This low calorie Pumpkin spice latte gives the signature fall drink a healthy twist at only 100 calories while retaining its classic flavor.
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✅ 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.
🍏 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
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.
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.
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
You can pre-make the pumpkin sauce and syrup and store it in an airtight container. Consume within a week.
I would recommend consuming the latte immediately, but you can store it in the fridge in an airtight container for a day.
🍽 Related Recipes
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🍳 Recipe
Low Calorie Pumpkin Spice Latte
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.
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