Keto Mojito
Published June 13, 2021 • Updated February 27, 2026
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This keto mojito is my go-to cocktail year-round. Fresh mint, lime juice, rum, and a sugar free sweetener, muddled and poured over crushed ice in about five minutes.
I started making this a few years ago when I realized how much I missed a good mojito on keto. It was always my summer drink, the one I’d make on a Friday afternoon without thinking about it. When I swapped to a sugar free sweetener and tested it side by side, I couldn’t find the difference. Then I made one in January during a snowstorm just to see, and it was exactly the same experience. Cold glass, bright mint, sharp lime. I make it year-round now.
The recipe takes five minutes. Muddle fresh mint with a brown sugar sweetener, squeeze in lime juice, pour the rum, top with club soda and crushed ice. That’s the entire process. The muddling is the only step that matters, and I’ll say it directly: press and twist, never grind.
You want to bruise the mint leaves against the sweetener at the bottom of the glass. When they start releasing that bright green smell and the sweetener dissolves into the lime juice, stop. If you shred the leaves into a paste, the whole drink turns bitter. I wrecked a few mojitos before I figured out where the line is. Now I muddle for maybe ten seconds and move on.
I’ve tested a few sweeteners here. The brown sugar version adds a slight molasses depth that works in a cocktail. But one of my readers, Luis, swapped in monk fruit and said he actually preferred it. I tried it after and I agree. Monk fruit is a touch less sweet, which lets the lime and mint come through more. Both work, so use whatever you keep in your pantry.
The mocktail version is real. I make it without rum when I want something cold and minty in the afternoon, and the drink holds up. The muddled mint and fresh lime carry it on their own. If you’re prepping for a party, muddle the base (mint, sweetener, lime juice) in a pitcher ahead of time, refrigerate, and let people pour over ice with rum or without. Don’t add the club soda to the pitcher early or it goes flat.
For more drink ideas, my hot buttered rum is what I make all winter when I want something warm. The peach bellini is light, bubbly, and takes even less effort. For non-alcohol days, I rotate between the pina colada smoothie and frozen hot chocolate.
Explore 688+ keto recipe videos with step-by-step instructions, tips, and tricks to make keto easy.
Ingredients
2 sprigs fresh mint -
2 teaspoons sugar free brown sugar sweetener
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1 ounce (2 tablespoons) fresh lime juice
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4 ounces light rum
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4 ounces club soda
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crushed ice
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2 lime wedges for garnish
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2 mint leaves for garish
Step by Step Instructions
Step by Step Instructions
Muddle the mint
In each high ball glass, muddle 1 sprig of mint and 1 teaspoon brown sugar-like sweetener until the mint is crushed a bit.
Time to get rummy
To each, add 1/2 ounces lime juice and 2 ounces light rum and muddle it a little.
Top with soda and ice
To each, pour in 2 ounces club soda and add a handful of crushed ice. Garnish with a lime wedge and mint leaf.
(Option: Use a cocktail shaker if you have one or just stir to mix)
Nutrition disclaimer
The nutrition information provided is an estimate and is for informational purposes only. I am a Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.); however, this content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult your physician or other qualified health provider before making any lifestyle changes or beginning a new nutrition program.
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Get My Macros + Recipes →Frequently Asked Questions
Does rum have carbs?
Rum has zero carbs. I use light rum in this recipe, but dark rum, white rum, and spiced rum are all the same. The distillation process strips out all the sugar from the sugarcane. The only thing to watch for is flavored rums because those often have sugar added back in after distilling.
Can I use vodka instead of rum in this mojito?
I've tried it and it works, but it becomes a different drink. Vodka doesn't bring the slight sweetness that rum has, so the mint and lime take over completely. It's still refreshing, but if you're a vodka person, I'd point you toward my vodka lemonade instead since the lemon plays better with vodka than lime does.
What is the right way to muddle mint without making it bitter?
Press and twist, never grind. I put the mint and sweetener at the bottom of the glass, press down with the muddler, and give it a gentle twist. The second you smell that bright mint hit, stop. If you keep going and shred the leaves into a paste, the drink turns bitter. I muddle for about ten seconds now and that's plenty.
Can I make this without alcohol?
I make the mocktail version all the time. Skip the rum, add a splash more club soda, and you've got a cold minty lime drink that holds up on its own. The muddled mint and fresh lime juice do most of the work in this recipe anyway, so you're not losing much without the rum.
Can I use monk fruit instead of the brown sugar sweetener?
One of my readers, Luis, tried monk fruit and said he actually preferred it. I tested it after and I agree. Monk fruit is slightly less sweet, which lets the lime and mint come through more. I use both depending on what's in my pantry. Either one dissolves fine during muddling.
Can I batch this for a party?
