The 2026 Holiday lineup, at Starbucks, is bringing me so much delight with their new flavors! Tiramisu was one of my favorite desserts, pre-vegan. Is the coffee drink version an option for us? How about the beautiful Apple Pomegranate Refresher?
In our Starbucks Holiday Guide, I share a bit more detail since I’m covering the entire holiday featured lineup. What is vegan? What is not? And what might not be but can be modified?
Be aware that cross-contamination can occur at any establishment that is not 100% vegan and we consider all items (aside from like black coffee and fruit) to be accidentally vegan. There may be an ingredient like natural flavors where we do not know its source. You choose your level of comfort and ask your location questions, if need be.
Let’s see what is being featured!
Starbucks 2026 Holiday Menu
According to Starbucks holiday menu announcement
, the following drinks & food are being highlighted for 2026:
- New Tiramisu Velvet Latte
- New Tiramisu Velvet Cold Brew
- Apple Pomegranate Refresher
- Snowy Apple Drink
- Caramel Brulée Latte
- New Iced Caramel Brulée Cream Chai
- Sugar Cookie Latte, Iced or Hot
- New Iced Sugar Cookie Cream Matcha
- Peppermint Mocha
- Iced Gingerbread Cream Chai
- Bearista Cake Pop
- Snowman Cookie
- Cranberry Bliss Bar
- Sugar Plum Cheese Danish
- And multiple sandwiches that are not an option, naming them would tell you that as well, most likely.
What is NOT Vegan?
No need to spend time on items that are not vegan and cannot be modified.
- New Tiramisu Velvet Latte (details just below)
- New Tiramisu Velvet Cold Brew (same)
- Caramel Brulée Latte (caramel brulee sauce contains cow’s milk)
- Bearista Cake Pop (cow’s milk & egg)
- Snowman Cookie (cow’s milk & egg)
- Cranberry Bliss Bar (cow’s milk & egg)
- Sugar Plum Cheese Danish (cow’s milk)
- And multiple sandwiches that are not an option, naming them would tell you that as well, most likely.
Why are the new Tiramisu drinks not vegan-friendly?
One ingredient, the Velvet Custard Powder. It contains cow’s milk, a lot of flavor in this drink, and cannot be replaced. The Tiramisu Cocoa Dusting Powder can be used on another drink though. Its ingredients are:
[COOKIE (ENRICHED FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMINE MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID), SUGAR, PALM OIL, NATURAL FLAVORS, SALT, SODIUM BICARBONATE), SUGAR, COCOA POWDER, COFFEE, SALT]
You choose your level of comfort.
What is Vegan-Friendly at Starbucks for the 2026 Holiday Season?
…or can be modified.
Apple Pomegranate Refresher
Here’s a festive looking little drink. The Apple Pomegranate Refresher comes with an apple refresher base + pomegranate pearls + a green coffee extract blend. According to the online ordering, you have the option to order this drink as is, with no caffeine, light caffeine or extra caffeine. That’s a good tidbit.
Variants of this drink are the Apple Pomegranate Lemonade Refresher (apple pomegranate refresher + lemonade) or the Snowy Apple Drink (apple pomegranate refresher + coconut milk).
The ingredients in the Apple Pomegranate Refresher are:
APPLE REFRESHER BASE
[WATER, SUGARS (LIQUID SUGAR, WHITE GRAPE JUICE CONCENTRATE, APPLE JUICE CONCENTRATE, SUGAR), NATURAL FLAVORS, CITRIC ACID, SPIRULINA EXTRACT (FOR COLOR), CARRAGEENAN, BETA-CAROTENE (FOR COLOR), STEVIA EXTRACT (REBAUDIOSIDE-A), ASCORBIC ACID], ICE, POMEGRANATE PEARLS [WATER, SUGARS (SUGAR, POMEGRANATE JUICE CONCENTRATE, FRUIT AND VEGETABLE JUICE CONCENTRATE FOR COLOR (CARROT, BLUEBERRY)), MODIFIED CORN STARCH, CALCIUM LACTATE, MALIC ACID, SODIUM ALGINATE, NATURAL FLAVOR, CARRAGEENAN, POTASSIUM SORBATE, SODIUM CITRATE], GREEN COFFEE EXTRACT BLEND [WATER, POTASSIUM DIHYDROGEN PHOSPHATE, COFFEE EXTRACT (FOR FLAVOR), CITRIC ACID, TRISODIUM CITRATE DIHYDRATE, POTASSIUM SORBATE, XANTHAN GUM, VITAMIN BLEND (NIACIN, CALCIUM PANTOTHENATE, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE, CYANOCOBALAMIN), NATURAL FLAVOR]
Sugar Cookie Latte, Iced or Hot.
