A favorite fall treat at the Starbucks chain of coffee stores is the pumpkin spice latte. Released in late August, the drink features espresso, pumpkin, spices, steamed milk and sweetened whipped cream. The pumpkin spice latte nutrition packs a lot of calories and sugar in a simple, comforting cup.
Pumpkin Spice Latte Calories
The standard order for a pumpkin spice latte, or PSL for short, is a 16-ounce grande made with 2 percent milk and topped with whipped cream. The pumpkin spice latte nutrition in this version contains:
- 380 calories
- 14 grams of total fat
- 8 grams of saturated fat
Shrink your order to a 12-ounce tall drink and you'll save 80 calories and 3 grams of fat. Or stick with the grande but go for nonfat milk for 330 calories and 7 grams of fat, 4.5 of which are saturated. If you'd rather avoid dairy, choose soy, almond or coconut milk, which is also available.
A grande pumpkin spice latte made with soy milk contains:
- 380 calories
- 12 grams of total fat
- 5 grams of saturated fat
The almond milk version contains:
- 300 calories
- 13 grams of total fat
- 5 grams of saturated fat
Use coconut milk and you'll get:
- 340 calories
- 14 grams of total fat
- 11 grams of saturated fat
Get Your Protein and More
The typical PSL also provides 14 grams of protein and 240 milligrams of sodium. Each drink contains 150 milligrams of caffeine. According to the Mayo Clinic, up to 400 milligrams of caffeine per day is generally safe for healthy adults.
According to the National Academies of Sciences, adult males need at least 56 grams of protein per day while women need 46 grams. A grande PSL provides 25 to 30 percent of your daily protein requirements.
Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte Ingredients
In the grande order, there are 50 grams of sugar. Even if you order just a 12-ounce drink, you still get 39 grams. Ordering nonfat milk does not significantly affect the sugar content.
While some of the sugar is naturally occurring in the milk, these numbers far exceed the American Heart Association's recommendations to take in just 25 grams of added sugar a day for women or 36 grams for men.
What About the Whipped Cream?
Skip the whip. For the typical grande order, you'll shave off 70 calories and 7 grams of fat. If you leave the whipped cream off a grande, nonfat version of the drink, it shrinks to 260 calories with no fat whatsoever. A tall nonfat latte sans whipped cream comes in at a more reasonable 200 calories.
Read more: Why Pumpkin Seeds Are So Healthy
Keep Calories in Check
Be aware of the high-calorie content in the 20-ounce venti size drink. This version made with 2 percent milk contains 470 calories with 16 grams of fat and 64 grams of sugar.
Any version of a pumpkin spice latte should be treated as an occasional indulgence rather than a morning staple because of the high sugar and calorie content.