20 Keto Starbucks Drinks To Order For Your Low-Carb Diet
Low carb, high fat. These words will be music to your ears if you’re following, or plan to start, a ketogenic diet. The good news is you won’t have to give up your Starbucks habit to stay on a keto diet.
What is keto-friendly at Starbucks Canada? You’ll be surprised to find a variety of hot and iced coffees, teas, and drinks are still up for sipping. Read on for our complete list of keto Starbucks drinks.
How to Order Keto Drinks You Can Order At Starbucks Canada
Here are a few helpful tips and tricks to order Starbucks keto options before we dive into the picks.
Craving Hot Or Cold?
Many hot and cold Starbucks beverages are keto-friendly. You can enjoy hot Americanos, brewed coffees, cappuccinos, espresso shots, flat whites, lattes, macchiatos, and mochas. On a hot day, you might prefer a menu of cold brews, nitro cold brews, iced Americanos, iced coffees, iced shaken espressos, iced flat whites, iced lattes, iced macchiatos, and iced mochas to try. Some fancier menu items must be modified upon ordering, but we’ll show you how to do that (1).
All chai teas, black teas, green teas, and herbal teas are available as iced or hot keto Starbucks drinks. Some flavours are limited to one temperature or the other.
Want Coffee, Tea, Or Option Three?
We’ve covered coffees and teas briefly above. If none of those sound appealing, you still have warming steamers and cooling Starbucks refreshers to peruse. We’ll spill the deets later on.
Care To Add Anything Else?
Heavy cream and half & half are safe, keto-approved coffee creamer add-ins to your low-carb Starbucks drinks (2).
Many people on keto diets rely on whipping cream or heavy cream as a sugar-free coffee creamer . . . However, both heavy and whipping cream may contain added sugars, depending on the brand, so be sure to check the nutrition label to avoid any confusion.
12 Kinds Of Keto Starbucks Coffee Brews
With a dozen keto-friendly coffees, you’ll keep coming back for more trying to taste every item on the Starbucks menu. All of these options are offered both in cold and hot form except for cold brews, nitro cold brews, and frappuccinos, all of which are exclusively iced. Let’s get into them.
1. Americano
You can’t get a more keto-friendly brew than plain espresso shots and water. Enjoy a decadent hot cup of coffee full of nuanced flavours and topped with a silky crema, or get an Americano with cold water served over ice to cool your overworked brain.
2. Black Coffee
Black coffee is an obviously safe keto Starbucks go-to. For a little more flavour, we recommend ordering a caffe misto and replacing the steamed milk with heavy cream or almond milk. Heavy cream is a high fat product with a low carb-count. Almond milk is also low in carbs (3).
3. Cappuccino
You can still enjoy a reinvigorating velvety cappuccino. But I’ve got some bad news for you: a keto cappuccino will not taste the same as its traditional counterpart. At all. Trying to replicate a quality foam with heavy cream or almond milk doesn’t work as well as whole milk.
Image credit: Starbucks
4. Espresso
You’re good to go on the espresso front. Just order a single shot or a double shot, and savour the small sips. However, a caramel-tasting espresso con panna is trickier to keto-fy. Whipped cream itself is keto-friendly, but the version of whipped cream that Starbucks uses is not sugar-free. So you’ll have to go light on the included dollop of whipped cream, or better yet, forgo it altogether.
5. Iced Shaken Espresso
Espresso, iced espresso. Shaken not stirred. For an adventure on the town, grab a grande iced shaken espresso with ½ heavy cream, ½ water, and 2 pumps of sugar-free vanilla syrup instead of the standard classic syrup. Add a sweetener substitute for some extra special flavoured sweetness.
Our favourite keto iced coffee Starbucks drink is the Iced Toasted Vanilla Oat Shaken Espresso.
Just swap out the toasted vanilla syrup for sugar-free vanilla syrup and request half the oat milk be replaced with heavy cream. You’ll enjoy deliciously caramelized vanilla tasting notes.
6. Flat White
You can make a flat white keto at Starbucks with the key modification being equal parts water and heavy cream instead of steamed milk, plus an optional sweetener substitute of your choice. The end cup will still be a steamed and smooth experience similar to the real thing.
