Smooth & Creamy Keto Pumpkin Spice Latte
August 19, 2019
Introduction
As fall approaches, a delightful array of pumpkin-flavored drinks and foods emerges, capturing the essence of the season. Social media operates like clockwork, ensuring you’re constantly reminded of the impending season, immersing you in a sea of orange pumpkin-infused recipes. From classic pumpkin pie and indulgent pumpkin cookies to exquisite pumpkin cake and the iconic pumpkin spice latte, the options are limitless and oh so enticing.
Now, let’s delve into the topic of the quintessential American fall beverage: the pumpkin spice latte. I must confess, though undeniably delicious, this drink packs quite the punch. With approximately 51 grams of carbs and around 49 grams of sugar (allowing for some variation based on the size you choose), the sugar content is undeniably staggering. While the taste is certainly tempting, making this a daily habit might not be the wisest choice.
Cue in the perfect keto alternative. Is it possible to make an equally delicious latte without all that sugar? After all, why should those following a low-carb or keto diet miss out on all the fun? Am i right or am i right? So, without further ado, let’s go straight into it.
Reviews
Drinks
Ingredients
| 11oz Caramel protein powder | |
| 3 tsp Lakanto Monk Fruit Sweetener | |
| 1⁄4 cup Pumpkin puree | |
| 4 ounces of Cold coffee | |
| 1⁄4 tsp Ground cinnamon | |
| 1⁄8 tsp Ground nutmeg | |
| Whipped cream, to garnish |
Nutritional Information
Directions
Pour ice and pumpkin puree into a large cup or glass.
Add all the other ingredients except the cold coffee.
Add the cold coffee.
Stir to mix the ingredients.
Notes
Tools
- Large cup or glass: This is where you mix your ingredients to create your keto pumpkin spice latte.
- Long spoon or stirrer: you'll use this to stir and mix the ingredients to create a smooth and creamy mixture.
- (Optional) Milk frother or immersion blender: if you want your keto pumpkin spice latte to be frothy, you can use this instead for mixing the ingredients.
- Measuring cups and spoons: These are essential for accurately proportioning the ingredients.
- (Optional) Blender: You can also blend your ingredients in a blender instead of in a cup or glass.
- Serving glasses or mugs: This keto pumpkin spice latte yields two servings, so you'll need at least two serving glasses or mugs.
Preparation
If you're going to use a blender to combine the ingredients, here are some things that you might want to keep in mind:
- Chill your pumpkin puree before using it. This will ensure that the latte doesn't become too warm when blended.
- Make sure that your pumpkin puree is smooth and well-mixed before adding it to the blender to prevent uneven distribution in the latte.
- Start at a low speed when blending the ingredients, gradually increasing it after mixing the ingredients for a bit. This will help prevent any splattering or clumping of the protein powder
- If you find your keto pumpkin spice latte to be too thick, you can thin it out by adding a bit more cold coffee. If it's the opposite, where it's too thin, you can add a bit more protein powder.
- Want your keto pumpkin spice latte to be a bit more creamy? After blending the ingredients, you can add a splash (about 1/4 to 1/2 cup) of unsweetened almond milk or coconut milk, then blend again until it's fully combined with the latte. If you want to be richer and creamier at the same time, you can add the same amount of heavy cream instead.
- Feel free to customize your keto pumpkin spice latte. You can add more spices such as ground ginger and ground cloves for the full pumpkin pie spice mix. You can also use another flavored protein powder such as vanilla. And if you want, you can add a bit of vanilla extract. Just keep in mind the carb count. Keep it keto, okay?
- Don't want protein powder? You can replace it with unsweetened almond milk or coconut milk. And for the caramel flavor, you can use sugar-free caramel syrup.
Storage
While it's unlikely that you'll have any leftover keto pumpkin spice latte due to how delicious it is, here are some storage instructions just in case:
- Transfer any leftover keto pumpkin spice latte to an airtight container. If the serving glasses or mugs have lids on them, you can also use those. You need to make sure that outside air doesn't get into the container. Store your leftover latte in the fridge for up to 1 to 2 days.
