Is Starbucks’ Caramel Macchiato Vegan? | Vegan Food Lover (2024)

FAQs

Is Starbucks’ Caramel Macchiato Vegan? | Vegan Food Lover? ›

Because there is butter, heavy cream, and nonfat dry milk in the caramel sauce, the caramel macchiato at Starbucks is NOT vegan.

A Caramel Macchiato needs a little customization to make it plant-based, but simply ask for a substitute of either soy, almond, or coconut milk and no caramel drizzle.

Caramel Macchiatos (with oat, soy, almond, or coconut milk and without the caramel drizzle) Ombré iced coffees (with oat, soy, almond, or coconut milk)

There is a bit of a silver lining, though… it's only the caramel sauce they put on top of the drink that isn't vegan. It has some kind of dairy in it. So technically, you can still have a soy Caramel Macchiato. You just have to remember to tell them not to put any caramel sauce on it.

However, not all Starbucks syrups and sauces are dairy-free, and it can be confusing. Case in point: the caramel syrup is vegan but the caramel sauce is not. Here is everything you need to know about these flavor-enhancers so you can order with confidence the next time you stroll up to a Starbucks.

Almond milk (water, almonds), oat milk (water, oat flour), sugar, coconut oil, pea protein, potassium citrate, baking soda, natural flavor, gellan gum, guar gum (from the guar plant).

Because caramel is essentially just sugar, in its purest form, it is vegan. However, it is often mixed with dairy cream, butter, or milk, which is why it's important to always check the back of store-bought caramel candy.

Starbucks^® Almond and Oat Non Dairy Caramel Macchiato Liquid Coffee Enhancer. Flavoured coffee enhancer with a smooth blend of almond and oat, and layers of sweet, buttery caramel with hints of vanilla flavour.

Starbucks Caramel Macchiato With Almond Milk (20 fl oz) contains 34g total carbs, 32g net carbs, 8g fat, 3g protein, and 210 calories.

1.8% fat milk (75%), Starbucks® Arabica coffee (water, coffee extract) (20%), sugar (4.7%), natural flavouring (contains milk), acidity regulator (potassium carbonate), stabilisers (gellan gum, carrageenan).

Is Starbucks good for vegans? ›

With all of their non-dairy milk options, Starbucks' vegan drink options are almost endless! Most coffee beverages can be ordered by substituting regular milk for one of their non-dairy milk options and ordering without whipped cream.

8 Flavored syrups

These vegan-friendly syrups can be added to any beverage for a hint or a tidal wave of sweet flavoring. They include Cinnamon Dolce, Vanilla, Brown Sugar, Hazelnut, Peppermint, Raspberry, Toffee Nut, Caramel, and Sugar-free Vanilla.

Starbucks' oat milk drinks

Starbucks first introduced oat milk as its fourth vegan milk option to its locations nationwide in 2021 and featured it in the Iced Brown Sugar Shaken Oatmilk Espresso—which became such a hit that Starbucks temporarily experienced an oat milk shortage.

Caramel Macchiato – order with your choice of non-dairy milk, replace some or all of the vanilla syrup with caramel syrup (both syrups are vegan), and NO caramel sauce (the caramel syrup is vegan, but the caramel sauce is not).

Vegan Starbucks Blended Drinks

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.

And do you know what the best part about the drink is? It's 100 percent vegan. To order the “Pink Drink,” all you have to do is ask for the Strawberry Acai Refresher to be made with coconut milk instead of water.

Starbucks coffee, as well as its black, green, chai, and herbal teas, are vegan to begin with, so starting with these as your base order is an easy way to avoid animal-derived ingredients. If you don't want to drink your coffee black or your tea plain, choose a nondairy milk like soy, oat, coconut, or almond milk.

One of Starbucks' most popular flavors among its entire lineup of blended beverages, the standard Caramel Frappuccino can be made completely vegan by substituting the dairy for plant-based milk and by omitting both the whipped cream and the caramel sauce topping.