While moderate coffee consumption has health benefits, dairy is linked to several health risks, including an increased likelihood of prostate cancer, breast cancer, and diabetes. Fortunately, plant-based milk options—such as oat, almond, coconut, and soy—are widely available, and many coffee chains have even dropped the surcharge for nondairy alternatives.

Beyond beverages, plant-based food options are also on the rise. While fully whole-food, oil-free choices may be limited, those open to some processed options can find an expanding menu of vegan eats, like Peet’s JUST Egg sandwich.

Ready to explore the best plant-based options at your favorite coffee chains? Here’s a guide to what’s vegan at Starbucks, Au Bon Pain, Dunkin’, and more!

Starbucks

Vegan Menu Highlight: The Spicy Falafel Pocket, a new lunch menu item, is a flatbread wrapped around falafel, creamy hummus, roasted red bell peppers, pickled onions, and a spicy herb sauce, and it’s vegan by default; no modifications needed.
Locations: 40,199

Plant-Based Milk Options: Almond, coconut, oat, and soy milk

What to Know: Starbucks plain and everything bagels are vegan and oil-free. (Just be sure to order them without butter or cream cheese.)Beyond the bagels and the above-mentioned Spicy Falafel Pocket, Starbucks is constantly testing its plant-based food items, so the menu has a lot of turnover. That said, the Starbucks drink menu is overflowing with plant-based options. Nearly all specialty drinks can be made vegan upon request, and the drink menu also includes vegan-by-default options, such as the Iced Brown Sugar Oatmilk Shaken Espresso and Brown Sugar Oatmilk Cortado. (Be warned: These drinks are notoriously high in sugar—if you’d prefer to keep things lighter, opt for a drip coffee or an Americano and add your own plant-based milk and sweetener for better control over sugar content.)

Au Bon Pain

Vegan Menu Highlight: The signature Mediterranean Wrap can be made plant-based with one small request: Hold the feta. The wrap offers plenty of staying power without the cheese, featuring hummus, fresh avocado, kalamata olives, tomatoes, red bell peppers, cucumbers, romaine, field greens, and lemon vinaigrette in a whole wheat wrap.
Locations: 250+

Plant-Based Milk Options: Soy milk and almond milk

What to Know: Although the food menu is vegetarian-friendly, there’s a lot of dairy to watch out for at Au Bon Pain. For instance, the black bean burger is made with dairy products, However, many of the breads and soups are vegan. The 12-Veggies Soup is one to try. Additionally, you can grab any of your favorite lattes and mochas with plant-based milk.

Dunkin’

Vegan Menu Highlight: You can’t go wrong with the Avocado Toast—toasted sourdough slathered with a simple oil-free spread (avocado, sea salt, black pepper, and lemon juice) and sprinkled with everything bagel seasoning.

Locations: 9,748

Plant-Based Milk Options: Almond milk and oat milk

What to Know: Dunkin’s everything, plain, and sesame seed bagels are vegan and oil-free. Pro tip: Order the avocado spread for a creamy dairy-free bagel topping. (The avocado spread is oil-free, too.)

Peet’s Coffee

Vegan Menu Highlight: The Everything Plant-Based Sandwich is a standout veg option among all the chains. This sandwich takes the traditional breakfast sandwich and replaces each standard ingredient with a plant-based alternative, with Impossible Sausages stacked with fluffy JUST Egg and melty vegan cheddar.
Locations: 286

Plant-Based Milk Options: Oat milk, almond milk, or soy milk

What to Know: Peet’s Coffee has a rotating menu of specialty plant-based coffee drinks.

Blue Bottle Coffee

Vegan Menu Highlight: Blue Bottle has two notable options for vegan noshing: The Avocado Toast, which is served on multigrain bread and sprinkled with crushed red pepper, and the Chia Overnight Oats, which feature chia seeds, dried blueberries, sour cherries, pomegranate molasses, oats, and oat milk for a creamy grab-and-go breakfast.
Locations: 78

Plant-Based Milk Options: Almond and oat milk

What to Know: In July 2023, Blue Bottle made oat milk the company’s default across its locations in the United States. With this, it is de facto the most plant-based-friendly coffee chain on the market. So, stop by and show your support!

