Keeping an active social schedule while on the keto diet can be a challenge. Choosing a cocktail while trying to stay in ketosis is a balancing act — you can’t just order that top-shelf margarita or strawberry daiquiri while you’re out with friends.
Luckily, there are keto alcohol recipes that let you have fun without knocking you out of ketosis.
Alcohol on the Keto Diet: The Basics
Here’s the rub: Many of the popular alcoholic drinks served in bars, restaurants and at parties — including most beers and mixed drinks — are made with liqueurs that boatloads of sugar and carbohydrates that aren’t part of a keto meal plan. Even more important: Your body breaks down alcohol on the ketogenic diet a lot faster than if you were eating large amounts of carbs every day.
The whole process starts as soon as you start drinking alcohol, meaning you’ll probably feel it a lot faster than you would otherwise. This can be a good thing (you won’t need to drink as much to feel the buzz) or a bad thing (you drink like you did before keto and get really, really drunk).
If you’re worried about getting too drunk, be sure to eat before you start imbibing on low-carb cocktails.
Keto Alcohol Recipes: The Best Keto Drinks for You
To stay in keto and drink, stick to clear alcohols (like vodka and tequila) and avoid mixers whenever possible. That might sound like a lot to think about before your party, so we’ve rounded up the best keto alcohol recipes that are proven to keep you in ketosis and keep your social life on track. Cheers!
The first thought we had when evaluating keto alcohol recipes was that there’s no way this is compliant. We were wrong!
This recipe uses BiPro Lemon Lift Protein Water, along with Truvia for the “sugar” rim and Blood Orange Devotion Vodka to create a keto cocktail that clocks in at 1 gram of net carbs and 130 calories per serving.
Longing for a refreshing margarita after a long day, but want to stay in ketosis? You’re in luck: This Margarita For One recipe uses tequila, fresh lime juice, club soda, and salt to make a drink you’ll swear is from your favorite Mexican restaurant.
It’s surprisingly easy to turn a Moscow Mule into a keto cocktail with only 1.5 grams of net carbs per serving. You simply swap out the full-fat ginger beer for diet ginger ale, along with vodka and fresh mint leaves. The real secret, though, is the simple ginger syrup to round out the flavor that uses a sugar substitute (in this case, Swerve).
Don’t forget the copper mugs, too!
This low-carb Mexican Mule is a lot like the Moscow version, only it swaps out the vodka for tequila. Add in some orange extract, diet ginger beer, and a (seedless!) jalapeño to round out the drink.
And, like the Moscow Mule, it only has 1.5 net grams of carbs per serving.
Get the party started without adding carbs with this shot. Simply swap out the Triple Sec with granulated stevia or Erythritol to give it the extra punch you’re looking for in a drink.
The best part: It only contains 2 grams of carbs for each shot!
This is what keto dreams are made of.
This low-carb daiquiri makes it to the list of keto alcohol recipes because it contains the normal strawberries and rum, but swaps out the Triple Sec for orange flavoring and a bit of liquid stevia. Blend and sip in front of the pool — or at least pretend like you are!
This keto cocktail recipe is so simple that anyone can do it.
All you need is some white rum, fresh mint leaves, and sugar-free strawberry lemonade mix to create this refreshing alcoholic drink. You can garnish with a few strawberries too — and splash in some club soda for extra fizziness.
The result? A friendly cocktail creation with a carb count that everyone will love.
This member of our favorite keto drink recipes is quite the mouth puckerer (is that a word? It is now).
You’ll need a few more ingredients to create this keto cocktail, including fresh ginger and grapefruit, along with gin or vodka, grapefruit juice, liquid sweetener, and ginger ale. All of the effort is worth it, though: You’ll get a fresh drink that keeps you in ketosis for only 80 calories a serving.
This scandalous-sounding drink lives up to its name with absolutely zero carbs — and a powerful vodka punch with two different types of vodka. The key ingredients to this bright blue keto cocktail: blueberry lemonade and white cherry water enhancers. The flavor enhancers — along with diet Sprite — make this a cocktail to savor.
The only downside: It does contain a hefty helping of calories, so keep this as a once-in-a-while thing.
Bourbon doesn’t seem like it would be among keto cocktail recipes, but this recipe hits the spot — in more ways than one.
This keto cocktail combines bourbon with tropical cherry water enhancer to create a drink that is perfect for spring, summer —pretty much all year ‘round!
Cosmopolitans might be delicious, but they’re typically heavy on sugar.
Not with this keto alcohol recipe.
All you do is combine vodka with some unsweetened cranberry juice, along with some liquid stevia, to make a cosmo that’ll hit the spot when you’re chatting with the girls on a Friday night.
More bourbon? You betcha!
Three strawberries, basil leaves, bourbon, black pepper, and the powdered sweetener erythritol make up this refreshing keto cocktail. Add some lime juice and you’ve got a drink that’ll hit the spot any time.
Most of today’s Tom Collins drinks are made with a premade mix, along with gin or vodka. Those premade mixers are typically loaded with extra sugar to make them taste good, so it’s definitely not keto-friendly.
Luckily, it’s pretty easy to add this one to the list of keto alcohol recipes because you can simply combine gin, lemon juice, stevia, and seltzer. A classic cocktail that helps keep you in ketosis? Sign us up!
The brains behind Lowcarb-ology really know how to create keto recipes for alcoholic beverages that are both low carb and totally delicious (hence the “-ology” part of their name).
The low-carb red sangria is one of those awesome keto cocktails that can be made either by the glass or in a pitcher to serve among friends. The secret ingredient in this recipe is the berry water enhancer. Mix that with red wine, seltzer, and Absolut Citron vodka and pour over ice to get a thirst-quenching spritzer that’ll only cost you 3 carbs for every 8 ounces you drink.
Head to the islands — at least in your imagination — with this one-carb-per-serving Caribbean Rum Punch.
To make it, all you have to do is combine dark rum and light rum with coconut-pineapple and orange-tangerine water enhancer, limes, and club soda (or ginger ale). The result is a delicious drink you’ll swear contains more carbs (but it doesn’t!).
A Bloody Mary you can drink on a low-carb diet? It seems impossible, but the brains at VeryWellFit have managed to accomplish the feat.
The recipe combines tomato juice with vodka, hot sauce, black pepper, celery salt, and lemon juice to make a drink that hits the spot. You can even add a small dollop of horseradish, celery, olives, or cocktail shrimp to create a more filling Bloody Mary — for very few carbs!
Like your margaritas with a bit of bite? This low-carb spicy margarita is for you — and it only clocks in at 4.7 grams of carbs per serving.
To make, you mix tequila with lime juice and a simple syrup made of either the Swerve sweetener or Erythritol. So where does the spice come from? A jalapeño pepper that you slice and add to the drink as desired.
Mojitos are the anti-keto cocktail because they typically contain a boatload of sugar.
Not these keto mojitos. The secret ingredient — besides the rum, of course — is a dose of powdered Erythritol, Swerve, liquid stevia (like SweetLeaf or NuNaturals), or Sukrin Clear Syrup.
Oh, and don’t forget the raspberries and blackberries. The whole drink comes to about 7.6 grams of carbs per serving.
