The Best (and Worst) Coffee Chains for Vegans, Ranked

Oat milk is everywhere—but not every coffee chain treats vegan customers fairly. Some chains offer multiple dairy-free milks and vegan breakfast sandwiches at no extra cost, while others still charge more for plant milk or barely offer vegan food at all.

PETA graded major U.S. coffee, doughnut, and bagel chains from A+ to F based on:

• Vegan milk availability
• Whether vegan milk costs extra
• Animal-friendly food options
• Accessibility of vegan menu items

Here’s who passed—and who seriously needs improvement.

At a Glance:

• Best overall vegan coffee chain: Stumptown
• Best mainstream chain: Starbucks
• Best vegan breakfast: Gregorys Coffee
• Worst chain for vegans: Krispy Kreme
• Most improved: The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf

Why Does It Matter If Coffee Shops Offer Vegan Milk?

Just like humans, cows produce milk to feed their babies. On dairy farms, workers repeatedly and forcibly impregnate cows. The farmers tear newborn calves from their mothers shortly after birth so that humans can consume the milk intended for them. Some mother cows call for their calves for days after being traumatically separated.

Grade A+: These Coffee Chains Set the Vegan Standard

These coffee shops offer vegan milk at no extra charge and strong vegan food options. In some cases, vegan milk is even the default.

Stumptown Coffee Roasters

This specialty coffee chain, which has expanded from Portland, Oregon (aka “Stumptown”) to cities across the U.S., offers oat milk as the default option in all its milk-based drinks. Almond and soy milk options are also available at no extra cost. In winter months, you can enjoy a creamy, vegan-by-default eggnog. Stumptown Coffee Roasters also partners with local bakeries in each city to offer a variety of sweet and savory vegan pastries that vary based on location.

Blue Bottle Coffee

Blue Bottle offers rich and creamy oat milk as its default milk for all coffee beverages, at no additional charge, aligning with its sustainability-focused mission. Blue Bottle offers many vegan menu items, such as avocado or almond butter toast, various baked goods, protein bars, and many drink options. Check the website for seasonal vegan food options, and be sure to ask which items are vegan, as dishes can vary from store to store.

Grade A: Great Vegan Options Without Extra Fees

These chains offer vegan milk at no extra charge and solid vegan food choices.

Caribou Coffee

Caribou Coffee offers oat, almond, and other dairy-free milks at no extra charge following talks with PETA. The chain serves a delicious breakfast sandwich made with JUST Egg, roasted tomatoes, vegan pesto cream cheese, and smoky vegan cheese on a flatbread. You can also order plain or everything bagels, and almond milk overnight oats—just steer clear of the hot oatmeal since it’s made with cow’s milk.

Gregory’s Coffee

At Gregorys Coffee, oat or almond milk is available at no extra charge. Vegan menu highlights include the Vegan Deluxe breakfast sandwich, with Beyond Breakfast Sausage, vegan egg, and dairy-free cheddar on a chia croissant. And the vegan options don’t stop there—the chain also serves several other animal-friendly bites, including a Vegan Burrito, Spicy Avo toast, a brownie, and other pastries. We’re obsessed with these offerings!

Peet’s Coffee

Peet’s has long offered various vegan milk options—including oat, almond, soy, and coconut—available at no extra charge, thanks to PETA. This U.S. chain also offers its Everything Plant-Based Sandwich nationwide—a move PETA recommended. The breakfast sandwich features a plant-based egg, a seasoned Beyond Meat sausage patty, and a slice of Violife cheddar cheese on a thin “everything” bagel. The chain also serves a variety of vegan pastries, which are marked and vary by location.

Philz Coffee

We love Philz for offering soy, oat, and almond milk at no additional charge, and its vegan Horchata cold brew oat latte is delicious. Vegan food options vary by location but include the Everything Plant-Based Sandwich, which features a Beyond Meat breakfast sausage patty with an egg-free egg and dairy-free cheese on an English muffin. Some Philz locations serve vegan baked goods, and you can also order bagels with hummus or avocado, oatmeal, trail mix, and vegan doughnuts. Check with your local shop to see what’s available.

Pret A Manger

This international coffee chain offers dairy-free milks at no extra charge, and oat milk is the default milk for matcha drinks. It has plenty of tasty vegan eats such as the Falafel & Hummus wrap, Crunchy Miso Mushroom Wrap, Rainbow Veggie Sandwich, oat milk porridge, and hummus protein box. New seasonal vegan items are added regularly, including coconut bites and a pumpkin spice latte with real pumpkin purée. (Be sure to request vegan preparation.)

Starbucks

Thanks to a massively successful PETA campaign, Starbucks dropped its upcharge for vegan milk, so enjoy soy, almond, coconut, or oat milk at no extra charge. The coffee chain also offers a vegan falafel pocket, bagels, avocado spread, oatmeal, fruit salad, and packaged snacks.

Grade B: Good Options, but Room for Improvement

These chains either have limited vegan food or still fall short in other areas.

