The “pink drink” isn’t your only keto choice.
When you heard you wouldn’t have to give up favourite foods such as cheese and bacon, you may be sold on the high-fat, low-carb keto diet and Keto Starbucks drinks. But has anybody warned you that you may have to compromise your standard keto Starbucks order in exchange? Okay, okay, you don’t have to give up Keto Starbucks or all coffee shop orders; you can only need to adjust the way you order Joe’s regular cup. And to whip up the ideal Keto Starbucks drink, you don’t have to solve a radical math equation.
The next time you are after your afternoon pick-up, Julie Upton, RD, co-founder of Appetite for Fitness, and Scott Keatley, RD, of Keatley Medical Nutrition Therapy, propose to obey these basic guidelines.
How to make it Keto Starbucks drinks
Keto-friendly for your Keto Starbucks drinks order:
- Stick to the sugar-free solutions. Sugar = carbohydrates, so in your drinks, you usually want to avoid this ingredient, notes Upton. Many Starbucks drinks are full of sugar syrup, so let your barista know to skip the drizzle of caramel or any other extras that could add sugar.
- Opt over regular milk for heavy cream. You’re minimising your carb intake by removing lactose (aka the natural sugar contained in milk) from your beverages, says Upton.
- Go for unsweetened nut milk, so as almond or coconut, if you need to add milk to your drink. Because they lack lactose (and thus carbohydrate!), unsweetened nut milk is more keto-friendly.
- Go easy on the sugar replacements. It will allow you to stop a trip to the toilet, says Keatley. “It doesn’t mean the bacteria in your gut will not feast just because you don’t absorb sugar substitutes the same as natural sugar,” he says. “Too much, and you may have to move your office chair near the bathroom.”
- Take the support of creativity. On the Starbucks app, Keatley suggests making your orders. Keatley says, “If you’ve been on a keto diet for even a minute, you know it’s all about preparation, and thankfully Starbucks paid serious attention to their app.” It’s hard to stand in front of an immense line and place 300 special orders. The app lets you easily take the time, compare, customise, and pick up. If you check those boxes with your Starbucks order, then it’s keto-friendly. But if you’re still not convinced and want an expert-crafted order at your fingertips that takes limited brainpower on your end, here’s a rundown of dietitians’ suggested Starbucks keto drinks and snacks.
Hot or Iced Black Coffee
The strength of black Coffee is not for everyone, but in the keto department, it’s always a winner, Keatley says.” Coffee (brewed, espresso, or instant) does not have enough carbohydrates to keep someone off track of their keto diet at two to five calories per serving.” Then go ahead and add some thick cream, cinnamon, sugar-free syrup, or a sugar substitute like Stevia if you’re just not going to have it straight up.” Upton says, “Sugar subs that don’t have any calories or carbohydrates should work into the diet. Again, once you know how your body responds to sugar substitutes, be sure to start with just a little. I typically ask for half the standard sugar-free syrup pumps because it’s sweeter than regular sugar,” Keatley adds. Without sweetener, Black Coffee: 2.4 cal, 0 g oil 0 g fat, 0 g carbohydrate, 0 gm sugar, 4.7 mg sodium, 0 g fibre, 0.3 g protein per serving:
American, Water, Iced, or Frozen
An Americano is just espresso and Water, but you might want to fuel this baby up with some heavy cream and Stevia. Heavy cream is almost all fat, so if you need any extra fat to satisfy your Keto Starbucks needs, you can’t go wrong. “Upton says, “Keto is about cutting carbohydrates and not restricting fat. “Which is why cream and coconut milk is all right?” Americano with heavy cream for 1 tbsp: 65 cal,3gm fat (0 g fat), 3 g carbohydrate, 0 g sugar, 10 mg sodium, 0 g fibre, 1 g protein per serving.
Skinny, spicy or iced macchiato
A macchiato is okay, too. Instead of regular milk, make sure it’s made with unsweetened almond milk. If you are not trying to turn your Keto Starbucks visit into a cheat day, miss out on the caramel drizzle, too. Triple shot macchiato made with espresso and unsweetened almond milk: 30 cal, 1.1 gm fat (0 g sat), 3.6 g carbohydrate, 0 gm sugar, 71 mg sodium, 0 g fibre, 2.6 g protein per serving.
