Can you drink cappuccino on a keto diet? Yes, you can enjoy cappuccinos made with almond or soy milk on a keto diet in moderation. Read on to find out more.
If you are on a low-carb, high-fat diet like the keto diet, you may have noticed that the number of non-water drinks available to enjoy is limited. This can be stressful for coffee lovers who look forward to drinks like cappuccinos every morning.
Luckily, cappuccinos can be enjoyed while on a keto diet through some easy substitutions and tweaks to the recipe. When made with milk alternatives like almond, coconut, or cashew milk, cappuccinos can be keto-friendly. These options are low-carb and are enjoyable as part of a well-balanced keto diet.
The Keto Diet For Coffee Lovers
The ketogenic or the keto diet is a low-carb, high-fat diet that, when done properly, encourages the body to produce energy from fats rather than carbohydrates. This diet has gained popularity in recent years due to its ability to help people lose weight, reduce blood sugar, and lower insulin levels.
People who partake in the keto diet typically allocate 10% of their daily food intake to carbs. This equates to between 20-30 grams of net carbs per day.
To manage this, dieters need to avoid grains, fruit, and sugary foods, among other foods. They should also abstain from foods with added sugars, like sweetened milk.
Can You Drink Cappuccino On A Keto Diet: Making Cappuccinos Keto-Friendly
Cappuccinos are technically keto-friendly. Or at least, they can be.
They are a 1:1:1 ratio of espresso, milk, and milk foam. Espresso, which is just boiling water pressed through coffee beans, is only .5 grams of carbohydrates per fluid ounce, meaning this portion of the beverage is essentially carb-free.
Learn more about drinking coffee while fasting.
It gets more complicated when the milk and milk foam portion is factored in. Ideally, you want to find a suitable milk alternative to make your cappuccinos “keto,” although not all milk alternatives are created equal. Don’t forget to buy the best coffee for keto.
Milk And Milk Alternatives
Regular full-fat cow’s milk contains lactose, which is essentially natural milk sugar. A single cup of full-fat milk equals approximately 12 grams of net carbs. If you’re on a keto diet that only allows you to eat 20 grams of net carbs per day, a single medium cappuccino can make up half of your day’s allotted carbs.
Furthermore, milk made from grains like oat milk or rice milk knock them out of the running when making a keto-friendly cappuccino. Their carb content is between 17 and 21 net grams per cup.
To make a cappuccino that won’t exceed a daily allotment of carbs, nut milk tends to be a better choice.
Almond milk, for example, is one of the most widely used keto milk types that go well in a cappuccino. It is a healthy dairy-free alternative that can be frothed easily, despite being low in fats. A single cup of almond milk carries only a gram of net carbs, which means an entire cappuccino made with almond milk would be about 1.5 to 2 grams.
Other alternatives like cashew or macadamia nut milk are also great options that taste great in a cappuccino. You could also try soy milk or coconut milk. These do tend to be pricey, however. If you like this post, you might enjoy our guide on how to make keto-friendly bulletproof tea.
It is important to note that whatever milk alternative you use to make your cappuccino is unsweetened. The added sugar of sweetened varieties will have hidden carbs that can add up quickly.
