In case you’re wondering what you can drink at Starbucks while on a keto diet, there are lots of low-carb options. Have a drink with a keto-friendly sweetener or something that’s flavored only with heavy cream or almond milk – if you’re trying to crush your sweet cravings. You decide.
Before you check out some of the best keto-friendly drinks at Starbucks, let’s start with the most important question: What are the rules to follow to keep it keto at Starbucks? Continue reading.
Tips When Ordering Keto at Starbucks
What you’ll love about Starbucks (as most people do!) is that you can customize your coffee or drink of choice depending on your taste preference or diet goals. In your case, you need to put your keto thinking cap on to make it work to your advantage.
Having said that, be sure to follow these tips.
Ask for heavy cream.
Heavy cream is keto-friendly, with 11 grams of total fat and 0.8 grams of total carbs per serving (1). This ingredient will be helpful if you want more energy without the excess carbs. For those who are still new to the ketogenic diet, having more fat helps you get fat-adapted.
Heavy cream is totally fine unless you’re trying to avoid dairy. Almond milk is a dairy-free alternative. You can also ask for that.
Tip: Stay away from steamed milk! It’s low in fat and has 19 grams of total carbs and sugars in a serving size of 16 fl oz (2).
Skip the sugar.
You already know this. A white or brown sugar packet – or even a few pumps of vanilla syrup will affect your blood sugar levels and kick you out of ketosis.
Unsure about a Starbucks drink? Before you buy, ask if the drink is sweet. If they say yes, that’s a regular sweetener for sure (not the best option). Then request for an alternative below.
Have their sugar-free vanilla syrup or keto sweetener.
I would only recommend this if you have a sweet tooth and not in any way trying to banish your sweet cravings. Starbucks provides some low-carb sugar alternatives. They have:
- Splenda. It contains sucralose, a low-calorie sweetener with only 1 gram of carbs per packet. It also has some dextrose and maltodextrin which add texture to this sweetener, according to Splenda (3). Take note that dextrose and maltodextrin are carbohydrates, making this sweetener low-carb, not zero-carb.
- Stevia In The Raw. This one is a combination of stevia extract and dextrose or maltodextrin. It has less than 1 gram of carbs and less than 4 grams of calories per packet (4).
- Sugar-free vanilla syrup. Just because it’s “sugar-free” doesn’t mean it’s carb-free. One serving or two tablespoons has 1 gram of carbs and zero calories. This sweetener combines sucralose and maltodextrin.
As a keto dieter who no longer eats or drinks anything sweet like I used to, I consider keto sweeteners a form of cheat day treats.
Just stick with unsweetened black coffee.
This may sound boring to many, but unsweetened black coffee with no cream (hot or cold) is the best keto drink. It is carb-free whether it’s caffeinated or decaffeinated. I find that cold black coffee makes the drinking experience better.
Pay attention to your macros.
Last but not least – track your macros, especially if you’re new to the keto diet. I know that tracking macros tends to stress out some people. But if your goal is to reach and maintain nutritional ketosis for as long as you want, it sure helps.
You can easily exceed your daily total carb or net carb limit if you’re not careful. Before ordering low-carb Starbucks drinks, check your remaining carb allowance!
13 Best Keto Starbucks Drinks to Order
If you’re an avid customer at Starbucks, one of these options might be your next top favorite.
1. Caffè Americano with Heavy Cream
Of course, you can have a regular caffè Americano that’s made of 2 espresso shots and hot water. A tall cup has only 1 gram of total carbs.
For a boost in flavor, order caffè Americano with a splash or two of heavy cream on top. That will slightly increase the total carb count of your drink, but you’ll have something tastier. It’s not the same as a latte since your coffee will just have a hint of creaminess.
Caffè Americano may be on their hot coffee menu, but feel free to request an iced Americano. It’s a great low-carb keto drink.
2. Espresso Con Panna
Delight your senses with this keto Starbucks drink. Espresso con Panna means espresso with cream. It’s topped with whipping cream. A serving size of 1.5 fl oz has 2 grams of total carbs and 2 grams of fat.
If you want to keep it as keto-friendly as possible, just have this drink as it is – no flavored syrups or extra creamers.
3. Keto Flat White
Love the intense and earthy taste of espresso but want it creamy? Then have their flat white drink. It’s a combination of milk and brewed espresso.
Since flat white normally uses whole milk, ask them to replace it with almond milk or heavy cream. This should lower the number of carbs to about 4 grams. Prefer your keto flat white to be cold? Tell them you want iced flat white!
4. Blonde Vanilla Latte
This lighter-roasted coffee is one of the tastiest Starbucks keto options. To make blonde vanilla latte low-carb, replace the regular vanilla syrup with sugar-free vanilla syrup. That will keep the vanilla flavor in this drink.
