The 16 Best Keto Starbucks Drinks (That Are Way More Fun Than Black Coffee)

Hi, old reliable. When it comes to keto Starbucks drinks, plain coffee, hot or iced, is a no-brainer. It's basically carb-free: 12 ounces, or a Starbucks tall cup, contains less than one gram of carbs. Feel free to add milk, non-dairy milk or cream to your cup.

Here’s the thing: Sugar-free syrups are a great way to sweeten your drink without added sugar or calories, but they can contain hidden carbs that can knock you out of ketosis if used in excess. As long as you stick to two pumps (about 1g of net carbs), you’re in the clear. Sugar-free vanilla, caramel and hazelnut syrups are commonly available at Starbucks. Lighten your joe with a touch of milk, non-dairy milk or cream to boot.

Much like drip or iced coffee, cold brew is virtually free of carbs, calories and sugar. The difference is that it's brewed cold, which helps it retain caffeine. So, you'll get a bigger energy boost, whether you spike it with cream and sugar-free syrup or not. If you prefer your coffee silky-smooth and creamy, order nitro cold brew instead. It's infused with nitrogen to create sweetness without additional sugar and a deliciously velvety mouthfeel.

Tea is an easy win when it comes to ordering keto Starbucks drinks. It’s just water and tea, which are carb-free by nature. If you’re ordering iced tea, be sure to let the barista know you want it unsweetened; the default recipes include classic syrup, otherwise known as liquid sugar. If you like your tea with milk, go for a splash of heavy cream (or steamed heavy cream), which is higher in fat and lower in carbs than regular milk.

Like black coffee, espresso is essentially free of carbs. (We’re talking half a gram per shot.) Order yourself a doppio, meaning two shots, and sip it as is or add a splash of cream or almond milk to mellow it out, if it’s too bitter for your taste. You can even add half a pump of sugar-free syrup while you’re at it to make what’s essentially the cutest, tiniest keto latte ever.

You don’t like espresso plain...but you also can’t down 12 ounces of milk first thing in the morning on keto. This modest mix of espresso and whipped cream should do the trick. Starbucks’s whipped cream is infused with vanilla syrup, so it’s already slightly sweet. It’ll melt and naturally mix into the bitter, robust shots as it sits, so the drink will become less harsh on your palate as you sip. (If you prefer steamed milk to whipped cream, ask for an Espresso Macchiato made with cream.)

Heavy cream’s carb count is lower than both half-and-half and milk. It’s also much higher in calories and fat, but that’s not necessarily a problem if you’re on the keto diet. Stick to a tall latte or cappuccino so you’ll be limited to about eight ounces of cream.

If you love lattes but have never tried a flat white, it’s long overdue. This drink is a blend of espresso and steamed milk, but the milk is steamed to have microfoam, which gives it a velvety consistency. Espresso is carb-free, but the dairy definitely isn’t. So, swap in almond milk, which is lower in carbs than dairy milk at about 1 net carb per cup (at least at Starbucks—almond milks with added sugar aren’t low in carbs).

You may notice the term “skinny” on some Starbucks menus in front of lower-calorie drinks, but that doesn’t mean they’re inherently low-carb. For instance, a grande Skinny Mocha has 20g net carbs. Here are a few tweaks you can make to turn it into a keto Starbucks drink: Order a tall, use only two pumps of skinny mocha sauce and ask the barista to use almond milk or a 50/50 mix of hot water and heavy cream.

A tall Iced Blonde Vanilla Latte clocks in at 23 grams of carbohydrates and 22 grams of sugar. Swap the milk for cream or plant-based milk to nix about 12 grams of sugar and carbs, and opt for sugar-free vanilla syrup instead. Your new grand carb total? About 2.5 grams, if you go with almond milk. How's that for a keto Starbucks drink?

For those who prefer tea, you can still enjoy this doctored-up Earl Grey. Choose a plant-based milk (almond is the lowest in carbs, but you can still opt for oat or soy if you'd prefer) and go easy on the sugar-free vanilla syrup. A pump will cost you a carb. 

Love Frappuccinos? Well, have your cake and eat it too, friend. This secret menu hack starts with the Espresso Frappuccino and makes the following tweaks: Ask for a tall, then request no Frappuccino base or the usual syrups. Instead, substitute two pumps of sugar-free vanilla syrup and two shot glasses of heavy cream. Ask them to blend it Frappuccino-style and voilà. (For a script of exactly what to say when you order this keto Starbucks drink, check out this guide from Hip2Keto.)

This keto Starbucks drink is actually pretty ingenious. Instead of ordering your usual chai latte, which comes sweetened and is made of mostly milk, ask for a hot chai tea with a few fingers of heavy cream. If you prefer it sweet, add a couple pumps of sugar-free vanilla syrup too. You'll get the creamy, warm-spiced bev you crave with a fraction of the sugar and calories.