While Starbucks is probably not the first place you’ll go for a low carb meal, it is possible to order keto at Starbucks.
In addition to selling dozens of delicious coffee drinks, Starbucks also sells snacks and food. Although the majority of these are not keto-friendly, some customization can make them fit into your low-carb diet.
Our favorite low carb Starbucks options are brewed coffee, unsweetened iced tea, and iced blonde vanilla lattes with sugar-free vanilla syrup and heavy cream in place of milk.
If you need something to munch, one of their bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich options (minus the bun) are your best bet.
In this guide, we will show you how to order low-carb at Starbucks, including the best keto coffee drinks and food.
Tips For Ordering Low Carb At Starbucks
The best thing you can do at Starbucks is to order a plain cup of coffee and walk away. You can even add a keto-friendly coffee creamer to it if you need a little something extra.
We realize that’s often easier said than done. The smells alone of coffee and baked goods is enough to tempt even the most dedicated keto dieter. Luckily, you can work around this by having a plan before you go in there (or visit the drive-through). Here are some tips for ordering low-carb at Starbucks.
#1. Keep your coffee simple
When it comes to ordering a cup of coffee, keep it simple. Don’t try to jazz it up too much. We recommend ordering a small dark roast or espresso shot and sipping on it slowly.
If you fancy a latte or cappuccino, then you’ll want to stay away from the cow’s milk that’s usually added to these drinks. Ask to have your hot drink prepared with heavy cream instead, which is a good source of fat and contains less sugar and carbs. Alternatively, almond milk is also a keto-friendly substitute for dairy milk.
While some people are not in favor of the sugar-free syrups at Starbucks because it contains artificial sweeteners, it can spruce up a dull drink so you don’t feel like you’re missing out. Is it healthy or good for you? No. Is it keto-friendly? Yes. Your call.
#2. Drink unsweetened tea
Starbucks has a nice assortment of tea if coffee is too harsh on your stomach. Just be sure that your tea is unsweetened as it’s easy to accidentally order a tea that has sugar added to it.
Hot green teas are usually unsweetened while iced lattes and chai drinks almost always have some kind of flavor added to them.
Any tea that has the word “infusion” in its name is off limits because it contains added sugars.
#3. Be prepared to pick some stuff off your food
Many of the foods at Starbucks are premade, meaning that it may be hard to custom order them and you’ll have to be prepared to pick some stuff off.
You can stick to your low-carb diet by ordering a sandwich or protein box and tossing the bread, but Starbucks probably won’t be able to accommodate your request to hold any sauces or ingredients that come on your food.
If it’s too much hassle, just don’t order it and save your money. There are also other better low carb fast food options you can try.
#4. Check out the nutritional content on the website
If you’re unsure about anything you’re ordering at Starbucks, then you can visit their website and find out exactly what’s in your food. Their nutritional menu includes both nutrition and ingredients for all of their dishes.
Keep in mind that the website doesn’t allow you to accommodate for customized food. For example, you can see the nutritional information for a breakfast sandwich, but it will include the calories for the bread.
You can use the nutritional information as a tool to judge what you’re eating and how many carbs you’re taking in, but it won’t always be an exact measure.
#5. Use this Starbucks low-carb quick guide
In a hurry? Here are some of the best low-carb items to order at Starbucks (and how):
- Bacon, gouda and egg sandwich (no bun)
- Double smoked bacon, cheddar and egg sandwich (no bun)
- Chicken and bacon panini (no bread or maple mustard)
- Eggs and cheddar protein box (cheese and eggs only – you can eat the fruit if you’re low-carb but not strict keto)
- Bacon & Gruyère Sous Vide Egg Bites
The egg bites at Starbucks are OK to order if you are on a low-carb diet as they contain around 9 to 11 grams of net carbs per serving. But if you’re strict keto, you might want to think again.
What To Order at Starbucks
The menu at Starbucks isn’t big, but their menu is constantly changing. They offer a regular menu, but they also include lots of seasonal and holiday drinks and food choices.
Like Panera, most of their food options are geared toward vegans and vegetarians with lots of Mediterranean-inspired flare, such as their Za’atar chicken and lemon tahini and grilled chicken and cauliflower tabbouleh.
Some dishes aren’t available at all locations, and they take some work to make them low-carb, but it can be done!
Here’s what (and how) to order at Starbucks to keep it low-carb.