Instead of the reduced-fat milk (2% milk), ask Starbucks to use heavy cream or almond milk. For a grande size, you get about 4 grams of net carbs.
5. Caffè Mocha
Craving iced mocha? It’s one of the top favorite drinks among Starbucks fans. You have to take note, though, that caffè mocha uses 3 pumps of mocha sauce containing sugar. It also includes reduced-fat milk (2% milk).
Here’s how to lower the number of carbs in this drink: Order a tall drink, not grande or venti. Reduce the mocha sauce from 3 pumps to 1 pump. Then replace the 2% milk with heavy cream or almond milk.
Finally, don’t add any extra sweetener. You can do this!
6. Cold Brew
Made with brewed coffee and ice, this is a popular alternative drink to artificially sweetened coffee. The best part about cold brew? It has zero carbs regardless of the drink size and is also low in calories.
Find Starbucks keto cold brew boring? Jazz it up with a splash of heavy cream. This will add just a small amount of carbs which shouldn’t be a problem at all.
7. Nitro Cold Brew
In case you’re wondering how this drink is different from cold brew, Nitro cold brew has nitrogen that imparts a creamy texture. Since Nitro cold brew is served unsweetened, it has zero carbs. Also, note that this drink has no ice.
To make it more interesting, you can request 2 servings of sugar-free vanilla syrup. That will give you 2 grams of total carbs. If you want a splash of heavy cream, that will make it 3 grams of total carbs.
This drink looks just like Guinness stout beer! Enjoy it.
8. Keto Pink Drink
Have you tried Iced Passion Tango Tea? Because the famous “pink drink” is actually made using this herbal beverage. It’s so easy to craft your very own pink drink based on how many carbs you can tolerate.
Here’s how to order it: Ask for a grande Iced Passion Tango Tea with 2 pumps of sugar-free vanilla syrup and 2 splashes of heavy cream. Avoid any other sweetener. This keto drink provides 4 grams of total carbs.
Want to reduce it to 2 grams of total carbs only? Use just 1 pump of sugar-free vanilla syrup and 1 splash of heavy cream.
9. Iced Black Tea
With zero carbs and zero calories, iced black tea is a true keto choice. According to Starbucks, it’s a blend of black teas and water.
However, feel free to sweeten it with 2 pumps of sugar-free vanilla syrup to get 2 grams of total carbs. Full of antioxidants, order keto-friendly iced black tea on any hot day.
10. Keto White Drink
While it’s one of the best keto drinks at Starbucks, due to its delicious taste, you won’t find it on the menu.
You need to craft a white drink from scratch using the following ingredients: Peach Tranquility (iced), 3 pumps of sugar-free vanilla syrup, and a splash of heavy cream. This refreshing and fragrant drink contains 4 grams of total carbs.
Tea has caffeine but this one has none at all!
11. London Fog
Enjoy this keto hot tea that’s made with black tea and lavender flowers. Regular London Fog has 22 grams of total carbs (definitely not the best choice!) – but we easily lower the carb count with a few tweaks.
How to make keto-friendly London Fog: Replace the 2% milk with heavy cream. Swap the regular vanilla syrup for 3 pumps of sugar-free vanilla syrup! That should give you only 4 grams of total carbs.
12. Chai Tea Latte (Teabags, not the concentrate!)
Do note that Starbucks has two Chai Teas. One is made of chai tea concentrate while the other is made using chai tea bags. Be sure to ask for the one with the tea bags since that has zero grams of total carbs.
Now, to turn it into a tea latte, here’s what you should do: Ask for 2 splashes of heavy cream and 2 pumps of sugar-free cinnamon dolce syrup. Finally, have it topped with a sprinkle of cinnamon. This custom-made tea latte should contain less than 5 grams of carbs.
13. Herbal Teas
These Starbucks herbal teas Peach Tranquility and Mint Majesty do not contain any caffeine, carbohydrates, and calories.
Herbal teas are known to offer health benefits such as improved digestion, muscle relaxation, and blood sugar control depending on the tea ingredients.
Bottom Line
There you have it. These are the best keto Starbucks drinks to order on your next visit. Of course, you can always increase and decrease the amount of heavy cream, almond milk, and sugar-free syrup to meet your preference. Just try to keep it as low-carb as possible.
If you’re like me, you’d skip all sweeteners (even the keto-friendly ones) and just have a splash of heavy cream – or none at all. I know that’s quite boring for many people. So that’s totally up to you.
References:
- Nutritionix. Calories in Heavy Cream
- Starbucks Coffee Company. Steamed Milk
- Splenda. What is Splenda (Sucralose) And How Is It Made?
- In The Raw Sweeteners. Stevia In The Raw FAQs