Serving Suggestions
- If you're planning to serve your keto pumpkin spice latte cold, you can chill the serving glasses or mugs in the fridge or freezer for about 10 to 15 minutes before using them. This will help keep the latte cold for longer compared to using room-temperature glasses.
- The best time to top your keto pumpkin spice latte with whipped cream is when you're just about to serve it. Consider providing a straw or long spoon to mix the whipped cream with the latte.
- Get creative with your garnishes! You can add a small cinnamon stick or a sprinkle of cocoa powder or ground cinnamon. You can also add a drizzle of sugar-free caramel sauce on top.
- Pair your keto pumpkin spice latte with a keto-friendly snack such as nuts, cheese, avocado, or a low-carb cookie or muffin. This can make for a well-rounded snack or light meal.
Frequently Asked Questions
For this recipe, you will need some kind of caramel flavoring. We recommend using one of these three keto caramel proteins:
Isopure Vanilla Salted Caramel, Zero Carb
Quest Nutrition Salted Caramel
Perfect Keto Salted Caramel
If you don’t have one of these keto caramel proteins and don’t want to purchase one, you can always just use a sugar-free caramel sauce from your local grocer. It isn’t as healthy, but it will do the trick and can still be keto.
Traditional pumpkin spice lattes, such as Starbucks pumpkin spice latte, typically contain sugar or sugar syrups, high-carb milk, and sweetened whipped cream. These ingredients make the latte very high-carb, which is a no-no for keto.
Fortunately, you can just replace these high-carb ingredients with keto-friendly ones. For the sugar, you can use a low-carb substitute such as Lakanto Monk Fruit Sweetener. For the high-carb milk, you can use unsweetened almond milk or coconut milk, or you can go with flavored protein powder. And lastly, for the sweetened whipped cream, you can use heavy cream instead, sweetened with a keto-friendly sweetener.
That’s exactly what we did with this keto pumpkin spice latte recipe. With this, anyone can enjoy a delicious latte without all the carbs. No need to buy any more Starbucks pumpkin spice lattes!
The great thing about pumpkin puree, even canned pumpkin puree, is that it’s only pure pumpkin (no pun intended). It doesn’t have sugar or any other non-keto additives.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said with canned pumpkin pie filling. It contains sugar, which is something you want to avoid as much as possible in a keto diet.
As such, you should use pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling.
Traditional latte is made with coffee, specifically espresso. The keyword here is “traditional”. If you don’t like coffee but still want to enjoy a cup of delicious latte, you can always make one with matcha. It will make for a delightful pumpkin spice matcha latte.
Other keto-friendly non-coffee options include cinnamon rooibos tea, keto masala chai, turmeric, and keto hot chocolate. Enjoy your non-coffee pumpkin spice latte!
Sure you can! Pumpkin spice is a convenient substitute for ground cinnamon and nutmeg. The tradeoff is that you have less control over the individual flavors. If that’s not an issue for you and just want some delicious low-carb pumpkin spice latte, then go with pumpkin spice.
Yes, you can. Instead of using cold coffee, use hot coffee instead. Then, mix it with the other ingredients (do not add ice). If you’re using a blender, be cautious about blending hot liquids. If the blender is sealed, mixing hot liquids can create pressure. To remedy this, remove the blender lid’s center cap and cover it with a kitchen towel while blending.
Wrap- Up
Smooth, creamy, and packed with pumpkin flavor. That’s what this keto pumpkin spice latte is! By making clever substitutions, we were able to turn this usually high-carb beverage into a keto-friendly one. And that’s not all, by adding protein powder to the mix, we were able to pack a lot of nutrients into this drink, making it a healthier pumpkin spice latte too!
A serving of the keto beverage only amounts to <5g of net carbs. That’s far less than the carb content of a Starbucks pumpkin spice latte. Hooray for keto!
Pair your delightful keto pumpkin spice latte with a keto-friendly snack such as yummy snickerdoodle cookie, or a tasty keto macaroon.
If you have tried this recipe or any other recipe on the blog, please rate it below and let us know what you think in the comments! We love hearing from you!
You can also share it on instagram and use the hashtag #buttertogetherkitchen for a chance to be featured on our page. Yay for thriving keto communities!
We have some other pumpkin recipes yo’ll might enjoy :