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    Fitsian Food Life » Fall Favorites

    Low Calorie Pumpkin Spice Latte

    Published: Aug 30, 2023 by Clara · This post may contain affiliate links · 2 Comments

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    This low calorie Pumpkin spice latte gives the signature fall drink a healthy twist at only 100 calories while retaining its classic flavor.

    Close up of the low calorie iced pumpkin spice latte.
    Jump to:
    • ✅ Why This Recipe Works
    • 💭 Is Pumpkin Spice Latte Healthy?
    • 🍏 How To Order or Make A Healthy Version
    • 🍎 Calories and Nutrition
    • 📋 Ingredient Notes
    • 📖 Substitutions and Variations
    • 🔪 Step-By-Step Instructions
    • 💡Expert Tips
    • 💭 Recipe FAQs
    • 🍽 Related Recipes
    • 🍳 Recipe

    ✅ Why This Recipe Works

    Easy to make – No hours of prepping or complicated techniques needed. All you need is to make pumpkin sauce and add coffee!

    Beloved classic – This recipe takes the essence of a beloved classic while tweaking it to be healthier without sacrificing the flavor

    Low in calories – Similar to my ube latte and chai latte recipe, this traditionally decadent recipe was specially developed to be healthier and lower in calories

    💭 Is Pumpkin Spice Latte Healthy?

    Pumpkin spice latte can be a very unhealthy drink given that a serving of the drink consists of a whopping 390 calories, with 14 grams of fat and 52 grams of carbs, making it less than ideal for purposes of staying fit. 

    Thankfully, you can still enjoy this drink with just 100 calories with a few modifications.

    Here's what I did to make it healthier.

    • Portioned the Pumpkin Spice Sauce – The pumpkin spice sauce is what gives the pumpkin spice latte its signature flavor. According to Starbucks, their syrup consists of sugar, condensed skim milk, and pumpkin puree. A pump is about 30 calories each and a grande consists of 4 pumps, adding a total of 120 calories to the drink! I minimized it to 2 pumps.
    • Pick the right milk –  In the Starbucks original recipe, 2% milk is the default. While 2% milk isn’t too bad in terms of calories, for purposes of lowering calorie consumption, it's best to opt for lower calorie milk alternatives, such as skim milk or almond milk. 
    • Omitted whipped cream – This is another big source of calories from the drink. A ¼ cup serving of heavy cream adds a whopping 200 calories. I omitted this since it wasn't essential to the latte.

    Looking at each component, it’s easy to see how the beloved pumpkin spice latte is a whopping total of 390 calories, largely from its high fat and sugar content.

    Thankfully, it’s not hard to make or order a low calorie pumpkin spice latte with a few tweaks.

    Overhead shot of iced pumpkin spice latte.

    🍏 How To Order or Make A Healthy Version

    Ordering at Starbucks

    When ordering at Starbucks or your local coffee shop, ask for the following adjustments for a low calorie pumpkin spice latte:

    • Pumpkin Spice Sauce or Syrup – Limit to 1-2 pumps at most. If the barista measures this by grams, ask for 10-15 grams.
    • Milk –  Opt for skim or almond milk for a lower-calorie alternative 
    • Whipped Cream – It’s best to omit this altogether

    Making It At Home

    • Pumpkin Spice Sauce – Make your own with pumpkin puree, vanilla extract, pumpkin spice, and sugar for a lower-calorie version. More detailed instructions are below.
    • Milk –  Opt for skim or almond milk for a lower-calorie alternative 
    • Whipped Cream – It’s best to omit this altogether

    🍎 Calories and Nutrition

    According to the Starbucks menu, a typical Grande-sized Pumpkin Spice Latte comes at a whopping 390 calories with 14 grams of protein, 14 grams of fat, and 52 grams of carbs.

    Pumpkin Spice Latte (Original)
    Ingredient Quantity Calories Protein (g) Fat (g) Carbs (g)
    Coffee 1 serving 1 0 0 0
    Whipped Cream ¼ cup 147 6 9.4 20
    Milk 2% 1 cup 122 8 4.6 12
    Pumpkin Spice Syrup 4 pump 120 0 0 20
    Total 390 14 14 52

    This is almost the same amount of calories as a meal! 

    Most of the calories come from the sugar in the pumpkin spice sauce, contributing to the high carb content, and the whipped cream. 

    Using the ingredient swaps and omissions mentioned below, you can make a much low calorie pumpkin spice latte with the following calorie breakdown: 

    Pumpkin Spice Latte (Skinny)
    Ingredient Quantity Calories Protein (g) Fat (g) Carbs (g)
    Coffee 1 cup 1 0 0 0
    Almond Milk 1 cup 39 1 3 3.5
    Pumpkin Spice Syrup 2 pump 60 0 0 10
    Total 100 1 3 13.5

    The skinny pumpkin spice latte only has 100 calories with 3 grams of fat and 14 grams of carbs. This is a much more manageable amount of calories. 

    📋 Ingredient Notes

    Ingredients for the recipe laid out on the table.

    To make your own pumpkin spice latte at home, you’ll need the following ingredients. 

    Pumpkin Sauce

    I used this easy recipe from Liv B to make the pumpkin sauce. Here are the key ingredients.

    Sweetener – I only use 1 teaspoon of sugar here, which is only 15 calories. If you would prefer not to use sugar, feel free to swap out for stevia. 

    Pumpkin spice – A mixture of warming spices that are typical of pumpkin spice, including cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves and allspice.

