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

Oat milk is everywhere—but not every coffee chain is equal when it comes to animal-and planet-friendly food and drinks. 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
• 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. Farmers tear newborn calves from their mothers shortly after birth so humans can consume the milk intended for them. Some mother cows endlessly call out for their children.

Grade A+: These Coffee Chains Set the Vegan Standard

These coffee shops offer vegan milk at no extra charge and strong vegan food options.

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.

Gregorys Coffee

At Gregorys Coffee, oat or almond milk is available at no extra charge. Vegan menu highlights include the Vegan Deluxe breakfast sandwich, with vegan sausage, vegan egg, and dairy-free cheese on a vegan croissant. And the vegan options don’t stop there—the chain also serves other animal-friendly bites, including a Vegan Breakfast Wrap and various Grab ‘n’ go bites.

Grade A: Great Vegan Options Without Extra Fees

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

Blue Bottle Coffee

Blue Bottle offers rich, creamy oat milk for all coffee beverages at no additional charge. It also features a dairy-free Nola Cold Foam with hints of vanilla and chicory that can be added to any iced drink. Blue Bottle offers many vegan menu items, including avocado or almond butter toast, baked goods, protein bars, and a variety of drinks. Be sure to ask which items are vegan, as dishes can vary from store to store.

Caribou Coffee

Caribou Coffee offers oat, almond, and other dairy-free milks at no extra charge following talks with PETA. Or spruce up your cold brew with one of the dairy-free cold foam options. 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 blueberry-almond overnight oats—just steer clear of the hot oatmeal, since it’s made with cow’s milk.

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. Check with your barista for dairy-free cold foam options, which vary seasonally. This U.S. chain also offers its Everything Plant-Based Sandwich nationwide—a move PETA recommended. The breakfast sandwich features the delectable plant-based JUST Egg, a seasoned vegan sausage patty, and a slice of melty vegan 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 Plant Powered Sandwich, which features a meat-free sausage, Just Egg, and vegan cheddar cheese on an English muffin. Some Philz locations serve vegan baked goods, so 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. It has plenty of tasty vegan eats such as the Falafel & Hummus wrap, Crunchy Miso Mushroom Wrap, Rainbow Veggie Sandwich, and oat milk porridge. Check for new seasonal vegan items that are added regularly.

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. There’s even dairy-free cold foam in various flavors. 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 avocado toast (skip the egg), a vegan banana nut loaf, and a few packaged snacks. To ensure vegan options are available near you, contact your local Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.

Dunkin’

After hearing from PETA supporters, there’s no extra charge for dairy-free milk at 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 avocado toast.

The Human Bean

The Human Bean coffee chain offers a variety of vegan milk options, including soy, almond, coconut, and oat, 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 depending on the location.

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 there’s no vegan cream cheese option. You can order the avocado toast, which is a bagel topped with smashed avocado and seasoning.

Panera

Panera doesn’t charge extra for almond 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), and Greek Salad (no feta). 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 its menu: vanilla almond iced coffee. The vegan food options are a little sparse but include avocado toast and bagels.

Grade C+: Good Drinks, Weak Food Menus

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

7Brew

The national chain offers oat, almond, and coconut milks at no extra charge. Stick with the regular syrups instead of sauces and always ask your barista to confirm what’s vegan. In the mood for something other than coffee? Grab a Fizz or an Energy Drink instead.

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, 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. Only select locations offer vegan-friendly chips, bars, hummus, and other quick bites.

Scooter’s Coffee

Scooter’s Coffee 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. Customize your iced drinks or cold brews with a vegan cold foam made in-house using oat, almond, or coconut milks.

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 and has limited vegan food options, which vary by location.

Bluestone Lane

International coffee chain Bluestone Lane has a few vegan drink options, but it charges extra for vegan milk. You can order a few dishes, including the avocado smash or the breakfast bowl; just ask for it without cheese or egg.

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 non-dairy milks for an additional charge. Vegan food options are limited but include a plain or “everything” bagel.

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.

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 an upcharge. It also offers dairy-free cold foam for an extra touch. It’s not the most exciting stop for vegans, but you can usually find something to pair with your coffee.

Grade D: Bare Minimum Vegan Options

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

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.

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.

Gloria Jean’s Coffee

Gloria Jean’s offers vegan milks, but there’s an upcharge. 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.

Illy

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

Jittery Joe’s

This Georgia-based chain offers oat 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.

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.

Coffee Beanery

This U.S. coffee chain offers soy milk, but the additional cost increases as you order a larger beverage.

Krispy Kreme

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

Manhattan Bagel

This U.S. coffee chain offers vegan milk options for an upcharge. 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 fee—and a vegan Brown Sugar Oat Milk Shaken Espresso.

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 Options

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 vegan milk upcharges. Every coffee shop that offers vegan milk at no extra charge helps set the industry standard. We’re asking the few remaining holdouts to join in and help keep 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 or social media pages 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.