer including my sweet passion fruit mocktail, as well as cozy warm drinks such as my cardamom milk on my drinks page. Some recent recipes:
I’m always in the kitchen, so come join me on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest to be the first to hear of new recipes. And please do leave a star rating ⭐ if you've tried the recipe!
📖 Recipe
Spiced Milk Recipe
Equipment
- Whisk (non-electric)
- Small strainer
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups plant milk of choice
- ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
- ¼ teaspoon cardamom powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger or small knob of root ginger
- 1 teaspoon maple syrup
Instructions
- Pour the milk into your pan and sprinkle in the turmeric, ginger and cardamom.
- Bring the milk to a light simmer, and whisk to infuse the spices into the milk. Heat for 4-5 minutes. Stir through the maple syrup.
- Place a small strainer over your cup and pour the hot spiced milk through.
Notes
- Whisk well so the spices infuse into the milk.
- I suggest not letting it boil as this can affect the flavor. Warm to a very light simmer instead.
- If cinnamon works for you (for my low histamine readers, it is very debated in terms of histamine level, so only use if you tolerate well), then you can add a small pinch.
- Nutritional information is auto-generated and should be understood to be an estimate.
- ginger, which scores 1. The SIGHI list states that small amounts are well tolerated.
- cardamom scores 0, but has a note (in French) that some varieties may not be well tolerated.
- non-dairy milk has variable scores.
Rachel says
That looks delish!!! Glad it has no coffee, I love fun drinks but can't do coffee!
throughthefibrofog says
It's a great alternative to coffee I think!
Kat @ Life on a Seesaw says
Hmmm, perfect for a cold day like today. And perfect for fighting inflamation which is what I need to do a lot of. Trying this in a minute. I have all the ingredients, yay 😊
throughthefibrofog says
I hope it's a good recipe for you! Always nice to have a treat with pantry staples isn't it 🙂
Marlene Ebinger says
Delicious! Good and good for you too! Lovely and fast alternative to regular coffee or tea. Low histamine and healthy too. Can't beat that..
I use fresh (natural foods stores), then frozen whole roots of ginger and turmeric, grated while frozen, peels and all. Buying organic of course so peeling isn't necessary. Easy to keep on hand w/o worrying it'll go bad. Also use a 3-4" cinnamon stick. You can rinse and refrigerate the stick to use again in next latte.
Very soothing and healthy drink for these wintry evenings.
Thx Claire for another great recipe!
When life hands you snow make snowmen 🌨️☃️😘
throughthefibrofog says
So glad you like it! It's my go-to at the moment with all this cold weather we are having.
I really should try it with fresh turmeric but it isn't available at the store I am getting my groceries from at the moment.
And yes, well there is definitely enough snow to make a snowman here right now! 🙂
Tara says
This sounds great! Can I make it with fresh turmeric and ginger?
throughthefibrofog says
Hi Tara, I haven't tried it myself but I don't see why not! I've seen it done with fresh turmeric before. Hope you like it!