Which Starbucks Items Are Gluten-Free?

Can you enjoy blended drinks at Starbucks? What about snacks?

starbucks gluten-free
Jane M. Anderson
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If you enjoy stopping at Starbucks, you probably don't want to quit your habit just because you've been diagnosed with celiac disease or non-celiac gluten sensitivity and are following a gluten-free diet. Below, find out which Starbucks products are gluten-free and which have gluten in them.

Overview

Good news: there are multiple drinks (including a few coffee drinks) and snacks you can enjoy when eating gluten-free at Starbucks.

However, it would be best to exercise caution when ordering most barista-crafted drinks since some ingredients used in those drinks may contain gluten.

Gluten-Free
  • Plain coffee, espresso, or tea

  • Unflavored latte or cappuccino

  • Most bottled drinks

  • Gluten-free marshmallow dream bar

  • Packaged snacks labeled gluten-free

Avoid
  • Flavored coffee, latte, cappuccino drinks

  • Green juices and smoothies that may contain wheat grass

  • Flavored tea

  • Bakery items

  • Packaged food items not labeled gluten-free

Starbucks Drinks

Here's a rundown of gluten-free items available at Starbucks.

Bottled drinks

Drinks contained in the refrigerator case are primarily gluten-free. Your gluten-free choices include:

  • Ethos bottled water
  • Fruit juices (Evolution brand and others)
  • Bottled Starbucks drinks, including Starbucks Frappuccino, Starbucks Doubleshot, and Starbucks Doubleshot Energy (PepsiCo makes these)

Watch out for "green" juice and smoothie blends in the refrigerator case, since they may contain wheatgrass as an ingredient. Always double-check the label's ingredients on everything before purchasing.

Blended Drinks

If you want a gluten-free coffee drink prepared by a Starbucks barista, stick with one of the following:

  • plain coffee
  • plain latte
  • plain cappuccino
  • plain espresso
  • plain flat white

Flavored coffee drinks at Starbucks can pose a problem for those who avoid gluten. According to the company's corporate customer service personnel, no drinks prepared at the stores are considered gluten-free due to the possibility of gluten cross-contamination from gluten-containing products and ingredients.

Flavorings

Many people have reported feeling the effects of gluten contamination by various flavored coffee treats from Starbucks. This includes the popular seasonal Pumpkin Spice Latte, which is not considered gluten-free, especially since Starbucks cannot guarantee that the drink does not contain trace gluten from cross-contamination. For that matter, it's safe to say that none of Starbucks' popular seasonal drinks are considered safe for the gluten-free diet.

You can run into trouble when you order some more interesting flavored hot and iced coffee drinks. Starbucks doesn't provide ingredient lists for its various syrups and other mixes used to create beverages such as the Pumpkin Spice Latte and Caramel Hot Chocolate, partly because ingredients can vary from store to store at different times.

There's some evidence that caramel is the problematic gluten-containing ingredient, but a Starbucks representative could neither confirm nor deny this.

Frappuccinos

There's also conflicting information on whether Starbucks' frappuccino mix contains gluten. Regardless, other ingredients (such as the java chips and some of the sprinkles) contain gluten, and the equipment to blend those drinks is not cleaned thoroughly in between uses to remove trace amounts of gluten.

Therefore, if you must have a frappuccino-style drink, stick with the bottled, gluten-free-labeled options from the cooler (all of which are manufactured by PepsiCo. for Starbucks).

Plain Drinks

However, those plain coffee drinks (espresso or brewed coffee) should be gluten-free to well below 20 parts per million. Most people will have good luck with plain milk-based beverages such as cappuccinos and lattes.

Dairy

If you avoid dairy, Starbucks' soy milk (the company's own house brand) is considered gluten-free to 20 parts per million, according to the baristas. Be aware that the baristas do use the same steaming wand to steam both soy and regular milk, so if you react badly to either, you may want to stick with plain coffee or espresso.

You can check ingredients lists at the individual stores for yourself (the baristas may know, although knowledge varies depending on whom you ask), and potentially order a drink that's free of gluten ingredients. Still, beware of the large potential for cross-contamination when ordering one of these drinks—many people have reported problems with them.

The bottom line: plain coffee or espresso-milk drinks may be okay, but blended and flavored drinks are risky.

Tea

If you're a hot tea drinker, Starbucks offers both plain and flavored teas. Some flavored teas may contain gluten, so your best bet is to order plain black or green tea. Because the same tongs are used to dispense all teabags at Starbucks, you risk some slight gluten cross-contamination by ordering tea there. You can ask the barista to use clean tongs to grab your teabag.

Starbucks' plain iced tea (black or green tea) is gluten-free.

Bakery Items

Starbucks offers its gluten-free marshmallow dream bar (usually found near the register). This treat is made by Starbucks' in-house bakery, which produces gluten-containing items.

According to a Starbucks representative, the gluten-free-labeled treats are produced in the same facility but "in separate rooms" to guard against cross-contamination during processing. The products should meet the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's minimum gluten-free standard of fewer than 20 parts per million of gluten.

Starbucks also offers Kind bars, which are prominently labeled gluten-free, and occasionally, individual Starbucks locations will feature gluten-free packaged cookies. However, beyond those few bakery items, it can be discouraging for those who follow the gluten-free diet to ogle the bakery case and know there's nothing in there for us.

Packaged Food Items

Most Starbucks branches do carry two or three additional packaged snack products that are labeled gluten-free. For example, some stores have Hippeas, a brand of crunchy chickpea puffs that are certified gluten-free, and some other labeled gluten-free chips.

In addition, some stores sell Justin's Peanut Butter Cups, certified gluten-free, and KIND Bars, which are gluten-free. You'll find these snacks right at the counter where you order.

Some Starbucks stores also carry Evolution brand snacks. Note that some of these—not all—are certified gluten-free; make sure you choose a package with the "GF" symbol displayed on the back. It would be best if you assumed those Evolution snacks that don't say "gluten-free" are not safe.

A Word From Verywell

If you're hungry and just looking for a quick snack, you should be able to find one at Starbucks, especially those that carry the marshmallow dream bar (which seems to be most of them). As for drinks, you can order an unflavored coffee or stick with an unflavored bottled option.

Starbucks does not fully cater to the growing gluten-free community. This may change—but as of now, you need to be careful of what you order at Starbucks.

1 Source
Verywell Fit uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
  1. National Celiac Association. Is tea gluten-free?

Additional Reading

By Jane Anderson
Jane Anderson is a medical journalist and an expert in celiac disease, gluten sensitivity, and the gluten-free diet.