Easy Sugar Free Dalgona Coffee Recipe

Learn how to make this trendy whipped coffee recipe without using sugar (only instant coffee and water)! Add your milk of choice and any flavorings you like. With this recipe you are able to adjust to any amount and type of sweetener that you like. Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links.

What is Whipped Dalgona Coffee?

Dalgona coffee is essentially a thick and foamy coffee drink with a whipped cream texture. It originated in South Korea and is named after a Korean honeycomb candy that it resembles. If you’ve seen Squid Game on Netflix, they show Dalgona candy in that show.

Initially, recipes for Dalgona coffee on the internet used an electric mixer or stand mixer. The recipes called for a high ratio of instant coffee powder to hot water and then quite a large amount of sugar. After whipping for several minutes, the hot coffee would turn into a light brown, thick cream. You are supposed to pour this coffee foam on top of an iced milk of choice.

Will Dalgona Coffee Work Without Sugar?

I made the original whipped coffee the way I saw online, and I admit, it was quite fun. But it was super sweet. I’m turning into an Asian grandma, so I like my drinks to have less sugar these days.

In trying to make this drink sugar-free, I found that it does work with a few tricks. Instead of using hot water, you need to use ice cold. I also use a milk frother instead of a hand mixer. Mainly, this is because I’m usually only making one serving at a time. If you wanted to make many servings (like for a party) I’m not sure if you’d be able to whisk or whip it in a stand mixer like with the original Dalgona recipe. Maybe somebody can try it and find out for me?

More Dalgona Coffee FAQs

Can You Make Dalgona Coffee with Regular Coffee?

Unfortunately, no. There’s too much liquid in regular drip coffee to get it to whip up to a fluffy texture, even if you were to add heavy whipping cream.

Why Isn’t My Whipped Coffee Getting Fluffy?

After making this several times, I noticed some tricks for maximum fluffiness: definitely use the right ratio of instant coffee to water. I use a 1:4 ratio by volume, so for one serving, I do one tablespoon coffee powder to a fourth cup water. Second, make sure you are using cold water and, if using a frother cup, a cold froth setting.

How Long Does Dalgona Coffee Take?

In my frother cup, this takes about two minutes.

What Milk Should I Use?

Because you’re whipping the coffee and water separately, you can really use whatever milk you like. It won’t have an effect on the Dalgona texture itself. I like to keep my drinks dairy-free, so I use oat milk or soy milk, but whole milk, coconut milk, almond milk.. pretty much anything works.

What if I Want to Add Sweetener?

I would recommend adding a liquid sweetener to your milk as opposed to your instant coffee – I just don’t want to accidentally mess up my frother. I sometimes use maple syrup, simple syrup, agave, or honey. If you use any sweet coffee/drink flavor syrups like Torani, feel free to add that too. Vanilla is always a good choice!

What Other Toppings Can I Add?

Anything you want! I’ve seen some people sprinkle cookie crumbs like Oreos or Speculoos. Cinnamon is fun as well (this is starting to sound like a Starbucks holiday menu). Because there’s a whipped cream texture when you add the foam on top, you could also drizzle chocolate syrup or caramel. You could also add those syrups to the inside of the glass as well.

One thing to note: I like to make sure I have ice cubes in my glass. It’s not just for temperature, but I find that it helps keeps the foam and any toppings floating on top instead of immediately sinking down to the bottom. Of course, this is purely for aesthetics.

More Latte Recipes

Interested in other Asian cafe-style drinks? Check these out!

• Ube Latte
• Purple Sweet Potato Latte
• Black Sesame Latte
• Matcha Latte
• Strawberry Matcha Latte