The 6 Best Starbucks Drink And Food Pairings

Heading to Starbucks in the morning is a delicious pit stop, but that's not the only time of the day worthy of a visit to the coffee giant. What's more, there's plenty on the Starbucks menu beyond your morning brew. If you've never ventured beyond the Starbucks drink menu, you're missing some tasty bites. The items are heated up in the store rather than made with fresh, not frozen ingredients, and I've always found the options to be comparable in quality to other fast food chains.

Starbucks doesn't have defined meals or pairings, but there are plenty of ways to combine flavors to make your food or drink order even better. After all, a Starbucks drink is only made better with a buddy. I've created Starbucks beverage and breakfast sandwich pairings in the past, but the food offerings at Starbucks stretch even beyond breakfast sandwiches. A few of these food and drink pairings are great lunches, while others fall more into snack and sometimes breakfast territory.

You've no doubt heard of grilled cheese and tomato soup as a pairing, but grilled cheese and certain Frappuccinos are pretty phenomenal, too. Starbucks offers its crispy grilled cheese made with thick sourdough bread covered in a parmesan butter spread with a white cheddar and mozzarella melty middle. For pairing, I recommend a Caramel Ribbon Crunch Frappuccino, which is a coffee-based blended drink with dark caramel sauce, whipped cream, and crunchy bits of caramel topping.

The grilled cheese has a rich, carb-heavy feel, and the parmesan butter mixture has a hint of garlic; those who love something like a fettuccine Alfredo will just adore the sandwich. These rich flavors are comforting, saucy, and smooth, and make for a meal that hits all those sweet and salty flavors when paired with the Caramel Ribbon Crunch Frappuccino. Even though it's just a sandwich and drink, both are pretty decadent, so I found this was a heavy, though delicious, lunch.

A ham and Swiss, like a grilled cheese, is a classic lunch sandwich, and for those who want a caffeine boost, I love pairing it with a flat white. Starbucks' ham and Swiss sandwich comes on a toasted baguette with a Dijon butter spread. It has rich smoky flavors from the ham with a little pop from the Dijon. 

The flat white is a warm coffee drink made with whole milk and ristretto espresso. The sandwich's Swiss cheese helps balance out the flavors and works well with the smooth flat white sip. The milkiness doesn't hinder these flavors and offers a nice base instead. With the warm sandwich and drink, I love this pairing on a cold fall or winter afternoon.

When I worked at Starbucks, there was a mozzarella and tomato sandwich that I absolutely loved. Though that exact sandwich isn't around anymore, this tomato and mozzarella on focaccia is pretty similar. The focaccia is thick, bready, and slightly firm with a nice toasting. The mozzarella is plentiful, and that basil makes a fresh, delightful addition to the flavor. It's a fabulous summer lunch because it isn't too heavy in the heat, but is still delicious.

To drive home that fresh pairing, order an Iced Peach Green Tea Lemonade to drink. This shaken lemonade gets freshly brewed green tea, a peach juice blend, and lemonade. There's no additional sweetener, but it doesn't need it. Together, this is the ultimate summer pairing for a delicious, satisfying, bright meal.

One of my favorite Starbucks pastries is the iced lemon loaf with its lemon-flavored cake base and a tart and sweet icing. It's moist, and the frosting on top has a delightful texture because it's a little firm compared to the otherwise rather soft cake. Perhaps nothing goes better with the iced lemon loaf than a Passion Tango Tea Lemonade.

The Iced Passion Tango Tea Lemonade is an herbal tea, so it is caffeine-free. The mixture is basically freshly brewed Passion Tea, ice, and tart lemonade, all shaken together. Iced Passion Tango Tea at Starbucks has water in place of the lemonade, so this one has a much juicier and fruity flavor than the basic tea. I love this drink and how it pairs with the lemon loaf because both have a hearty burst of lemon. While other pairings I've selected would work well for lunch, this is more of an afternoon or early evening snack-type pairing. It reminds me of the type of refreshing drink and snack you would enjoy during an afternoon tea in the bright summer sunlight.

One of my absolute favorite drinks at Starbucks is the Iced Brown Sugar Oatmilk Shaken Espresso. This sweet, very espresso-forward drink is Starbucks' blonde espresso shaken with ice, brown sugar syrup, and cinnamon powder. To finish, baristas pour oat milk on top of the espresso mixture. Whenever I'm embarking on a road trip, it's my morning fuel of choice, so this drink will always mean excitement and eager anticipation of the journey ahead. There's no better breakfast pairing for this road trip drink than the bacon and Gruyère egg bites, which are a rich accompaniment to the shaken espresso. 

Prepared using the sous vide method, Starbucks egg bites are super soft and rich. Inside, the egg bite has bacon, Gruyère, and Monterey Jack cheese, which offer a rich and smoky flavor. It isn't a heavy food, so especially on a road trip, it's fulfilling and ideal on long drives. They're easy to eat (even in a car), so other than a napkin to wipe your fingers, there's no risk of a mess.

Sometimes, I love pairing food and drink based on vibes. In this vein, I pair together the potato, cheddar, and chive bakes and Iced Lavender Cream Oatmilk Matcha. With both offerings being so focused on herbal and floral plant goodness, the duo is delightfully refreshing and feels lively.

Like the egg bites, the potato, cheddar, and chive bakes are little hand-held egg bites that taste more like miniature casseroles. After one bite, you'll see the pieces of potatoes and the chives mixed throughout. The bakes lean into the savory, herby goodness, and the Iced Lavender Cream Oatmilk Matcha drink is more floral than anything. 

At its heart, the drink is a sweetened powder-based matcha latte made with oat milk and a lavender cream cold foam (also made with a powder, but in lavender form). Though the drink is made with oat milk, the lavender cold foam is made using vanilla sweet cream, thereby removing the plant-based draw of the drink. Together, the combination creates one of my favorite Starbucks lavender drinks.

To create these pairings, I scoured my experiences with both the Starbucks food offerings and the drinks. I considered complementary flavors, textures between the drinks and food, and, sometimes, the vibes of the items. Having personally tried each of these pairings, I can attest that they taste great together as delicious snacks, lunches, and pick-me-ups.