Skinny, hot or iced mocha
Cut the milk and substitute it with heavy cream and Water to make your mocha skinny, and go for the sugar-free mocha sauce. Skinny mocha and two pumps of thin mocha syrup made with unsweetened almond milk: Per course: 75 cal, 5 g fat (0 g fat), 6 g carbs, 0 gm sugar, 0 mg sodium, 0 g fibre, 2 g protein
Hot or iced unsweetened Tea
There are so many teas: black, green, white, or passion. All of the tea options, except for the matcha, are 100 per cent keto compliant. The sugar is blended into the match,’ warns Keatley. Green TeaTea Unsweetened: Per serving: 0 cal, 0 g of fat (0 g fat), 0 g of carbohydrates, 0 g of sugar, 0 mg of sodium, 0 g of fibre, 0 g of protein.
White Beverage
A keto-friendly alternative, keto Starbucks, is typically made with peach citrus white TeaTea, heavy cream, and a few vanilla sugar-free syrup pumps. But Keatley recommends substituting sucralose, aka Splenda, or your favourite brand of keto sweetener for vanilla syrup. White drink made with heavy cream and Splenda-sweetened: 53.7 cal, 5 g of fat (0 g fat), 2 g of carbohydrates, 1 g of sugar, 0 mg of sodium, 0 g of fibre, 0 g of protein per serving.
A pink soda -for Keto Starbucks drinks
With unsweetened love ‘tango’ iced tea, a few pumps of sugar-free vanilla syrup and heavy cream, the keto pink drink is made for Keto Starbucks. This version does not pack on the carbohydrates of the Instagram Mable drink. One mug of herbal TeaTea has about 0.5 g of carbohydrate per 8-ounce portion. The vanilla sugar-free syrup has so small carbohydrate content that it can say zero on any package, and there is about 1 g of carbohydrate per ounce in thick whipping cream. Drink pink: 50 cal, 5 gm fat (0 g fat), 2 g carbohydrates, 0 g sugar, 5 mg sodium, 0 g fibre, 0 g protein per serving.
Hot or Iced Chai-Brewed Tea-for keto Starbucks drinks
Be sure to ask for brewed Chai versus the stuff they pour out of a box-it has sugar in the latter. If you’re into that, feel free to add some heavy cream. Chai Tea: Per serving: 0 cal, 0 g of fat (0 g fat), 0 g of carbohydrates, 0 g of sugar, 0 mg of sodium, 0 g of fibre, 0 g of protein.
Earl Grey latte tea-for keto Starbucks drinks
When made with regular milk, this keto-friendly Latte is called a London Fog and can be made with Earl Grey tea, unsweetened almond milk, heavy cream, and some vanilla syrup without sugar. Heavy cream and sugar-free vanilla syrup in Earl Grey tea: 52 cal, 5 gm fat (0 g fat), 2 g carbohydrates, 0 g sugar, 0 mg sodium, 0 g fibre, 0 g protein, per serving.
Bacon gruyere sous vide bites for eggs-for Keto Starbucks drinks
If you’re on Keto, the bagel, croissant, and banana bread will not fly, but their bacon and gruyere sous vide egg bites are a healthy low-carb, high-fat choice, says Beth Warren, RDN, founder of Beth Warren Nutrition and author of Kosher Girl’s Secrets. Tastes of Sous Vide Eggs: 300 cal, 20 gm fat (12 g fat), 9 g carbohydrate, 2 g sugar, 680 mg sodium, 0 g fibre, 19 g protein per serving.
Italian Salami Felino Uncured and Manchego package
Starbucks snack packs typically contain fruits and crackers because of their carb content, which will not work o keto. But with this delicious cheese and salami pack, you can’t go wrong. Italian Salami and Manchego box of Felino Uncured: 240 cal, 20 gm fat (11 g fat), 0 g starch, 0 g sugar, 680 mg sodium, 0 g fibre, 16 g protein per serving. That is low carb Starbucks.
Grilled chicken and tabbouleh salad with cauliflower
Keatley says this salad packs 15 grammes of carbohydrates, so if you consume it knowing that you’re going to invest some of your regular carb intakes. This salad is the right choice since the carbs come mainly from vegetables. “You can avoid dressing the salad, though. “I’d do my best to stay away from the regular dressing as it’s made with honey (sugar),” he explains. If you have it on hand, he suggests trying a combination of olive oil and vinegar. That is low carb Starbucks. Grilled chicken and salad with cauliflower tabbouleh: 390 cal, 27 gm fat (5 g fat), 15 g carbohydrate, 7 g sugar, 1140 mg sodium, 4 g fibre, 21 g protein per serving.
Cheese Cheddar Moon-for keto Starbucks drinks
Chances are some keto-friendly Moon Cheese from your nearby Starbucks stocks. The snack is low-carb and great in protein, making it a good and easy pick-up-and-go. 5 g of fat (3 g sat), 0 g of sugar, 0 mg of sodium, 0 g of fibre, 5 g of protein. That is low carb Starbucks.