Pret a Manger

Menu Highlight: The Falafel & Hummus Wrap is a reliable go-to is packed with turmeric-spiced falafel, roasted red pepper hummus, cucumber, pickled cabbage and carrots, pickled jalapeño, and romaine in a 7-grain wrap.
Locations: 697

Plant-Based Milk Options: Soy milk, coconut milk, oat milk, and almond milk

What to Know: Pret a Manger’s U.S. locations are stacked with some of the industry’s best plant-based meals, including the Mediterranean Mezze Salad with Pret’s Simple Vinaigrette (which is essentially the above-mentioned falafel wrap deconstructed over young salad greens).

The post What’s Vegan at Starbucks, Dunkin’, and Other Popular Coffee Chains appeared first on Forks Over Knives.

Yelp’s in-house trend expert Tara Lewis suggests that plant-based restaurants’ shift toward whole foods is motivated by consumers’ two-fold desire to improve personal health and be kinder to the environment. “Sustainability and plant-based foods go hand-in-hand,” says Lewis, “and choosing to eat unprocessed foods is a mindful way for consumers to play their part.”

Top honors went to Lil’ Vegerie, in Redondo Beach, California. In addition to being vegan, gluten-free, and soy-free, the takeout restaurant has a strong whole-food focus. “We avoid processed ingredients every chance we get,” they state on their website.

Just 15 miles north, in Culver City, is Yelp’s No. 4–ranked vegan restaurant, Hey, Sunshine Kitchen, which also boasts a menu where vegetables, grains, and minimally processed ingredients are the focal point.

“Our bowls are the most popular menu item, specifically our Mediterranean Chickpea Bowl with Sunshine Rice,” says Heather Golden Ray, who co-founded the fast-casual restaurant with her sister, Jenny Engel, in 2023. Reviewers call the top-selling dish “delicious,” “flavorful,” and even “perfection.”

At smoothie bowl destination Boomchia in Montclair, New Jersey—No. 5 on the list—diners rave not just about the naturally sweetened acai and chia pudding bowls piled high with fresh fruit, ancient grains, and hemp seeds, but about the friendliness of the staff and the bright, clean atmosphere.

“Boomchia is a whole vibe,” says the cafe’s owner Josh Baek. “We’ve created a space where people can eat healthy without missing out on the fun or flavor. Our customers come in for the same excitement you’d expect from eating dessert, but they walk out feeling great, knowing they’ve had a meal packed with nutrients.”

Interest in Vegan Dining on the Rise

The rise in popularity of healthy plant-based foods tracks with Yelp’s annual food trend forecast, which suggested that foods prepared without animal ingredients would find a growing fan base in 2024.

To pinpoint dining trends, the Yelp team analyzes searches on their website and compares them to the previous year’s data. The latest analysis revealed a 12% increase in searches for “vegan food” in 2023 compared with 2022. “This data-driven approach allows us to uncover what users are loving and helps us predict what will continue to shape dining choices,” says Lewis.

Wondering if your favorite vegan restaurant made the cut? Check out the complete Yelp Top 100 Vegan Restaurants list here.

The post Yelp’s Top 100 Vegan Restaurants of 2024 Highlight Demand for Whole Food Options appeared first on Forks Over Knives.

Side Survival

“I skip to the ‘sides’ section of the menu and order three to six sides depending on whether I’m with my wife. We’ll get whatever is plant-based and healthy–carrots, potatoes, broccoli–and look for hidden sides on the menu, too. For example, we recently went to a restaurant and noticed that mushrooms accompanied the steak entree, so we asked the server to bring us a side of mushrooms. They were delicious!” —Shivam Joshi, MD, board-certified internal medicine physician at NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue and clinical assistant profession of medicine at NYU Grossman School of Medicine

Ask the Chef

“I’ve found that chefs welcome the chance to be creative in the kitchen to accommodate my palate and dietary preferences. I simply ask the chef to come up with something that features whole plant foods, skips added oil or incorporates it sparingly, and doesn’t have any added salt. Across every cuisine, an absolutely delicious dish can be created with whole grains, gorgeous vegetables, plump beans or hearty legumes, and herbs and spices. I’m rarely disappointed.” —Michael Greger, MD, author of How Not to Die and The How Not to Die Cookbook

Call Ahead

“Calling ahead makes your evening more enjoyable. You won’t have to worry about trying to explain your preferences to the waiter and holding things up for the others you are dining with. When there are limited options, I order a salad with as many toppings as possible – avocado, nuts, seeds, quinoa, chickpeas, sweet potato. I aim to add a starch and a protein to make the salad a complete meal. If I know that the add-ons will be very limited, I bring my own nuts and seeds to sprinkle on.” —Brenda Davis, registered dietitian and nutritionist, speaker, and co-author of Plant-Powered Protein

