Starbucks is a delicious treat, and — with over 15,000 locations in the United States alone — there’s probably one close to you.
Unfortunately, many drinks at Starbucks are loaded with sugar, making them poor choices if you’re on keto.
However, there are several perfectly keto drinks at Starbucks, and there are also a few simple tweaks that can make many other drinks keto-friendly.
Here’s your comprehensive guide to ordering keto-friendly drinks (and snacks) at Starbucks.
Tips for Ordering Keto at Starbucks
Here are a few tips for making your Starbucks order keto-friendly:
- Replace milk: For most coffeehouse drinks (cappuccino, flat white, or latte), you can easily make them Keto-friendly by requesting to swap out the milk for heavy cream, half and half, or almond milk. Just remember that heavy cream and half and half will increase the calorie content. Avoid oat milk, cow’s milk, coconut milk (which is sweetened at Starbucks), and vanilla sweet cream.
- Choose sugar-free vanilla syrup or stevia: For sweetness, stick to the sugar-free vanilla syrup. Alternatively, order an unsweetened beverage and add stevia from the condiment station yourself. Avoid all other flavor syrups because they contain sugar.
- Avoid most toppings, drizzles, and add-ins: All of Starbucks’ sauces, toppings, drizzles, and cold foams contain sugar. Additionally, their chai base and matcha powder contain sugar. You can add whipped cream and cinnamon, though.
Although Starbucks allows for lots of customization, making it easy to adjust drinks to keto specifications, there are some items you won’t be able to enjoy on keto.
Specialty flavored drinks like Pumpkin Spice Lattes, Cinnamon Dolce Lattes, Caramel Macchiatos, or Caffe Mochas are off-limits because the flavor syrups for all of these drinks contain sugar. Likewise, you should avoid Frappuccinos because the Frappuccino base is sweetened with sugar.
Best Keto Starbucks Drinks to Order
Here are the best keto-friendly menu items at Starbucks that have complete nutrition facts available. Feel free to add a keto-friendly cream, milk, or sweetener to any of these drinks to add creaminess and sweetness — but be mindful that the keto-friendly cream or milk options will add additional calories.
Remember that you can make adjustments to other drinks at Starbucks, like lattes and cappuccinos, to make them more keto-friendly. However, you’ll have to estimate the calorie content of these beverages yourself since Starbucks only provides nutrition information for their standard recipes.
1. Black Coffee
Net carbs: 0 grams per 16 ounce serving (grande)
A basic black coffee at Starbucks is totally carb-free, making it an excellent keto-friendly choice.
2. Caffe Americano
Net carbs: 2 grams per 16 ounce serving (grande)
A Caffe Americano consists of a shot of espresso mixed with hot water. It’s low in carbs, providing just what’s in a shot of espresso.
3. Espresso
Net carbs: 2 grams per 1.5 ounce serving (doppio)
If you need a quick caffeine infusion, a shot of espresso is a good choice that provides just two grams of net carbs.
4. Espresso con Panna
Net carbs: 2 grams per 1.5 ounce serving (doppio)
An espresso con panna contains a dollop of whipped cream, an amount that’s small enough it doesn’t affect the carb count. The added fat may make your espresso shot feel a litlte more substantial.
5. Espresso Macchiato
Net carbs: 2 grams per 1.5 ounce serving (doppio)
Espresso macchiatos are made with added steamed milk to produce a layer of milk foam on top. Like the espresso con panna, the added dairy doesn’t affect the carb count and adds some extra fat. You can order as-is, or swap out the milk for a more keto-friendly version if you prefer.
6. Brewed Teas
Net carbs: 0 grams per 16 ounce serving (grande)
Starbucks offers several brewed teas for zero carbs, including chai, Earl Grey, Royal English Breakfast, Emperor’s Clouds and Mist, honey citrus mint, Jade Citrus Mint, Mint Majesty, and Peach Tranquility.
7. Cold Brew Coffee
Net carbs: 0 grams per 16 ounce serving (grande)
Cold brew coffee is brewed cold (hence the name), making it smoother and less acidic than hot-brewed coffee. It’s also carb-free (1).
