Do you find coffee at Tim Hortons simply irresistible? When you are following a diet, it can be hard to renounce your favorite food and drinks.
But we have good news for you, if you are on a keto diet, you don’t need to give up on your fix of Tim Horton’s coffee!
Did you know that caffeine can give your keto diet a boost, as it increases energy and aids weight loss?
Although coffee itself is welcome on a keto diet, what you add to our coffee may not be. Read on to discover Tim Horton’s keto-friendly coffee options.
Tim Hortons Low-Carb Options
Let’s face it, Tim Horton’s isn’t exactly known for its healthy low-carb foods and drinks (we’re looking at you, Timbits!), but it does have delicious coffee.
If you know what to avoid and what is safe for keto, it’s easy to enjoy a steaming cup of coffee at Tim Horton’s without disrupting your ketosis.
The key ingredients you need to consider when ordering a coffee that is low-carb at Tim Horton’s are sugar and milk.
When it comes to sugar, the keto rules are simple:
- Swap out any sugars or syrups with sweeteners.
- Sweeteners such as stevia, erythritol, and allulose are all keto-friendly options to add some sweetness to your drink.
On the other hand, things are a little more complicated when it comes to milk.
Is dairy milk allowed on a keto diet?
Milk is a controversial category when it comes to keto diets, as many dairy products are fine to consume while others are best avoided.
Milk contains proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals, but it also contains carbs. Depending on the kind of process it undergoes, it will contain more or fewer carbs.
- To give you an idea, 1 cup of whole milk contains 11.5 g of carbs on average. This is on the high side for a ketogenic diet.
- Compare this to almond milk’s 3.4 g of carbs per cup. But keep in mind, PlanKetogenic points out that it’s important to differentiate between plain, unsweetened, and sweetened types of almond milk.
Does Tim Hortons have almond milk?
Yes! The popular franchise added almond milk to its menus in 2020. They also offer soy milk, which is another great low-carb option.
Luckily, one of the great things about Tim Horton’s is that they are very transparent about the nutritional information of every item they serve.
You can check the carb content of any food or drink on the nutrition section of the Tim Hortons website and decide whether it will fit into your daily allowance or not.
Best keto drinks at Tim Hortons
Now that you know what milk and sweetener to choose, imagine ordering a drink right now. What are the best low-carb drinks at Tim Hortons?
This popular coffee store has all your classic hot drinks and some extra tasty special ones too, but which ones are a no-go for keto diets?
Here are some tips on which drinks you can enjoy with total peace of mind.
Classic keto coffee
If you are following a keto diet, you can still enjoy your favorite classic coffees like the Original Blend or Dark Roast. With these black coffees, all you need to watch out for is sugar. Be sure to add sweetener instead of regular sugar, and you can enjoy a carb-free caffeine boost.
Black coffee contains 0 carbs and 4 calories per 16 oz serving.
Among the classic coffees, you can also opt for a Flat White, which doesn’t contain a large amount of milk, so you can probably have it with regular whole milk (depending on your daily intake). It’s also delicious with almond milk for the most keto-friendly option. Don’t forget, always add sweetener, instead of sugar.
Flat white with dairy milk contains 12 g of carbs and 121 calories per 12 oz serving.
Keto iced coffee
There’s nothing better than a refreshing iced coffee when the summer heat kicks in. Don’t give up on this special treat just because you follow a keto diet.
Plant-based milks also work great in iced coffee, which is great news since dairy might not be a good idea in this case.
Drinking iced coffee can lead to weight gain if you pack the drink with milk and sugar, so you should be mindful of what you are adding. Iced coffees often contain more milk than regular coffee, so you should be careful not to exceed your daily carb allowance.
The lowest carb option is to have iced coffee without milk or sugar. Black coffee is not as strong when you put ice in it, so this may be a good way to develop a taste for it. Or, you can add a sugar-free sweetener.
If you need to alter the flavor more, it’s best to play it safe with a low-carb plant-based alternative like almond or soy. Almond milk works great as it gives your coffee a wonderful creamy, nutty flavor.
If you must have dairy, opt for the iced latte, as it has the lowest carb count at 16 g for a 16 oz serving. On the other hand, Tim Hortons iced capp calories are 305, and it contains 34 g of carbs for a 16 oz serving.
Iced latte contains 16 g of carbs and 99 calories per 12 oz serving.
Ice capp contains 34 g of carbs and 305 calories per 16 oz serving.
Keto teas
Besides black coffee, the best drinks at Tim Hortons for keto diets are teas.
Herbal and black teas without sugar or dairy are a healthy option to warm you up in winter.
Since tea is essentially just water, it contains 0 carbs and 0 calories, you can’t beat that!
What’s more, Tim Hortons tea flavors include
- orange pekoe
- green tea
- Earl Grey
- peppermint, and
- classic black tea.
Keto food at Tim Hortons
While it’s easy to watch your carb intake with drinks at Tim Hortons by making some small adjustments, food is a different story.
Most food served at the establishment comes in a bun, muffin or wrap, so it’s almost impossible to stay away from carbs, unless you remove the bread and any sauces and simply eat the meat and vegetables.
While it’s hard to avoid carbs completely, here are some items with fewer carbs to help you choose a tasty snack.
Tim Hortons keto menu items
- Bacon with Egg & Cheese Muffin - Carbs 28.48 g (161 g serving)
- 3 Pieces Tims Chicken tenders - Carbs 21.36 g (120 g serving)
- Timmies Minis Beef Burger - Carbs 25.5 g (4 oz serving)
- Timbits - Carbs 10.58 g (21 g serving)
These carb counts are too high for most people on keto, so you can modify by ditching the bread/bun/muffin, or saving these treats for a cheat day or when you are carb cycling.
As a general rule, it may be best to order your keto coffee at Tim Hortons to go, so you aren’t tempted to order food as well.
Instead, try packing a ziplock bag of almonds, walnuts, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds so you can eat these on the go.
Nuts and seeds are nutrient-dense whole foods, and they stay good for a long time, so you can keep these snacks in your car, purse, backpack or briefcase for easy convenience.
Now you’re ready for that low-carb coffee!
