Starbucks has fantastic vegan options, including tons of drinks of course, but also plenty of things that when paired with a drink make quite a good meal — my particular favourite is simply getting a dragon drink and a bagel with their guacamole spread, it’s not the best, but it’s satisfying for a few hours and quite healthy.
Of course you can make pretty much any of Starbucks drinks vegan by swapping the milk out to one of their non-dairy milks, so keep this in mind when reading our guide below; rather than listing out every drink on their menu and just saying to swap the milk out we’ll try to just make it clear what is and isn’t vegan at Starbucks.
Table of Contents
Vegan Food & Snacks at Starbucks:
- Plain Bagel*
- Multigrain Bagel*
- Sprouted Wheat Bagel*
- Guacamole Spread*
- Dark Chocolate (Type varies by location, but usually 70%-75% cocoa).
- Nut packages or Nut + Fruit mix (depends on region and country)
- Chickpea & Avocado Protein Bowl (not all locations, quite rare)
- Lentils & Vegetable Bowl (Not all locations, quite rare)
- Whatever Oatmeal is available when made with plant-milk or water
- Fruit Salad (not all locations)
- Bottled Juice (varies)
Some locations may have other things, particularly those outside the USA/Canada — I’ve been to Starbucks in over a dozen countries and while they always have some vegan food, the only item they rarely seem to have outside the USA is bagels and guacamole, so if you’re outside the USA expect to settle for a fruit/nut mix to go with your drink — or simply opt to get a mocha frap or latte with plant-milk, as it’s quite substantial and filling on it’s own.
Do note the beyond meat items Starbucks has, as they aren’t prepared on-site but rather regionally (city-wide) they cannot be veganized, as they’re already prepackaged and partially cooked with cheese and/or egg along with them. You can find further information about Starbuck’s vegan food selection here.
Vegan-Friendly Drinks at Starbucks:
- Cold Brew Coffee
- All Coffee when made with plant-milk (or without milk)
- Most Frapps (with modifications, read below)
- All Fruit Drinks (refreshers and ‘drinks’ like dragon drink)
- Smoothies (not available at all locations, specify plant-milk)
As pretty much all of Starbucks drinks can be made vegan we kept this section short — as we’d like to expand more on what to avoid when it comes to Starbucks drinks, as that’s more important.
Make sure to not get any of the below non-vegan ingredients, or specify them to be not included if you order something with them:
- Whipped Cream (All fraps, specify without)
- Pumpkin Spice Sauce
- Java Chips (in java fraps, outside the US it’s best to not order such drinks)
- Caramel Drizzle (In caramel fraps and lattes)
- Cinnamon dolce topping (special seasonal ingredient, usually in lates)
- White Mocha drinks (contain dairy, cannot be veganized)
- Caramel brûlée drinks (contains dairy, cannot be veganized)
- Chai Latte’s (tea mix contains milk powder)
So avoid all those things — otherwise everything you can dream up at Starbucks should be vegan. The marshmallow syrups and mocha syrups and all that goodness is just pure sugary vegan goodness. Unfortunately, there is no – yet – whipped cream.
As for the Java Chips, if you aren’t in the US I’d recommend against ordering anything labeled as such as I’ve had many experiences abroad where I specify no java-chips and they include them regardless, I’m not sure if they forgot or if it’s not possible for them to not include them, but it’s happened many times to me so I figure I’d warn you about that here — in the USA and Canada I’ve had no issues ordering Javachip fraps without javachip though. It’s basically a chocolatey milkshake — make sure to specify the plant-milk in it though to make it 100% vegan.
Beware, while caramel syrup is vegan, caramel sauce isn’t. So if there is something with caramel sauce, you can sustain it with caramel syrup.
Does Starbucks always have Plant-Milks?
I figured I’d clarify worries regarding this here — in the US and western countries yes, they do always have it (usually coconut milk, almond milk or soy milk). In other countries, such as Middle Eastern and developing countries they usually do as well in my experience, however they often only have 1 or 2 of the 4 plant milks Starbucks usually offers due to supply-chain issues. They’ll usually have cold brew coffee or even nitro cold brew as well, some fresh juices, and nuts/seeds as well in my experience.
Be aware though that Starbucks in such countries often doesn’t have easy to sign in free wifi, or it may go out every 5-10mintues for a minute or two.
Frequently Asked Questions
If you couldn’t find your answer, feel free to ask us!
Does Starbucks have vegan food?
Definitely, It does! There are plenty of vegan bakery Starbucks item and sandwiches. You can find more at the following link.
What kind of milk sustainable does Starbucks have?
The following plant kinds of milk are available at the world’s largest coffeehouse chain: Coconut milk, almond milk, soy milk, rice milk and oat milk.