My go-to cocktail year-round is this keto mojito — cool, minty, and bright at 1.5g net carbs. Fresh mint, lime juice, rum, and 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.
I’ve been making this mojito for years now and it never gets old. Fresh mint, a sugar free brown sugar sweetener, lime juice, light rum, club soda, and crushed ice. Five minutes of muddling and pouring, and you’ve got a cocktail that tastes like the original. I used to save it for summer, but after making one in the middle of January, I stopped putting a season on it.
What Is a Mojito?
A mojito is a Cuban cocktail: rum, lime juice, sugar, mint, and soda water. I swap the sugar for a brown sugar sweetener and that’s the only change. You genuinely cannot tell the difference. The fresh mint leaves and lime wedges do all the work in this drink. The sweetener just rounds it out without adding carbs.
How Many Carbs Are in a Regular Mojito?
A standard mojito has around 11.3g of carbs and 5.3g of sugar per serving. I tested my version with a brown sugar substitute and it comes to 1.5 net carbs per cocktail. That’s a massive drop, and I promise you’re not giving up any flavor to get there. The rum, lime, and mint taste exactly the same because those ingredients haven’t changed at all.
Is Rum Keto Friendly?
Rum has zero carbs. The distillation process strips out all the sugar from the sugarcane, so what you’re left with is pure alcohol. I use light rum in this cocktail, but dark rum works too if you want a slightly deeper flavor. Whiskey and vodka are also zero carb, so you have options if you want to experiment. Just skip the sugary mixers.
More Low Carb Drinks to Try
If you liked this, I’ve got a few more worth trying. The sugar free appletini is sweet and tart and comes together just as fast. My vodka lemonade is another five-minute drink I keep making all summer. And when I want something that isn’t a cocktail, my cold brew coffee is what I reach for most mornings.
In each high ball glass, muddle 1 sprig of mint and 1 teaspoon brown sugar-like sweetener until the mint is crushed a bit.
2
Time to get rummy
To each, add 1/2 ounces lime juice and 2 ounces light rum and muddle it a little.
3
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
Per serving: 1/2 of recipe
Calories
133
Fat
0g
Protein
0g
Total carbs
1.5g
Net carbs
1.5g
Nutrition is an estimate calculated from the ingredients listed. Brands vary, so check labels if you track closely.
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.
This mojito was so good with crushed ice. I used regular cubes the first round and it came out watery and flat. The crushed ice really made the difference.
Oh that’s a good call, Jess! I make a pitcher for cookouts and keep the crushed ice separate until people are ready, so nothing gets watery sitting out.
Muddle right before serving. I prepped a batch 30 minutes early and the mint turned sharp. Didn’t expect to like this more than the real thing but the lime-to-mint ratio is dialed.
Brought a pitcher to my sister’s graduation party last weekend, and my mom kept circling the tray even though she doesn’t drink, which I thought was just her being social. She finally asked if I could make her a version without the rum, just the mint and lime and soda over crushed ice, so I did. Twenty minutes later she came to find me convinced I had bought some kind of specialty lime from a farmers market because it tasted that fresh. I showed her the regular grocery store bottle. Something about muddling the mint into the base keeps the citrus sharp, it just doesn’t go flat the way drinks with granulated sugar do (or that’s my theory anyway). She’s already asked if I’m bringing these to the July cookout.
The mom circling the tray is exactly why I batch these for everything. Your theory’s right, too. The sweetener dissolves clean, so the lime has nothing competing with it, and the muddled mint amplifies that sharpness instead of covering it. I’ve made the no-rum version for my kids more times than the actual cocktail at this point. Tell her extra club soda for July and she’s good.
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.
Liquid never integrates the same. Granulated gets worked into the mint during the muddle and the whole drink is different from there. The flavor shift going down is real. I’ve been attributing it to the ice melting slowly.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Mojitos used to be my whole summer thing. Keto started and I wrote them off. Made this on a freezing Tuesday night and the second I muddled the mint and got that smell, it was over. Sat there in my kitchen in a snowstorm feeling like it was July.
