Eat and Drink Vegan at Starbucks: How to Order Your Favorite Menu Items

To order drinks that are vegan at Starbucks, you’ll mainly need to avoid dairy. Coffee is naturally plant-based, so if you drink it black (or are a fan of espresso shots or Americanos), your order won’t need to change. But if you take your coffee with milk or cream or are partial to lattes, cappuccinos or macchiatos, you’ll need to ask for a plant-based substitute, like soy milk, coconut milk, almond milk or oat milk.

As for the flavor syrups and sauces, you can add them to your drinks because they don’t contain dairy. But if you’re a very strict vegan, you may want to avoid these sweeteners because they’re made with non-organic sugar. (Non-organic sugar is often bleached by being filtered through animal bone char, a black, porous material made from charred animal bones, namely cattle. The bone char acts as a decolorizing filter for raw sugar.)

As for food, you’ll want to avoid anything with cheese, egg, butter, chocolate or caramel. Oatmeal, bagels, açai bowls and a few other snacks are vegan-friendly.

Whether hot or cold, coffee is vegan since it’s made from nothing but coffee beans and water. If you take yours with milk and sugar, ask the barista to add non-dairy milk and flavor syrup to your cup.

Make it vegan: use non-dairy milk or no milk

• Freshly brewed coffee
• Caffè Misto
• Iced coffee
• Cold brew
• Nitro Cold Brew (no foam or ask for oat milk cold foam)

Espresso shots and Americanos are vegan as is since they’re made from espresso grounds and water. As for dairy-based drinks like cappuccinos, lattes, cortados and macchiatos, you’ll need to substitute regular milk for something dairy-free. Know that these alternatives might not foam the same or have the same mouthfeel as the real deal, but they’ll still satisfy your morning craving. (Alternatively, the new Oleato Caffè Latte and Iced Shaken Espresso, infused with extra-virgin olive oil and made with oat milk, will surprise you with their silkiness.)

Make it vegan: use non-dairy milk

• Americano
• Cappuccino
• Flat white
• Caffè Latte
• Latte Macchiato
• Espresso
• Cortado

Unfortunately, there are a few annual crowd-pleasers that contain non-vegan syrups. For one, the Toasted White Chocolate Mocha is off the table. You’ll also want to avoid any drink with sweet cream (like the winter Irish Cream Cold Brew) or caramel sauce, like the Caramel Brulée Latte.

Pumpkin spice sauce, the key ingredient in a PSL, unfortunately contains dairy as well. You’ll also need to skip the Pumpkin Cream Cold Brew, which is topped with pumpkin-infused cold foam. The Honey Almond Flat White is made with almond milk, but contains actual honey, so if you’re a strict vegan, you’ll want to skip that one too.

Luckily, the following seasonal drinks are still on your diet if you ask for no whipped cream and sub non-dairy milk.

Make it vegan: use non-dairy milk, avoid dairy-based sauces and honey, no whipped cream

• Apple Crisp Oatmilk Macchiato
• Sugar Cookie Almondmilk Latte
• Peppermint Mocha
• Salted Caramel Mocha
• Chestnut Praline Latte
• Caramel Apple Spice (no caramel drizzle)

The Frappuccino bases (both regular and light) are vegan-friendly, so as long as you avoid dairy-based mix-ins (like java chips, caramel drizzle or dark caramel sauce) and ask for non-dairy milk, you can enjoy most of the blended bevs on the menu. The Chai Crème, White Chocolate Crème, Caramel Ribbon Crunch and White Mocha Fraps can’t be made vegan. Avoid the Frappuccino chips (featured in the Double Chocolatey Chip and Java Chip Fraps) as well and substitute cookie crumble, which happens to be vegan.

Make it vegan: use non-dairy milk, no whipped cream, Frappuccino chips or dairy-based sauces

• Coffee Frappuccino
• Espresso Frappuccino
• Caffè Vanilla Frappuccino
• Caramel Frappuccino (no caramel drizzle)
• Mocha Frappuccino
• Vanilla Bean Créme Frappuccino
• Strawberry Crème Frappuccino
• Matcha Crème Frappuccino

Hot and iced teas alike are naturally vegan. If you have them without milk, you won’t need to make any adjustments. If you’re a fan of tea lattes, simply sub non-dairy milk for regular and you’re in the clear. Lemonade and flavor syrups (classic, mango, peach and raspberry are all popular additions) are fair game as well. Just avoid the chai tea concentrate (both in lattes and Frappuccinos), as it contains honey.

Make it vegan: no adjustments needed to plain teas or tea lemonades;use non-dairy milk in tea lattes and avoid chai

• Royal English Breakfast Black Tea or Tea Latte
• Earl Grey Tea or London Fog Tea Latte
• Emperor’s Clouds & Mist Green Tea
• Jade Citrus Mint Green Tea
• Green Ginger Tea
• Mint Majesty Herbal Tea
• Peach Tranquility Herbal Tea
• Iced Black Tea (plain or mango)
• Iced Black Tea Lemonade (plain or mango)
• Iced Green Tea (plain or peach)
• Iced Green Tea Lemonade (plain or peach)
• Iced Passion Tango Tea
• Iced Passion Tango Tea Lemonade

Refreshers are mostly water, sugar and green coffee extract, which gives the drinks a touch of caffeine. They’re naturally vegan-friendly. The milky versions of the refreshers (like the famous Pink Drink) are made with coconut milk, so those are vegan-friendly too. Feel free to substitute lemonade for water or coconut milk.

Make it vegan: no adjustments necessary

• Mango Dragonfruit Refresher
• Mango Dragonfruit Lemonade
• Dragon Drink
• Strawberry Açaí Refresher
• Strawberry Açaí Lemonade
• Pink Drink
• Pineapple Passionfruit Refresher
• Pineapple Passionfruit Lemonade
• Paradise Drink

Starbucks’s greatest hits are off the table. We’re talking breakfast sandwiches, croissants and nearly all their baked goods; they contain butter, milk, egg and/or meat. But there are a few nutritious foods that you could still eat as a vegan, including the Strawberry Overnight Grains (which is made with coconut milk) and oatmeal (as long as they make it with water or non-dairy milk).

Make it vegan: no adjustments necessary

• Rolled & Steel-Cut Oatmeal
• Strawberry Overnight Grains
• Vegan Superberry Açai Bowl
• Plain Bagel
• Everything Bagel
• Avocado Spread