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf

After hearing from PETA and more than 20,000 supporters, this international chain offers almond, coconut, and soy milk at no extra charge. Vegan food items vary by location and may include Coconut Maple Vanilla Superfood Cereal, avocado toast (skip the egg), and a vegan banana nut loaf. To ensure vegan options are available near you, contact your local Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.

Dunkin’

Vegan food options on this international doughnut chain’s menu include bagels (cinnamon raisin, everything, plain, and sesame), hash browns, an English muffin, and oatmeal (available at participating locations).

The Human Bean

The Human Bean coffee chain offers a variety of vegan milk options, including soy, almond, coconut, oat, and macadamia, at no additional charge. Vegan bites include bagels and vegan baked goods at some locations.  

Intelligentsia

This U.S. coffee chain offers almond and oat milk at no extra charge, along with oatmeal, peanut or almond butter dates, and some vegan pastries.

Noah’s New York Bagels

This California bagel chain offers almond or soy milk at no additional cost. Many of the bagels are vegan, but with no vegan cream cheese, you’ll have to top them with either hummus or peanut butter.

Panera

Panera still charges extra for vegan milk, and customers can order modified vegan meals like the Mediterranean Veggie Sandwich (order without cheese and choose vegan bread), Mediterranean Greens and Grains Bowl (no cheese), Greek Salad (no feta), and Strawberry Poppyseed Salad (seasonal). You can also grab avocado toast, oatmeal, bagels, bread, chips, fruit cups, or apples. Smoothies vary—some are vegan, but double-check ingredients before ordering

Tim Hortons

This Canadian-founded chain stopped charging extra for oat, almond, and soy milks after hearing from PETA. The coffee chain also features a vegan drink on the menu, a vanilla almond iced coffee. The vegan food options are a little sparse but include avocado toast, bagels, or bread served with avocado spread or tomato jam.

Grade C+: Good Drinks, Weak Food Menus

If all you want is a delicious vegan drink, these coffee chains are worth going to.

Dutch Bros Coffee

After PETA urged the top brass at Dutch Bros Coffee to end the unfair vegan milk upcharge that penalized consumers for making a health-, eco-, and cow-friendly choice, the coffee chain stopped charging more for dairy-free milk. This drive-through coffee chain offers oat, soy, almond, and coconut milk. The chain doesn’t offer vegan food yet.

PJ’s Coffee

This New Orleans–based coffee chain offers almond or soy at no extra charge. Select locations offer only vegan-friendly chips, bars, hummus, and other quick bites.

Scooter’s Coffee

Although Scooter’s Coffee does not offer vegan food options, it just dropped its vegan milk upcharge after hearing from PETA. Its fruit and ice smoothies are delicious and animal-free. Blenders can also be made vegan by swapping ice cream for dairy-free milk, opting for flavored syrups instead of sauces, and skipping the whipped cream.

Grade C: Decent, but Still Charging Extra

These coffee shops still charge extra for vegan milk, but offer vegan specialty drinks or food options.

Au Bon Pain

Au Bon Pain offers dairy-free milks with an upcharge. For food, you can order the Mediterranean wrap (no cheese), Mediterranean salad (also no cheese), avocado toast, bread and bagels, and a hummus box.

Black Rock Coffee Bar

Black Rock Coffee Bar charges for vegan milk. Vegan food options vary by location, but some offer donuts and banana bread.

Bluestone Lane

International coffee chain Bluestone Lane has a few vegan drink options, including the Laird Superfood Latte, animal-free protein smoothies, and oat milk smoothies. You can also order the beets and berry salad, just ask for it without the cheese. 

DRNK Coffee + Tea

This Southern California coffee chain charges extra for almond milk and offers a few animal-free drink options, including yogurt-free smoothies. For food, some locations (those paired with a QWENCH Juice Bar) offer a vegan bowl with tofu, garbanzo beans, tahini, and quinoa, avocado quinoa salad, açai bowls (just make sure it’s honey-free), or a PB&J bagel.

Dunn Brothers Coffee

Dunn Brothers Coffee shops offer almond, coconut, and soy milk for an additional charge. Vegan food options are limited but include an açai bowl, oatmeal with fruit and nuts, and avocado on a plain or “everything” bagel.

Einstein Bros. Bagels

At Einstein Bros Bagels, you can almost always count on vegan milk. While almond milk is part of its menu, apparently not all locations carry it, and there is an additional fee. Food options are also limited, but there are at least a few , such as the Avocado Toast and bagels with peanut butter and jelly.

Illy

You can get soy or almond milk at any Illy location for an additional charge. Food options vary by location. At larger cafés, you might find a delicious vegan doughnut, while at smaller shops—such as those in airports and hotels—your only choice may be a fruit cup.

Jack’s Stir Brew Coffee

Jack’s, a New York-based coffee chain, serves organic coffee and offers a variety of dairy-free milk options (including almond and oat). Food options change seasonally, but look out for clearly labeled vegan donuts and other pastries.

Grade D: Bare Minimum Vegan Options

D-rated coffee chains have something, but they have a lot of room for improvement.

Aroma Espresso Bar

You’ll find almond, coconut, and soy milk at this East Coast coffee chain, but only for an added fee. Aroma also doesn’t offer animal-free entrees yet. A few snack options include oatmeal, a side salad, and a walnut brownie.

