Keto Candy Cane Martini

This keto candy cane martini is so yummy! Perfect for a holiday party and really easy to make. It’s creamy, sweet and has the vanilla and peppermint to create that candy cane flavor yet it’s sugar free and low carb! Each drink has only1g net carbs and you can make it with or without alcohol!

You might like this keto raspberry mimosa or lemon drop for the holidays!

Every year for the winter holidays I like to come up with a fun cocktail recipe and make it low carb. This holiday season it is this keto candy cane martini and it is soooo good. I drank mine in seconds and had another (though that one was without alcohol). So beware they are very yummy!

I modeled this drink after my very popular keto rumchata drink. Both are creamy, sweet with hints of vanilla. While this candy cane sugar free cocktail has peppermint flavor too the rumchata is full of cinnamon and nutmeg.

Both are low carb, sugar free and easy to make.  Perfect when on a low carb or keto diet and you want to celebrate with fun holiday cocktail this season. But if you are a mint lover this is the one for you.

Recipe ingredients and substitutions.

When I was “practicing” making this batch of peppermint martinis I wanted to keep it simple because who wants to be a mixologist during the holidays? So the ingredients I used were: unsweetened almond milk, heavy whipping cream, peppermint extract, vanilla extract, Swerve sweetener and Absolut vanilla vodka.

Almond Milk and Heavy Cream
This is the base of the cocktail and I like to use unsweetened almond milk because it doesn’t have much calories or carbs but adds a bit of milky consistency. The heavy whipping cream is what makes it so creamy and delicious.

You could substitute with your favorite dairy free milk if you wish like coconut milk, oat milk, cashew milk, etc. Note they will have different carb counts so account for them if watching your carbs.

The coconut milk is also a good substitute for both the almond milk and heavy cream but might a might add a bit of that coconut flavor. And while it won’t be as good you could certainly just use almond milk for a lower fat and lower calorie option.

Swerve Sweetener
I love the Swerve sweetener products and in this recipe I used their confectioners or powdered sugar sweetener because it blend better. You can use your favorite sweetener of choice. Any will work but you might have to taste test to get to suit your sweetness preference.

Absolut Vanilla Vodka
I like the Absolut brand because most of Absolut flavored vodkas have no carbs but some other brands of flavored vodkas do. So make sure to research your brand of vodka if you buy another brand. They are unlikely to state the carb count or ingredients on the bottle. Also you can substitute plain vodka instead. 

Also if you see peppermint vodka such as Smirnoff or peppermint schnapps most likely it has added sugar and would not be low carb. Even if you find a candy cane vodka make sure to look up the ingredients online if you are trying to make a sugar free cocktail. They rarely are sugar free.

Flavor Extracts
I love flavor extracts in low carb recipes because it adds flavor but not sweetness. Therefor it has little calories and no carbs. You can easily add sweetener with extracts to make a flavored sweetener. You can find peppermint extract and vanilla extract in most grocery stores.

The sugar free red sugar mixture to rim the martini glasses.

I like to drink this in martini glasses but you can use any kind of glass you like. To make the keto red sugar to rim the glass I took some granular Swerve sweetener  and a pinch of salt. Mixed it with a few drops of red dye and mixed it well. Then I let it set out over night to make sure it was dried out.

This is not necessary to make but I thought it made the drink more festive. To be honest I’m not very good at rimming the glass but if you are interested here is a good article. 

Essentially you wet the martini glass rim with water or another liquid then roll the rim of glass in a tray or small plate of sugar or salt. They had the great idea of using a wedge of lemon and rubbed it around the glass rim.

How to make a candy cane martini cocktail.

This peppermint martini recipe is very easy to make with these simple steps. and note that this recipe just makes 1 drink. So if you want to make more this recipe is easy to double, triple, etc. 

1. Take a martini glass or other glass and if rimming with red sugar on top do so according to instructions above.
2. Add crushed ice or ice cubes to the rimmed martini glass.
3. Add to a cocktail shaker the almond milk, heavy cream, peppermint and vanilla extract, Swerve sweetener and vanilla vodka. 
4. Pour over the prepared martini glass with the crushed ice and serve. Alternatively you can fill the shaker with ice and mix the cocktail in the shaker and pour the chilled drink straight into the glass with out ice.
5. Note you can easily eliminate the vodka if you want a non-alcoholic drink.

If you can find mini peppermint candy canes they can be cute to hang on the rim thought they are not sugar free and will have carbs.

I hope you give this candy cane martini drink a try. Just looking at it right now I want to make another one. This holiday martini is such a simple low carb cocktail but really tastes delicious and with only 1g net carbs and 168 calories you don’t have to feel guilty! It’s perfect for any holiday cocktail parties you have whether or not you are on a sugar free diet.

The nutritional information for 1 candy cane cocktail is: 168 calories
12.4g fat / 1.5g carbs / 0.5g fiber / 1.1g protein = 1g net carbs

And here are more keto holiday cocktail ideas. You might also like my friend Annissa’s keto Bailey’s Irish cream recipe! Click on the graphic below for all my low carb drinks and some tips for making your own keto cocktails.