In this blog post, I’ll be sharing 10 of my favourite vegan Starbucks Drinks to get during the summer! I’m a huge fan of Starbucks and have been trying out many different flavours, including ones that I customize myself, and it is with my greatest honour to be able to share all of these drinks with you.
I’ve included “recipe cards” , so you can easily see how to order each drink!
The list of vegan Starbucks Drinks will consist of espresso drinks, cold brew, Frappuccinos, refreshers, teas and more! Be sure to stay until the end of the blog, as I have a bonus drink that stands above all other drinks on this list. I wonder what it may be…
Before we get to the 10 vegan Starbucks drinks (+1 bonus at the end), what are some things to look out for when buying vegan friendly drinks at Starbucks?
If you’re vegan or simply dairy-free, you know the struggles of ordering drinks not just at Starbucks, but anywhere in general because of the ever looming presence of cows milk. Thankfully, cafรฉs have evolved over the years to include plant milk options such as almond or soy milk. Though Starbucks has a great variety of plant milk to choose from, there are a few other things that contain dairy that you might not know about:
- It it with my deepest regret to inform you that the caramel sauce from Starbucks is NOT vegan. It contains cream, as do most caramel sauces out there. Don’t worry caramel lovers, you can still add caramel SYRUP, which is difference from the SAUCE that you drizzle on top of the drink.
- This one might be obvious, but ditch the whipped cream topping!
- Java chips also contain dairy.
- Cinnamon dolce topping contains butter.
- I was surprised to find out that pumpkin pie syrup and caramel brรปlรฉe syrup are NOT vegan.
- White mocha sauce contains dairy as well.
- If you store offers protein powder, you might want to avoid that as well. Many protein powders contain milk products.
Alright, time to jump into the list of 10 vegan friendly Starbucks Drinks to try this summer! Share this blog post if you learned something and let me know in the comments if you try one or two of these drinks!
Disclaimer: all opinions regarding the drinks are of my own, and so is the suggested sugar levels. This post is not sponsored by Starbucks and does not contain any affiliated links.
1. Brown Sugar Shaken Oat Espresso
Starbucks released this drink a few months ago, and honestly it’s been my go-to espresso drink since then! I love how silky and creamy it is, and the sweetness that the brown sugar syrup brings. The oat milk especially is probably the creamiest plant milk out of all the others, so it’s perfect in this drink. Some people have been saying that this drink tastes similar to brown sugar boba, just without the pearls. Give it a taste and judge for yourself.
Contains caffeine? Yes (unless you get decaf)
Sugar level: 4/5
2. Pink Dragon Frappuccino
The Starbucks near my house often comes up with unofficial drinks that are not on the menu, and this was one of them. I had to give it a try! The original drink has whipped cream at the bottom of the cup, similar to the caramel crunch Frappuccino, so I omitted that and substituted the milk with coconut milk.
The Pink Dragon Frappuccino is a blend of vanilla bean Frappuccino with mango dragon fruit and strawberry purรฉe layered around the cup. I love how fruity this Frappuccino is!
Contains caffeine? No
Sugar level: 4/5
3. Butterbeer Frappuccino
Harry Potter lovers- you’re going to love this one. You might’ve heard of Butterbeer Latte, but have you had Butterbeer Frappuccino? I wish I could say I came up with this one, but I did find it online a while ago, I just can’t remember where…
The Frappuccino includes caramel syrup and toffee nut syrup. Don’t forget to substitute the milk for a plant milk (my go-to is coconut) and omit the whipped cream! Let’s take a trip to the Three Broomsticks and enjoy a hot-summer friendly Butterbeer Frappuccino.
Contains caffeine? Yes (unless you omit the coffee)
Sugar level: 4.5/5
4. Iced Guava Passionfruit
Starbucks introduced this drink last year, and I knew I had to try it because the pink colour is just so attracting! When I first ordered it, I think the barista might’ve forgotten to add the sweetener because it didn’t have any taste. The second time I ordered I made sure to ask the barista to add the simple syrup, and from that drink I can properly judge and say that this drink is amazing.
It has guava and passionfruit flavours as well as coconut milk to create a silky and refreshing drink to cool off with this summer. Plus, this drink is definitely Insta worthy.
Contains caffeine? No
Sugar level: 3.5/5
5. Violet Drink
This drink along with the “Pink Drink” were the biggest trends of 2016-2017, and because of how good they are, people are still enjoying the drinks today.
The Violet drink is essentially the Berry Hibiscus Refresher with coconut milk. Adding coconut milk to refreshers is quite controversial, because apparently some people don’t like the thought of mixing water with coconut milk. In my opinion, I think it’s delicious and super tasty.
Contains caffeine? Yes
Sugar level: 3.5/5
6. Blonde Vanilla Latte
Sometimes a classic Blond Vanilla Latte is just what I need instead of a fancy Frappuccino. To create the ombrรฉ effect like the picture below, all you have to do is ask for the espresso to be poured on top. This is another way to may your lattes Insta worthy haha!
My go-to cold coffee plant milk is oat milk, but you can choose whichever one you want.
Contains caffeine? Yes (unless you get decaf)
Sugar level: 3/5
7. Peach Green Tea Lemonade
A friend of mine introduced this drink to me, and I loved it! It’s super refreshing and great for quenching my thirst, as most green tea drinks do. If you like peachy drinks, you’ll love this one as well.
Contains caffeine? Yes
Sugar level? 3.5/5
8. Raspberry-Caramel Frappuccino
This Frappuccino “secret recipe” is a combination of caramel syrup and raspberry syrup, both which are two of my favourite flavours for just about anything! You can get the Frappuccino with coffee, or without. Either tastes amazing.
Don’t forget to omit the caramel sauce (I forgot to mention it when I took the picture below) and the whipped cream.
Contains caffeine? Yes (unless you get decaf)
Sugar level: 5/5
9. Dragon Drink
This one is my favourite refresher out of all the other ones (such as the Pink Drink). I just love how smooth and refreshing the drink is and how to dragon fruit inclusion continues to release flavour even after being shaken. Mango juice is also added to the drink for even more fruity flavours.
Some people don’t like to addition of coconut milk, but I think that’s what makes the drink so creamy and tasty. If you really don’t like coconut milk, you can simply replace it with lemonade. For an even simpler version of this drink, you can just get dragon fruit refresher without lemonade and without coconut milk.
Contains caffeine? Yes
Sugar level: 5/5
10. Almond Toffee Nut Cold Brew
I wish I had cold brews more often, but the caffeine levels are relatively higher than other drinks so I try not to have it anytime past noon. Nevertheless, this is one of my favourite ways to have cold brew!
Because cold brew doesn’t have added sweetener, I decided to try with toffee nut syrup. I also had them add almond cold foam, which is basically almond milk blended until foamy.
Contains caffeine? Yes
Sugar level: 3/5
BONUS: Strawberry Cake Frappuccino
Saving the best for last, we have a Strawberry Cake Frappuccino,
I always try to make the most of free drinks, so this time I decided to go all out and add a combination of hazelnut syrup, caramel syrup and strawberry purรฉe to create a cake-like flavoured vegan Frappuccino.
You might’ve tried the birthday cake Frappuccino, which has hazelnut syrup and raspberry syrup. This secret menu recipe is similar, but with the addition of strawberry purรฉe around the cup for that Instagram worthy look.
Contains caffeine? No
Sugar level: 5/5
Did a drink or two catch your eye? Save the recipe cards for future reference and comment on this post is you try a drink or two from this list!
Subscribe to my newsletter to receive weekly vegan recipes and occasional blog posts like this one in your inbox.
