No time to run to the coffee shop? No worries! You can make this Easy 1 Minute Instant Iced Coffee at home without wasting time or money. This recipe is made with mostly cold water and instant iced coffee granules. You can sweeten it up or leave it black, its delicious no matter how you like it!

A cup of iced coffee with creamer on a brown plate.

I am a HUGE coffee lover and haven been for most of my life. I started as a kid dunking chocolate chip cookies in my moms coffee when I was just seven years old (no judgements please HAHA). Which in turn led to this chocolate chip coffee cookie recipe now that I am an adult and a trained professional baker!

This instant ice coffee recipe requires only a few simple ingredients and takes only 1 minute to make. It uses mostly cold water to mix it up and can be sweetened to the way you like it. It’s perfect for when you need a quick caffeine fix and dont have time to run to the coffee shop.

You can also turn this into a caramel iced coffee or a vanilla iced coffee with different syrups!

If you love coffee as much as I do, then you don’t want to miss out on this coffee smoothie, these chewy coffee cookies, or these coffee cupcakes!

Ingredients you need

Ingredients for instant iced coffee.
  • Instant Coffee – Use any instant coffee you have on hand. It can be decaf too.
  • 2 tbsp Hot water– You need only 2 tbsp hot or warm water to help dissolve the coffee crystals. Use this from the tap, you don’t have to boil anything!
  • Cold water– Cold water is what makes up most of this recipe.
  • Ice– You’ll need about 1 cup of ice.
  • Half n Half/ Creamer– I like to use a splash of half n half but use whatever milk or creamer you like.
  • Simple Syrup (optional) – A clear liquid that sweetens cold drinks. See below how to make!

How to make instant Iced coffee

The secret to making instant iced coffee at home is to dissolve the coffee first in a small amount of hot water, it makes a huge difference! Then all you have to do is add in 6-8 z cold water depending on the size of your cup.

Add the ice, milk, and any sweetener and you’re done!

This is how I make my iced coffee alllll the time, I pretty much stopped measuring and just eyeball it because its so easy.

If you want to make iced coffee with cold water, you need to whisk really hard when mixing to get the granules to dissolve. Doing it this way is easier and I found that it tastes better.

How to sweeten your ice coffee

Theres a couple ways you can do this and one way you definitely should not! Let’s start with the do not first.

Never add regular or brown sugar directly to your coffee because it will not melt into a cold drink. The sugar crystals need warm or hot water to dissolve just like the coffee does.

Instead you can:

  • Add sugar to the coffee granules before adding the warm water. The water will help dissolve the sugar.
  • Make a simple syrup- Add 1 part sugar to 1 part water in a small saucepan (I use 1 cup to 1 cup ). Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Stir and cook for 5 minutes until the consistency is thick. Cool in the fridge and keep for a month! Add it anytime to your coffee, it works in cold drinks!
  • Use a sweetener like stevia.
  • Use a sweetened creamer.

Recipe Tips and Tricks

You can double or triple this recipe to make it last for a few days. Or just one if you need multiple cups a day.

Add in a flavorful syrup to add a flavor like vanilla or hazelnut.

Making ahead and Storage

This coffee is best when drank right away but you can make the recipe up until adding the ice (double or triple the recipe) and store it in the fridge. When you need a cup just add ice and pour away!

Freezing

You can turn this recipe into ice coffee cubes! Skip adding the ice and the milk, then pour the coffee into ice cube trays and freeze. Then add the cubes to your next cup instead of regular ice. So much coffee flavor!!

A cup of iced coffee with creamer on a brown plate.
4.96 stars (23 ratings)

Easy 1 Minute Instant Iced Coffee

No time to run to the coffee shop? No worries! You can make this Easy 1 Minute Instant Iced Coffee at home without wasting time or money. This recipe is made with mostly cold water and instant iced coffee granules. You can sweeten it up or leave it black, its delicious no matter how you like it!

Ingredients

  • 1-2 tbsp instant coffee
  • 2 tbsp hot water, from the tap
  • 6-8 oz cold water
  • 1 cup ice
  • 3 tbsp half n half, or milk of your choice

Instructions
 

  • In a large 8-12 oz glass add the 1-2 tbsp instant coffee granules and 2 tbsp hot/warm water. Mix to melt and dissolve the instant coffee.
  • Add the 6-8 oz of cold water depending on the size of your cup. Mix to combine.
  • Add in the cup of ice and milk of choice. Stir and enjoy!
  • Add in sweetener if using. See notes below!

Notes

Never add in plain coarse sugar into a cold drink, it wont dissolve! Instead to sweeten your coffee you can:
  • Add sugar to step one and dissolve with the warm water. 
  • Make a simple syrup- Add 1 part sugar to 1 part water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes until the consistency is thick. Use this in cold drinks to sweeten.
  • Use a sweetener like stevia.
  • Use a sweetened creamer.
Serving: 1cup, Calories: 186kcal, Carbohydrates: 33g, Protein: 3g, Fat: 5g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 16mg, Sodium: 51mg, Potassium: 437mg, Sugar: 25g, Vitamin A: 159IU, Vitamin C: 0.4mg, Calcium: 75mg, Iron: 0.5mg
Did you make this recipe?Please leave a star rating and review in the form below. I read them all!

I love when you share my recipes!!