Five minutes in a blender is all this frosty keto strawberry daiquiri takes, at 2.4g net carbs per glass, and it tastes better than the sugar loaded bar versions. I blend real strawberries with ice, lime juice, rum, and monkfruit until smooth, and I let water stand in for the rum when someone wants the mocktail.
I started making this because I was tired of the syrup mix behind every bar's blender. Most frozen cocktail mixes are just high fructose corn syrup with artificial strawberry flavor, and one glass can wreck a keto day before lunch. I wanted something I could make at home that actually tasted like real strawberries.
My version uses real strawberries, fresh lime juice, and monkfruit sweetener. No simple syrup, no premade mix, nothing you have to prep ahead of time. The lime was the last thing I dialed in. I was testing batches that tasted fine but felt flat, and doubling the lime juice is what made it click. That's the difference between a flavored slushie and something that actually reads as a daiquiri.
I was cautious about monkfruit in a frozen drink at first because granular sweeteners can turn gritty when blended with ice instead of dissolved in hot liquid. But the monkfruit blend dissolves cleanly in the blender, even at freezing temperature. One of my readers tested it specifically because she had gritty texture problems with other sweeteners in frozen drinks, and she confirmed it blends smooth. Off-season strawberries from the store can be tart, so I keep the sweetener in year-round.
The whole thing comes together in five minutes. Everything goes in the blender, one button, done. I make it with white rum when I want a real cocktail and sub in water for a mocktail version my kids drink all summer. The texture stays the same either way.
One thing I've learned after years of making keto frozen drinks: your blender matters. A standard one works, but a high-powered blender like a Vitamix crushes ice completely instead of leaving chunks. If yours struggles, let everything sit for 2-3 minutes before blending so the ice softens slightly.
I've also tossed in a handful of fresh mint leaves before blending, which pulls the flavor toward keto mojito territory. Basil is another option if you want something more unexpected. Neither changes the macros.
For a smoother pour, run it through a fine mesh strainer to catch the strawberry seeds. I don't always bother, but it makes a difference if you're serving guests.
If you love cocktails with cute little umbrellas, you need to try this one. I use fresh strawberries instead of syrup mix, which is loaded with high fructose corn syrup and added sugars. Some recipes call for making simple syrup ahead of time, but that’s an extra step I skip.
My recipe doesn’t have added sugars. I sweeten it lightly with monkfruit and let the strawberries carry the flavor. I think it tastes better than the overly sweet versions you get at bars.
The lime juice is what rounds everything out. It’s traditional in daiquiris, and it’s the ingredient I spent the most time getting right. The batch before I nailed the ratio tasted flat, and I couldn’t figure out why until I doubled the lime.
Is Rum Keto Friendly
Alcohol and diets usually don’t mix, but most straight spirits are actually zero carb. Vodka, tequila, whisky, gin, rum: all carb-free. It’s the mixers that get you into trouble, not the alcohol itself.
No rum on hand? I’ve made this with vodka and it works just as well. The swap is one for one, same amount, and I stick with a plain unflavored vodka so the strawberry and lime stay up front.
My Take on Keto and Alcohol
I’m not super strict about alcohol. An occasional drink at a barbecue or beach day isn’t going to derail your progress. Just know that your body prioritizes metabolizing alcohol over everything else, so I don’t make it a nightly habit. When I do drink, I stick to spirits and low-carb mixers.
Are Strawberries Keto
Strawberries are one of the friendlier fruits for keto. A full cup has about 12g total carbs, and one cup is all this whole recipe uses. For a frozen cocktail that actually tastes like fruit, that’s a small hit.
Fresh vs Frozen Strawberries
Fresh or frozen strawberries both work here. Frozen berries make the drink thicker and colder without needing as much ice. I usually use fresh in the summer when they’re in season and grab a bag from the freezer aisle the rest of the year. For an extra thick version closer to a granita, use frozen berries and cut the ice back to about a cup and a half. Either way, the flavor is the same.
Mocktail Version
For a mocktail version, swap the rum for water or sparkling water. My kids drink this all summer without the rum and the texture barely changes. Sparkling water adds a tiny bit of fizz that I like, but flat water works the same.
More Low Carb Cocktails to Try
Not in the mood for strawberry? Here are some of my other favorites:
Add ice, frozen or fresh strawberries, rum, lime juice, monkfruit blend sweetener to a blender.
