Vegan and Dairy Free Boba: A Toppings Guide

Boba is the biggest dessert category in Orange County by a mile, and it is one of the hardest to order from if you are dairy free. Half the menu is milk based, the toppings are unlabeled, and the person at the counter is usually slammed. Here is the guide, starting with the question people ask most.

What is pudding in boba?

When a boba menu offers pudding as a topping, it almost always means egg pudding, a soft custard made from egg, milk and sugar, cut into cubes. Some shops call it milk pudding or custard pudding. It is the same thing.

So no, it is not vegan, and it is not dairy free. It is also not coconut pudding, even though the names collide. If you are avoiding dairy or eggs, pudding is the topping to skip.

Which boba toppings are actually vegan

Usually safe

Tapioca pearls (boba). Tapioca starch, water and brown sugar. Plant based.
Grass jelly. Made from a mint family plant, set with starch. Plant based.
Aiyu jelly. Set from fig seeds. Plant based.
Coconut jelly (nata de coco). Fermented coconut water. Plant based, and one of the few coconut items on a boba menu that genuinely is coconut.
Aloe, red bean, taro balls, crystal boba, popping boba. Generally plant based, though popping boba varies by supplier.

Usually not

Pudding. Egg and milk custard.
Cheese foam and milk foam. Cream cheese and dairy cream.
Creama or milk cap. Same idea.
Ice cream toppings. Obviously.

The trap nobody mentions

Swapping to oat or almond milk does not always make the drink dairy free. Taro, matcha and Thai tea are frequently mixed from a powder or a syrup that already contains milk solids or non dairy creamer, and non dairy creamer often contains sodium caseinate, which is a milk protein. Ask whether the flavor base itself is dairy free, not just the milk.

Two questions that cover everything

Is the flavor base a powder or a syrup, and does it contain milk?
Is this topping set with gelatin or agar?

Those two answers get you through almost any boba menu in Orange County.

Where to drink boba in Orange County

The two densest clusters are Diamond Jamboree in Irvine and the plazas along Brookhurst through Garden Grove and Westminster. Costa Mesa, Fountain Valley, Fullerton, Tustin and Anaheim all have their own strips. Most shops will do an oat or coconut milk swap if you ask.

Several tea shops also keep KOKONUT coconut pudding in the fridge, so you can pick up an actual dairy free dessert with the drink. Check the store locator for which ones.

The coconut pudding difference

If you like coconut jelly in your boba, our jars are the full size version of that idea. Coconut water and coconut milk set with agar agar rather than gelatin, so the texture is bouncy and clean. Nine flavors, including the boba shop classics done without dairy: taro from real steamed root, ceremonial grade matcha, black sesame, and Vietnamese coffee made with coconut instead of condensed milk.

Shop bundles or browse all nine flavors.

Questions people ask

Is boba vegan?

The tapioca pearls are. The drink often is not, because most milk teas use dairy or a creamer containing milk protein.

Is coconut jelly boba vegan?

Yes. Coconut jelly, or nata de coco, is fermented coconut water and contains no animal products.

Is egg pudding in boba vegetarian?

Vegetarian yes, vegan no. It contains egg and milk.

What is the best dairy free boba order?

A fruit tea or a plain brewed tea with tapioca, grass jelly or coconut jelly, and no cheese foam. That combination is dairy free at almost every shop.