Name: Keto White Russian
Prep time: 5 min
Total time: 5 min
Ingredients: 2 oz Vodka; 1 oz Coffee; 1 tsp Maple Syrup (,Sugar Free); ½ tsp Instant Coffee Espresso Powder; 2 packets Stevia, (or sugar free sweetener of choice); 3 oz Unsweetened Almond Milk; 3 oz Heavy Whipping Cream; Ice

Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

Careful guys, there’s a beverage here! This Keto White Russian is classy, pretty, and can be tossed together in minutes. I can guarantee this is something that The Dude abides with. Anyone of you fans of The Big Lebowski?

A shot of milk being poured in a glass with rum to make a keto white russian cocktail.

Table Of Contents

About White Russian Cocktails

White Russians are made with coffee liqueur, heavy cream (or milk, or half and half), and vodka. Using the same proportions I use in my recipe, a white Russian has either 485 calories with 18.7 g net carbs (made with heavy cream), or 224 calories and 20.4 g net carbs (made with milk). In comparison, this recipe deals 227 calories with 2.3 g net carbs.

How to Ketofy White Russian

Coffee liqueur, by itself, is delicious. It is traditionally made by combining coffee, vodka, and plenty of sugar to temper the sharpness of the alcohol. According to the USDA, coffee liqueur averages about 14 g net carbs per fluid ounce. That being said, there are some great recipes on the internet for keto-friendly coffee liqueur, sweetened with erythritol. And while this recipe says it takes only 15 minutes to make, it also recommends storing it for 4-6 weeks prior to consumption.

My recipe uses regular coffee with stevia and sugar-free maple-flavored syrup to pump up the sweetness. Presto, a good-tasting white Russian is ready to drink in about 5 minutes!

Ingredients and substitutions

Vodka: I used Skyy vodka. Any vodka you like to use as a mixer would be fine.
Coffee: ideally, use this cold or chilled. But really, since it makes up a small proportion of the drink, you can use it fresh if you like.
Sugar-free maple syrup: the best brand on the market is probably lakanto maple-flavored syrup, which uses monkfruit as a sweetener. But the basic sugar-free maple-flavored syrup from your local grocery store also works fine, especially since this recipe uses so little. I enjoy using it in this recipe as coffee liqueur always seems slightly thicker than water to me, and adding a little syrup affects the consistency of the coffee perfectly.
Instant coffee espresso powder: I am pleased to report that this dissolves really well in vodka and gives a good coffee after taste, helping to mimic coffee liqueur.
Stevia-in-the-raw: sometimes, these stevia packets are super convenient to use. But if you don’t have them on hand, you could likely substitute erythritol or swerve, powdered stevia, stevia extract, a drop of monkfruit, or whatever other sweetener of your choice.
Whipping cream: you can omit this altogether, and your drink becomes a Black Russian. I make my variation lower calorie by using almond milk in addition to whipping cream.

Suggested Pairings

This drink is especially nice as an after-dinner drink, served with dark chocolate brownies or chocolate chip blondies. You could also substitute the cream and almond milk for vanilla ice cream (recommend either Enlightened or Rebel brands to stay low carb).