7. Latte
It’s easy to make a latte keto-diet compatible. Just replace the default milk with almond milk or heavy cream! The Oat Latte with oat milk is even better tasting and more keto-friendly with almond milk. If you opt for heavy cream, we suggest a ratio of ¼ heavy cream to ¾ water, especially for an iced or hot blonde vanilla latte. But you can use a 50/50 mix for more creaminess.
Take a look through the full list of latte flavours in Starbucks for other ideas. Two to three pumps of either of the sugar-free syrup flavours will perk you right up, but these add-ins are totally optional.
8. Macchiato
I always order a caramel macchiato when I’m in the mood for a caramel-flavoured coffee dessert. You can still enjoy a keto caramel macchiato Starbucks drink, but you’ll have to settle for more vanilla flavour than caramel. The caramel drizzle is really high in net carbs, so it is best avoided on a keto diet.
Ask your barista if there is a sugar-free caramel syrup; you may luck out. Sub the 2 or 3 pumps of syrup with the same amount of its sugar-free alternative, and splash in some almond milk. For an espresso macchiato, we recommend going for the heavy cream instead.
9. Mocha
Amazingly, a mocha is still an option on your keto diet! Order an Americano, and sub ¼ of the water with heavy cream. Refuse whipped cream and syrup, and instead add 2 pumps of skinny mocha sauce. You’ve got a keto mocha! The sauce contains water, cocoa powder, natural flavours, arabic gum, sucralose, carrageenan, xanthan gum, and salt.
10. Cold Brew
For the best keto Starbucks drink on a hot day, it’s hard to beat a cold brew. If you also want a flavoured keto cold foam top, replace the skim milk with heavy cream and infuse it with sugar-free vanilla syrup. Delish!
11. Nitro Cold Brew
All cold brews and nitro cold brews on their own do not contain any sugar, making them some of the best drinks for keto diets. For a step up from the basic nitro cold brew, craft a keto vanilla sweet cream nitro cold brew with heavy cream and 2 pumps of sugar-free vanilla syrup.
12. Starbucks Keto Frappuccino
Almost every keto guide has you swearing off frappuccinos for good. Here’s a way to get around that to continue enjoying these blended drinks.
Start by ordering an iced coffee with 2 or 3 pumps of a sugar-free syrup of your choice and 2 or 3 shots of heavy cream. Ask for it to be double blended. Hold the drizzle and whipped cream. The consistency is delightfully comparable!
5 Types Of Keto Tea Starbucks Options
Unsweetened tea drinks are perfect anytime, especially when you want to slow down and feel grounded. These tea lattes, chai teas, black teas, green teas, and herbal teas range from less caffeine to none, so you won’t have to worry about jitters as you would with coffee.
13. Starbucks Keto Tea Latte
To craft a Starbucks keto tea latte, swap the default milk for a mixture of half heavy cream and half water. This easy adjustment yields a fantastic iced keto matcha Starbucks tea latte in-store.
Check out this YouTube video for a fun DIY iced keto macha Starbucks tea latte recipe.
If you opt for a few pumps of sugar-free vanilla syrup, you will elevate the keto versions of both the London Fog Tea Latte and the Iced Royal English Breakfast Tea Latte. For a keto Chai Tea Latte Starbucks drink, get Teavana tea with 2 chai tea bags, hot water, a couple of splashes of heavy cream, 2 sugar-free syrup pumps of your choice, and a generous sprinkling of cinnamon to top.
14. Chai Tea
Black chai is strong, full-bodied, and infused with soothing spices. If you like clove, cardamom, cinnamon, and ginger, try a Teavana Chai Tea brewed in hot water with a splash of almond milk.
15. Black Tea
Fermented black tea is the espresso of the tea world. Relish the intense, nuanced body of a Royal English Breakfast tea or the light, citrusy, and lemonade-like notes of a classic Earl Grey.
16. Green Tea
Steamed green teas are a crowd favourite. Enjoy the sweet-and-smoky notes of the iconic Emperor’s Clouds & Mist tea or the pleasantly overwhelming lemony nature of a Jade Citrus Mint tea. No heavy cream, milk, or sweetener substitute is needed for these soul-soothing green teas.
