Starbucks is a must for anyone wanting to stay caffeinated throughout the day or splurge on a little treat, but this can be hard for someone who’s vegan or lactose intolerant. It can lead to boring choices like hot coffee with oat milk while all of your friends get the new seasonal favorite. Let’s change that and help make your Starbucks order delicious. This guide is dedicated to all my vegan and dairy-free queens and will help you find your new favorite Starbucks drink!
- THE BASICS
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If you like putting milk in your coffee, Starbucks offers a variety of non-dairy milk options which include soy, almond, oat, and coconut milk. They also offer a number of everyday vegan syrups including almond, hazelnut, macadamia, mocha, peach, simple, toffee-nut, and vanilla. The caramel and sugar-free caramel are both dairy-free, but sadly the caramel drizzle is not.
If you want to stick to basics with hot or iced coffee, there are plenty of vegan options. You can start by choosing from plain coffee hot or iced, or tea options including black, green, chai, and herbal. Choose your dairy-free milk and syrup from the list above. If you’re feeling adventurous or love matcha, Starbucks has matcha green tea lattes that can be hot or iced. My personal favorite order is an iced matcha with oat milk, which gives it a creamy texture.
- frappuccinos
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Traditionally frappuccinos aren’t vegan and contain lots of dairy, but when ordered right, frappuccinos can be made vegan. Order a frappuccino with oat milk for a creamy texture or use your preferred non-dairy milk. Choose a syrup, but keep in mind that mocha is recommended, and ask for no whipped cream.
Keriss101 / Spoon - YEAR-ROUND SPECIALTY DRINKS
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The Iced London Fog Tea Latte is one specialty drink that you can order by asking for two Earl Grey tea bags, vanilla syrup, and your choice of dairy-free milk. All of the Starbucks Refreshers are also vegan, and they include flavors like Mango Dragonfruit, Pineapple Passionfruit, and Strawberry Acai. You can put a sweet twist on these refreshers by adding lemonade to them. The Dragon Drink can also include Drangonfruit Inclusions made with your choice of non-dairy milk. The Paradise Drink contains freeze-dried pineapple with your choice of non-dairy milk and the Pink Drink has strawberries with your choice of non-dairy milk. The recommended non-dairy milk for all of these drinks is coconut milk.
- SEASONAL FAVORITES
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Everyone loves a good seasonal Starbucks drink like pumpkin spice and sugar cookie lattes, but sadly, most seasonal Starbucks drinks aren’t vegan. Don’t worry though; there are still a few drinks that are both vegan and seasonally delicious. These drinks will put you in the mood for all your holiday activities, from pumpkin carving to Christmas tree decorating.
If you’re looking for a new fall favorite you might be sad to hear that the pumpkin spice syrup at Starbucks isn’t vegan, but the pumpkin topping is! From this knowledge, I’ve crafted a new vegan fall favorite: the iced chai latte made with vanilla, oat milk, and pumpkin topping. Starbucks also debuted the Apple Crisp Oat Milk Macchiato which can be served hot or iced. This drink is made with oat milk, apple brown sugar syrup, espresso, and spiced apple drizzle.
During the winter holidays, Starbucks offers gingerbread syrup, which can be added to any hot or iced coffee with your choice of dairy-free milk. Last year Starbucks also debuted their Sugar Cookie Almond Milk Latte, which is made with Blonde espresso, almond milk, sugar cookie syrup, and topped with sprinkles. This drink will put you in the holiday spirit and I’m begging Starbucks to bring it back for the 2022 holiday season!
As always, be kind to your Starbucks baristas as they may not know all the vegan tips and tricks. Stay caffeinated!  Â