28 Simple Cortado Recipes To Start Your Day Right!

When you’ve had a bad night’s sleep, all you want the next morning is a cup of coffee – and lots of it! However, a good cup of coffee shouldn’t just get you wired enough to see you through an exhausting day.

No, coffee is delicious and needs to be savored as well as chugged, and is one of the most sophisticated beverages you can drink.

Although Italy is famed for all its given to the coffee world, Latin America, Portugal, and Spain also have their own beautiful and varied coffee culture, and a shining example of this is the cortado.

It’s a drink whose star has been rising in recent years, with more and more coffee shops adding it to their menus.

If you’ve enjoyed a cortado, you’ll be well aware of how sophisticated and delicious this drink is, and thought it may be too advanced to try at home. But below you’ll find 28 simple and delicious recipes to try out in your own kitchen!

What Is A Cortado?

Cortado translates to ‘cut’ in Spanish, as it is basically an espresso that has been cut by steamed milk equal to the amount of espresso in the beverage.

A traditional cortado recipe calls for 60 ml of espresso and 60 ml of warm milk. It was first introduced to the US in San Francisco and quickly spread throughout the country.

1. Honey Bee Cortado

Do you love cortados but also have a sweet tooth? Then this rich, floral cortado is for you! This cortado recipe contains honey syrup and vanilla, putting a sweet, floral twist on the traditional cortado.

2. Easy, Delicious Cortado

Cortados have the edge over cappuccinos and lattes due to the fact that they require no special frothing techniques.

All you need is a simple espresso machine to make this cortado, and it’s a great recipe to try if you’re just getting into homemade espresso.

3. Cinnamon Brown Sugar Cortado

What makes this drink special is its complex, delicious flavors. If you like your espressos on the milky and sweet side then this cinnamon cortado is the drink for you!

4. Easy Cortado Recipe

A cortado is a great afternoon pick-me-up, as well as a delicious drink you can easily make at home. While cortados are normally made with whole milk, you can make a cortado with any milk you can get your hands on.

5. Dulce De Leche Cortada

Sometimes known as ‘Miguelucho,’ Dulce Leche Cortada is a Columbian inspired curdled milk dessert. It is not just easy to make but delicious too!

6. Spanish Latte

This Spanish latte recipe is a great addition to a Spanish breakfast, with its strong flavor and tantalizing scent.

7. How To Make A Cortado

What makes a good cortado is the sweet, smoky dark chocolate flavors found in Robusta beans.

Java, Indonesia and Vietnam are considered to be the best places to source high-quality Robusta, but they can be quite difficult to get your hands on outside these locations.

But if you want to make the best cortado possible at home, these beans are a great place to start!

8. Homemade Cortado

This simple cortado recipe lets you make a perfectly balanced cortado at home!

9. Must-Try Cortado Recipe

This recipe tells you all you need to know to make a simple cortado, and gives you tips on how to spice up the drink!

10. Cortado Coffee

This balanced cortado recipe tells you all you need to know to make a cortado that is strong yet silky.

11. Gibraltar Cortado

Made of equal parts steamed milk and espresso, this take on the cortado is so named because it is typically served in a Gibraltar glass.

12. 5-Minute Cortado

According to this quick, easy recipe you just need two basic ingredients to make the perfect cortado at home, espresso coffee and whole milk!

13. Perfect Homemade Cortado Recipe

What makes a cortado so appealing to make at home is the fact that it’s a great entry-level coffee recipe! It’s creamy yet intense, and tasty but mild. What’s not to love?

14. Cortado Coffee

If you’d like a cafe-style cortado at home, then look no further than this easy cortado recipe. It’s a simple enough recipe for an amateur barista, and will fool even the most seasoned coffee connoisseur.

15. Cortado Recipe From 196 Flavors

Also known as cortado con leche, this cortado recipe combines hot milk with espresso coffee.

16. Chocolate Cortado

This installment to our list is an addition to a cortado rather than an out-and-out recipe, but combining a chocolate hit to a traditional cortado is an idea we just had to share!