2
Blend and pour
Blend until smooth. Pour into glass and garnish with lime wedges or strawberries.
Nutrition
Per serving: 1/4 of recipe
Calories
111
Fat
0.1g
Protein
0.3g
Total carbs
3.2g
Net carbs
2.4g
Nutrition is an estimate calculated from the ingredients listed. Brands vary, so check labels if you track closely.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many carbs and calories are in a keto strawberry daiquiri?
Each serving comes out to 2.4g net carbs, 3.2g total carbs, and 111 calories when I make it with the monkfruit blend. Most of the calories come from the rum and most of the carbs come from the strawberries. The whole recipe uses one cup of sliced strawberries split across four servings, so the per-serving hit stays small. The water-based mocktail version keeps the same carb count.
What can I use instead of monkfruit blend sweetener?
I've used erythritol and it works fine, same amount. Stevia and monk fruit drops work too, but I start with less since they're more concentrated; about 20 drops is the right neighborhood for this amount of strawberries, then blend and taste before adding more. Sweetness varies between brands, so I always taste as I go. If your strawberries are in season and really sweet, skip the sweetener entirely. Off-season grocery store berries tend to be tart, which is why I keep the monkfruit in year-round.
Can I swap in other berries?
I've tossed in raspberries, blueberries, and a mix of all three. The macros stay about the same with any berry swap, so the carb count barely moves. The lime does the balancing either way.
How should I store leftovers?
I pour leftovers into an airtight container and freeze them. It solidifies, so I give it a minute on the counter and then re-blend before serving. The slushy texture comes back pretty quickly. I've kept it frozen for up to a week with no issues.
Is this strawberry daiquiri gluten free?
Yes. Nothing in my recipe contains gluten: strawberries, lime juice, monkfruit blend sweetener, ice, and white rum. Distilled spirits like rum are gluten free because distillation leaves the grain proteins behind. Bar versions made from commercial daiquiri mixes are a different story, so when I'm not the one making it, I check the label.
Reviews
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4.8
from 25 ratings, 17 written
Lee
If you’re on the fence, make it. I put off trying this for weeks and that was a mistake! So glad I finally did. Thank you for this one, Annie! ❤️
Had doubts that the monkfruit blend would hold against that much lime juice. It does. Use fresh lime if you have it, bottled has a dullness that pulls the whole drink flat. I went keto almost two years ago and what I missed most was the ritual of a real drink at the end of the day, something to actually look forward to. This covers it. 2.4 net carbs and I’ve made it four times in the last two weeks.
I portioned this into four freezer bags before a dinner party: strawberries, lime juice, and monkfruit already measured. Hit blend with rum and ice on demand. Two minutes, frozen to glass. Way easier than standing at the blender between every round. The lime-to-sweetener ratio holds whether you’re making one or tripling it, which not every blended drink does. One thing I noticed around batch four: the sweetener settles if you pre-mix the liquid base without ice, so shake the bag first. Worth the two minutes of Sunday prep.
Ran out before half the guests had made it around for seconds, so I ended up blending three rounds last Saturday. My buddy Carl won’t touch anything labeled diet or low-carb, and he was on his third glass before I mentioned what was in it. He’d figured it was a regular frozen cocktail because it tastes like one, and I couldn’t really argue. He looked mildly annoyed for about half a second, then kept drinking. I’m counting that as a win. I pre-measure the lime juice into a little cup before guests arrive now so I’m not hunting for the juicer mid-party between rounds. Doubling the recipe next time, no question.
There’s a coconut-lime cloud off the blender lid when you swap white rum for coconut rum. Pushes the whole thing into colada territory, which I’m not mad about. Sweetener needs a bump to keep up.
My only blender right now is a NutriBullet and I want to make these for a small gathering this weekend. I use it for smoothies all the time and it handles frozen fruit fine, but 2 cups of ice at once feels like it might be pushing the motor. Do you think blending in two smaller batches would work, or should I just borrow a full-size blender for this one?
Split it into two batches, half the ice, half the strawberries, half the liquids each time. The NutriBullet handles it no problem at those proportions. I’d pour both into a pitcher after and give it a stir before serving.
Genuinely surprised at how good this blends up, the strawberry flavor at 2.4 net carbs is SO satisfying. One honest note: blend right before you pour. Mine sat out about four minutes while I got glasses together and started separating at the bottom, which is fine for yourself but kind of a bummer when you’re trying to hand someone something that looks like a proper cocktail.