    Pumpkin Puree – Gives more body and volume of pumpkin flavoring

    Vanilla extract – Complements the pumpkin flavor

    Latte Components

    Low-Fat Milk – I used almond milk. You can also use macadamia milk or low-fat milk. Oat milk is another popular plant-based milk but is higher in calories. It doesn’t mean you can’t use it, but just something to be mindful of when you’re tracking calories.

    Coffee – Lattes are generally made with espresso, but not at all have espresso machines at home. Here are some other options:

    • Coffee (Pour Over or whichever method you usually use)
    • Cold Brew (Great if you’d prefer an iced drink)
    • Nespresso or any similar machine (A great way to get a makeshift espresso)

    📖 Substitutions and Variations

    Without Espresso – Feel free to use iced coffee, cold brew, or normal coffee from a Nespresso.

    With other milk – Skim milk, macadamia milk, and soy milk are other great low-calorie options.

    With low-fat whipped cream – If you can't imagine the latte without whipped cream, find yourself some light whipped cream to top it off.

    Alternative sweeteners – You can also use stevia or monk fruit sweetener to sweeten the latte to your liking.

    🔪 Step-By-Step Instructions

    Make the pumpkin sauce – Start by mixing the pumpkin sauce ingredients together in a saucepan. Mix thoroughly and bring to a simmer, stirring regularly to prevent the mixture from burning. Let simmer for about 10 minutes, transfer to a container if not used right away, and let cool.

    Make the pumpkin sauce.

    Assemble the iced latte – Start by adding the pumpkin sauce to the bottom 

    Add the ice and milk – Add the ice, and pour in the milk. 

    Add ice and milk.

    Add coffee – Top the mixture with coffee. Garnishes with cinnamon sticks and/or star anise if desired, and enjoy your delicious skinny pumpkin spice latte.

    Add the coffee.

    Note: While the layered latte looks cool, I would recommend mixing it thoroughly to have a more even-tasting pumpkin spice latte. 

    💡Expert Tips

    Mix thoroughly before consuming – While the layered latte looks cool, I would recommend mixing it thoroughly to have a more even-tasting pumpkin spice latte. The sweetener will have a tendency to gather at the bottom, so mix thoroughly.

    Premake the pumpkin sauce – Make a batch of the pumpkin sauce and save it for lattes throughout the week.

    💭 Recipe FAQs

    How can I prepare this recipe in advance?

    You can pre-make the pumpkin sauce and syrup and store it in an airtight container. Consume within a week.

    Can you store this recipe?

    I would recommend consuming the latte immediately, but you can store it in the fridge in an airtight container for a day.

    🍽 Related Recipes

    • A cup of healthy chai latte topped with spices.
      Healthy Chai Latte Recipe (Is It Healthy?)
    • Pouring a shot of espresso into a glass of ube latte.
      Ube Latte Recipe
    • Mint mojito coffee drinks on a wooden plate.
      Philz Mint Mojito Coffee Recipe
    • Close up shot of shakshuka in a casserole dish.
      Is Shakshuka Healthy? (Low Calorie Shakshuka)

    Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟rating in the recipe card below & if you REALLY like this recipe, consider a review further down the page. Thank you!

    🍳 Recipe

    healthy pumpkin spice latte

    Low Calorie Pumpkin Spice Latte

    Developed by Clara
    Pumpkin spice latte is the signature drink of the fall. It consists of a velvety foamy latte infused with the delicious spiced flavors of pumpkin spice and topped with whipped cream. While this classic fall favorite is super delicious, is the pumpkin spice latte healthy?
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 10 minutes mins
    Cook Time 5 minutes mins
    Course Drinks
    Cuisine American
    Servings 1
    Calories 100 kcal

    Ingredients
      

    Pumpkin Sauce

    • 1 tablespoon Pumpkin Puree
    • 1 teaspoon Sugar
    • 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
    • 1 teaspoon Pumpkin Spice
    • ¼ cup Water

    Latte Components

    • 1 shot Espresso (Or coffee, or cold brew)
    • 1 cup Almond Milk

    Instructions
     

    • Make the pumpkin sauce – Start by mixing the pumpkin sauce ingredients together in a saucepan. Mix thoroughly and bring to a simmer, stirring regularly to prevent the mixture from burning. Let simmer for about 10 minutes, transfer to a container if not used right away, and let cool.
    • Assemble the iced latte – Start by adding the pumpkin sauce to the bottom 
    • Add the ice and milk – Add the ice, and pour in the milk. 
    • Add coffee – Top the mixture with coffee. Garnishes with cinnamon sticks and/or star anise if desired, and enjoy your delicious skinny pumpkin spice latte.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 100kcalCarbohydrates: 14gProtein: 1gFat: 3gSaturated Fat: 0.2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gSodium: 334mgPotassium: 85mgFiber: 1gSugar: 5gVitamin A: 2340IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 320mgIron: 1mg

    Notes

    Substitutions and Variations
    Without Espresso – Feel free to use iced coffee, cold brew, or normal coffee from a Nespresso.
    With other milk – Skim milk, macadamia milk, and soy milk are other great low-calorie options.
    Expert Tips
    Mix thoroughly before consuming – While the layered latte looks cool, I would recommend mixing it thoroughly to have a more even-tasting pumpkin spice latte. The sweetener will have a tendency to gather at the bottom, so mix thoroughly.
    Premake the pumpkin sauce – Make a batch of the pumpkin sauce and save it for lattes throughout the week.
    Tried this Recipe? Tag me Today!Mention @fitsianfoodlife or tag #fitsianfoodlife!
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    Photo of myself on top of Lanikai hike in Oahu Hawaii.

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