17. Herbal Tea
Caffeine-free herbal teas are a keto-friendly route to the relaxation you crave. Each brew is bursting with minty or fruity flavours. Mint Majesty and Peach Tranquility are both packed with lemon verbena, with the latter also full of chamomile blossoms, candied pineapple, rose hips, and, of course, peach. For lemongrass, hibiscus, and apple, go for an Iced Passion Tango. Just make sure to order this bright and bold tea as unsweetened, and avoid the lemonade version.
Image credit: Starbucks
3 More Keto-Friendly Starbucks Drinks
We’re not done yet! For 3 bonus keto picks, we’ll look at refreshers, horchatas, and steamers.
18. Starbucks Keto Pink Drink
To get the infamous Strawberry Acai Starbucks Refresher keto-style, first ask for an unsweetened Iced Passion Tango Tea. Replace the classic syrup with sugar-free vanilla syrup, and add a couple of splashes of heavy cream. Voila! A guilt-free, keto-friendly Pink Drink!
Image credit: Starbucks
19. Keto Horchata Starbucks Drink
There are many variations online for how to order a keto Horchata Starbucks drink. Our favourite version is to get unsweetened iced black tea with no water, a few pumps of sugar-free cinnamon dolce syrup, a splash of heavy cream, and a cinnamon topping if you’re feeling fancy.
20. Steamer
Steamers are okay to order following a keto diet as long as you make it extra hot and use these modifications: unsweetened almond milk and 2 pumps of sugar-free cinnamon dolce syrup.
Image credit: Starbucks
Final Thoughts
It is easy to customize and enjoy keto Starbucks drinks, whether you’re in the mood for a hot or cold beverage! Just be conscious about the milk, syrups, sauces, and toppings used in your teas, coffees, refreshers, and steamers.
Heavy cream, half & half, almond milk, cinnamon, cocoa powder, sugar-free vanilla syrup, sugar-free cinnamon dolce syrup, and sweetener substitutes are all safe additions. Although whipped cream is usually keto-friendly, remember that the one at Starbucks isn’t as it’s not sugar-free. Now you know how to order for your low-carb diet!
FAQs
Yes, the egg bites at Starbucks are keto-friendly. These include the bacon & gruyere egg bites, and the egg white & roasted red pepper egg bites, both of which are low in carbs and rich in protein.
Yes and no. Some Starbucks instant coffee packets are keto-friendly as they are free of carbs. This includes the Pike Place Starbucks instant coffee packets, which also do not contain any artificial sweeteners, sugars, or highly refined oils, but they are low in fats. Starbucks instant sweetened iced coffee packets, however, are not keto-friendly due to their high-carb nature and abundance of unhealthy, high-sugar ingredients.
The lowest carb milk at Starbucks is almond milk, making it the ideal keto-fitting milk. With the least amount of sugar compared to any of Starbucks’ plant-based milk alternatives, almond milk has 60 calories, 4 g of fat, 3 g of sugar, and 2 g of protein in one cup. In contrast, the oat milk used at Starbucks has 140 calories, 7 g of fat, 7 g of sugar, and 3 g of protein in one cup.
Horchata, or orxata, is a drink made of white rice, milk or water, sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon. This sweet rice milk drink is a popular Mexican beverage and it is often presented with a cinnamon stick carefully placed on top of it or slipped into it like a decorative straw.
The Starbucks drinks with no sugar include Americanos, iced blonde espresso Americanos, iced black teas, chai teas, jade citrus mint teas, and peach tranquility teas. Drinks with 10 g or less of sugar include honey almond milk cold brews and caffe mistos.
References
- Starbucks Coffee Company. (n.d.). Menu. Retrieved May 8, 2023, from https://www.starbucks.ca/menu
- Lang, A. (2021, July 15). Heavy Cream vs. Whipping Cream: What’s the Difference? Retrieved May 8, 2023, from https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/heavy-cream-vs-heavy-whipping-cream
- McGrane, K. (2020, March 19). Is Almond Milk Keto-Friendly? Retrieved May 8, 2023, from https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/almond-milk-keto