Four minutes is about right. I pour these straight into the glass the second the blender stops. For company I’ve started blending in rounds just to keep the presentation clean.
Never made a keto cocktail before and went in pretty skeptical that monkfruit was going to hold up against the rum and lime. Made a batch Saturday for a pool afternoon. Tasted exactly like what I used to order at the tiki bar. Was not prepared for that at all. I used frozen strawberries straight from the bag (the kind I keep for smoothies) and it came out thick and slushy in a way that felt right for that heat. The lime juice really does cut through everything and keeps it from tasting sweet-fake, which was my main worry. Quick question though: do you think this works as a mocktail with flavored sparkling water instead of plain? I have some strawberry-lime La Croix sitting around and I’m curious if the carbonation would hold up in the blender or just disappear.
Carbonation dies in the blender, so it won’t be fizzy. But the strawberry-lime flavor stays, so the La Croix base still works. If you want bubbles, blend with plain water and top with the La Croix after.
My son keeps asking why his tastes different from mine and I keep telling him it doesn’t. He’s not convinced but he’s also asked for it every evening this week.
My husband can’t do erythritol (even tiny amounts wreck his stomach), so most monkfruit blends are out. Would straight monk fruit drops work in the mocktail version? Roughly how many drops would match 1/4 cup of the blend? We’re trying to add more low-carb drinks to our rotation now that it’s warming up, and this one looks perfect if I can just nail the sweetener.
Yeah, drops work fine. Start at 20, blend and taste before adding more. Concentration varies enough between brands that there’s no clean conversion from the 1/4 cup, but 20 is usually in the right neighborhood for this amount of strawberries.
Made the mocktail version for my kids last weekend and my 10-year-old asked me twice if I had put ‘real sugar’ in it because it tasted too good to be fake. Had to show her the monkfruit bag before she believed me. The strawberry flavor is actually bright, not that flat artificial-sweet thing you get with most sugar-free mixes. Making another batch this weekend for sure.
Ha, the monkfruit bag reveal is a whole thing. My kids needed the same proof. Fresh strawberries in season barely need sweetener anyway, the flavor’s already there.
Used to order these every summer at a bar by my parents’ house and keto felt like the end of that. Blended this up last night with the rum and fresh strawberries and OH the lime brought it all back. Making a double batch before it gets too hot.
I’ve tried a few frozen keto drink recipes this summer and the lime juice ratio here is what makes it, every other version I’ve had tastes fake-sweet without that tartness to balance it out. The monkfruit doesn’t leave that weird aftertaste I usually get either. Cutting it with a little less rum next time since I want to be able to have two.
Tried this with frozen strawberries straight from the bag instead of fresh and it came out thicker than I expected, almost like a slushie consistency. I also cut the monkfruit down to about 2 tablespoons because I figured frozen fruit would already be sweeter, and that adjustment was exactly right. The lime juice is what makes it actually taste like a daiquiri (not just a strawberry smoothie with rum dumped in). I’ve made ‘keto cocktails’ before that tasted like health food trying its hardest. This one doesn’t do that. Making a big batch this weekend for a spring get-together and not saying a word about the macros.
Frozen straight from the bag is how I make it when I want it thicker. Less ice, more concentrated. And yeah, that lime is the whole drink. Your guests aren’t going to ask about the macros.
Made the mocktail version for my daughter this weekend and she spent the whole afternoon begging for another one. She always goes straight for sickeningly sweet stuff, so the lime-strawberry balance winning her over? That sold me.
A kid who defaults to the really sweet stuff asking for another one is the best possible test. The monkfruit blend doesn’t leave that aftertaste most sweeteners do, and kids always catch that before adults do.
I’ve made my way through probably four other keto frozen cocktail recipes looking for something that doesn’t taste like flavored ice water. This one holds up. The lime juice is what other recipes skip or skimp on, and it makes a real difference here. First keto frozen drink I’ve actually wanted a second glass of.
I make something similar, I use 1/2 frozen and 1/2 fresh berries (any kind you like) rum and lemon juice! Nix the artifical sweeteners because berries tend to be sweet enough. Blend and enjoy!
Love the half-and-half berry combo. And honestly lemon works (I use lime because it reads more ‘daiquiri’ to me, but lemon’s not wrong). The sweetener thing depends on the berries though. Off-season strawberries from the store can be pretty tart, which is why I kept the monkfruit in.
