I Tried And Ranked 9 Sugar-Free Dunkin' Drinks

Everyone knows a quick trip to Dunkin' can be the key to starting off your morning on the right foot or getting that much-needed pick-me-up in the afternoon. While the menu has certainly exploded in size since my childhood — when a Dunkaccino was by far the most extravagant drink you could get — there hasn't exactly been much growth for those interested in sugar-free options. Fortunately, it turns out there are actually a few drinks you can order if you're trying to avoid sugar without resorting to complicated Dunkin' ordering hacks.

After consulting the chain's dietary information table, I picked out a combination of some of the most reasonable drinks that might appeal to broad audiences — all without sugar. As a born and bred New Englander who can barely make it out of the house without stopping by Dunkin', I was surprised that, even among the few options available, there were still plenty worth sipping on. Here are the best sugar-free Dunkin' drinks I found, ranked in order from worst to best.

As a daily coffee drinker, I'm almost always one to opt for a cold brew coffee (typically taken black) when I'm ordering out. The smoothness of cold brew appeals to me so much that I've become one of those people who still orders this iced coffee during the chillier months. However, I can't say this has been a go-to for me when passing through Dunkin', and I was curious to see if I would be won over.

It's worth noting that the Dunkin' location I chose also happened to be brand new, having moved across the street a week earlier. It was currently in the process of installing a new tap system for most of its iced beverages. I was excited to try this cold brew, knowing that draft coffee stays fresh for longer than regular iced coffee. But unfortunately, I was pretty taken aback by my first sip. This cold brew has a stark, roasty base, but it finishes on a truly bizarre edge that I can't quite put my finger on. Is that staleness? I dare say my version tasted almost minty, and I debated asking if a mistake was made with my order.

My enduring thoughts were that this tasted like the kind of artificial, packaged coffee that has unfortunately begun to fill coolers. I don't think I could order this again without adding at least a little flavor or a splash of milk.

I have to admit that I felt a little surge of nostalgia when ordering this drink. After all, this was my go-to order through most of my teens and early 20s during Dunkin' drive-thru runs. This was the stuff that helped me make it into homeroom without my eyes drooping and kept me alert during the drive back up to college. However, I was loading it with plenty of dairy and sugar back then, and I was curious to see if this would still be as comforting as it was in my younger years.

Shockingly, the combination of hazelnut and vanilla was nowhere near as overpowering as I expected. My adult palate noticed that the vanilla comes through in the forefront, brightening the tongue. The first hint of hazelnut shows up on the tail end after each sip, making it more of an aromatic, retronasal experience than a confectionary one.

Unfortunately, my fond nostalgia might've been playing in too strongly here. Even without the added milk and sugar, the hazelnut-vanilla coffee still tastes like a teenager's coffee order, albeit a bit fresher than I remember it being in the 2000s. As someone who swore off flavored beans years ago, this played as a slightly stale aftertaste in my brain, or the sort of mediocre coffee you'd get at a gas station. While I wasn't totally disappointed with this, I'm not sure I'd rush back to order it again.

While I grew up accustomed to French vanilla over regular vanilla as a flavor in my iced coffee, I wondered if sticking to just the basic vanilla flavor might play better on the palate. I also wondered if just vanilla would be better than combining it with a pump of something else, as many customers tend to do. My research showed that this was a relatively popular pick after all, and barring any over-the-top artificial, immitation vanilla extract-levels of pungency, I expected this to be a nice middle-of-the-road option.

Even following the app's recommendation of just two pumps, I can say that letting vanilla work on its own shows you just how much it comes through when there's nothing else to temper it. Like a backup singer finally taking center stage and hitting all the right notes, this comforting flavor wasn't artificial-tasting or overly aromatic, but it was certainly a presence. My co-taster agreed that, while he had never tried this version of the drink, he was surprised by how well it worked considering his own tendency to double or even triple up on flavors. If I'm being honest, I'd likely order this again if I wanted to stick to an iced coffee.

Hot coffee from Dunkin' and I share a relatively difficult history. While I enjoy those first few sips, I've always struggled with the way this most basic of all basic orders tastes when it begins to cool down. Once it reaches tepid temperatures, I can barely stand to keep sipping on my cup (which is also why I tend to opt for iced versions when ordering from the chain). Needless to say, my hopes remained a little low.

However, I'm happy to report that this iconic coffee is arguably much better than I remember it being. After years of frequenting independent coffee shops with strong house-roasted drip coffees, I was shocked at how smooth it was, with only a hint of a bitter finish. While my tendency has long been to sprinkle a little sugar or a dash of milk in Dunkin's surprisingly fresh hot coffee, this was solidly approachable.

Even after standing outside on a frigid January day to let it cool down, I wasn't finding the same aversion I once had to a non-piping-hot cup. Is it as fresh and delicious as the brews at my favorite local coffee shop? Of course not. But it's nice to know that I'll have this option in the future.

In a major milestone moment, this tasting represented the very first time I've ordered a tea from Dunkin' in a lifetime of patronage. For the most part, I had long assumed that most versions would be similar to a Lipton Brisk. But since I was considering only sugar-free options — and because many customers appear to swear by this order — I had a feeling I might enjoy it.

