“Our dirty secret is out,” says the Coffee-Mate May Instagram post announcing the launch of its two limited-time-only Dirty Soda Coffee Creamers, which are designed to mix with Orange Crush or Dr Pepper.

What’s in the made-for-soda creamers? We took a look. 

This article comes from Nutrition Action. We don’t accept any paid advertising or corporate or government donations. Any products we recommend have been vetted by our staff and are not advertisements by the manufacturers. They’re just healthier foods we think you’d like to know about! 

What is ‘dirty soda’?

A dirty soda is a cup of soda—sometimes sugary, sometimes diet—that’s loaded with additions like half and half or coffee creamer, flavored syrups, or, occasionally, garnishes like gummy candies or chunks of fruit.

Where did dirty soda start? Many articles trace its origin to an area of Utah, Idaho, and Arizona known as the Mormon Corridor: “The church’s prohibition on tea and coffee has spurred a niche beverage market that has intensified in the last decade, hitting a fever pitch during the pandemic,” a 2021 New York Times  article explained. 

In 2024, episodes of the Hulu series “The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives” that featured cast members drinking dirty sodas fueled the craze. As dirty sodas hit the mainstream, Swig, a chain of Utah-based dirty-soda shops, expanded eastward. And major fast-food chains like Taco Bell and Sonic featured limited-time dirty sodas on their menus. Not one to miss out on a potentially lucrative trend, the country’s top-selling coffee creamer brand launched do-it-yourself dirty-soda flavors. 

What’s in Coffee-Mate Dirty Soda Creamers?

Coffee-Mate’s Dirty Soda Coffee Creamers come in two varieties: Coconut Lime, which is designed to mix with Dr Pepper, and Orange Crème Pop, which is destined for a rendezvous with a can of Orange Crush.

Much like Coffee-Mate’s made-for-coffee creamers, the “dirty” ones are naturally and artificially flavored bottles of water, sugar, and soybean oil, with a cocktail of emulsifiers—mono- and diglycerides, dipotassium phosphate, cellulose gel, cellulose gum, and carrageenan—to keep their (cream-free) contents from separating. 

Why do emulsifiers matter?  

Researchers are studying whether certain emulsifiers affect gut health. So far, high doses of cellulose gum have been linked to inflammation and disruption of the intestinal lining in mice and in a handful of people in one small human study, so the jury’s still out. And we give carrageenan a “caution” rating in our Chemical Cuisine guide to food additive safety because it may pose a cancer risk.

Note: Those findings don’t mean that all emulsifiers are suspect. The soy or sunflower lecithin that’s added to many foods and drinks, for example, is perfectly safe.

How much sugar is in Coffee-Mate Dirty Soda Creamers?

According to the Nutrition Facts label, each 35-calorie serving of Coconut Lime or Orange Crème Pop has 5 grams (about 1 teaspoon) of added sugar. That may not sound like much, but a serving of creamer is only one tablespoon, according to the FDA. That means the creamer is roughly one-third sugar.

And that modest serving is based on adding creamer to 12 oz. of coffee. How much “dirty creamer” do people mix into a 12 oz. soda?

The Coffee-Mate label is vague. But its small print does offer some “thoughtful portion” advice: “Use in moderation for your perfect pop. 1 TBSP = 35 Calories.”

Internet recipes for dirty soda abound. When we asked Google “How much creamer should you add to dirty soda?” recommendations within the top search results ranged from “just a splash” to four or more tablespoons.

All told, 12 oz. of a Dr Pepper or Orange Crush plus one to four tablespoons of Coffee-Mate Dirty Soda Creamer will rack up roughly 200 to 300 calories and 44 to 63 grams (10 to 15 teaspoons) of added sugar. There goes your entire day’s 12-teaspoon (50-gram) recommended limit.

Fountain cups of dirty soda can do even more damage. At Swig, servings range from a 12 oz. kid’s size to a whopping 44 oz. That explains why the chain’s take on a Dirty Dr Pepper (“Dr Pepper + coconut”) can have anywhere from 120 to 440 calories—as much as a McDonald’s Double Cheeseburger.

Can you make dirty soda healthy?

A dirty soda isn’t nutritious, but you can slash the sugar and its empty calories: 

• Step 1: Replace the sugary soda with a low-sugar or sugar-free soda like Zevia, which is sweetened with safe stevia extract. Most other brands of diet soda come with food dyes and/or risky low-calorie sweeteners (sucralose, acesulfame potassium, saccharin, or aspartame).
• Step 2: Ditch the sugary Coffee-Mate for a tablespoon (10 to 20 calories) of a zero-sugar creamer made by Silk, Natural Bliss, or Chobani. They’re sweetened with allulose and/or stevia extract.

Heads up: We don’t recommend any low-calorie sweeteners for kids because they haven’t been tested in children. For a kid-friendly dirty-soda alternative, mix sparkling water with a splash of fruit juice and top it off with a few berries or chunks of other fruit.