Breakfast
- Bacon, Gouda and egg breakfast sandwich (minus the roll)
- Smoked Shoulder Bacon Breakfast Sandwich (hold the bread)
- Chicken sausage and bacon biscuit (hold the biscuit, gravy and honey butter)
- Double smoked bacon, cheddar and egg sandwich (hold or toss the bun)
- Everything croissant, pastrami and cheddar breakfast sandwich (toss the croissant)
- Reduced-fat turkey bacon and cage-free egg white breakfast sandwich (toss the English muffin)
- Sausage, cheddar, and egg breakfast sandwich (minus the English muffin)
- Slow-roasted ham, swiss and egg breakfast sandwich (toss the croissant)
- Spicy chorizo, Monterey Jack and egg breakfast (toss the bread and caramelized onion)
- Spinach, feta and cage-free egg white breakfast wrap (hold the tortilla wrap)
- Kale & Portabella Mushroom Sous Vide Egg Bites
- Bacon & Gruyère Sous Vide Egg Bites
- Egg White & Roasted Red Pepper Sous Vide Egg Bites
Protein Boxes
- Egg and cheese protein box (minus the biscuit and honey peanut butter spread; also omit the grapes and apple slices if you’re strict keto)
- Smoked turkey protein box (don’t eat the bread or Greek-yogurt-ranch dip; also omit the apples and carrots if you’re strict keto)
- Chicken BLT protein box (don’t eat the bread or Greek-yogurt-ranch dip; also omit the apples and carrots if you’re strict keto)
Sandwiches and more
- Avocado spread
- Chicken and double-smoked bacon sandwich (don’t eat the bread or maple mustard sauce)
- Chicken Caprese (toss the bread and just eat the insides of the sandwich)
- Turkey and Havarti sandwich (toss the bread; the mayo contains vegetable oil and sugar, so you might want to eat around that, too)
- Roasted turkey and dill Havarti sandwich (toss the bread; you may want to eat around the mayo, too)
Keto Friendly Starbucks Drinks
The bottom-line when it comes to ordering a keto Starbucks drink is:
- Go for unsweetened drinks and add a few pumps of sugar free syrup or use stevia to sweeten
- Replace any dairy milk with heavy cream or unsweetened almond milk
Pair any of the above-mentioned meals with one of these keto-friendly drinks:
- Black coffee and no sugar
- Lattes made with heavy cream instead of cow’s milk without sweetener (or half heavy cream, half water)
- Cappuccino with whipped cream instead of dairy milk
- Unsweetened iced coffee made with heavy cream
- Cafe Americano
- Doppio
- Espresso macchiato (made with heavy cream instead of cow’s milk)
- Flat white (made with heavy cream instead of cow’s milk)
- Latte macchiato (made with heavy cream instead of cow’s milk)
- Comfort wellness brewed tea
- Defense wellness brewed tea
- Emperors cloud and mist green tea
- Mint majesty herbal tea
- Organic jade citrus mint brewed tea
- Passion tango herbal tea
- Peach tranquility herbal tea
- Rev up wellness brewed tea
- Royal English breakfast tea
- Teavana earl grey brewed tea
- Teavana organic chai tea
- Teavana shaken iced black tea
- Youthberry white tea
- Nitro cold brew
If you put a little thought into your order you can still enjoy a Starbucks iced coffee, cinnamon dolce latte, and chai tea latte on a low carb diet.
To enjoy a keto chai tea latte, order a chai tea (not a latte) with a few splashes heavy cream and two squirts of sugar-free vanilla syrup (or sweeten with stevia).
A popular (secret) drink you can customize at Starbucks is a keto white drink. Ask for unsweetened peach citrus white tea with a splash of heavy cream. Sweeten with two pumps sugar-free vanilla syrup (or stevia). Add ice.
What to Avoid on the Starbucks Menu for a Keto Diet
Below is a list of foods that we recommend staying away from since they contain ingredients that aren’t low-carb and probably can’t be customized.
- Classic oatmeal
- Ham and cheese croissant (you could eat the ham and cheese only, but it appears to be intertwined with the croissant and it looks hard to peel this off!)
- Hearty blueberry oatmeal
- Seared steak, egg and tortilla wrap (this is another food item you could eat the insides out of, but it may be hard to eat around the tortilla and carmelized onions, which have sugar in them)
- All bakery items, including bagels, rolls, muffins, croissants, donuts, scones, and cookies
- Chicken wrap protein box (we think it might be too hard to eat around the tortilla, slaw, and peanut-coconut sauce on this one)
- PB&J protein box
- Cheese & fruit protein box (unless you just eat the cheese and throw the crackers away; if you’re strict keto, omit the fruit, too)
- Chicken and quinoa protein bowl
- Lentils, veggies, and brown rice protein bowl
- All yogurts and fruit bowls
- Chicken BLT salad sandwich (you could eat the insides of the sandwich and toss the bread, but the salad contains vegetable oil and sugar, which is not strict keto)
- Egg salad sandwich (again, you could eat the insides of the sandwich and toss the bread, but the salad contains vegetable oil and sugar, which is not strict keto)
- Turkey pastrami Reuben (you could eat the insides of this sandwich only, but it’s hard to get away from the dressing, which contains sugar and vegetable oil)
- Za’atar chicken and lemon tahini (this one contains ancient grains that are hard to eat around)
- Grilled chicken and cauliflower tabbouleh (you could eat this one if you avoided the dressing and the chickpeas, but it might be hard if it’s premade)
- Seasoned Turkey & Green Pepper Pico (this one has roasted corn and quinoa salad and Greek yogurt dressing)
- Potato, Cheddar & Chive Bakes
- Everything Bagel & Veggie Bakes
Drinks to avoid at Starbucks:
- All iced chai tea drinks
- Citrus defender
- Honey citrus mint tea
- Iced matcha green tea latte
- Matcha lemonade
- Royal English breakfast tea latte
- Shaken sweet tea
- Teavana London fog tea latte and iced London fog tea latte
- All Teavana shaken iced tea drinks and lemonades
- All frozen coffee drinks
- All mocha or white mocha drinks, both hot and cold
- Caramel macchiato, both hot and cold
- All sweetened lattes or cappuccinos
- All sweetened bottled coffees and teas
- All Starbucks refreshers
Conclusion
Eating low-carb at Starbucks is tricky because most of their food comes premade, so you can’t customize it. We recommend sticking with a breakfast sandwich and tossing the bread.
You can also order one of their sandwiches or wraps and do the same, but these tend to come with sauce that you’ll also need to scrape off.
We recommend ordering an unsweetened black coffee or tea to keep it ultra low carb. For a little indulgence, swap the dairy milk for heavy cream and sweeten with stevia.
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