Go Global

“Try dining at restaurants with global flavors. Mexican, Thai, Indian, and Chinese restaurants tend to have plant-forward menus with lots of interesting flavors. Before going, it’s always helpful to look at the menu to give you a sense of what’s available so that you can be comfortable asking for special requests–like asking for veggies steamed with water instead of oil and brown rice instead of white. You don’t want to be in panic mode when the server is taking orders!” —Chef Katie Simmons, plant-based personal chef and creator of Plants-Rule

Customize Items and BYO

“I look at the menu and see if I can find something to satisfy my hunger, then I’ll ask to customize it. For example, I’ll order a side of corn tortillas to dip into salsa instead of fried chips, or a burrito—hold the chicken, cheese, and sour cream, and instead prepare it with black beans, rice, pico de gallo, steamed kale, guacamole, and caramelized onion. Sometimes I bring what I want, like a side of finely diced kale and homemade 3-2-1 salad dressing (3 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar + 2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard + 1 Tbsp. maple syrup).” —Rip Esselstyn, host of PLANTSTRONG podcast and author of The Engine 2 Diet and Plant-Strong

Know Your Go-To’s in Every Cuisine

“If I go to an Asian restaurant, steamed vegetables and brown rice with a little soy or hot sauce is enough for a flavorful meal–and often you can find steamed tofu, edamame, vegetable sushi or fresh vegetable rolls wrapped in rice paper. New York-style delis usually have vegan soups like lentil or pasta fagioli. Steakhouses always have baked potatoes, steamed vegetables, and salads, ordering the dressing on the side. Even many Wendy’s carry baked potatoes and steamed broccoli.” —Chef Darshana Thacker Wendel, author of Forks Over Knives: Flavor! and lead recipe contributor to the New York Times bestseller The Forks Over Knives Plan

Keep It Simple

“My go-to order is salad, sweet potato fries, or rice and beans.” —Torre Washington, all-natural vegan bodybuilder and coach

Pros Share Their Favorite WFPB-Friendly Restaurants

Check out these restaurants and vegan dishes that have won over the hearts of even the most refined WFPB palates.

Handlebar in Chicago

“Handlebar in Chicago blew my mind when I first went vegan. I love their Black Bean Tostadas, Green Meanie Sandwich, and the Black Bean Maduro is out of this world. Plus, when you’re craving vegan cake or oatmeal cookie, their desserts are the perfect treat. It’s still one of the places I’ll take my non-vegan friends for an awesome meal.” —Chef Katie Simmons, plant-based personal chef and creator of Plants-Rule

Love.life in Los Angeles

“Love.life is a new El Segundo restaurant with tons of delicious oil-free vegan dishes, including some salt-free, refined-sugar-free, and gluten-free options. It’s a must-visit for any WFPB eaters in the greater Los Angeles area.” —Courtney Davison, managing editor for Forks Over Knives

Star of Siam in Los Angeles

“Star of Siam in Los Angeles. They make vegan pho and we ask that they not put fried onions in it so that it is oil-free.” —Chef Darshana Thacker Wendel, author of Forks Over Knives: Flavor! and lead recipe contributor to the New York Times bestseller The Forks Over Knives Plan

Luanne’s Wild Ginger in New York City

“One of my favorite places to go after work in Manhattan is Luanne’s Wild Ginger on Broome Street in Little Italy. My favorite dish is the Malaysian Curry. It’s hearty, delicious, and healthy!” —Shivam Joshi, MD, board-certified internal medicine physician at NYC Health + Hospitals/Bellevue and clinical assistant profession of medicine at NYU Grossman School of Medicine

Casa de Luz in Austin

“My favorite dining-out spot is Casa De Luz, a local macrobiotic community in Austin. I’ve been going to it since 1991. It has the cleanest SOS (sugar, oil, salt)-free plant-based food in the country, it’s affordable, and the ambience is second to none. Every meal starts with the soup of the day, followed by a salad plate and the main course, a combination of grains, beans, and vegetables, with fermented veggies and a spectacular array of sauces.”

—Rip Esselstyn, host of PLANTSTRONG podcast and author of The Engine 2 Diet and Plant-Strong

Araya’s Place in Seattle

“My all-time favorite is Araya’s Place in Seattle with its all-you-care-to-eat Thai buffet that is—are you ready?—all plant-based! What do I eat there? Everything. A favorite is tom yum soup packed with steamed broccoli.” —Michael Greger, MD, author of How Not to Die and The How Not to Die Cookbook

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