Do you enjoy Mcdonald’s sweet frozen frappes but want to know what they’re made of? This guide is for you! We’ll cover the frappe ingredients from a basic overview of the main four components to all the dyes and flavorings that are used in microscopic quantities.
So what is a Mcdonald’s frappe made of?n
A Mcdonald’s frappe is a sweet, frozen coffee drink made of a coffee base that contains coffee, cream, and sugar that is blended with ice and topped with whip cream and chocolate or caramel-flavored syrup.
If you’re more interested in the amount of coffee and the caffeine content in a Mcdonald’s frappe, check out my article How Much Coffee is in a Mcdonald’s Frappe here.
What is in a Mcdonald’s Frappe?
Every McDonalds Frappe is made of four ingredients:n
1. Coffee Frappe Base made of Coffee, Cream, Milk, Sugar, and Flavorings
2. Shaved Ice
3. Whipped Cream
4. Chocolate or Caramel Syrup Drizzle
Let’s talk about each of these ingredients so you can know exactly what is in an average cup of a Mcdonald’s frappe.
Coffee Frappe Base
Mcdonald’s frappes are made with what they call a “Coffee Frappe Base.” This coffee base mixture is shipped to all Mcdonald’s locations in big bags. It’s a concentrated mixture of coffee, cream, and sugar.
If you order a Mocha Frappe, the mocha-flavored Coffee Frappe Base is used. If you order a Caramel Frappe, the caramel flavored Coffee Frappe Base is used.n
The use of this base mixture allows for most of the frappe to be premade. All Mcdonald’s employees have to do is blend the base with ice and then top it with whip cream and either chocolate sauce or caramel syrup depending on what flavor you ordered.
The frappe is more cream and sugar than a regular cup of iced coffee though, so I like to think of it as more than a coffee milkshake than an iced coffee drink.
In fact, Mcdonald’s themselves describe their frappe flavor as “a hint of coffee.”n
If you want more coffee in your frappe, many Mcdonald’s regulars will order their frappe with a shot or two of espresso added to it.
The actual ingredients included in the Mocha Frappe Coffee Base are:
Cream, Water, Skim Milk, Sugar, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Coffee Extract, Milk, Natural & Artificial Flavors, Cocoa (processed With Alkali), Mono & Diglycerides, Guar Gum, Potassium Citrate, Disodium Phosphate, Carrageenan, Locust Bean Gum, Red 40, Yellow 5, Blue 1.
Sugar
One big component of the Coffee Frappe Base is sugar. Sugar is also used in the whipped cream and the chocolate sauce/caramel drizzle toppings.
As you can see from the nutrition facts below, a SMALL mocha frappe contains a whopping 53 grams of sugar. This is a combination of table sugar, high fructose corn syrup, and sugar from milk. For reference, a chocolate chip cookie contains around 8 grams of sugar and a regular can of Coca-Cola 35 grams.
(A large mocha frappe contains 72g of sugar)
I don’t say all this to scare you or rain on your parade but to inform you and make sure that you’re able to make your nutrition choices knowing the important information.
Milk
Milk is in the coffee frappe base, whipped cream, and chocolate/caramel drizzle portions of the frappe.
The Mocha and Caramel Frappe bases are made with cream and skim milk.
Nonfat and whole milk is used in the whipped cream topping.n
Nonfat milk is used to make the chocolate drizzle for the mocha frappe.n
Sweetened condensed milk is used to make the first caramel sauce and drizzle for the caramel frappe.
Ice
Mcdonald’s frappes are a blended coffee and ice drink. Shaved ice is added to the coffee base and the drink is then blended for about 15 seconds.
Whipped Cream
Once the coffee frappe base and ice have been blended together, the frappe is poured into its cup and topped with whipped cream.
Mcdonald’s whipped cream is made of the following:
Cream, Nonfat Milk, Milk, Liquid Sugar, Contains 2% Or Less: Mono And Diglycerides, Natural Flavors, Carrageenan. Whipping Propellant (nitrous Oxide).n
Chocolate or Caramel Drizzle
After whipped cream is added, the frappe is served cold and completed with either a chocolate syrup drizzle (mocha frappe) or caramel syrup drizzle (caramel frappe).
Mcdonald’s Chocolate Flavored Syrup Drizzle is Made of: Corn Syrup, Dextrose, Water, Sugar, Glycerin, Hydrogenated Coconut Oil, Cocoa (processed With Alkali), Modified Food Starch, Nonfat Milk, Natural Flavors, Salt, Gellan Gum, Disodium Phosphate, Potassium Sorbate (preservative), Soy Lecithin.
Mcdonald’s Caramel Syrup Drizzle is Made of: Corn Syrup, Sweetened Condensed Milk (milk, Sugar), Sugar, Water, Butter (cream, Salt, Natural Flavor), Salt, Pectin, Disodium Phosphate, Natural Flavor, Caramel Color, Potassium Sorbate (preservative).
Grab a bag of instant frappe mix on Amazon to make your personal favorite of frappes for less money at home. Java Chocolate Chip and White Chocolate flavors are available.
Nutrition Facts for a Mcdonalds Frappe
McDonalds Mocha Frappe
McDonalds Caramel Frappe
What Frappe Flavors Does McDonald’s Have?
Mcdonald’s has two flavors of their sweet, frozen frappe coffee drink. The “Mocha Frappe” is made with coffee flavoring and topped with a chocolate syrup drizzle, and the “Caramel Frappe” is made with caramel coffee flavoring and topped with caramel drizzle.n
How to Make a Mcdonald’s Frappe at Home
If you’d like to save a few bucks and a trip to your local golden arches, you can make your own version of the McDonalds frappe at home. Plus when you make it at home you can control exactly what ingredients go into it. This means you could limit the sugar content, choose non-dairy milk like oat milk, or other fun customizations.n
Check out this homemade Caramel Frappe recipe from Laura Ritterman at RecipeFairy.com
Also, if you’re a cold coffee, Mcdonald’s frappe fan I also recommend you check out Starbucks frappuccino drinks. They’re also sweet blended iced coffee drinks but are made a little differently and have other flavor options. Other coffee shops like Dunkin and Bigby have their own versions of blended, cold, sugary coffee as well.
This article was written by Josh, the founder, and owner of AngryEspresso.com. You can learn more about Josh on our About the Team page.