17. Espresso Cortado

This standard espresso cortado recipe calls for 1 ounce of milk and a single shot of espresso.

18. Café Cortado

Allow your espresso machine to warm up, before filling half the cup with espresso and the rest of the cup with cold or hot milk – your choice!

Add as much sugar as you’d like and you have a cortado tailored to you!

19. Espresso Cinnamon Buns With Cortado Glaze

If you love coffee and want to enjoy it in other variations, or want to treat a coffee-obsessed loved one, then look no further than these espresso cinnamon buns with a cortado glaze!

These cinnamon buns are wickedly great, with a gooey texture and warm, sweet coffee flavors.

20. Mocha Cortado

Just because you’ve cut out dairy, that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy a delightful cortado, and this recipe just proves it!

With a chocolate kick and a mocha twist, this cortado is sure to hit the spot and put a smile on your face for the rest of the day.

21. Chilled Salted Maple Cortado

If you like an ice-cold coffee then this heavenly maple cortado recipe is the cortado for you! It’s totally refreshing to enjoy on a hot day and when you’re in the mood for something smaller than a typical iced latte.

22. Coconut Milk Cortado

Another dairy-free cortado! This recipe uses coconut milk, making this cortado vegan friendly while giving it a mild tropical flavor that if you’re a fan of Bounty chocolate you’re sure to love!

23. Cold Brew Banana Bread With Cortado Glaze

Another fun baked treat and a great twist on the usual coffee cake, this cold brew banana bread with cortado glaze is a true coffee kick for coffee fans with a sweet tooth.

24. Nespresso Cortado

Generally considered to be the best coffee makers in the world, you can count on Nespresso to deliver a traditional cortado recipe that is sure to go down a treat with all coffee fans.

25. Cortado Recipe From Roasty Coffee

If you would like a drink that has a considerable amount of espresso but is balanced out nicely with smooth steamed milk without being too fluffy then this cortado recipe is the drink for you. Plus, it’s so simple to make at home.

26. Aeropress Cortado

Unfortunately, while an Aeropress machine is a powerful and versatile brewer, it can’t make a true espresso.

However, this recipe gets you as close to the real thing as possible! The recipe and method is a bit out there, but once you’ve got it covered, the cortado you get is well worth it.

27. Homemade Cortado

This easy-to-follow recipe gives you everything you need to make the perfect cortado at home!

If you’ve got a pretty good coffee-making set up at home, or just a French press this recipe has you covered.

28. Simple, Authentic Cortadito

If you’d like to put a twist on your standard espresso, then give this cortadito a try. It’s simple to make – just a shot of Cuban espresso combined with steamed milk – and it has an irresistibly sweet flavor.

It’s a drink made popular in Cuba and is normally served as a dessert coffee. However, you can also enjoy it as a heavenly addition to your breakfast.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is A Cortado Sweet?

No, traditionally a cortado is not a sweet drink. A standard cortado has no sugar, but the Cuban take on the cortado (the cortadito) does have sugar. However, adding sugar to a cortado doesn’t make it any less delicious.

Why Is A Cortado Traditionally Served In A Glass?

The history of serving a cortado in a glass originated in a San Franciscan coffee shop that wanted to serve its cortado in a Gibraltar glass.

This sparked a trend where coffee shops normally now serve their cortado in a Gibraltar glass.

What Is The Difference Between A Cortado And A Flat White?

The simple elements of a cortado and a flat white are the same. They are both made with one shot of espresso and heated milk, but these are their only similarities.

While they both originate in Europe, they hail from two different countries.

Final Thoughts

Although we associate cortados with beautiful coffee shop creations, it is actually so easy to make a cortado at home, and we’re sure you’ll be astounded when you make your first cortado in your kitchen.

All you need is a basic espresso machine, and the ability to steam milk (either with your machine or with the help of a milk frother) and you can try out any of these delicious recipes at home!