Giada De Laurentiis’ Easy Hack for ‘No-Frills’ Cappuccino — in Your Microwave

Cappuccino in your microwave? Yes you can. Food Network star Giada De Laurentiis shows how you can do it in your own kitchen.

And it’s easier than you think.

Giada De Laurentiis’ cappuccino microwave hack

First off, De Laurentiis said to have your brewed, hot espresso ready to go. “This is a hack to make cappuccino at home without any fancy machines,” she began in her how-to video.

Here’s the fun part: Fill a mason jar halfway with 2 percent milk. Then, put the lid on, and “we’re gonna shake it vigorously until we get it all to be foam.”

Heat the foamy milk in the microwave for 30 seconds to “preserve the foam.” Then, De Laurentiis slowly and carefully poured the milk into her mug of espresso. “Cappuccino is two parts milk, one part espresso, so you gotta double the milk for what you have coffee-wise,” she said. Lastly, she spooned the foam, now at the bottom of the mason jar, into the mug.

Happy with the results, she said, “This hack totally works! A cappuccino without any special machine or any special frills. Just basic mason jar, milk, and help from a microwave.”

This isn’t De Laurentiis’ only coffee hack

The Roman-born De Laurentiis has another quick coffee recipe that requires only two ingredients and a limber wrist ready to shake things up. It’s the Italian iced coffee called shakerato.

Shakerato is a shaken coffee drink that’s quick to prepare. De Laurentiis warns that the beverage is “super easy to whip up at home. Just beware — if you make one, you’re going to want to make it every morning.”

As she noted on her lifestyle and food blog Giadzy, “All you need is some coffee (room temp or cold will work best!), some sweetener, and any other flavorings you want to add.”

She uses cold coffee and agave nectar to make her shakerato but says lemon zest and even Nutella are great additions as well.

Here’s how to make your own shakerato: Add prepared coffee and agave nectar (or maple syrup or honey) in a shaker or container with a few ice cubes, and put on a tightly fitting lid. Shake it strongly for half a minute, and enjoy!

How the restaurateur chose the right coffee for her eatery

For her Las Vegas restaurant Pronto by Giada, the chef told Modern Wellness Guide that “good coffee is so important to me.”

She continued: “When selecting the coffee for Pronto, we went through weeks of tasting sessions before finally landing on the perfect blend from Counter Culture coffee. It’s bold, slightly acidic and delicious. I’ve been trying lots of different organic coffee brands, with a few of my favs being Java Planet and Groundworks’ ‘Bitches Brew.’”

She also shared her favorite way to drink coffee.

“I take my coffee only one way — black with plenty of agave,” she said.