Do Starbucks Syrups Contain Dairy? Here's What You Need To Know

With all the milk alternatives on the menu — including coconut, soy, almond, and oat — and the addition of non-dairy sweet cream and oat milk cold foam, Starbucks has opened its menu to include a wide variety of dairy-free options (even if you do have to pay extra). From your basic Soy Milk Latte to your Iced Brown Sugar Almond Milk Shaken Espresso, almost any drink on the menu can be substituted with a plant-based alternative and made dairy-free. Where things get tricky, and where you'll want to think twice, is with the flavored sauces and syrups.

As Starbucks told Tasting Table, "The following sauces, which are available all year at Starbucks core stores, contain dairy: Caramel Sauce, Dark Caramel Sauce[,] and White Chocolate Mocha Sauce," it explained. That means any drink, such as the Salted Caramel Mocha, the White Chocolate Frappuccino, or any menu item containing these sauces, will require more than just a milk swap to be totally dairy-free. There will also be the occasional seasonal sauce or syrup you'll want to double-check on, too — and, yes, that includes the pumpkin spice.

The good news is you have options. As for sauces, both the regular mocha sauce and strawberry purée sauce are dairy-free. Dairy-free syrups include the classic, Cinnamon Dolce, Hazelnut, Brown Sugar, Peppermint, Raspberry, Toffee Nut, Caramel, and both the regular Vanilla and Sugar-Free Vanilla. All of these can be substituted along with a milk alternative to make your drink completely dairy-free.

Starbucks has a lot of innovative beverages on its coffee menu — and a lot goes into them, syrups and sauces being just one element of the magic. Browsing through the ingredients of any drink, you'll come across various powders and toppings that you'll want to make sure are also dairy-free. For instance, the Starbucks lavender powder is vegan-friendly, as is the chocolate malt powder, the matcha tea powder, and the vanilla powder. Starbucks also brings in new and seasonal powders that you'll have to ask about as they arrive.

Some of Starbucks' drink toppings are also dairy-free, but some aren't. The whipped cream is an obvious one that's not vegan-friendly, nor are the frappuccino chips. Fortunately, the cookie crumble, caramel sugar, and any freeze-dried fruit topping are — and you can easily sub them if needed, although they might not make the same impact without the whipped cream. The coffee chain has teased the potential for a dairy-free whipped cream alternative in the past. While there hasn't been any sight or sound of it since 2021, many remain hopeful. Until then, the non-dairy vanilla sweet cream might be your best alternative.