The Best Low Sugar Starbucks Winter Drinks

Disclaimer: I am NOT sponsored by Starbucks (although at this point I really should be). I just like fun drinks. I’m a silly simple girl who likes silly little beverages.

I feel like as soon as we invite fall in, winter comes knocking on our door! And with winter comes Starbucks winter drinks!

Let’s break down the winter drinks together at Starbucks to see if we can make them lower sugar.

And listen, I know most of these modifications are redundant. But menu anxiety is a real thing! Especially for a place like Starbucks where it seems like your options are endless. My goal is to just help decode the language for my readers so they can enjoy fun drinks too. 🙂

Starting with the hot winter drinks:

Hot Peppermint Mocha

A classic at Starbucks, the Peppermint Mocha is just one of those drinks that scream “winter is here”. Though I am personally not a fan of peppermint in my drink, I can’t deny the chokehold it has!

A grande peppermint mocha is made with espresso, steamed milk, peppermint syrup, and mocha sauce. The drink is then topped with whipped cream and chocolate curls.

Without modifications, a grande peppermint mocha latte has 440 calories, 54g of sugar and 16g of fat.

For a lower sugar version, I would:

• Decrease the amount of mocha sauce from 4 pumps to 2
• Decrease the amount of peppermint syrup from 4 pumps to 2

Here is exactly what to say at the window: “Hi, can I please have a grande (hot) peppermint mocha latte with 2 pumps of mocha and 2 pumps of peppermint.

Caramel Brulee Latte

The Caramel Brulee Latte is my personal favorite winter drink at Starbucks. A Caramel Brulee Latte is made with espresso, steamed milk, caramel brulee sauce, and topped with whipped cream and caramel brulee topping.

A grande Caramel Brulee Latte has 410 calories, 48g of sugar and 14g of fat.

For a lower sugar version, I would:

• Decrease the amount of caramel brulee sauce from 4 pumps to 2
• Remove the whipped cream and caramel brulee topping (optional but I personally think its just extra)

Here is exactly what to say at the window: “Hi, can I please have a grande (hot) caramel brulee latte with 2 pumps of caramel brulee sauce and no whipped cream or caramel brulee topping”.

Sugar Cookie Latte

A Sugar Cookie Latte is made with blonde espresso, steamed milk, sugar cookie syrup, and topped with whipped cream and red and green sprinkle.

A grande Sugar Cookie Latte has 260 calories, 37g of sugar and 6g of fat.

For a lower sugar version, I would:

• Decrease the amount of sugar cookie syrup from 4 pumps to 2
• Remove the whipped cream and red and green sprinkle topping (optional but I personally think its just extra)

Here is exactly what to say at the window: “Hi, can I please have a grande (hot) sugar cookie latte with 2 pumps of sugar cookie syrup and no whipped cream or sprinkles”.

Sugar Cookie Breve

The Sugar Cookie Breve is just the Sugar Cookie Latte with signature espresso instead of blonde espresso and breve as the milk.

A grande Sugar Cookie Breve has 460 calories, 32g of sugar and 32g of fat.

For a lower sugar version, I would:

• Decrease the amount of sugar cookie syrup from 4 pumps to 2
• Remove the whipped cream and red and green sprinkle topping (optional but I personally think its just extra)

Here is exactly what to say at the window: “Hi, can I please have a grande (hot) sugar cookie breve with 2 pumps of sugar cookie syrup and no whipped cream or sprinkles”.

Gingerbread Latte

A Gingerbread Latte has blonde espresso, steamled milk, gingerbread syrup, and topped with whipped cream and a pumpkin spice blend.

A grande Gingerbread Latte has 310 calories, 33g of sugar and 14g of fat.

For a lower sugar version, I would:

• Decrease the amount of gingerbread syrup from 4 pumps to 2
• Remove the whipped cream (optional but I personally think its just extra

Here is exactly what to say at the window: “Hi, can I please have a grande (hot) gingerbread latte with 2 pumps of gingerbread syrup and no whipped cream”.

Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha

The Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha is a similar concept to the peppermint mocha but just switches the mocha sauce with white chocolate mocha sauce.

A grande peppermint mocha is made with espresso, steamed milk, peppermint syrup, and white chocolate mocha sauce. The drink is then topped with whipped cream and chocolate curls.

Without modifications, a grande peppermint mocha latte has 480 calories, 66g of sugar and 18g of fat.

