The Starbucks Holiday drinks really get me every season! I cannot even count the number of Pumpkin Cream Cold Brews I indulged in while I wavered from low carb life the past couple of months. However, with the New Year firmly in sight and probably new weight loss and health goals on the horizon, I’ve gone ahead and modified the latest Starbucks decadent coffee creation to the low carb Starbucks Peppermint Mocha.
Now, you will have to forgo the chocolate curls and whipped cream but at the end of the day, I think you can still sip the holiday kool-aid like everyone else – except you’ll be guzzling far fewer calories with this low carb Starbucks drink.
If you’re new to the low carb or Keto game, remember it’s relatively easy to modify Starbucks drinks for less sugar and lower carbohydrates. Ask for the sugar-free syrups and light heavy cream as your “milk”.
Low Carb Starbucks Peppermint Mocha
This is my go-to Starbucks holiday drink because it is literally Christmas in a cup! I love how the peppermint and chocolate work together tantalizing your tastebuds.
Let me tell you, the Starbucks Peppermint Mocha is SO delicious and decadent. I’d really call it a dessert, honestly. It has chocolate curls and whipped cream plus 440 calories, 63 carbs and 54 grams of sugars. You can see the nutrition information here.
Ordering the low carb Starbucks Peppermint Mocha will only cost you 135 calories and save you a whopping 56 carbs. That’s a win in my book.
How To Order:
- Order a grande Blonde Americano hot
- You can also order a regular Americano hot as well. I just prefer blonde. You can also order this iced.
- Ask for 1 pump peppermint, 2 pumps sugar-free vanilla, 1 pump sugar-free mocha sauce.
- Ask for a splash or light heavy cream
- Depending on the barista this can range from 1 – 3 tablespoons.
If you’re really counting your macros, you’ll definitely want to take a look at the coffee before you drink it. If it’s closer to white than brown then there is way too much heavy cream (which means more calories) so you’ll need to have it re-made. Additionally, many smaller Starbucks don’t have the skinny mocha sauce. If you drink it with the regular mocha sauce it adds 5 additional carbs.
Here’s a snapshot from MyFitness Pal, where you can see how I log it for my daily macros:
The low carb version of the Starbucks Peppermint Mocha comes out to 7 net carbs which is high for anyone on Keto and strict to their daily 20 net carbs. I’ve also ordered this drink without the skinny mocha which will save you 2 extra carbs – making it only 5 net carbs. I like it this way too!
In the meantime, if you want to see all the ultimate coffee modifications and hacks follow the Macro Barista on Instagram here.
