Does Starbucks Have Oat Milk? (& Is it Their Best Option?)

Last Updated on May 1, 2023 by brewthatcoffee

Your morning cup of Joe is non-negotiable for your mental health, but if you’re trying to stay healthy, lactose intolerant, or vegan, you might prefer it with oat milk.

Does Starbucks Have Oat Milk? (& Is it Their Best Option?)

Whatever your morning fix, it has to be just right to help you face the day ahead. So will Starbucks get it right? Does Starbucks have oat milk to give you that perfect fix?

Starbucks offers several milk alternatives, including oat milk. The range of drinks made with this dairy alternative is extensive. Even those drinks with recipes not requiring oat milk can use it as a substitute. Oat milk is a healthy milk alternative suitable for nearly all Starbucks drinks.

Many people are choosing a plant-based diet these days. Some want to be more environmentally responsible, some may have dairy allergies, and others may be vegan.

Oat milk is a very popular dairy alternative. Thank goodness the world (and Starbucks) has started creating beautiful drinks with milk substitutes, especially oat milk!

Which Brand Of Oat Milk Does Starbucks Use?

Does Starbucks Have Oat Milk? (& Is it Their Best Option?)
Oatly Oat Milk Barista Edition

It’s not only trendily healthy to use dairy alternatives in coffees and other delicious drinks but also good for business. Starbucks caught this barreling wave and offers a host of dairy alternatives, including oat milk.

The oat milk brand that Starbucks uses is Oatly oat milk, specifically the Barista Edition.

Why Does Starbucks Use Oatly Barista Edition?

Oatly manufactures several oat milk drinks, but the Barista Edition is perfectly suited to a plethora of coffee shop drinks. Unsurprisingly, it consists of liquid oats, as does regular oat milk, but the Barista edition has some advantages for specialty drinks.

It’s not very heavy or too sweet and is a great health option. But its primary benefit is its foamability. Froth is something any coffee shop worth its salt (or milk, in this case) cannot do without.

The Barista Edition is the superior version of the original oat milk for Starbucks’ purposes. It’s super creamy and froths beautifully, qualities that influence the taste and aesthetics.

Is Starbucks Oat Milk Natural?

Oatly Barista Edition is not organic and contains additives, although the company stresses that they only use permitted substances. The Barista Edition adds expeller-pressed rapeseed (canola) oil to the liquefied oats to give the drink a rich milk-type feel in the mouth.

Oatly also adds an acidifying agent, dipotassium phosphate, to its Barista Edition oat milk. This water-soluble inorganic compound boosts the coffee’s low pH and ensures that the oat milk doesn’t curdle or separate when added to hot drinks.

The Oatly Barista Edition also contains Vitamin D2, a vegan-friendly Vitamin D additive.

Is Oatly Barista Edition Sweetened?

Oatly doesn’t add sugar or artificial sweeteners to its oat drinks. During the manufacturing process, enzymes are added, which convert the oat starch into simple sugars, chiefly maltose. So, while they don’t add extra sweetening, the broken-down starch is sometimes considered “added sugars.”

Is Starbucks Oat Milk Gluten-Free?

In the USA, Oatly drinks are made with oats certified as gluten-free and labeled as such. But the products made in Asia and Europe contain a tiny amount of gluten. Consequently, the company does not classify those as gluten-free.

Starbucks Barista Edition Vs. Regular Oatly Milk

The regular oat drink does not contain the acidifying agent added to the Barista Edition. The fat content in the Barista version is also slightly higher than in the standard oat drinks.

Oatly also produces two chilled oat drinks, each with a different fat percentage. They contain the acidifying agent but lack the creamy, foamy qualities.

Starbucks Barista Edition Vs. Other Non-Dairy Milks

How does oat milk compare to other dairy alternatives? Their nutritional values can be seen in the chart below. The following values apply to one cup of milk.

NutrientOatly BaristaAlmond (unsweetened)CoconutSoy
Calories14040568127
Fat7g3.58 g52.4 g4.7 g
Saturated0.5g0.275 g46.51 g0.571 g
Trans Fat0000
Cholesterol0000
Total Carb16g1.4 g24.72 g12.08 g
Dietary Fiber2g0.8 g6.5 g3.2 g
Soluble Fiber1g   
Total Sugar7g0.34 g18.2 g1.22 g
Protein31.51 g7.96 g10.98 g
Vitamin D3.6 mcg001 mcg
Vitamin A160 mcg0076 mcg
Vitamin B121.2 mcg000
Potassium390 mg52 mg299 mg304 mg
Calcium350 mg22 mg3 mg93 mg
Riboflavin0.6 mg000
Iron0.3 mg0.3 mg1.51 mg2.7 mg
Phosphorus270 mg000
Starbucks Barista Edition Vs. Other Non-Dairy Milks (Calories, Fat, Cholesterol, Carbs, Fiber, Sugar, Protein, Vitamins & Minerals)

Starbucks Barista Edition Vs. Dairy Milk

Starbucks offers several milk options, including dairy milk. 2%  is the automatic milk used unless the customer asks for another option. The nutritional information comparison between Oatly Barista and dairy milk can be seen below. Values are for one cup.

