You know it’s summer when you start seeing pictures of the frothy, creamy, colorful Starbucks drinks pop up on the menu.
What you might not know is that many of these favorites, even when not supersized, are the calorie and sugar equivalent of a large candy bar. And have far in excess of the recommended sugar intake sometimes on a daily basis. While following my 80-20 approach can definitely leave room for an indulgent Starbucks drink as is, regular consumption of these “empty calories” will not only add up but will leave you unsatisfied, as there is no significant amount of protein, fiber, or fat in any of them.
But you don’t have to be left out in the heat. If you are a Starbucks person, you know you are already reading this, so here’s how you try cool drinks without drinking a lot of empty calories. In this article, I will give you the truth about these drinks but I will also recommend dupes you can order to get the taste without the unnecessary filling.
You crave: A frothy cold brew
If you are tempted by: White Chocolate Macadamia Cream Cold Brew, Chocolate Cream Cold Brew, and Salted Caramel Cold Brew. Calories @ 250 calories, 30g of sugar, 10-15g fat.
You might as well have a:
Some of the most tempting Starbucks summer cold brews clock in at candy bar levels of calories — we’re talking 250+ calories and almost 30g of sugar in a single Grand.
But you can still have your cake and order:
Nitro Vanilla Sweet Cream Cold Brew: 70 calories, 4g sugar, a pretty satisfying and safe bet that will give you an extra zing of caffeine.
French Vanilla Cold Foam Brew: (the link tells you how to order) With plain cold brew nonfat milk or almond milk as the base for the cold foam, and sugar-free vanilla syrup this will be about 55 calories and 7g sugar. Note that you also have the cold foam flavor options as in the cold brew drinks above, and if you choose those flavoring from the syrup will add extra calories and sugar. This article has a good breakdown of the calories in cold foam and how the type of milk and flavoring factors in.
That perfect combination of foam and iced coffee – and in sooo many yummy flavors like salted caramel.
Instead of Salted Caramel Cream Cold Brew (240 cal / 26g sugar)
→ Order: Cold Brew with 1 pump caramel syrup, light cold foam made with non-fat milk, and a dash of sea salt topping.
Instead of Chocolate Cream Cold Brew (250 cal / 28g sugar)
→ Order: Cold Brew with 1 pump mocha and light chocolate cold foam.
Instead of Nondairy Chocolate Cream Cold Brew (250 cal / 29g sugar)
→ Order: Cold Brew with 1 pump mocha, almond-milk foam, and no vanilla syrup.
Still want something sweet & creamy?
→ Try the Vanilla Sweet Cream Nitro Cold Brew. At 70 calories and just 4g sugar, it’s the smoothest compromise.
Smart swaps = no bloat, no crash, and still that perfect cold sip on a hot day.
Here’s a quick chart summarizing all of the popular drinks and their dupes:
You want that “Pink Drink” that’s all over Insta (it photographs so PRETTY)
A Pink Drink at Starbucks has exactly 4 ingredients: strawberry acai juice, coconut milk, freeze-dried strawberries and ice. In its original formula it is 140 calories, 25g sugar, 2g fat.
You might as well have:
A serving of strawberry ice cream, 150 calories, 18g sugar, 7g fat
You can still have your cake and order:
Thanks to fit-minded Starbucks-lovers, they’ve figured out how to hack the pink drink to meet the nutritional requirements on keto. To order your very own keto pink drink, ask your barista for passion tango tea, sugar-free syrup, heavy creamer (or light creamer), and Splenda (optional) or Stevia.
The Calorie Breakdown of the Healthy Pink Drink
| Ingredient | Calories | Sugar | Fat |
| Passion Tango Iced Tea | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sugar-Free Vanilla Syrup | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Heavy Cream | 100 | 1 | 11 |
| Half and half | 80 | 1 | 6 |
You crave: A Starbucks Refresher
If you are tempted by: Paradise Drink, Strawberry Acai, Mango Dragonfruit, Pineapple Passionfruit, or any frozen version of these drinks (all featured on Starbucks’ cold drink menu) , get ready to take in 100-150 calories and at least 20-35g of sugar
You might as well have:
A Coke (or equivalent soda) at 140 calories, 39g sugar, or a Cosmo (167 calories and 8g sugar) or a Mojito 160 calories, 20g sugar.
But you can still have your cake and order:
- Mango Dragonfruit Starbucks Refreshers Beverage: 90 calories, 19g sugar, 0g fat (not the greatest choice, but it’s a good compromise if you want a sexy colorful drink)
- Iced Passion Tango Tea: 0 calories
- Iced Green Tea: 0 calories
- Iced Peach Green Tea: 60 calories, 12 sugar
Note the “lemonade” version of these drinks will add about 50 calories. Also, adding stevia to ANY of these drinks is an option to sweeten them up!
Total with half and half – 87 calories
Total with heavy cream – 112 calories
