Starbucks Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Crème Frappuccino Copycat

Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Frappuccino

I absolutely love the indulgent pairing of chocolate and strawberries and this homemade Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Frappuccino is the perfect treat for Valentine’s Day or anytime you crave a strawberry-filled beverage.

A Starbucks Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Crème Frappuccino is a blended beverage that has three layers: strawberry puree, strawberry cream with chocolate chips, and vanilla whipped cream.

This seasonal Valentine’s Day beverage is only offered on the Starbucks menu for a short time, but you can make one anytime you want at home with my copycat recipe.

RELATED: Starbucks Pink Drink with Chocolate Cold Foam (Chocolate Covered Strawberries)

Why You’ll Love this Blended Beverage

Real strawberries & chocolate – No need to buy bottles of pre-made anything for this drink. Whole strawberries are all you need for the puree and beverage. And chunks of premium chocolate bar are blended in.

Drinkable consistency like Starbucks – This homemade frappuccino is made with a base of milk, cream and ice (not ice cream). It comes out perfectly blended, smooth and ready to drink.

Caffeine-free – This frappuccino doesn’t have any coffee or tea in it, so it’s perfect for kids or anytime you want to enjoy a caffeine-free, milkshake-style beverage.

Make it in 5 minutes – Making a homemade frappuccino may seem intimidating, but it’s simply a blended beverage that takes mere minutes to make. If you have prepared puree and whipped cream on-hand, making this frappuccino is just a matter of blending and pouring.

Starbucks Chocolate Covered Strawberry Frappuccino Recipe (Copycat)

This copycat recipe makes the equivalent of a 16-ounce grande Starbucks Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Frappuccino.

To make it at home you need a blender that’s powerful enough (like this one from Ninja) to blend ice cubes.

Ingredients

• Strawberry Puree
• Fresh or Frozen Strawberries
• Whole Milk and Heavy Cream
• Ice
• Chocolate Bar
• Whipped Cream
• Sugar or Classic Simple Syrup
• Xanthan Gum (optional)

Strawberry Puree: Strawberry puree does double duty in this recipe. It’s layered into the bottom of the cup and blended into the frappuccino.

It’s easy to make homemade strawberry puree, but you can also use store-bought. The homemade version is bursting with real strawberries!

Fresh or Frozen Strawberries: For even more strawberry flavor, I like to toss a few whole strawberries (preferably frozen) into the blender.

You could also add in some dehydrated strawberries, like the ones I use to make a homemade Keto Pink Drink.

Whole Milk and Heavy Cream: The creamier the dairy, the creamier the frappuccino.

Starbucks uses whole milk for all its frappuccino beverages and I highly recommend you do the same.

In addition, I add in a little heavy cream to partially replace the frappuccino syrup Starbucks adds in.

Ice: Ice made with filtered water is best. A Brita water filter pitcher is a great solution, if needed.

Chocolate Bar: A real Starbucks Chocolate-Covered Strawberry Frappuccino has chunks of real chocolate blended into the beverage.

It does not have chocolate sauce lining the cup or drizzled on top.

For the chocolate, use a little bit of a premium cocoa bar that’s broken into pieces. (I use a Lindt 70% cocoa bar.) It makes nice chocolate specks throughout the frappuccino and provides a rich chocolatey flavor.

Sugar or Classic Syrup: Starbucks adds 2 pumps (about 1 tablespoon) of classic syrup to a grande size frappuccino. If you have a bottle of simple syrup on-hand you can use it. Otherwise, just add in some granulated sugar.

Depending on your preferred sweetness level, you don’t even have to add in the sugar.

In my opinion, my strawberry puree recipe is plenty sweet so additional sugar or classic syrup isn’t altogether necessary.

Xanthan Gum: This ingredient is optional, but highly recommended. Here’s why.

Starbucks adds frappuccino syrup to all blended beverages.

The job of this frapp base, which has xanthan gum in it, is to thicken and emulsify frappuccinos. Basically it keeps blended ingredients from separating. It also helps give frappuccinos a creamy, smooth texture.

Using a small amount makes a big difference–a little goes a long way!

You can find xanthan gum in the baking aisle of your grocery store.

Whipped Cream: I always opt for homemade Starbucks whipped cream. It’s simply heavy cream whipped with vanilla syrup.

Instructions

1. Prepare the Strawberry Puree: Using a blender or immersion blender, puree thawed frozen strawberries or fresh with sugar, and fresh lemon juice and zest.
2. Blend the frappuccino: To a blender capable of chopping up ice, add milk, cream, half the strawberry puree, sugar, xanthan gum, chopped chocolate bar and ice. Blend on low for 30 seconds, then high for 1 minute, making sure all ice is chopped.
3. Assemble the Frappuccino: To the bottom of a 16 ounce cup, add the remaining strawberry puree. Pour in the blended frappuccino, followed by whipped cream. Garnish with fresh strawberries or chocolate sauce if desired.

Detailed recipe and instructions are in recipe card at bottom of post.

Blending the Frappuccino

Assembling the Frappuccino

Recipe Notes

The order the ingredients go in the blender matters. Depending on the style blender you have, put the liquids in first, followed by solid ingredients.

This ensures everything gets blended well.

For blenders where you add the ingredients to a cup and then screw on a lid with blade, add the liquids last.

Blend the frappuccino the full amount of time. Don’t stop blending just because the drink appears to be mixed.

It takes a lot of ice to make frappuccinos and it all needs a chance to get finely chopped.

Additionally, it takes at least 1-2 minutes for the xanthan gum to fully hydrate.

Why Use Xanthan Gum for Homemade Frappuccinos

I’ve mentioned xanthan gum a few times throughout this recipe post, but let me explain why you should use this curious ingredient when making homemade frappuccinos.

Xanthan gum is an ingredient in Starbucks frappuccino syrup. This natural ingredient is an emulsifier and binder so it keeps the drink blended together.

Additionally, the xanthan gum is hydrated when blended, which helps give the drink a creamy texture.

Without xanthan gum, frappuccinos separate over time. This means the cream and melting bits of ice come apart and the drink takes on a watery texture.

Anyway, that’s why I recommend using a little. But the choice is yours…of course.

More Starbucks Strawberry Drink Recipes

• Starbucks Blended Strawberry Lemonade
• Starbucks Strawberry Frappuccino Recipe with Purée Sauce
• Starbucks Keto Pink Drink Copycat Recipe

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