For a lower sugar version, I would:

• Decrease the amount of white chocolate mocha sauce from 4 pumps to 2
• Decrease the amount of peppermint syrup from 4 pumps to 2

Here is exactly what to say at the window: “Hi, can I please have a grande (hot) peppermint white chocolate mocha latte with 2 pumps of white chocolate mocha and 2 pumps of peppermint.

Gingerbread Chai

A Gingerbread Chai is made with steamed milk, chai pumps, gingerbread syrup and pumpkin spice topping.

Without modifications, a grande gingerbread chai has 290 calories, 56g of sugar and 3.5g of fat.

For a lower sugar version, I would:

• Decrease the amount of gingerbread syrup from 4 pumps to 2
• Decrease the amount of chai pumps from 4 to 2

Here is exactly what to say at the window: “Hi, can I please have a grande (hot) gingerbread chai with 2 pumps of gingerbread syrup and 2 pumps of chai”.

Now, moving on to the iced winter drinks:

Iced Peppermint Mocha

The iced peppermint mocha will have the same modifications as the hot peppermint mocha.

Here is exactly what to say at the window: “Hi, can I please have a grande (iced) peppermint mocha latte with 2 pumps of mocha and 2 pumps of peppermint”.

Iced Caramel Brulee Latte

The iced caramel brulee latte will have the same modifications as the hot caramel brulee latte.

Here is exactly what to say at the window: “Hi, can I please have a grande (iced) caramel brulee latte with 2 pumps of caramel brulee sauce and no whipped cream or caramel brulee topping”.

Iced Sugar Cookie Latte

The iced sugar cookie latte will have the same modifications as the hot sugar cookie latte.

Here is exactly what to say at the window: “Hi, can I please have a grande (iced) sugar cookie latte with 2 pumps of sugar cookie syrup and no whipped cream or sprinkles”.

Iced Sugar Cookie Breve

The iced sugar cookie breve will have the same modifications as the hot sugar cookie breve.

Here is exactly what to say at the window: “Hi, can I please have a grande (iced) sugar cookie breve with 2 pumps of sugar cookie syrup and no whipped cream or sprinkles”.

Iced Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha

The iced peppermint white chocolate mocha will have the same modifications as the hot peppermint white chocolate mocha.

Here is exactly what to say at the window: “Hi, can I please have a grande (iced) peppermint white chocolate mocha latte with 2 pumps of white chocolate mocha and 2 pumps of peppermint.

Iced Gingerbread Latte

The iced gingerbread latte will have the same modifications as the hot gingerbread latte.

Here is exactly what to say at the window: “Hi, can I please have a grande (iced) gingerbread latte with 2 pumps of gingerbread syrup and no whipped cream”.

Iced Gingerbread Chai

The Iced Gingerbread Chai is made with milk, chai pumps, gingerbread cold foam and pumpkin spice topping.

For a lower sugar version, I would:

• Decrease the amount of chai pumps from 4 to 2
• Request light gingerbread cold foam

Here is exactly what to say at the window: “Hi, can I please have a grande (iced) gingerbread chai with 2 pumps of chai and light gingerbread cold foam”.

Holiday Cold Foams

Starbucks also has holiday cold foams that you can add to your drinks. The current line up of holiday cold foams includes:

• Gingerbread cream cold foam
• Peppermint chocolate cream cold foam
• Sugar cookie cream cold foam
• Caramel brulee cream cold foam

All of these cold foams will have added sugar. If you do want to add a holiday cold foam to your Starbucks winter drinks, I would suggest further reducing the pumps of syrup/sauces in your drink.

What Milk Should I Get With My Lower Sugar Drink At Starbucks?

Starbucks offers a variety of milk including 2%, nonfat, whole, half and half, and heavy cream. Starbucks also offers oat, almond, soy and coconut milk.

All of the plant-based milk options will come with added sugar. Therefore, I suggest choosing a milk with a higher fat content, such as half and half.

If you do need a nondairy option, I would recommend the almond milk because it only has three grams of added sugar per cup.

In all honesty, the milk that you choose is up to your own personal preference. I personally love half and half for hot drinks and oat milk for cold drinks. I recognize that almond milk may be lower in sugar, but I know I wouldn’t enjoy my drink.

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed my article about the best low sugar winter drinks at Starbucks and give some of these modifications a try!

Further Research

For more information about everything on Starbucks’ holiday menu, I recommend checking out their stories page, linked here!

If you’re into articles about lower sugar drink options, you might like my article about low sugar fall drinks at chains like Starbucks, Dutch Bros and Dunkin!