Diet & NutritionKetogenic Diet

The 9 Best Keto-Friendly Drinks to Try for Hydration

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Updated on November 11, 2025
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keto friendly beverages
Nut milks, unsweetened tea, and good old-fashioned water are all great keto-friendly drinks.

If you’re on a ketogenic diet, you’re likely focused on what you’re eating — and especially what you’re not eating. This includes what you choose to drink throughout the day, too. Some beverages are more keto-friendly than others.

Hydration Is Crucial on the Keto Diet

When you start the ketogenic diet, your body has to adapt to a severely low intake of carbohydrates — a key component of the diet. As a result, your body’s hydration needs might shift. It may be because your body stores carbohydrates as glycogen, which holds on to water.

If you exhaust your body’s glycogen stores through the keto diet, you’re likely going to shed water weight, too.

 Removing highly processed foods from your diet — which are traditionally higher in sodium — can also affect your body’s electrolyte and fluid balance.

“Hydration is difficult for many on the keto diet, especially in the beginning,” says Kendra Whitmire, a nutritionist and dietitian in Laguna Beach, California, who practices functional and therapeutic nutrition. “You need to make sure you’re drinking a lot of water and replenishing electrolytes.”

Drinks to Avoid on the Keto Diet

Avoid sweetened drinks like soda and fruit juice (even 100 percent juice), which are typically high in sugar and carbohydrates.

 Dairy milk is also high in carbohydrates — one cup of whole milk has about 11.5 grams (g) of carbs — so it’s not keto-friendly.

Skip (or at the very least, limit) diet drinks, too, says Jill Gulotta, RDN, a registered dietitian-nutritionist in private practice in White Plains, New York. They don’t contain sugar, but they may still undermine your diet.

Is Diet Coke Allowed on Keto?

While beverages like Diet Coke (or diet soda in general) are technically keto-compliant, they may lead you to crave more carbohydrates. Research has found that for certain people, particularly women and those who have obesity, artificial sweeteners or nonnutritive sweeteners may lead to more carbohydrate and sugar cravings.

Regardless of whether this effect would hold on a keto diet, several other drinks are better suited for your new diet and lifestyle. Here are the nine best keto-friendly drinks to try.

1

Water Is the Best Drink Overall

water
This is hands down the best drink for you — keto or not, says Gulotta. Keep a water bottle near you at all times and sip throughout the day to stay ahead of your hydration. In general, it’s recommended to get between 11.5 and 15.5 cups of water per day, through drinking and eating water-rich foods.

2

Plain Low-Carb, Calorie-Free Tea

tea chamomile
Tea is another great choice, as it’s carbohydrate- and almost completely calorie-free — as long as you keep it plain and don’t add sugar or another sweetener. Tea is also rich in antioxidants called flavonoids, which may help regulate blood pressure and keep your heart healthy.

If you’re concerned about your caffeine intake, opt for herbal or caffeine-free varieties like chamomile, which won’t affect your sleep at night.

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3

Seltzer or Sparkling Water Is a Low-Carb Choice

seltzer
Sparkling water or seltzer is a great option if you’re tired of plain water 24/7. Just remember that it’s different from tonic, which looks like bubbly water but actually contains sugar. Adding juice from one lemon wedge adds nearly half a gram of carbohydrates, which is still keto diet friendly.

4

Plain Coffee (or With Unsweetened Heavy Cream)

coffee

While black coffee is completely calorie-free and fits within the keto diet guidelines, many keto dieters appreciate the added fat that heavy cream provides, says Scott Keatley, RDN, of Keatley Medical Nutrition Therapy in New York City. As long as the cream is unsweetened and lower in carbohydrates, a splash fits nicely within your diet plans.

Keep in mind that for most adults, up to 400 milligrams (mg) of caffeine per day is considered safe.

 For reference, 1 cup — 8 fluid ounces — of coffee contains about 92 mg of caffeine.

5

Bone Broth Is Comforting and Low-Carb

bone broth
Bone broth is not only comforting, it’s also a low-carb, low-calorie beverage that can fit nicely in your keto diet plans. Plus, it offers an added boost of protein. One cup of beef bone broth has about 41 calories, 0 g of carbohydrates, and 9 g of protein.

 Regular broth is still low-calorie, but offers significantly less protein. One cup of chicken broth, for example, has about 15 calories, 1.1 g of carbohydrate, and 1.5 g of protein.

6

Nut Milks Are a Great Alternative to Dairy

alternative vegan milk
Alternative milks, like almond or coconut milk, are great choices if you’re looking to mix things up. Unsweetened almond milk only has 3 g of carbohydrates per 1 cup serving.

 And 1 cup of coconut milk has about 7 g of carbohydrates.

 But be aware that 1 cup of coconut milk contains 5 g of saturated fat, the type of fat that may negatively affect your health.
Just be sure to always read the nutrition label closely and choose unsweetened varieties. These milks are also often fortified with vitamins and minerals, so they’re a good way to get calcium and vitamin D.

