If you’ve not tried the Pink Drink from Starbucks, you’re seriously missing out! Since we all are well aware that a Starbucks addiction can break the bank as well as the waist line, let’s learn how to make the Starbucks Pink Drink from home. The Pink Drink is one of the few beverages Starbucks offers that has much fewer calories and contains simpler, more natural ingredients. Read on for my copycat Starbucks Pink Drink recipe!
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The other day I ran by Starbucks to grab my kiddos a snack in-between errands and spotted their famous Pink Drink. With zero intention of getting myself something, I left with a $6 Venti Pink Drink that I proceeded to suck down in 2 seconds flat. And to top it off, I seriously considered buying another.
Being the thrifty DIYer that I am, I decided I would create a homemade version of the original drink at home with simple ingredients including passion fruit tea, hopefully less sugar and cleaner ingredients.
Before we get into the nitty gritty of this Starbucks copycat recipe, let me spend a little time convincing you that you might want to make this drink at home….
What is Starbucks Famous Pink Drink?
Starbucks popular Pink Drink is a refreshingly sweet beverage that has subtle hints of strawberry and açaí. The drink tastes like a creamy strawberry iced tea. It’s topped off with creamy coconut milk and freeze dried strawberries. It is much lighter in calories than many of Starbucks other drinks. Some drinkers have said the Starbucks Pink Drink tastes like a pink Starburst.
What is Starbucks Pink Drink Made With?
According to the Starbucks website, the Pink Drink contains:
Ice, Strawberry Acai Base [Water, Sugar, White Grape Juice Concentrate, Citric Acid, Natural Flavors, Natural Green Coffee Flavor, Fruit And Vegetable Juice, Rebaudioside A], Coconutmilk [Water, Coconut Cream, Cane Sugar, Contains 2 Or Less Of Tricalcium Phosphate, Coconut Water Concentrate, Sea Salt, Natural Flavors, Xanthan Gum, Gellan Gum, Corn Dextrin, Guar Gum, Vitamin A Palmitate, And Vitamin D 2], Freeze Dried Strawberries
Starbucks Pink Drink Nutrition Facts:
A 16-oz. Pink Drink has 140 calories, 2.5g fat, 60mg sodium, 27g carbs, 1g fiber, 24g sugars, and 1g protein.
A tall is around 105 calories, while a Venti has roughly 210 calories.
24 grams of sugar is quite a bit for only 16 ounces!
Is Starbucks Pink Drink Healthy?
As you can see from the ingredient list above, there are some artificial ingredients. Most of the ingredients mentioned above have nothing to do with the texture or taste of the drink. While it contains quite a few less calories and questionable ingredients then most of their coffee drinks, the Pink Drink is still not as healthy as I would prefer it to be.
Don’t be fooled by Starbucks. They make many claims of being natural. However, they are not and the majority of their drinks are filled with shocking amounts of sugar. DIYing their drinks is not only fun, it can be much better for you. If you’d like to pull the curtain back on Starbucks, the Food Babe has an in-depth article detailing the dangers lurking in most Starbucks drinks.
Starbucks Pink Drink Copycat Recipe
Do you get tired of shelling out a ton of money for one of Starbucks famous drinks only to ingest a load of unnatural ingredients and sugar? Me too! I decided I could recreate Starbucks famous Pink Drink using more natural ingredients and adding less sugar. I'm thrilled with the final recipe and I think you're going to love it too!
Ingredients
- 1.5 cups Iced Passion Tea
- 1/2 cup Unsweetened Coconut Milk
- 1-2 tbsp. Coconut French Vanilla Creamer (add more according to your sugar preference)
- Top off with freeze dried strawberries or find at Trader Joe's
- 1-2 TBSP. Raw Honey *optional
Instructions
- Brew 1 1/2 cups of Iced Passion Tea.
- Allow to cool.
- Add in coconut milk, creamer and top with freeze dried strawberries!