NutrientOatly BaristaWhole Milk2%Non-Fat
Calories14014912079
Fat7g8 g5 g0
Saturated0.5g4.992 g3 g 
Trans Fat0   
Cholesterol036 mg19 mg4.8 mg
Total Carb16g12 g12 g12 g
Dietary Fiber2g000
Soluble Fiber1g000
Total Sugar7g12 g12 g12 g
Protein38 g88 g
Vitamin D3.6 mcg000
Vitamin A160 mcg000
Vitamin B121.2 mcg000
Potassium390 mg389 mg389 mg389 mg
Calcium350 mg300 mg300 mg300 mg
Riboflavin0.6 mg000
Iron0.3 mg000
Phosphorus270 mg000
Starbucks Barista Edition Vs. Dairy Milk (Calories, Fat, Cholesterol, Carbs, Fiber, Sugar, Protein, Vitamins & Minerals)

Starbucks Oat Milk Drinks

Deciding on a favorite oat milk drink is almost impossible if you’re basing it simply on the taste. Still, if we have to single out one, the Oat Milk Cocoa Macchiato has a lot going for it when you’re crazy about coffee and chocolate. It contains one shot of espresso, giving 75 mg of caffeine, 6 g of sugar, and roughly 270 calories.

Starbucks offers many different oat milk drinks, but you can also ask for an oat milk substitute with many other items on the menu. These are some of the best oat milk drinks on the Starbucks menu:

  • Carmamel Oat Milk Frappuccino
  • Honey Oat Milk Latte
  • Oat Milk Cocoa Macchiato
  • Oat Milk Chai Tea Latte
  • Longdon Fog Latte with Oat Milk
  • Honey and Hazelnut Oat Latte
  • Java Chip Frappuccino with Oat Milk
  • Iced Flat White with Oat Milk
  • Iced Americano with Oat Milk
  • Iced Vanilla Latte with Oat Milk
  • Iced Brown Sugar Oat Milk Shaken Espresso
  • Iced Toasted Vanilla Oat Milk Shaken Espresso
  • Iced White Blonde Mocha with Oat Milk
  • Dark Cocoa and Orange Oat Latte
  • Strawberry and Vanilla Oat Latte
  • Caramelized Macadamia Oat Latte

Starbucks Oat Milk FAQs

Oat milk is a relatively new addition to the Starbucks menu (a couple of years), so read on if you have a few questions.

Yes, you should be able to order your drink with oat milk at all Starbucks outlets. However, if you’re ordering online, you may not always be able to select oat milk from the menu.

Starbucks, USA, charges $0.70 extra for oat milk substitutes, but the stores in the UK have dropped the surcharge. The plant-based milks are more expensive, hence the higher prices.

Oatly Barista Edition is creamy and foams well. It is ever-so-slightly sweet but doesn’t overpower the taste of the coffee. Oat milk is also the most sustainable of the plant-based milk alternatives.

If you’re a budding barista or want to try your hand at making Starbucks coffees with oat milk at home, you’re in luck! Oatly Barista Edition is available at Target, Walmart, and several other grocery stores.

Conclusion

Oat milk is here to stay, and Starbucks has it well-entrenched in its menu. It may not be the healthiest choice because almond milk has fewer calories, and oat milk has higher sugar content.

But don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater and go without milk altogether. Oat milk is still a better ethical choice than dairy when you need your Starbucks fix for the day.


Resources:

https://stories.starbucks.com/emea/stories/2022/top-3-things-to-know-about-starbucks-new-oat-latte-platform/

https://www.oatly.com/stuff-we-make/oat-drink/oat-drink-barista-edition-1l

https://www.nutritionvalue.org/Whole_milk_by_Borden_Dairy_Company_420353_nutritional_value.html#:~:text=Whole%20milk%20by%20Borden%20Dairy%20Company%20contains%20149%20calories%20per,the%20rest%20is%20complex%20carbohydrate

https://www.fatsecret.com/calories-nutrition/usda/coconut-milk-or-cream-(liquid-canned)?portionid=35347&portionamount=1.000

https://www.fatsecret.com/calories-nutrition/usda/soy-milk?portionid=37706&portionamount=1.000

https://www.fatsecret.com/calories-nutrition/generic/milk-almond?portionid=342497&portionamount=1.000&frc=True

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