Biggby Coffee

Biggby Coffee offers oat and almond milks for an extra charge. The chain used to get high marks from us when it offered a vegan bagel breakfast sandwich, but we’ve had to drop it down for removing it from the menu.

Bruegger’s

This U.S. bagel chain doesn’t carry any vegan milk options. You can only order a simple meal at a Bruegger’s: hummus and a vegan bagel.

Gloria Jean’s Coffee

Gloria Jean’s offers vegan milks, but there’s an upcharge—usually between 75 and 99 cents. Most of the food menu is not vegan, though some locations carry a vegan cookie. Their fruit chillers are dairy-free, but smoothies aren’t, so check carefully before ordering.

Jittery Joe’s

This Georgia-based chain offers soy and almond milk for an extra fee, and a few bagels are vegan. Beyond that, options are sparse—no vegan spreads or toppings are available, though chips or the occasional vegan pastry might turn up at some locations.

Sweetwaters Coffee and Tea

Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea has a few vegan basics, like plain bagels and, at some locations, vegan cake slices. Vegan milks are available for drinks, but they come with a steep upcharge of over $1—something to keep in mind before you order. It’s not the most exciting stop for vegans, but you can usually find something to pair with your coffee.

BIGGBY Coffee

The chain used to get high marks from us when it offered a vegan bagel breakfast sandwich, but we’ve had to drop it down for removing it from the menu. BIGGBY Coffee also offers oat and almond milks for an extra charge. Compassion shouldn’t cost extra! Help PETA urge BIGGBY Coffee to drop the unfair upcharge.

Grade F: These Chains Need Serious Improvement

These coffee chains charge extra for vegan milk, might not even offer it at all locations, and have few to no vegan food options—they need to do a LOT better.

Big Apple Bagels

This franchise bakery chain doesn’t offer any vegan milk options. People looking for vegan fare can order the Mediterranean Veg-Out bagel with hummus, peanut butter, or guacamole on one of its vegan bagels.

Coffee Beanery

This U.S. coffee chain offers soy milk, but its additional cost will increase as you order a larger beverage. Other than a garden salad, Coffee Beanery shops don’t offer any vegan options.

Krispy Kreme

This international chain doesn’t offer a vegan milk option or any vegan doughnuts.

Manhattan Bagel

This U.S. coffee chain doesn’t offer vegan milk options. The food options are also extremely limited—the only vegan items are a bagel with peanut butter, avocado toast, hashbrowns, and fruit salad.

Qamaria Coffee

This coffee shop at least has vegan milk—for a $1 fee—and a vegan Brown Sugar Oat Milk Shaken Espresso. None of the food or snacks served here are vegan.

Shipley Do-Nuts

Like Krispy Kreme, this U.S. doughnut chain doesn’t offer vegan milk options or donuts.

Urge Your Favorite Spots to Add Vegan Option

Has one of your favorite restaurants received a failing grade? PETA supporters successfully urged coffeehouses such as Starbucks, Dunkin’, Peet’s Coffee, Caribou Coffee, and other coffee giants to drop the vegan milk upcharge. Every coffee shop that offers vegan milk at no extra charge helps set the industry standard. We’re asking the few remaining holdouts, such as The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, to join in and help mother cows from being separated from their beloved calves and reduce methane emissions.

If your favorite shop still charges extra for vegan milk, consider contacting them through their website, Facebook page, Instagram account, or other social media platforms to let management know that you’d like them to offer vegan options (or more of them)—and encourage your friends to do the same. Share this article on Facebook.

Urge The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf to Stop Upcharging for Vegan Milk!

Sign Our Petition!

Subject

Message

I’m disappointed that you are still upcharging for vegan milk options, given the ethical, environmental, and health concerns associated with dairy. Cows produce milk for the same reason humans do: to nourish their babies. But in the dairy industry, cows are repeatedly artificially inseminated, and calves are taken from their mother’s side shortly after birth because the milk intended for them is instead diverted and shipped off for humans to drink. Starbucks, Dutch Bros, Blue Bottle Coffee, Gregory’s Coffee, Panera Bread, Philz Coffee, Pret A Manger, Scooter’s Coffee, Stumptown Coffee Roasters, and Tim Hortons have all ended their company’s upcharge, and it is time that The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf keep up with the new industry standard by doing the same. Until you make the good business decision to stop upcharging for non-dairy milks, I’ll be getting coffee at Starbucks and other shops that don’t penalize caring consumers, and I will tell my friends and family to do the same. Thank you.

All fields in bold are mandatory.

First Name

Last Name

E-Mail Address

By providing your mobile phone number, you agree to receive automated texts and calls from PETA and accept our terms and conditions. Message and data rates may apply. U.S. mobile users only. Reply STOP to quit.

Sign me up for the following e-mail:

PETA News

Current subscribers: You will continue to receive e-mails unless you explicitly opt out here.

View Message +

Processing…

By submitting this form, you’re acknowledging that you have read and agree to our privacy policy and agree to receive e-mails from us.