Starbucks Just Added 5 New Vegan Items to Its Menu. Here’s Where

|Updated Jan 4, 2023

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Starbucks serves 60 million customers every week, according to the company. The global coffee chain delivers nearly 4 million cups of coffee per day, and in recent years, Starbucks has expanded its menu to help plant-based customers start their days on the right food. Starbucks just announced that it will introduce five new vegan items to its menus on January 5 to celebrate Veganuary –– the month-long challenge to eat plant-based originally started in 2014.

Starbucks will debut the five new menu items across the United Kingdom to celebrate Veganuary 2023, beginning with a new signature beverage: the Carmelized Macadamia Oat Latte. To accompany this espresso drink, the coffee shop will also launch the Plant-Based Breakfast Wrap filled with tofu scramble, spinach, barbecue pinto bean sauce, and Lincolnshire-style sausage.

For lunch, Starbucks unveiled the No'Beef and Red Onion Focaccia sandwich with the help of The Vegetarian Butcher. The coffee chain also debuted two new desserts to give customers a sweet treat straight from the bakery case. The two deserts include the Banana Caramel Muffin and the Raspberry & Almond Mini Loaf.

Within the United Kingdom, Starbucks dropped the surcharge for vegan milk –– a policy that remains to this day across the United States. Customers can order any drink on the menu with oat, soy, coconut, or almond milk without an extra charge.

Starbucks Tests Vegan Food in the United States

Starbucks' Veganuary celebration is exclusive to UK customers, but the slow-to-act coffee chain began testing 18 new menu items in the United States last October –– and six are fully plant-based. Starbucks teamed up with Daring and JUST Egg to debut three signature plant-based food items including:

Plant-Based Chicken Sausage and Pepper Sous-Vide Bite: Special plant-based breakfast featuring a never-before-seen Daring jalapeño chicken sausage paired with JUST Egg's signature egg replacer.
Plant-Based Smoky Poblano & Black Bean Sous-Vide Bite: A small bite with a base of high-protein JUST Egg mixed with black beans, lime zest, sweet corn kernels, roasted poblano peppers, and smoky chipotle chili.
Plant-Based Chicken Sausage & Pepper Sandwich Mini: Starbucks' first-ever vegan chicken sandwich in the U.S., featuring the Daring chicken and JUST Egg's mung-bean plant-based egg.

The restaurant also tested out three vegan pastry items including a Warm Oatmeal Bite with Granola Crunch, a Golden Ginger Coconut Boba Bite, and a Mocha Coconut Boba Bite.

Starbucks debuted several plant-based or plant-forward food items in the past, including the Impossible Breakfast Sandwich. However, this sandwich cannot be ordered vegan due to its eggs and cheese. Last year, Starbucks introduced a vegan lunch option with the Chickpea Bites and Avocado Protein Box.

Despite commitments to reduce its carbon, water, and waste footprints by 2030, the international coffee chain is moving slowly to permanently add plant-based menu items to its food menu. However, Starbucks' signature drink menu continues to expand, debuting the Apple Crisp Oatmilk Macchiato last Fall.

Starbucks Vegan Food Available Outside the U.S.

Starbucks is expanding its vegan menu at a much higher rate outside of the United States. Within the UK, Starbucks has debuted several food items including a Tu'NAH Sandwich and a Chick'n & BBQ Bean Hot Wrap. The UK bakery case has featured Pecan & Caramel Brownies, Carro Cake, and Chocolate & Caramel Muffins made with exclusively plant-based ingredients.

In Hong Kong, Starbucks has partnered with OmniFoods to offer several plant-based menu items featuring vegan fish. The menu items have included a Thai Style Crab Cake Salad and Omni Golden Fillet Ciabatte –– showcasing OmniFoods' OmniSeafood Golden Fillet.

For more plant-based happenings, visit The Beet's News articles.

Fast-food restaurants have finally got the memo that their customer base isn’t just coming through for a burger, fried chicken, or a beef taco. Many now have plant-based foods and are coming up with creative, delicious ways to get more greens on the menu. Here are the 6 best fast-food chains with plant-based options on the menu.

1. Burger King

Turns out there’s a lot more to rely on than a salad if you’re eating plant-based. Burger King has the Impossible Whopper featuring a meatless patty as well as a few secretly vegan options such as the French Toast Sticks and Hashbrowns.

2. White Castle

Known for its mini square-shaped sliders, this hamburger chain jumped on the plant-based bandwagon at some participating locations. You can find an Impossible Slider on some White Castle menus.

3. Del Taco

This was the first national Mexican fast-food chain to offer Beyond Meat at the company’s 580 restaurants across the country. Del Taco has the Beyond Avocado Taco on the menu along with the Epic Beyond Original Mex Burrito and Avocado Veggie Bowl.

4. Carl's Jr.

Another brand synonymous with beef burgers, Carl’s Jr. offers several plant-based options for veggie and plant lover such as Beyond Famous Star Burger and Guacamole Thickburger.

5. Taco Bell

This fast-food restaurant may have been one of the first you frequented while transitioning to plant-based eating. That’s because Taco Bell has eight million vegetarian combinations and sells 350 million vegetarian items a year through menu substitutions or ordering off their vegetarian menu. In fact, they were the first quick-service restaurant to offer American Vegetarian Association (AVA) certified food options.

6. Starbucks

From the time it started offering breakfast sandwiches in 2006, the coffee conglomerate became a competitor in the fast-food space. You can get your favorite hot and cold beverages made with almond, coconut or oat milk but there are also plant-based food options available such as the Baja Black Bean Veggie Wrap, bagel with vegan cream cheese and Impossible Breakfast Sandwich.