Amazing Hack for Milk on a Keto Diet + 6 Non-Dairy Keto Milk Substitutes!

You may have wondered: “Is milk keto friendly?” or “Can I drink milk on a keto diet?”

The short answer is that dairy milk is not ideal for keto diets. However, there is an exception. We’ll explain further, below.

Also, fortunately, there are some great keto-friendly milk alternatives. In this post, we also list out 6 non-dairy keto milk substitutes that are highly suitable for low carb diets.

Let’s get right into it!

Can you drink milk on a keto diet? Is milk keto friendly?

Dairy milk, including skim and whole milk, contains approximately 12 grams of sugar per cup! That means the sugar content in a single serving of milk is enough to significantly raise blood glucose levels in your body. The corresponding spike in insulin inhibits ketosis. That means you should not drink dairy milk on a keto diet.

The sugar in milk adds up quickly, whether you are drinking a glass of milk, eating some low carb cereal, or enjoying a latte. At 12g of sugar per cup, it’s no wonder why people (and especially children) love milk so much.

What we need is a keto milk alternative that does not contain much (or any) sugar.

So, what’s out there that can fill the void of dairy milk on the keto diet?

Nuts and Seeds: Great for Milk

The keto diet would be so much more difficult without nuts and seeds. Seriously, nuts and seeds are insanely versatile (and also great for you).

Not only can you make low carb and keto-friendly crackers, bread, bars with nuts, but you can also use them to make low sugar milk!

Because of the unique nutritional composition of nuts, you gain a dairy-free, keto milk alternative containing significantly less sugar. At the same time, you receive much more plant-based fat as well.

With this in mind, it’s easy to see that the keto diet and milk can absolutely co-exist harmoniously.

Is there a keto milk option for picky kids?

If you’re trying to reduce the amount of sugar in your child’s diet, kudos to you!

If you or your child will simply not drink nut-based milk, the best regular cow’s milk for keto we have found is Organic Valley Whole Ultra-Filtered Organic Milk. Organic Valley’s milk contains 6g of sugar per cup, about half the amount of most other whole milk options.

Plus, it’s USDA Organic, pasture-raised and lactose-free!

The Keto Milk Hack…Real Dairy on a Keto Diet

What if you absolutely cannot stand to have the sugar in the ultra-filtered milk, but you crave that dairy taste?

That’s where the ultimate keto milk hack comes in.

All you need is:

1. Heavy Whipping Cream
2. Filtered Water
3. Stevia Powder (or another keto-friendly sweetener)
4. Hand-held Milk Frother

Milk is basically cream and water anyway. So all you need to do is mix one cup of water (8 oz) with 1 tbsp of heavy whipping cream. Sweeten to taste (we use 3 scoops of stevia powder) and blend well using the handheld milk frother.

In a few seconds, you have the closest thing to keto whole milk possible.

Pro-Tip: This works great in lattes or even for cereal!

RELATED: What about a low carb milk alternative for chocolate milk? We have that too! Check out our post on the best options for low carb keto chocolate milk!

More Pro Tips:

• Check out our top list of low carb and keto cereal options to enjoy with your keto-friendly milk.
• For an extra dose of fat, add some keto milk to your morning coffee. Doing this will keep you nice and full through the morning! Check out our low carb coffee creamer post boost your morning caffeine fix as well.
• Low carb milk and cookies! A nice cold glass of low carb milk washes down our favorite keto-friendly Fat Snax cookies nicely.

Affiliate Note: When you click on some of the links on this page, we may receive a small kickback from Amazon, which in turn helps us keep the lights on. We greatly appreciate your support and hope you discover some awesome keto and low carb products from our site.

The 6 Best Non-Dairy Keto Milk Substitutes

#1 Milkadamia Macadamia Milk

Macadamia nuts are already our favorite nut to snack on due to their high fat content and low carb count. Milkadamia takes that love affair to the next level by turning macadamia nuts into milk.

This makes Milkadamia our favorite keto milk alternative.

This brand comes serves up two low carb flavors, Unsweetened Vanilla and Original Unsweetened. Both have ZERO NET CARBS per serving!

This is our favorite milk on the keto diet in combination with keto and low carb cereal because it doesn’t add any unwanted flavor.

Since it’s made from macadamia nuts, it has a very rich taste and creamy texture, so it also works really well as a creamer for coffee.

#2 Pacific Foods Hemp Milk

Pacific Foods is a great natural food brand that makes excellent products, like their Organic Bone Broth (great for your keto flu symptoms, by the way). They also make hemp milk, which tastes great and is another great keto-friendly milk option.

Like most of the other milk on this list, these come in two low carb flavors, Unsweetened Vanilla and Unsweetened Original, both coming in at ZERO NET CARBS per serving.

This hemp milk has a very neutral flavor, making it a great complement to any food you’d normally drink milk with (like cookies!).

#3 So Delicious Coconut Milk

This is the best keto diet coconut milk brand out there, and we have tried many. We regularly add this to our Bulletproof coffee in the morning.

Both flavors are very smooth, however, we prefer the unsweetened original flavor. Using the unsweetened version allows us to add our own keto sweetener and vanilla, to meet our personal taste.

You do also get that hint of coconut cream flavor, which is great in elevating your coffee.

A great bonus with the coconut milk is that coconut fats are very saturated, meaning you’ll get the highly coveted and beneficial MCTs for ketosis. That’s 4.5g of fat (4g saturated) per cup!

Fun Fact: MCTs have been shown to be better generators of ketone bodies than other types of fat, like long-chain LCTs. Therefore, if you increase your MCT intake, you don’t have to eat as much fat to generate ketones. That leaves you with more room for carbohydrate and protein consumption!

Coming at you in 3 Low Carb Milk Flavors:

• Unsweetened Original
• Unsweetened Vanilla
• Sugar-Free Original

All flavors have only 1g net carb per 1 cup of milk.

#4 So Delicious Unsweetened Almond Milk

So Delicious only has one almond milk that’s a keto diet milk option: the Unsweetened version which is less than 1g net carb per 1 cup.

Again, we love good brands and love what So Delicious puts out. They even sell some great low carb ice cream, like No Sugar Added Butter Pecan which you can find in stores.

The texture of their almond milk is smooth and creamy and you get about 2g of fat per cup (although that’s all unsaturated). The texture will be similar to their coconut milk above but with less fat and no MCTs.

#5 Good Karma Unsweetened Flax Milk

Flax seeds have a great reputation for their omega-3 fatty acid content. The Good Karma Flax Milk also holds true to that notion.

Note that their only low carb option is the Unsweetened flavor coming in at 2g net carbs per 1 cup.

The real benefit of Good Karma’s flax milk is the pea protein which adds a whopping 1200mg of omega 3s per cup! 

For those of us on a keto diet, that’s great to help balance out the ratio of omega 6s to omega 3s in the body.

#6 Pacific Foods Organic Soy Milk

If you’re not opposed to soy, Pacific Foods has two low carb milk alternative versions of their Organic Soy Milk: Unsweetened Original and Unsweetened Vanilla.

Each contains 2g net carbs per 1 cup. 

Do note that these varieties are organic, and as such, non-GMO, which is why we prefer this brand over others.

Not only is the soy milk organic but it contains only two ingredients: Whole Organic Soy Beans and Water.

Many of the other organic soy milk brands contain extra fillers.

We put this on the bottom of our list because of many people’s aversions to soy, but it’s a great option from an excellent brand.

What are your favorite low carb or keto milk alternatives? Let us know in the comments, below!