Notes
Starbucks Homemade Pink Drink Ingredient Alternatives:
Coconut milk is not necessary if you'd rather use soy milk, almond milk, cow milk or even heavy cream. If you choose to use heavy cream or even half and half, I would make a simple syrup or use raw honey for sweetening.
Freeze dried strawberries can also be replaced by strawberry puree or fresh strawberries.
Feel free to create your own version of the pink drink as long as you include the Tazo tea!
Starbucks Pink Drink Recipe Notes:
I used TAZO's Iced Passion. This tea is really nice on it's own just so you know. TAZO is the official tea of Starbucks so I believe I've come very close to what they use.
Next up is coconut milk. Starbucks coconut milk is full of additives like the gut inflammation causing, carrageenan. So Delicious has removed carrageenan and was all I could find at my local health food store so I grabbed it. I wish there wasn't sugar added though.
I also confirmed that the strawberry slices in the drink are freeze dried strawberries, not fresh.
Starbuck's Pink Drink is sweet. Not overly sweet but more sweet then if you were to just add milk to the tea. In order to add more sweetness and creaminess I added So Delicious's Coconut Milk Creamer in French Vanilla. This creamer is crazy sweet. I use it in my homemade matcha latté.
Raw Honey is only included in the recipe in case you really enjoy a very sweet drink. I do not add it to mine. The creamer is enough.
Why You Should Re-Create the Starbucks Pink Drink At Home:
- You save a ton of money!
- My pink drink recipe is simple and much healthier.
- Starbucks Coconut Milk is not quality. (think sugar, carrageenan, and corn dextrin)
- It’s easy to make with limitless refills!
- You are in control of your sugar intake.
While you’re at it, check out my homemade Starbucks healthy versions of Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte recipe, Mocha Frappuccino recipe or even my simple healthy hot chocolate recipe!
What Makes Starbucks Pink Drink Pink?
As you can see from the above picture, the Tazo Iced Passion Tea is a dark reddish pink so when you add the coconut milk, it turns this drink into the prettiest pale pink. Add strawberries and you’ve got quite the stylish beverage!
How to Get the Exact Taste of Starbucks Pink Drink:
After I settled on my favorite formulation of this copycat recipe, I found Starbucks VIA Instant Coffee Flavored Packets — Very Berry Hibiscus at Walmart and realized this is exactly what is in Starbuck’s Pink Drink. It is what gives the pink color and the sweet flavor.
If you really want to recreate the drink exactly, this ingredient is a must. I must warn you though-this product is where some of the unnatural ingredients and extra sugar come from when you buy the drink at Starbucks.
The Very Berry Hibiscus refresher packet ingredients are Cane Sugar, White Grape Juice Powder (Maltodextrin, Grape Juice Solids), Natural Flavors, Fruit and Vegetable Juices for Color, Malic Acid, Green Coffee Bean Extract, Erythritol, Citric Acid, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Rebaudioside-A (Stevia Leaf Extract).
If you’d like to make a keto version of this drink, skip the refresher and the sugary creamer and just add a small amount of raw honey!
I personally am happy to skip the Very Berry Hibiscus Refresher in order to save money as well as iffy ingredients.
This copycat pink drink recipe is the perfect beverage for a hot summer day! Pour you a tall glass and enjoy! It has quickly become my favorite drink!
xx, Jenni
PIN IT!!!
Love what you did here Jenni! And I love that tea on it’s own. Definitely going to try this. I pretty much have everything… might try just using stevia to sweeten since I’m not sure how much I’d use the creamer. And we could totally add a little collagen for the skin benefits!
Just made this using TWININGS berry fusion. It is delicious!!! I have never had the Starbucks version, so I can’t compare, but this is amazing and so simple. It will definitely be on my list of things to make frequently. Thanks for the recipe.
Tara! Oh good-I’ll have to try it! I find it curbs my need for something bad in the late afternoon!