I've done it a few times. Muddle the mint and sweetener with the lime juice in a pitcher, add the rum, and refrigerate up to an hour before serving. When people are ready, pour over crushed ice in each glass and top with club soda. The key is to not add the club soda to the pitcher early because it goes flat fast.
How many net carbs are in this mojito?
My version comes to 1.5 net carbs per cocktail. A regular mojito runs about 11g because of the sugar. I swap that for a brown sugar sweetener and everything else stays the same. The rum, lime juice, and club soda are all very low carb on their own.
My husband is not keto at all but he grabbed mine before I even sat down. Said the mint-to-lime balance was exactly right and then went to make his own. Double batch on the porch Friday night and now it's a thing we're doing every week. Still can't get over 1.5 net carbs.
Fourth or fifth batch since late March, and what keeps pulling me back is how the muddled mint keeps releasing flavor as you drink, like the notes actually change from the top of the glass down to the bottom. I was skipping the brown sugar sweetener for a while and using liquid monk fruit instead, but the granulated version muddled in works noticeably better, the texture of the whole thing is different. Something to have on the back porch as things warm up.
Fully expected this to taste like a sad imitation. The muddled brown sugar sweetener with mint actually works, and the lime keeps it from feeling like a compromise. Best keto cocktail I've made.
The brown sugar sweetener took me forever to land on. Monk fruit just read too sweet, plain erythritol had no depth. The molasses notes are what actually make it work with the rum.
Made this probably six or seven times this year already and I still look forward to the muddling step more than I probably should. Something about how the mint and brown sugar sweetener bloom in the glass before the rum even goes in. Spring porch situation, 1.5 net carbs, tastes like a real mojito. Not slowing down.
The bloom is the signal. Press until you smell it, stop. That's the difference between bright mint and bitter.
Made these for a spring happy hour and the bartender friend I invited said the muddled mint-to-lime ratio was actually better than what she makes at work.
Been making this since late spring last year, probably eight or nine times at this point. Muddling the mint a little longer than the recipe suggests pulls more oil out, and you can actually taste the difference. Five-minute drink that holds up.
Made a big pitcher of the muddled mint base on Sunday and having one every night this week is the best thing about spring right now.
I made these for date night on Saturday and my husband, who usually skips my keto experiments, drank his and came back for the pitcher. Something about the crushed ice and fresh mint together makes it taste legitimately refreshing, not like a substitute. We're doing mojito night every Friday now.
Skeptic husband coming back for the pitcher. That's the one. Crushed ice is what keeps it from getting watery, cubed ice kills the whole thing.
I make a big pitcher of these for Friday nights now. Muddle the mint and lime juice ahead of time, then just add the rum and club soda per glass when we're ready. Saves about four steps when I actually want to be sitting down.
Mint and lime can sit together for about an hour before the mint starts to turn. Rum in too. Just hold the soda until you're pouring.
Added a thin cucumber slice or two to the muddle with the mint and sweetener and it completely changed the drink. Way more refreshing. The lime and cucumber just work together. Making another round this weekend.
Never thought to muddle cucumber in there. Lime and cucumber with rum makes total sense though. Trying it this weekend.
Made this last week. Mint-to-lime ratio is spot on, but one teaspoon of sweetener landed too tart for me. Bumped to two and it clicked. First keto cocktail I'd put in front of guests without a disclaimer.
Two is what I have in the recipe. Sweetener brands vary a lot on actual sweetness, which probably explains it.
Made this last weekend and mine came out weirdly bitter, did I over-muddle the mint?
Over-muddling does it. Put the mint and sweetener in together, press and twist gently, stop the second you smell it. Keep going past that and you hit the stems, which is where the bitter comes from.
Tried this with dark rum instead of light on a whim (had Gosling's open from something else) and I honestly don't know if I can go back. The molasses notes hit so differently against the mint and lime. Way more depth than I expected. Bumped the lime juice up a hair too since the dark rum brings its own sweetness. Four stars only because now I'm annoyed at myself for not trying this sooner.
Gosling's and fresh mint, I never would have connected those. The extra lime totally tracks - dark rum is sweeter than light. Now I have to try it.
Made a pitcher for girls night and my friend Sara, who lives for those sticky sweet margaritas, kept refilling without being asked. That's the review. The muddled mint cuts through everything and you actually taste the lime.
Sara refilling unprompted is the whole thing. Margarita people don't switch without a reason.
I used to order mojitos every summer at this little tiki bar we'd hit on vacation before I cut the sugar. Made this last weekend and the fresh mint and lime hit just the way I remembered. Didn't think a cocktail recipe could do that to me.
The mint and lime together have that kind of pull. Specific enough to place you somewhere. Glad the tiki bar came back.