By Jeanne Yacoubou, MS

Announced in July 2017, Starbucks adds a Vegan Lentils & Vegetables Protein Bowl with Brown Rice to its year-round menu in select San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, New York City, and Washington, D.C. locations. See:
https://news.starbucks.com/facts/whats-new-at-starbucks-this-summer

The bowl features black lentils and brown rice along with butternut squash, kale, broccoli, cabbage, beets, peas and green onion along with roasted tomatoes, red bell pepper and sunflower seeds. It is served with lemon-tahini dressing.

Starbucks new menu item replaces the Hearty Veggie & Brown Rice Salad Bowl.
Nutrition and ingredient information about this entrée appear on Starbucks’ website: https://www.starbucks.com/menu/food/bistro-boxes/lentils-vegetable-protein-bowl-with-brown-rice

Ingredients:
cooked brown rice (water, brown rice, olive oil [refined olive oil, extra-virgin olive oil]), black lentils (water, black lentils), lemon tahini dressing (water, sesame seeds, extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice concentrate, reduced sodium tamari soy sauce [water, soybeans, salt], parsley, agave syrup, toasted sesame oil, cilantro, salt, garlic, paprika, natural flavor), kale, broccoli, butternut squash (squash, olive oil [refined olive oil, extra-virgin olive oil]), beets, cabbage, peas, roasted tomato (tomatoes, canola oil, garlic, vinegar, salt, spices), roasted sunflower seeds (roasted sunflower seeds, [sunflower, canola or cottonseed oil], salt), roasted red bell pepper, green onion.

A Starbucks spokesperson replied by email to a few additional questions The Vegetarian Resource Group had.

The VRG: Is there any added sugar?
Starbucks: The dressing has one gram of added sugar in the form of agave syrup.

The VRG: Can you confirm that the natural flavors in the lemon-tahini dressing are not sourced from animal-derived ingredients?
Starbucks: We can confirm the flavor is not from animal-derived ingredients.

The VRG: Are this bowl and all of its ingredients prepared away from all meats?
Starbucks: Our salads and sandwiches are prepared in a manner that prevents cross contact with other menu items.

The contents of this posting, our website, and our other publications, including Vegetarian Journal, are not intended to provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health professional. We often depend on product and ingredient information from company statements. It is impossible to be 100% sure about a statement, info can change, people have different views, and mistakes can be made. Please use your best judgment about whether a product is suitable for you. To be sure, do further research or confirmation on your own.

For information about vegetarian and vegan restaurants, visit
http://www.vrg.org/restaurant/index.php

For more information about chain restaurants, visit
http://www.vrg.org/fastfoodinfo.php