I like to emphasize that in order to be successful in any “diet,” it needs to be easy to incorporate into your lifestyle and not feel like you are sacrificing too much. You have to enjoy your life and the process or it simply won’t stick. That’s why I love living a keto lifestyle – I don’t feel deprived, eat delicious food and can still enjoy keto cocktails and wine without too many modifications.
My new keto guide and cookbook, The Ketology Kitchen, features an entire section on cocktails and I’ve discussed previously how to enjoy your favorite cocktail without loading up on carbs. Today, I’m sharing 5 keto cocktails you can make when entertaining or for that evening cocktail – they’re satisfying, delicious and all under 4g of net carbs. Some are classics that just happen to be low carb — so they’re also safe to order when dining out — and some take a bit of preparation but are completely worth it!
First, before we get started, something I always have in my fridge is Keto Simple Syrup…it’s a great base for low carb cocktails but also works as a liquid sweetener for non-alcoholic beverages and desserts too! Keto Simple Syrup for keto cocktails is so — well simple — to make. Just take one part of your favorite granulated sweetener (I usually use Swerve or Allulose) and mix in a jar (I use a Mason Jar or these bottles I found on Amazon) with boiling water. Shake until the sweetener is dissolved and store in the fridge when cool. The simple syrup will stay fresh in the fridge for 2 – 3 weeks!
Ok, so here’s my round-up of my favorite keto cocktails.
Keto Dirty Martini Recipe
As pretty much anyone in my life will tell you, a good dirty martini is at the top of my list of go-to cocktails. I love them for happy hour or when dining out at my favorite steakhouse…and I often make them at home too. While you can use any pitted olive, I MUST HAVE blue cheese-stuffed olives with mine. It’s a requirement in my book for the perfect dirty martini.
Keto Dirty Martini with Blue Cheese-Stuffed Olives
Ingredients
- 4 oz Vodka
- 2 oz Dry Vermouth
- 1 – 2 oz olive brine the juice from the jar of olives
- 4 bleu cheese-stuffed olives
- ice
Instructions
- Add ice to cocktail shaker.
- Add vodka, vermouth and olive brine.
- Shake!
- Pour into to martini glasses.
- Garnish with two bleu cheese-stuffed olives on toothpicks
Nutrition
Keto Blackberry Margarita
This is the most popular recipe on here – despite over the hundreds of food and dessert recipes, this keto margarita recipes has remained the #1 recipe since I originally made it for National Tequila Day in 2019.
A keto Cointreau normally takes weeks to make as you steep orange and lemon peels in vodka and brandy to create the liqueur. It’s certainly worth the wait and I do recommend brewing up a batch — however if you need that tangy, low carb margarita like NOW, I’ve included a simple hack below to whip up a delicious, low carb Cointreau or Triple Sec dupe in under a minute.
Keto Blackberry Margarita
Ingredients
- 2 oz Tequila I like Casamigos
- 1.5 oz Keto Triple Sec or Cointreau check out BoozyKetones on Instagram for recipe or see recipe note below
- 1/2 lime
- 2 – 3 blackberries
Instructions
- Muddle blackberries in the bottom of a glass.
- Add a few ice cubes to the glass.
- In a cocktail shaker, add 1/2 cup of ice, tequila, Keto cointreau and juice of 1/2 lime.
- Shake, Shake, Shake!
- Pour into glass, garnish with whole berries!
- Cheers!
Notes
Nutrition
Keto Cosmopolitan
Carrie Bradshaw made them famous, and I have been a Cosmo girl for years so when I went keto, this was one of the first cocktails I had to figure out how to make low carb. While the cleanest way to make this would be to use a natural or unsweetened cranberry juice, I more often use Ocean Spray’s Diet Cranberry Juice because it honestly tastes better!
Similar to the Blackberry Margarita recipe above, you’ll have to plan this one out and make keto triple sec in advance, or use the simple syrup and orange essence hack in that recipe!
Keto Cosmopolitan
Ingredients
- 3 ounces vodka
- 1/2 ounce fresh lime juice
- 1/2 ounce keto Cointreau or Triple Sec see note below
- 1/2 ounce Unsweetened cranberry juice or Ocean Spray Diet Cranberry Juice
- 1 cup ice
- lime wedges for garnish
Instructions
- Combine vodka, lime juice, keto Cointreau or triple sec, and cranberry juice in a cocktail shaker.
- Add ice, cover and shake.
- Strain into a chilled cocktail glass.
- Garnish with a lime wedge.
Notes
Nutrition
Low Carb Vodka Mojitos
Mojitos are my favorite summer cocktail and this keto mojito recipe is sinfully good with a mint-infused simple syrup! I adapted one of my favorite, simple vodka mojito recipes from Giada de Laurentiis for this recipe.
Low Carb Vodka Mojitos
Ingredients
- 1 cup club soda
- 1 cup vodka
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
Mint-Infused Simple Syrup
- 1/2 cup powdered Swerve sweetener (if you can’t find powdered, grind it in a spice grinder for a few seconds)
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup mint leaves, tightly packed
- 5 – 10 drops liquid stevia optional
Instructions
- Over medium heat, mix water and powdered erythritol until dissolved.
- Add mint leaves and bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, bring heat down to a simmer and steep for 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat and allow mixture to cool. If you want the syrup sweeter, add stevia. Test it first…I usually don’t add the stevia however I prefer this less sweet.
- Once simple syrup is cool, combine mint-infused syrup, vodka, lime juice and club soda in a pitcher.
- Stir well.
- Serve in ice filled glasses with some muddled mint leaves at the bottom (place fresh mint in the bottom of the glass and use a cocktail muddler–or a spoon—to crush the leaves and release it's essence). Garnish with lime and extra mint sprigs.Â
Notes
Nutrition
Keto Sangria
This low carb sangria is a hit at summer BBQs or if you’re looking to change up your Taco Tuesday! While you can make this at the last minute, I like to give it a few hours so the fruit flavors can steep and great more depth and richness!
Keto Sangria
Ingredients
- 6 Hibiscus Berry tea bags
- 1 liter boiling water
- 2 cups red wine I use Pinot Noir
- 1/2 cup brandy
- 1/2 cup Swerve sweetener or Allulose
- 1 cup mixed berries I use a mixture of frozen blueberries, strawberries and blackberries, but you can also use fresh.
- 1 orange cut into slices
Instructions
- Steep the tea bags in the boiling water for 10 – 15 minutes
- Allow to cool completely and add the sweetener, wine and brandy.
- Stir until sweetener is dissolved.
- Pour into a pitcher and add the berries and orange slices.
- Allow to sit in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. I prefer overnight!
- Serve with orange slices as a garnish on your glasses.
Which brand Vermouth has the lowest carbs and sugar?
Hi! Most dry vermouth, which is used in martinis, is low in carbs/sugar with only about 1 g per serving. Sweet vermouth has around 4 g per serving. However dry is preferred for martinis!