Starbucks’ new winter 2024 menu has debuted in the first week of the new year and we’re here to get into the most important question… are any of the new menu items vegan?
To start the year, Starbucks has brought back a fan favorite, their Pistachio Latte and Pistachio Cream Cold Brew. Their new additions are an Iced Hazelnut Oatmilk Shaken Espresso and three food items.
We’ll begin with the food items, then move backward through the list.
Are Any of Starbucks’ Winter Menu Food Items Vegan?
Starbucks has added Potato, Cheddar & Chive Bakes, Vanilla Bean Custard Danish and a Chicken Maple Butter & Egg Sandwich to their winter 2025 menu.
Are any of them vegan? No. Not one.
The bake contains egg & dairy. The Danish contains dairy and the sandwich? Well, it has the trifecta of animal ingredients.
Is Starbucks Iced Hazelnut Oatmilk Shaken Espresso Vegan?
Starbucks describes their Iced Hazelnut Oatmilk Shaken Espresso as a combination of roasted hazelnut shaken with ice and oatmilk with my favorite, their blonde espresso.
I feel like we have to answer this question on every oatmilk-based drink they feature since the Iced Gingerbread Oatmilk Chai Latte
, which came out for the 2023 holidays, was NOT vegan.
So back to the question.
Is Starbucks Iced Hazelnut Oatmilk Shaken Espresso vegan-friendly? Yes!
You can order it as-is. No need for modifications. 🙂
The ingredients are:
ICE, OATMILKÂ [OATMILKÂ (WATER, OATS), CANOLA OIL, CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF: DIPOTASSIUM PHOSPHATE, CALCIUM CARBONATE, TRICALCIUM PHOSPHATE, SEA SALT, DICALCIUM PHOSPHATE, RIBOFLAVIN, VITAMIN A, VITAMIN D2, VITAMIN B12], BREWED ESPRESSO, HAZELNUT SYRUP [SUGARSÂ (INVERT SUGAR, SUGAR), WATER, NATURAL FLAVOR, POTASSIUM SORBATE, CITRIC ACID]
Is Starbucks Pistachio Latte Vegan?
Starbucks Pistachio Latte is NOT vegan due to its main component of flavor being the pistachio sauce. The pistachio sauce Starbucks uses contains dairy. See the complete ingredient list here:
PISTACHIO SAUCEÂ [INVERT SUGAR, CONDENSED NONFAT MILK, PISTACHIO BUTTERÂ (GROUND PISTACHIOS), NATURAL FLAVORS, COCOA BUTTER, SALT, PRESERVATIVE: POTASSIUM SORBATE, XANTHAN GUM, TOCOPHEROLS, MONOGLYCERIDES]
What you can use from the list of ingredients in the pistachio latte is the Salted Brown Butter Cookie Flavored Topping. Its ingredients are:
[SUGARSÂ (SUGAR, POWDERED SUGAR), CORN STARCH, SEA SALT, FRUIT AND VEGETABLE COLORÂ (PUMPKIN, SUGAR BEETS, APPLE, CARROT, HIBISCUS), NATURAL FLAVORS, SALT]
We consider this topping to be “accidentally vegan” due to the unknown source of sugar and what the natural flavors are made with.
Our Alternate Suggestion–> Order a Latte with Toffeenut Syrup and your choice of non-dairy milk (oat, soy, almond, coconut) with the Salted Brown Butter Cookie Topping. Of course, it’s not going to taste the same but since you do not know what the pistachio sauce tastes like then maybe it could be a fun surprise.
Is Starbucks Pistachio Cream Cold Brew Vegan?
It doesn’t take a scientist to figure that if the pistachio latte is NOT vegan-friendly then the Pistachio Cream Cold Brew probably isn’t either but let’s take a look just in case.
The Pistachio Cream Cold Brew contains ice, brewed coffee, a pistachio cream cold foam, vanilla syrup and the salted brown butter cookie flavored topping already mentioned.
In the Pistachio Cream Cold Foam, Starbucks is again using the dairy-based pistachio sauce which makes the Pistachio Cream Cold Brew NOT vegan either.Â
In Conclusion…
One out of six is not great for Starbucks but as usual, we are thankful that they are offering the one vegan-friendly drink. It’s at least a step up from Dunkin’s Winter Menu. See our Vegan Guide for Starbucks for a completely updated list of all the drinks and food you can order.
Let us know in the comments if you tried the Iced Hazelnut Shaken Espresso. We’re looking forward to hearing what you think!
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