Are White Claws Keto-Friendly? We Asked An RD

If last summer's national shortage wasn't enough to show how much people love this drink, we don't know what is. The world's favorite new drink, White Claw, seems to have taken the world by storm in the past year. It's one of the more popular brands of hard seltzer, aka bubbly alcoholic drinks that taste sweet but are low-carb.

Knudsen's general rule of thumb for determining keto-friendliness of an alcoholic beverage is to look for drinks with five or fewer carbs per serving. The less the better, she says! "Even a drink with five grams of carbs accounts for 10% of the maximum amount of carbs you may have allotted for the day."

Knudsen warns anyone on the keto diet to steer clear of sugary drinks like margaritas, sangria, and daiquiris. "Any drink with fruit juice, sweetened sodas, or simple syrups are going to be loaded with carbs and could knock you out of ketosis in a snap. I would also think twice before selecting beer as your keto drink of choice," she says. "Opting for a light beer will still typically cost you 6 grams of carbs, and a regular beer will cost you around 13 grams."

Her recommendation for drinking on the keto diet? Besides White Claw, she says to stick to any low-carb beverages. "If you do decide to drink, I recommend keeping to options such as red or white wine (which is around four grams of carbs per five-ounce serving), or liquor like vodka, rum, or gin (which all have zero grams of carbs) with seltzer water."

Even though alcoholic beverages can be a part of a keto diet, Knudsen doesn't encourage it as a regular or integral part of the diet. "I would prefer a person's carbohydrate allowance go toward optimizing nutrition," she says. She recommends prioritizing foods that contain important vitamins and minerals, like vegetables like broccoli, kale, zucchini, mushrooms, and red bell pepper.