Making your own Sugar Free Kahlua takes just five minutes and is incredibly easy with a few simple ingredients and a good recipe!
When I mixed up my sugar free coffee liquor, I thought about why I rarely drink coffee liquor. I tend to want to sip on some coffee liquor in the evening... but then think about how poorly I sleep if I do that.
The solution?? I made mine decaf!!!
Is Alcohol Keto?
This, perhaps, is the bigger question.
If you scroll down and look at the calories in a batch of this sugar free kahlua you'll find that alcohol really isn't keto.
However, you can safely enjoy a drink now and then. In my opinion, we that eat keto need to relax now and then and having these little "cheats" that allow our body to stay in Ketosis are incredibly valuable to long-term keto success.
When I enjoy an evening drink, I prefer to pair a fat bomb or a piece of high-fat cheese with it.
Ya Feel It Faster
A word of warning, when your body is in a state of ketosis you will feel alcohol hit you MUCH faster than when you're not.
My advice...Keep your drinks small and sip them slowly
I am in love with these little grappa glasses I found while cleaning out the attic at our family farm.
They are the perfect container for sugar free kahlua!
I have been looking for different pretty glasses like these ever since and the closest I've been able to find are "Grappa" or sometimes brandy glasses.
Your New Favorite Keto Drink
My favorite thing about making my own coffee liquor (Kahlua) is being in control of all the things ?
In my opinion, regular Kahlua is a bit on the sweet side. You can dial back the amount of sugar substitute you use to get the perfect level of sweetness for you.
Also, I tend to be VERY sensitive to caffeine too late in the day which meant that I could rarely enjoy coffee liquor as a night-cap.
Therefore, when I mixed this up, I opted for decaf coffee.
I don't know about you….
I always buy ORGANIC coffee because of all the chemicals sprayed on conventional coffee.
In fact, as I'm writing this post from a cozy hotel room… I'm enjoying a cup of organic coffee made with my AeroPress which is what I travel with!
Finally, you can choose a base liquor of your preference. I have played around with using rum, vodka and brandy. All three yield excellent results.
Though, I tend to lean towards using brandy because it isn't derived from a grain and I enjoy the finished result.
What tweaks will you make to this recipe?
Share your ideas and results with us in the comments section at the bottom of this blog post.
Ingredients for Homemade Sugar Free Kahlua
Here's a few things you'll need to make your sugar free Kahlua:
- Instant Decaf Coffee
- Instant Coffee
- Bocha Sweet (Seriously, you need this!) But sometimes it's sold out. My other picks: Monk Fruit Sweetener, Liquid Stevia Drops or Swerve
- Pure Vanilla Extract
- Caramel Extract
- Coffee of your choice
Tutorial Video: Homemade Sugar Free Kahlua
Check out my YouTube channel “Tara's Keto Kitchen”!
I share new videos and recipes every week. Subscribe so you're notified by YouTube when the recipes post.
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📖 Recipe
Homemade Sugar Free Kahlua
You can experiment with different bases for this sugar free coffee liquor including rum, brandy, vodka and even whisky! Kahlua is traditionally made with rum. Do what tastes good!
Ingredients
- 2 ½ Cups Strongly Brewed Coffee
- 1 Cup Bocha Sweet or other sugar substitute
- 2 Cups Rum vodka or brandy
- 3 Tbsp Pure Vanilla Extract
- ½ Tsp Caramel Extract
Instructions
- In a large bowl, dissolve Bocha Sweet (or other sugar substitute) in your warm coffee.
- Mix in vanilla extract, caramel extract and your choice of rum, vodka or brandy.
- Pour into a container that you can tightly seal.
- You’ll have a little under 5 cups. You can store in a mason jar or container of your choice.
- You can drink this right away.However, you may prefer to age your homemade sugar free Kahlua for 1-4 weeks. I find that even 24 hours improves the smoothness of the drink.
Tamara Daniel says
Not keto, probably, but I had Smucker's Sugar Free caramel ice cream topping on hand and used about 3 Tablespoons. Also used whiskey. Thanks for the diabetic friendly recipe!
Debra says
Is the rum dark or white?
Tara Wright, CHC, MBA says
I used white, i think. 😛
Janne Smith says
How long can this be stored? How long will this last once made?
Tara Wright, CHC, MBA says
I've stored it in a cool, dark place for up to 6 months without any issues.
BonJon says
Hi there Tara. 2 questions:
Is caramel extract necessary? could it be left out? because I've never heard of it, never seen it in a store.
And you mention using liquid Stevia drops instead, but you don't mention anywhere how many. Could you specify how many? I'm low on powdered Stevia and need all I have for Christmas cookies, so thought I'd use the liquid. (never heard of Bocha Sweet, never seen it in a store)
Tara Wright, CHC, MBA says
You could leave it out, absolutely 🙂
Kelly says
Hi Bob Jon, I found the caramel extract made all the difference in the flavour from when I used to make a version of this years ago.
Anonymous says
Sorry “Bon” Jon