New Coffee Brewed- low carb Starbucks
Keto Starbucks was focused on its hot Coffee, which was freshly brewed. Lucky for keto dieters, in Starbucks hot, black coffee, there are zero carbs and zero sugars. That is low carb Starbucks. All roasts have within 5-10 calories per serving (depending on the size) and 20 mg of caffeine per 1 lb.
Lattes of Hot Tea
Many hot tea lattes use a pre-made mix filled with sugar, such as the ever-popular chai tea latte and the newer London Fog. You, however, can hack a low-carb tea latte using tea bags, hot Water, heavy cream, and (optional) keto-safe sweeteners you can add on your own. That is low carb Starbucks. Use two or more chai tea bags to make chai tea latte and brew with hot Water, a splash of heavy cream, and a pinch of cinnamon. Brew two or more extra Earl Grey tea bags with hot Water, thick cream, Stevia, and vanilla extract (if you have it on hand) to imitate a London Fog. Get inventive and try combining various variations of tea latte.
Espresso Shots- keto drinks at Starbucks
At Starbucks, there are 1g of net carbs and five calories per shot of espresso. Each image of espresso includes 75 mg of caffeine. Espresso packs about four times as much caffeine as hot brewed Coffee, ounce for ounce. While it can take some getting used to the taste, ordering a solo espresso (one-shot) or a doppio (two images) is a fast way to caffeinate very few carbs in your day. Feel free to add your favourite ketogenic sugar substitute, spices, and cream at the self-serve counter.
Latte a Latte – keto drinks at Starbucks
A caffe latte is each one or two espresso shots and steamed milk (depending on the size). You’ll find a light, frothy foam coating on the top as well. Claim your barista to steam half water and half thick cream to order a low-carb latte so that you’ll always get the frothiness you like without the carbs. You can sub in SF vanilla syrup for a low-carb vanilla latte, but you’ll add 1-2g of net carbs, plus artificial sweetener.
Low-Carb Macchiato Caramel – keto drinks at Starbucks
The word macchiato means “marked” in Italian. “A macchiato starts with steamed milk, unlike a latte, which starts with an espresso shot topped with steamed milk. The espresso shots are put on top to “label” the milk. The macchiato from Starbucks is a little different. Espresso shots, vanilla syrup, heated milk, and a sweet caramel drizzle are required for a regular caramel macchiato. It’s not keto-friendly. Order an Americano with three parts of Water for one part of heavy cream to lower the classic carbs and add sugar-free vanilla. Your drink adds 2 grammes of additional net carbs to the caramel drizzle. If you want to include it is up to you.
FLAT WHITE – keto drinks at Starbucks
An extra ristretto espresso shot is used in a flat white, making it bolder than a latte while going down smoother than a cappuccino. Sadly, a classic will cost you 17 grammes of carbohydrates for a large one. However, substitute whole milk for almond milk, and you’ll drop your net carb count to 7 grammes.
Cold Keto Drinks from Starbucks
Many of those ketogenic hacks also work well for keto drinks at Starbucks drink orders. With the following low-carb Starbucks menu choices and tweaks, keep you calm in ketosis.
iced Coffee
In-house-made iced Coffee from Starbucks is unsweetened and comes in standard or decaf. Despite having zero carbs and sugar to start with, when you order an iced coffee, the default choice is to have it sweetened with Classic (simple sugar syrup). Between 15g and 30g of net carbs will cost you the syrup alone. So ask for no Classic for a Keto iced coffee, or use monk fruits or Stevia to sweeten it yourself.
Coffee from Cold Brew
The cold brew at Starbucks, unlike hot brewed Coffee is slow-steeped for 20 hours in cool Water. Cold-brew has no carbohydrates or sugar on its own, making it an excellent choice for dieters with Keto. For keto dieters, a nitro cold drink is also healthy as it’s free of all carbs and sugar. But some of the cold brews flavoured options, such as those with various cold foam flavours, all add sugar and carbs to your drink and Keto at Starbucks are not keto-approved.
Frappuccino Low-Carb
In a blender, Starbucks Frappuccinos combine milk, Coffee, ice, and various sugary syrups and powders to create milkshake-like beverages. They will be topped with whipped cream and a slight drizzle. Because of all that sugar and milk, even the smallest Frappuccino will cost you 20g to 90g of carbs.
Takeaway
Don’t despair if you’re concerned about giving up your regular Coffee runs to go low-carb. This guide has everything you want to order the best guilt-free, keto-friendly Keto at Starbucks drinks. You’ll need to tailor some for your keto diet, while you can order some drinks as-is right off the menu.