Copycat Starbucks Pink Drink
The ever so Instagram-able Starbucks Pink Drink is a favorite among our teen clients, but it’s higher in sugar with less nutritional value than something we’d usually recommend. Read on for our recipe, as well as tips on how to modify your order when you want the real deal:
When at Home…
Start with an unsweetened iced tea
Be creative! Starbucks uses their Strawberry Acai Refresher Beverage as the base for this drink, which does have a small amount of caffeine, but you can use any tea that’ll brew up red like Tazo’s Passion Tea (which also comes in iced tea bags!) or Trader Joe’s Pomegranate White Tea.
Add an unsweetened plant-based milk
Starbucks adds coconut milk to their Pink Drink, but almond, oat, and coconut are all good options– as long as they are unsweetened, too.
Finish it off with fresh or freeze-dried strawberries
Starbucks adds freeze-dried strawberries, which are a great option year round, but in the summer, when strawberries are in season, we recommend choosing fresh! One cup of strawberries (approximately eight berries) has only 50 calories and may improve heart health and digestion due to it’s fiber content!
Wondering what’s the best alternative to fresh produce? Check out this blog post, which breaks down the differences among freeze-dried, frozen and canned options!
Our recipe
Combine 1 cup of unsweetened iced tea with 1/3 cup of plant-based milk over ice. Add four to five strawberry slices and enjoy!
When at Starbucks…
Order this drink to approximate the Pink Drink, but decrease the amount of sugar:
- Start with a grande unsweetened passion iced tea
- Ask for a splash of coconut or almond milk
- Top it off with a small scoop of freeze dried strawberries
This way, you’ve got something that’s definitely Instagram-worthy, but also FEED-approved 🙂