8. Nitro Cold Brew
Net carbs: 0 grams per 16 ounce serving (grande)
Nitro Cold Brew is infused with nitrogen to add a mild sweetness and creaminess for zero carbs.
9. Iced Caffe Americano
Net carbs: 2 grams per 16 ounce serving (grande)
An iced Caffe Americano consists of espresso and cold water, which is then iced. The only carbs come from the espresso shot itself.
10. Iced Coffee
Net carbs: 0 grams per 16 ounce serving (grande)
An iced black coffee comes standard with four pumps of a flavor syrup. To keep the carbs low, ask for a plain iced coffee or sugar-free vanilla syrup.
11. Iced Espresso
Net carbs: 2 grams per 1.5 ounce serving (doppio)
A shot of iced espresso is a refreshing caffeine boost on a hot day, and provides just two grams of net carbs.
12. Iced Brewed Tea
Net carbs: 0 grams per 16 ounce serving (grande)
You can order any brewed tea iced rather than hot, for zero carbs.
13. Galvanina Sparkling Water
Net carbs: 0 grams per bottle
Galvanina’s naturally bubbly sparkling water is available at Starbucks in unflavored or lime options, and both contain zero grams of carbs per bottle.
14. Spindrift Sparkling Water
Net carbs: 2-4 grams per can
For a sparkling water with more flavor, Spindrift’s waters — naturally sweetened and flavored with small amounts of real fruit — are available at Starbucks in Grapefruit or Raspberry Lime flavors.
15. Bottled Water
Net carbs: 0 grams per bottle
Finally, if you’re not in the mood for coffee or a flavored drink, bottled water is always a keto-friendly option if you need some on-the-go hydration. Starbucks carries Dasani, Ethos, and Hawai’i Volcanic brands.
Drinks to Avoid
Here are the high-carb drinks that you should strictly avoid at Starbucks while on keto:
- Flavored Lattes, Macchiatos, Flat Whites, and Mochas: Flavored syrups, chai pumps and matcha powder all contain sugar, so drinks made with these ingredients should be avoided.
- Frappuccinos: Frappuccinos are all made using sugary Frappuccino base, so you should avoid these drinks as well.
- Refreshers: Refreshers are made using sugary Refreshers bases, so they are too high in carbs for keto.
- Juices: Fruit juices are naturally high in carbs from sugar.
- Lemonades and Tea Lemonades: Starbucks lemonades and tea lemonades all contain sugar.
- Matcha Beverages: The matcha powder Starbucks uses is mixed with sugar, so you can’t order an unsweetened version. However, you can order a green tea latte with bagged green tea and a keto-friendly cream option.
- Chai Latte Beverages: Likewise, the Starbucks chai pump contains added sugar. You can order a brewed chai tea and add sugar-free sweeteners and keto-friendly cream to make a keto-friendly approximation of Starbucks’ popular Chai Latte.
Keto Foods and Snacks at Starbucks
Hungry? There are a few keto-friendly snacks at Starbucks that can help tide you over until your next meal.
- Kale & Mushroom Sous Vide Egg Bites: 9 grams net carbs per 2 pieces
- Bacon & Gruyere Egg Bites: 9 grams net carbs per 2 pieces
- Country Archer Hickory Smoked Turkey Jerky: 5 grams net carbs per bag
- Country Archer Original Beef Jerky: 5 grams net carbs per bag
- String Cheese: 1 gram net carbs per piece
- Avocado Spread: 1 gram net carbs per serving
You may also be able to snack on some of Starbucks’ breakfast or lunch sandwiches (with no bread) or Protein Boxes (with no crackers or fruit), although you’ll have to estimate the nutrition information for these foods.
The Bottom Line
Although your options are limited at Starbucks when you’re on keto, you can still enjoy several menu options. Any of the options we listed can be ordered as-is, or you can order other drinks and make them keto by choosing heavy cream or almond milk and stevia or sugar-free vanilla syrup.