It turns out that I was correct. Dunkin's iced green tea more or less tastes like the homemade green tea my wife makes to sip on throughout the week. At the very least, it reminded me of the palate cleanser some Japanese restaurants offer up in between courses, and I couldn't pick up any major faults or issues.

That being said, it also wasn't exactly mind-blowing. My co-taster and I agreed that this needs something added, whether that be a pump or two of sugar-free raspberry or a bit of lemon. However, it's still refreshing (even sipping it on a blustery, cold sidewalk felt good), and it certainly works for those avoiding sugar.

I have to admit that I probably would've gravitated towards this order in my younger days, had it been an option. After all, blueberry is one of those flavors that can really work in a coffee when done right. I was especially curious to see how this would work in the absence of milk, cream, or sugar.

Despite my initial concerns, this was not nearly as overpowering as I was expecting. If anything, the vanilla seemed to come through more strongly than in the vanilla-only drink. But instead of a bold canned blueberry pie filling experience, the secondary flavor came through as much more subtle on the finish in a very pleasing way.

I'm not sure if it was the fruitiness of the blueberry, but it was at this point that I realized just how much the tap system had preserved the freshness of the iced coffee (which comes on tap, just like cold brew). Without an edge of staleness, both of these flavors seem to work together beautifully, or at least certainly as the best of the combinations I tried during this tasting. If I'm ever doubling down on flavors again, this will be the way I go.

As I began to better understand coffee through my 20s, I learned that ordering an iced Americano coffee was often an easy way to ensure you were drinking a fresh brew instead of a stale stash of iced coffee (which can be important when you order iced drinks through the winter, like me). But while Dunkin' has had espresso-based items on its menu for ages now, I'd still never thought to try this option until this tasting. Based on my co-taster's experience, I had relatively high hopes for this, especially considering how poorly the store's cold brew had fared.

Right off the bat, this drink tasted different than regular iced coffee. With plenty of aromatic espresso up front and a hit of bitterness at the end (but not overly so), it was almost exactly the flavor profile I had hoped for. Of course, this was one order that didn't come through the store's tap lines and was instead made with fresh-brewed shots. It served as a welcome reminder that fresher is often better. Does it stack up to my favorite local coffee shop? Not exactly. But it's a comfortable stand-in in a pinch.

Another milestone: This was my first-ever Dunkin' hot tea order! I should clarify that while there are plenty of standard tea options on the menu, I opted for this relatively original order over things like Earl Grey or black tea to see how it would fare. Plus, it's both caffeine and sugar-free, making it a special option on this list.

There's no two ways about it: This is a delicious tea blend — and one of the healthiest drinks at Dunkin to boot. It was every bit as bright and refreshing as I had hoped, with floral hibiscus illuminating the palate. The flavors were so lively and sweet that it was hard to believe it was a sugar-free drink. However, it still had a dry, ever-so-slightly tannic finish that made it hard for me to stop sipping on it. For a brief moment, I almost forgot I was standing on a cold New York City sidewalk and was transported to spring. There's no doubt in my mind I would order this again (especially if I'm looking to kick the winter doldrums), and it was nearly my favorite pick of the day. However, there was one more surprise in store that kept it from the top spot.

As someone who is already something of an unsweetened black iced tea fanatic, I was surprised I had made it so long in life without ordering one from Dunkin'. Normally, I might order this with a bit of lemonade to help make it more refreshing. But since a small iced tea lemonade at Dunkin' contains 18 grams of sugar, I opted for my personal favorite flavor as an add-in instead.

I knew immediately after sipping this that it would take home first place for the day. What a bright and refreshing beverage! The lack of any kind of saccharine sweetness made it all the more enjoyable, providing a dry finish with a hint of berry fruitiness that was bright on the palate. This is the sort of thirst-quenching beverage I want to pick up on my way to the beach or on a hot summer's day, but it also feels invigorating and comforting in chilly winter weather.

Perhaps it was my lack of experience with the chain's tea drinks, but both my co-taster and I agreed that this felt like the biggest standout of the lineup. If I ever find myself craving a drink on the go, I'm almost positive this will be what I order if there's a Dunkin' nearby.

While consulting Dunkin's nutritional chart, I picked a handful of different drinks that contain zero total sugar and zero added sugar. This includes some of the chain's sugar-free unsweetened flavors such as vanilla, hazelnut, toasted almond, blueberry, raspberry, and coconut. I honed in on some specifics that appeared to be the most popular online for the sake of brevity. I also made sure to include different versions of iced coffee, as well as pick a few tea options that stand out on the menu.

Another big caveat: dairy. Since even skim milk contains sugar, I didn't want to presume that the small amount it adds would be acceptable to anyone looking for a genuine sugar-free coffee. While some locations appear to have unsweetened coconut milk available (which contains zero sugar), my nearby Manhattan locations didn't list it as an option when ordering on the chain's app, meaning I unfortunately had to leave anything with milk out.

When it came to sugar-free flavor additions, I automatically defaulted to the number of pumps suggested by the app (including when combining flavor shots). I also opted to keep these orders iced, as it just felt like the more common option for the general Dunkin' drinking public. After tasting each, I then ranked them based on how much I enjoyed them and how likely I would be to order them again.