Starbucks Sugar Cookie Latte is certainly a favorite in the returner drinks and is NOT vegan as-is. It includes espresso, sugar cookie syrup, cow’s milk and red & green sprinkles.
HOW TO ORDER VEGAN:
Order an iced or hot Sugar Cookie Latte with your choice of non-dairy milk (soy, oat, almond, coconut, NONDAIRY vanilla cream). With the iced version, you potentially have another option… order a latte with your choice of non-dairy milk + NON-DAIRY sugar cookie cream cold foam.
So, one has the flavor in the mix of the drink and the other puts the flavor on top, sort of. Would they taste? Would one then be more sweet? I would be curious to hear if anyone tries each version.
New Iced Sugar Cookie Cream Matcha.
Here is a combo of Starbucks’ Iced Sugar Cookie Latte + Matcha. It does require modifications.
HOW TO MAKE IT VEGAN
Order an Iced Sugar Cookie Cream Matcha. SUB the cow’s milk with your choice of non-dairy milk (soy, oat, almond, coconut, NONDAIRY vanilla cream) and the sugar cookie cream cold foam with the NON-DAIRY sugar cookie cream cold foam.
Peppermint Mocha.
Starbucks Peppermint Mocha is NOT vegan as-is. While latte is not in the title, it is a latte. The Peppermint Mocha is espresso, cow’s milk, mocha sauce, peppermint syrup, whipped cream and dark chocolate curls. Due to the modifications (whipped topping & dark chocolate curls are a no-go–contain cow’s milk), the most cost friendly option would be to essentially create a new order.
HOW TO MAKE IT VEGAN
Order a latte with peppermint syrup, mocha sauce and your choice of non-dairy milk (soy, oat, almond, coconut, NONDAIRY vanilla cream).
And another drink not on the featured list but is 100% holiday.
Gingerbread Latte.
A gingerbread latte consists of espresso, gingerbread syrup, whipped cream and pumpkin spice topping. Continuing with the two options theme, you can…
Order a gingerbread latte with your choice of non-dairy milk and NO whipped cream. OR, order a latte with your choice of non-dairy milk + NON-DAIRY gingerbread cold foam.
Cold Foam & Syrups
If you would like to create a concoction of your own, here are your holiday nondairy cold foam, syrup and topping options. I am listing all, not just the ones being highlighted in the featured drinks.
Accidentally Vegan Syrups:
- Brown Sugar Syrup
- Caramel Syrup
- Sugar-Free Caramel Syrup
- Cinnamon Syrup
- Gingerbread Syrup
- Hazelnut Syrup
- Pecan Syrup
- Peppermint Syrup
Nondairy Cold Foams:
Specifically request the NONDAIRY version of the cold foams.
- Brown Sugar Cold Foam
- Chocolate Cream Cold Foam
- Gingerbread Cream Cold Foam
- Pecan Cream Cold Foam
- Peppermint Chocolate Cream Cold Foam
- Salted Caramel Cream Cold Foam
- Sugar Cookie Cream Cold Foam
- Vanilla Cream Cold Foam
Toppings:
- Cinnamon
- Cocoa Dusting Powder {Holiday}
- Red & Green Sprinkles {Holiday}
- Pumpkin Spice Topping, {Holiday}
- Salted Brown Butter Cookie Flavored Toppings
- Caramel Sugar Topping
- Toasted Coconut Topping
- Pumpkin Spice Topping
Starbucks Vegan Food Options
No vegan-friendly food being featured so here are the main food items you can order. There will also be snacks around the line area–check the ingredients prior to purchasing.
- Spicy Falafel Pocket. Ask for Chipotle Bitchin’ Sauce (at select locations), Sriracha or Guacamole on the side.
- Bagel, Plain or Everything. Look for packaged Organic Avocado Spread to spread on. Justin’s Hazelnut Butter or Classic Almond Butter may also be an option–check with your location for availability.
- Rolled & Steel Cut Oatmeal with Blueberries (labeled as vegetarian but doesn’t appear to have animal ingredients) … comes with whole grain oatmeal, nut medley, blueberries and agave nectar syrup. It is optional to add in a splash of a non-dairy milk.
In Conclusion…
Starbucks just sent me on a roller coaster. Creme Brulee and Tiramasu are my 2 favorite all time desserts. Starbucks has them on their holiday menu and yet as a vegan, it is a no-go. Bummer. The good news is they at least have the Peppermint Mocha option, unlike Dunkin, and they have a lot of syrup and nondairy cold cream foam options, to let us be more creative if we want.
If these drinks do not suit you, check out our Vegan Guide for Starbucks (VeggL Membership). It lists everything you can order dairy-free & vegan. The holiday drinks have a {Holiday} next to them.
Our Start Here page has more information on the VeggL Membership (a clean, ad-free, picture-free version of the guides), if interested.
Cheers!!
