Starbucks Guide: 12 of the Best Keto Drink Orders, According to a Barista
Calling all Starbucks lovers! ☕️
Picture this — you’re at Starbucks, there are a bunch of under-caffeinated coffee fiends behind you, and it’s now your turn to order. The issue? You have no clue what in the heck you can actually order that’s keto outside of plain black coffee!
Thanks to the diligence of one keto-loving Starbucks barista on Reddit, along with suggestions from our Hip2Keto team, we’ve put together a guide of the best keto drinks that you can order from Starbucks without knocking yourself out of ketosis.
Hip Tip: Want an easier way to take this list with you? Download our printable with various sizes for your convenience!
1. Unsweetened Black Tea
Iced tea comes sweetened with liquid cane sugar unless otherwise specified, so you’ll want to ask for this unsweetened. Your tea options are black, green, white, and passion tea (herbal tea) and if you need a touch of sweetness, you could add a non-sugar sweetener. Just ask your barista to shake it into the tea — it will taste so much better when it’s incorporated and dissolved.
How to order:
“I would like an iced [black] tea, unsweetened.”
2. Keto Americano
Collin’s go-to order! A simple Americano (hot or iced) with a splash or two of heavy cream cures caffeine cravings without a carb overload. If you want to sweeten it up, mix in a sugar-alternative packet, or do what Collin does and carry liquid stevia in your purse to use when you’re out and about.
How to order:
“I would like an Americano, topped with a splash or two of heavy cream.”
3. Keto Iced Coffee
Iced coffee and cold brew come pre-sweetened with their classic syrup so you’ll have to ask for it without sugar. You can still get some sweetness from their sugar-free syrups in vanilla and cinnamon Dolce. Feel free to top it with heavy cream as well!
For a Tall, ask for 2 pumps of the desired sugar-free syrup, 3 pumps for a Grande, and 4 pumps for a Venti.
How to order:
“I would like an iced coffee, unsweetened, with [3 pumps] of sugar-free [vanilla] syrup.”
4. Keto Pink Drink
This mimics the looks of the oh so Instagrammable “Pink Drink”, and you can even ask your barista to add freeze-dried strawberries for the full effect. Just note that while it is tasty and refreshing, it doesn’t really taste anything like the original pink drink.
Follow the same syrup ratio as before (Tall: 2 pumps of syrup, Grande: 3 pumps, Venti: 4 pumps).
How to order:
“I would like an Iced Passion Tea, unsweetened, with [3 pumps] of sugar-free vanilla, topped with a splash of heavy cream.”
5. Keto Iced Doubleshot
Need a serious jolt of caffeine? This drink boasts 3 shots of espresso (5 shots when ordered as a venti!) and is topped with either almond milk or light heavy cream. Feel free to flavor with either sugar-free vanilla or sugar-free Cinnamon Dolce syrup.
How to order:
“I would like a Starbucks Doubleshot on ice, unsweetened, topped with [almond milk] and [3 pumps] of sugar-free [vanilla] syrup.”
6. Keto Chai Latte
First of all, ordering something breve makes you sound pretty fancy. Breve, which just means half and half, is a good way to thin out a drink while still getting the benefits of some heavy cream.
Ask your barista if you could have the breve as half cream, half almond milk to make the drink even more keto-friendly — just know that this request can only be made when ordering in person since the app doesn’t allow for this customization.
Alternatively, you could also order a “chai tea with a splash of heavy cream and [3 pumps] of sugar-free vanilla.” This suggestion by superplayah on Reddit is a great keto chai tea latte since it uses 2 chai tea bags rather than the concentrate. Just be sure to let it sit for a moment before drinking so the tea has enough time to “brew”. For extra sweetness, you could also add in a couple of non-sugar sweetener packets.
How to order:
“I would like an iced, lightly sweet chai latte, no liquid cane sugar, breve (pronounced breh-vay).”
Hip Tip: Make your own Starbucks inspired Chai Tea Latte at home!
7. Keto Caffè Misto
A Caffè Misto is a blend of Starbucks fresh brewed coffee and steamed milk. If you’re not a huge espresso fan, this is a great option as it tastes a lot like a latte and has about the same amount of caffeine. Sub out the milk for heavy cream or breve (half & half) and add any desired sugar-free syrups or a few packets of non-sugar sweetener for a delicious keto-friendly pick-me-up!
How to order:
“I would like a caffe misto, but replace the milk with heavy cream.”
8. Keto Flat White
A Flat White contains an extra ristretto espresso shot, making it bolder than a latte but the steamed milk makes it smoother than a cappuccino. For a keto-friendly option, replace the whole milk with almond milk, or ask for a 50/50 mix of heavy cream and hot water for a perfect blend.
