Starbucks fall menu starts today and we’ve hunted down the healthiest low-calorie, low-sugar drinks for us to sip on. (And yes, pumpkin spice can be one of them!)
But first, let’s introduce the options.
This year’s menu includes classic flavours of pumpkin spice and pecan, new picks of banana bread and chaider, aaaand strawberry acai for whatever reason.
There’s something for everyone, whether you want toasted, cozy spiciness or light, fruity, and fresh.
But taste isn’t the only consideration, so let’s look at the healthiest Starbucks coffee and drink orders for this fall.
FYI, Starbucks still doesn’t have sugar-free seasonal syrups or refreshers. 😩😤😩 So all these drinks will dose you up with sugar, but there are ways to make them a little healthier and fit them into a balanced diet.
1. The Iced Chaider
The Iced Chaider is a brand new cold drink mixing iced chai with strawberry acai!
Sounds tasty, but what’s in it?
It’s fat-free and clocks in at about 90 calories for a 16 fl oz grande. Unfortunately, it has about 20 grams of sugar.
20 grams of sugar is about 5 tsp and right under the American Heart Association’s daily allowance of 25 grams of added sugar per day.
Sugars are the first few ingredients and there’s no way to customize them out of the drink.
So skip this one, unless it fits in as your one big sugar bomb treat for the day.
The Strawberry Açaí Energy Refresher
The Strawberry Açaí Energy Refresher clocks in at 100 calories per 16 oz grande drink and it’s also loaded with sugar. So honestly, we recommend giving this one a pass.
The Pecan Drinks Pecan Cortado
A pecan cortado has 130 calories with 4 grams of fat and 17 grams of sugar.
Want to indulge? We suggest skipping the topping for reduced sugar.
Iced Pecan Crunch Latte
A standard grande Iced Pecan Crunch Latte brings 380 calories, 43 grams sugar, 19 grams fat, and 10 grams protein.
And it looks completely delicious.
But you might want to nix the pecan crunch topping, vanilla sweet cream cold foam, and half the syrup pumps.
New Iced Banana Bread Latte
A standard grande iced banana bread latte is 420 calories, 52g sugar, 19g fat, and 10g protein.
But that’s with 4 pumps of banana syrup, brown sugar cold foam, and cinnamon dolce sprinkles. The brown sugar cinnamon toppings might help create the banana bread topping, so we suggest keeping those and asking for less syrup.
New Iced Banana Bread Chai
A standard iced grande banana bread chai has 350 calories, 48g sugar, and 14g fat, coming from 4 pumps banana syrup, brown sugar cream cold foam, and cinnamon dolce sprinkles.
It’s another option that’s hard to make healthier, aside from getting less syrup and downsizing.
New Iced Pumpkin Cream Matcha
Matcha sounds healthy, but a grande iced pumpkin cream matcha has 350 calories, 39 g sugar, 17 g fat, 10 g protein.
Smh.
At least with this one, you can swap the 3 pumps of classic syrup for 3 pumps of sugar-free syrup or choose to add stevia.
Iced Pumpkin Cream Chai
The iced pumpkin cream latte is 400 calories, 55g sugar, 16g fat.
Honestly, how are they fitting so many calories and so much sugar into one drink?
You can make this a little better by ditching the classic syrup for sugar-free syrup or stevia.
New Iced Pumpkin Cream Shaken Espresso
A grande Iced Pumpkin Cream Shaken Espresso has 310 calories, 37 g sugar, 14 g fat.
A standard one has 2 pumps brown sugar, pumpkin cream cold foam, oatmilk, and cinnamon powder. The ingredient list doesn’t sound that bad so this nutritional data is revealing.
Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew
A Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew might be the best thing on this list at 250 calories, 31g sugar, and 12g fat.
Ok, so the sugar’s still way too high. But we can easily swap the vanilla syrup for something sugar-free.
Iced Pumpkin Spice Latte
A grande iced PSL comes in at 370 calories, 45g sugar, 16g fat, 11g protein.
So… kind of surprised it’s so popular.
.
Pumpkin Spice Latte
A classic grande hot PSL is 390 calories, 50g sugar, 14g fat, 14g protein.
You can’t really substitute pumpkin sauce for any other flavour, so the only options are reducing it, ditching the topping, and maybe adding a sprinkle of cinnamon.
What’s Your Favourite Starbucks Fall Menu Order?
Do you treat yourself to a drink as-is or go for a healthier, low-cal alternative?
IMO, it’s best to go with a richer milk or cream for flavour, protein, and balance. Then just 1 or 2 syrup pumps or just skip that altogether.