7

Kombucha, in Moderation, Is Helpful

kombucha
While kombucha shouldn’t be your go-to drink on the keto diet, it’s a great fermented beverage with gut health benefits to sub out for something sweet, like soda. The drink is made with sugar, so “you’ll have to sacrifice carbs to drink kombucha,” says Whitmire. The average 12-fluid-ounce serving of kombucha will have around 14.8 g of sugar.

If you’re not sure whether a certain kombucha brand will fit into your daily allotted carb or sugar intake, read the label. Depending on the flavor and ingredients list, these amounts will vary.

8

Certain Types of Alcohol Are Preferred

wine alcohol low carb
A glass of wine can typically fit within your daily carb intake on a keto diet. A 5 oz serving of red wine has about 3.8 g of carbohydrates and less than 1 g of sugar.

 The same serving of white wine also has about 3.8 g of carbohydrates, but 1.4 g of sugar.

 Whitmire says that drier wines generally contain less sugar; a sauvignon blanc a drier than a Riesling, for example.
Hard liquor like gin, rum, vodka, and whiskey also has no sugar, which means it also has minimal to no carbs per 1.5 oz serving (equivalent to one shot).

 To keep your carb and sugar intake low, try mixing them with plain water or an unsweetened sparkling water, rather than fruit juice or soda. Hard seltzers may also be low-carb, depending on the brand and ingredients.
9

Smoothies With High-Fat Ingredients

smoothies
A smoothie is a great way to pack nutrition and fiber into your day, but the carbohydrates and sugar from fruit can add up quickly if you’re not careful. To keep smoothies keto-friendly (that is, low-carb, high-protein, and high-fat), try adding dark leafy greens like kale, lower-carb fruits like berries

 and high-fat favorites such as nut butter, unsweetened Greek yogurt, avocado, or flax, with stevia for sweetness.

If you’re unsure which ingredients will fit into your keto diet, reach out to a registered dietitian for personalized advice.

The Takeaway

  • Hydration is important when you're on a ketogenic diet, which requires followers to restrict carbohydrates and sugar and increase dietary fat and protein.
  • The best keto-friendly drinks are often lower in carbohydrates and calorie content.
  • Drinks like water, plain tea, seltzer, bone broth, and plain black coffee are optimal choices.
  • Some drinks with added calories or fat, like smoothies, kombucha, or coffee with unsweetened heavy cream are okay in moderation.
EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
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  8. Jennings A et al. Microbial Diversity and Abundance of Parabacteroides Mediate the Associations Between Higher Intake of Flavonoid-Rich Foods and Lower Blood Pressure. Hypertension. August 23, 2021.
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  10. Caffeine: How Much Is Too Much? Mayo Clinic. February 21, 2025.
  11. Beverages, coffee, brewed, breakfast blend. U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Data Central. April 1, 2019.
  12. Organic Beef Bone Broth, Beef Bone Broth. U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Data Central. October 28, 2021.
  13. Soup, Chicken Broth, Ready-to-Serve. U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Data Central. April 1, 2019.
  14. Beverages, Almond Milk, Unsweetened, Shelf Stable. U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Data Central. April 1, 2019.
  15. Coconut Milk. U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Data Central. October 31, 2024.
  16. Milk and Plant-Based Milk Alternatives: Know the Nutrient Difference. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. February 22, 2023.
  17. Tea, Kombucha. U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Data Central. October 31, 2024.
  18. Alcoholic Beverage, Wine, Table, Red. U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Data Central. April 1, 2019.
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Reyna Franco, RDN

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Member of American College of Lifestyle Medicine

Reyna Franco, RDN, is a New York City–based dietitian-nutritionist, certified specialist in sports dietetics, and certified personal trainer. She is a diplomate of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine and has a master's degree in nutrition and exercise physiology from Columbia University.

In her private practice, she provides medical nutrition therapy for weight management, sports nutrition, diabetes, cardiac disease, renal disease, gastrointestinal disorders, cancer, food allergies, eating disorders, and childhood nutrition. To serve her diverse patients, she demonstrates cultural sensitivity and knowledge of customary food practices. She applies the tenets of lifestyle medicine to reduce the risk of chronic disease and improve health outcomes for her patients.

Franco is also a corporate wellness consultant who conducts wellness counseling and seminars for organizations of every size. She taught sports nutrition to medical students at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, taught life cycle nutrition and nutrition counseling to undergraduate students at LaGuardia Community College, and precepts nutrition students and interns. She created the sports nutrition rotation for the New York Distance Dietetic Internship program.

She is the chair of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine's Registered Dietitian-Nutritionist Member Interest Group. She is also the treasurer and secretary of the New York State Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, having previously served in many other leadership roles for the organization, including as past president, awards committee chair, and grant committee chair, among others. She is active in the local Greater New York Dietetic Association and Long Island Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, too.

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