How to order:
“I would like a Flat White, unsweetened, with almond milk.”
9. Keto Iced Caramel Macchiatto
A standard caramel macchiato has espresso shots, vanilla syrup, steamed milk, and a sweet caramel drizzle. Definitely not keto-friendly. To lower the carbs on this favorite, order an Americano with three parts water to one part heavy cream and add sugar-free vanilla syrup.
For the syrup, choose the amount of pumps based on the drink size (tall: 2 pumps, grande: 3 pumps, venti: 4 pumps). You can also order breve for a 50/50 blend if you prefer.
How to order:
“I would like an iced, unsweetened Americano with three parts water to one part heavy cream, add [2] pumps of sugar-free [vanilla] syrup.”
10. Keto Frappuccino
This slightly lengthy order will reward you with a keto frappuccino! Choose which sugar-free syrup you’d like and order the amount of pumps based on the drink size (tall: 2 pumps, grande: 3 pumps, venti: 4 pumps). When saying you want it blended frappuccino style, you may also need to clarify that you don’t want the frappuccino base or frappuccino syrups. This is important so you don’t make the same keto mistake we did.
How to order:
“I would like an iced coffee, unsweetened, with extra ice, sugar-free [cinnamon dolce] syrup, and 2 shots of heavy cream, blended frappuccino-style.”
Another option is to order cold brew with a splash of heavy cream, sugar-free cinnamon dolce syrup (or any other sugar-free syrup that you’d like), blended like a frappuccino!
Hip Tip: Make your own Keto Frappuccino at home!
11. Keto Mocha
For a quick cure for chocolate cravings, this little chocolate bomb of a drink will do the trick. And don’t forget to ask about customizing the breve (pronounced breh-vay) as mentioned in the iced lightly sweet chai latte order!
How to order:
“I would like a short skinny mocha, breve.”
12. Keto Thai Iced Tea
This brilliant hack by a Reddit user will result in a drink that tastes similar to a Thai iced tea! Note this has to be an in-person only order as there’s no half and half option on the mobile app.
How to order:
“I would like a half iced coffee, unsweetened, and half black tea with a splash of heavy cream and non-sugar sweetener.”
As for what to eat…
There really aren’t a ton of options, but the insides of paninis (turkey pesto or chicken and double-smoked bacon) are worth trying. The cheese and meat trays, along with the egg and cheese protein box (minus the fruit) are fair game as well. There’s also a fairly new meal-sized BLT Turkey protein box that’s pretty keto-friendly when you leave out the bread.
For a quick snack, Starbucks also carries Moon Cheese — they’re crunchy little cheese balls made from 100% cheese!
Before you order something made with scrambled eggs thinking it’s carb-free (like the sous vide egg bites or breakfast sandwiches), note that they unfortunately have hidden carbs since the eggs contain fillers.
A few other quick tips:
If you’re not keen on Splenda and have a different, preferred sweetener, consider carrying your sweetener of choice with you, just like Collin does! Stash it either in your purse or in the car so you can sweeten your drinks on the go!
Some highly-rated liquid sweetener options are NuNaturals Liquid Stevia, Pyure Simply Sweet, NOW Better Stevia, or carry Xylitol in a baggie — it’s one of our favorite keto sweeteners!
We’re giving a big cheer to The Real Cutlass (the Starbucks barista on the Keto SubReddit) for making all of our caffeinated keto dreams come true!
Don’t forget to download our Keto Starbucks drink order printable!
Was hoping the keto horchata drink would be on this list, as I keep forgetting what’s in it, then have to try to find it. Just curious why it didn’t make the cut…
Hi Erika! We do love this one too! I’ll pass this suggestion on to the team ♥ Thanks so much!
So, I’m not keto, but I am a starbucks barista.
To make a horchata Frapp, it’s basically a coffee frapp, with cinnamon dolce syrup, almond milk, whip, and cinnamon dolce topping. I don’t know know fully what the rules of keto are, but you could sub the cinnamon dolce syrup for sugar free cinnamon dolce. I hope this helps a little!
Thanks, Jessi!
I order 1/2 heavy cream 1/2 coconut milk for my latte, would that be considered Keto?
Yes, just make sure you are getting unsweetened coconut milk! Also, a lot of drinks have liquid cane sugar added so you also say “no liquid cane sugar.”
I love my starbucks coffee and knowing that Starbucks offers keto that makes me love it even more.
Hi Eusebio! I love Starbucks too. So glad you get to enjoy it still❤