Learn how to order low carb Starbucks drinks that fit your keto diet.
See real-life photos of my low carb Starbucks drink orders.
Re-create low carb versions of your favorite Starbucks drinks.
What To Order
I’ve loosely organized my recommendations around the drink categories listed on the Starbucks drive-thru menu. The pictures below are my own and should give you a rough idea of what your drink will look like.
LOW CARB HOT DRINKS
1. Low Carb Flat White
A Flat White typically comes with a highly concentrated shot of espresso and steamed whole milk to create a creamy coffee with a strong buzz. Steamed milk has 8g of sugar so replace it with a mixture of half heavy whipping cream and half water to get the same creaminess without the carbs.
- Order it low carb: “Short Flat White. Replace the steamed milk with half heavy whipping cream & water steamed.”
- Macros: 55 calories, 1g net carbs, 1g protein, 5g fat.
2. Low Carb Mocha
A typical Caffe Mocha has 20g of net carbs and comes with milk, brewed espresso, mocha sauce, and whipped cream. To cut the carbs, replace the milk with half heavy whipping cream & half water and replace the mocha sauce with skinny mocha sauce.
- Order it low carb: “Short Mocha with skinny sugar-free mocha sauce. Replace the milk with half heavy whipping cream and half water.”
- Macros: 55 calories, 1g net carbs, 1g protein, 5g fat.
3. Low Carb Latte
A Caffe Latte typically comes with espresso, steamed milk, and a light layer of foam. To recreate a low carb version, you’ll start from from scratch and order an Americano with a splash of heavy whipping cream. Ask them to add foam if the presentation under the lid is important to you (I forgot).
- Order it low carb: “Short Americano, filled with 3/4 water and the rest with heavy cream. Add foam on top please.”
- Macros: 216 calories, 4g net carbs, 3g protein, 22g fat.
4. Low Carb Fresh Brewed Coffee
Most of the fresh brewed hot coffees Starbucks are naturally keto friendly. I ordered a cup of their most popular brew: the Pike Place roast.
- Order it low carb: “short Pike Place Roast.”
- Macros: 5 calories, 0g net carbs, 0g protein, 0g fat
Starbucks List of Fresh Brewed Coffees:
- Blonde Roast – 5 calories and 0g net carbs
- Clover Brewed Coffee – 10 calories and 0g net carbs
- Decaf Pike Place – 5 calories and 0g net carbs
- Featured Dark Roast – 5 calories and 0g net carbs
- Pike Place Roast – 5 calories and 0g net carbs
5. Low Carb Americano
Comes with espresso shots topped with hot water to produce a layer of crema (that dissipates quickly as you can’t really see it in my photo). It’s naturally low carb.
6. Low Carb Misto
Comes standard with a one-to-one mix of fresh brewed coffee and steamed milk. If you order it “short,” it only has 5g net carbs. If you want a larger size then replace the steamed milk with steamed half and half to cut the carbs.
- Order it low carb: “Short Misto.”
- Macros: 50 calories, 5g net carbs, 4g protein, 2g fat.
7. Low Carb Chai Tea Latte
The typical Chai Tea Latte is a foam-topped hot drink made from milk, water, and chai tea concentrate which has added sugar and honey. The added milk, sugar, and honey give the short-sized Chai Tea Latte a whopping 22 net carbs.
To get a low carb Chai Tea Latte, ask your barista to reconstruct the drink using their brewed chai tea bags (no concentrate), heavy whipping cream, and sugar free cinnamon dolce syrup. It’s delicious. This is one of my favorites.
LOW CARB ICED DRINKS
1. Low Carb Frappuccino
A typical Starbucks Frappuccino is a blend of coffee, milk, and ice, flavored with sugary syrups or sauces, topped with whipped cream and drizzled with decorative sweet toppings. The average “tall” Frappuccino has at least 40g net carbs.
To make a low carb Frappucino, start with a tall iced coffee, and ask them to blend it frappuccino-style with heavy whipping cream, sugar free syrup, and then optionally top it with whip cream and a low carb spice like nutmeg or cinnamon.
The possibilities are endless.
Here is an example of a Keto Cinnamon Dolce Frappuccino without whip cream that I ordered for my mom.
- Order it low carb: “Tall unsweetened iced coffee with extra ice, 2 pumps of sugar free cinnamon dolce syrup, and 2 shots of heavy whipping cream, blended frappuccino-style but with no frappuccino base & no frap syrups.”
- Macros: 211 calories, 4g net carbs, 1g protein, 22g fat.
2. Low Carb Iced Tea
The iced teas at Starbucks are sweetened and have at least 8g of sugar in a tall-sized beverage. To create your own low carb Iced Tea, order one of these brewed teas on ice:
- Emperors Cloud and Mist Green Tea
- Jade Citrus Mint Green Tea
- Mint Majesty Herbal Tea
- Passion Tango Herbal Tea
- Peach Tranquility Herbal Tea
- Royal English Breakfast Tea
- Teavana Earl Grey Brewed Tea
- Teavana Joy (Seasonal)
- Teavana Organic Chai Tea
- Youthberry White Tea
Then you can use Starbucks’ in-store Stevia for sweetener or leave it unsweetened. Here’s an unsweetened Passion Tango Herbal Tea on ice that my wife ordered for my son.
- Order it low carb: “Tall Passion Tango Herbal Tea on Ice, unsweetened.”
- Macros: 0 calories, 0g net carbs, 0g protein, 0g fat.
3. Low Carb Refreshers
The typical Starbucks Refreshers come with a high carb fruit juice base mixed with water and served over ice. Some also have milk added for flavor. To recreate a low carb Refresher beverage, order a brewed tea on ice then add flavor, color, & texture via 2 shots of heavy whipping cream and/or two shots of one of these sugar-free syrups:
- Vanilla (Maltodextrin) – 1g net carbs per pump
- Cinnamon Dolce (Sucralose) – 1g net carbs per pump
- Mocha Sauce (Sucralose) – 1g net carbs per pump
Perhaps the most famous Refresher beverage is the Starbucks Pink Drink which has about 20g net carbs.
To create a low carb Pink Drink, you’ll be using unsweetened Passion Tango Herbal Tea, heavy whipping cream, and sugar-free vanilla syrup.
- Order it low carb: “Tall Passion Tango Herbal Tea on ice, no classic syrup, 2 shots heavy whipping cream, 2 pumps of sugar-free vanilla syrup.”
- Macros: 206 calories, 4g net carbs, 1g protein, 22g fat.
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