Vegan Milk: 15 Common Plant-Based Milk Alternatives

Q: What is the best vegan milk for the environment?

In general, greenhouse gas emissions , water use, and land use in the vegan milk industry are lower than those in the dairy milk industry. The milk with the lowest overall climate impact is oat milk since it has a low amount of emissions, land use, and water use. Almond milk has low emissions and land use but high water use. Soy milk has low land use and water use but slightly higher emissions.

Formerly relegated to specialty grocers and health food stores as a milk alternative, vegan milk varieties are now commonplace.

With about 20 different vegan milk to choose from, there are options to suit everyone’s different tastes. Some milk works better for some purposes than others, and each has its health benefits. Read on to learn about the many vegan milk options on the market and how you can enjoy them.

Types of Vegan Milk

The most popular types of vegan milk are:

Soy milk
Almond milk
Coconut milk
Rice milk
Oat milk

But we’re also seeing lots of other variations grow in popularity, like:

Cashew milk
Macadamia milk
Hemp milk
Quinoa milk
Flax milk
Pea Protein milk
Banana milk
Sunflower milk
Peanut milk
Hazelnut milk

What Is Vegan Milk?

While animal-based milk comes from animals, vegan milk comes from plant-based sources. They are a popular choice for those who eat a plant-based diet, want to eat healthy in other ways, or want to help the environment. Vegan milk can be made from a variety of different types of plants:

Grains: barley, fonio, maize, millet, oat, rice, rye, sorghum, teff, triticale, spelt, wheat
Pseudocereals: amaranth, buckwheat, quinoa
Legumes: lupin, pea, peanut, soy
Nuts: almond, brazil, cashew, hazelnut, macadamia, pecan, pistachio, walnut
Seeds: chia seed, flax seed, hemp seed, pumpkin seed, sesame seed, sunflower seed
Fruits: coconut, banana
Tubers: potato, tiger nut

Why Choose Vegan Milk?

There are many reasons you may choose vegan milk over animal-based milk. For example, some vegan milk drinkers are vegan or trying to consume a more plant-based diet.

Other people may drink vegan milk if they are lactose-intolerant or avoid dairy for other health reasons. Some vegan milk drinkers prefer the taste of plant-based milk compared to animal-based milk.

Vegan Milk Often Has Less Sugar Than Animal Milk

You can get sweetened and unsweetened varieties of vegan milk, and if you choose unsweetened varieties, you can cut down on your sugar consumption.

Cow milk usually has around 15 grams of sugar per cup. Pea milk, almond milk, and soy milk typically have zero or one gram of sugar. The vegan milk with the most sugar includes rice milk with 10 grams per cup and coconut milk with seven grams.

If You Have Digestive Issues, Vegan Milk May Be a Good Choice

You do not have to be lactose intolerant to have digestive issues after drinking cow milk. Luckily, plant-based milk is usually gentle on the stomach.

Rice milk, soy milk, almond milk, flax milk, and coconut milk are all great choices if you have digestive problems.

In Some Cases, Vegan Milk Has More Calcium Than Animal Milk

Since cow milk is known for its calcium content, those switching to vegan milk worry they will not be able to get the same amount of calcium. However, many vegan milks are fortified with calcium.

Soy milk, almond milk, coconut milk, and pea milk can all have 45% of your daily value of calcium. In comparison, cow milk usually only has 30% of your daily value of calcium.

Avoid Hormones Like IGF-1 With Vegan Milk

One big reason people choose to avoid cow milk is that the hormones in the milk can increase insulin and trigger Insulin-like Growth Factor- (IGF-1).

An increase in this hormone can lead to several issues, including cancer, acne, diabetes, and other health problems. However, since vegan milk does not contain this or other hormones, you do not have to worry about this issue with any vegan milk.

Drink Fewer Calories When You Switch To Vegan Milk

Vegan milk is an ideal choice if you want a low-calorie alternative to cow milk. While cow milk has around 100 calories per cup, almond milk, coconut milk, soy milk, and pea milk all have between 30 and 80 calories per cup.

There are a few types of vegan milk with more calories, including oat milk and rice milk.

Best Vegan Milks By Category

What is the best-tasting vegan milk?

The best-tasting vegan milk can vary somewhat depending on your tastes. However, a few kinds of milk are often thought of as tasting the best. Rice milk and oat milk are two of the best-tasting vegan milk. Neither has too strong a flavor, and they both provide some creaminess. Rice milk often has a slight sweetness, while oat milk is popular for those transitioning away from animal milk.

What is the best vegan milk for coffee & lattes?

The best vegan milk for coffee and lattes are usually creamy. There are also some vegan creamers you can choose from for your coffee needs. As far as regular plant-based milk, oat milk, coconut milk, and soy milk are some of the best options for coffee.

What is the best vegan milk for cereal?

Good cereal milk will be creamy and complimentary to the flavor of the cereal. Oat milk and Soy milk are some of the best basic options for vegan milk to pair with cereal. Honorable mentions include hazelnut milk and almond milk. You can also get vanilla or chocolate versions of this plant-based milk.

What is the best vegan milk for baking?

When determining the best vegan milk for baking, you want to consider the role milk usually serves in most baked goods. Milk provides protein, fiber, and fat to baked goods. Changing animal milk out for vegan milk should not affect the structure or taste of your baked goods too much. Soy milk is usually the best option for baking, thanks to its protein content. Lightly sweetened almond milk and coconut milk are also great for baked goods.

What is the best vegan milk for smoothies?

The vast majority of vegan milk works well in smoothies. The right choice for you will likely come down to your preferred flavor and nutritional goals. Coconut milk provides great flavor to a smoothie, while pea protein milk provides a hefty dose of protein.

What is the best vegan milk for the environment?

In general, greenhouse gas emissions, water use, and land use in the vegan milk industry are lower than those in the dairy milk industry. The milk with the lowest overall climate impact is oat milk since it has a low amount of emissions, land use, and water use. Almond milk has low emissions and land use but high water use. Soy milk has low land use and water use but slightly higher emissions.

What is the best vegan milk for weight loss?

When looking for foods that aid in weight loss, look for vegan milk that is low in calories. Depending on your overall diet, you may also want to take fat and protein content into account. Almond milk and cashew milk usually have the smallest amount of calories.

What is the best vegan milk for kids & toddlers?

When introducing your child to vegan milk, start with soy or pea milk. Oat can also be an option, but it provides less protein. Avoid any nut-based milk, such as almond, cashew, or hazelnut milk, since children can be sensitive to nuts at an early age. It is always essential to consult a doctor about your child’s dietary needs.

What is the lowest sugar vegan milk?

The sugar content of vegan milk can vary a lot by brand. However, you can generally expect a low level of sugar from soy, hemp, and almond milk. When trying to avoid sugar, stick to plain vegan milk rather than choosing flavored varieties.

What is the lowest-calorie vegan milk?

The lowest-calorie vegan milk is almond milk since it contains 30 calories per glass. The vegan milk with the next-lowest amount of calories is coconut milk which has 45 calories per cup. Sometimes exact caloric content can vary by brand.

What is the highest protein vegan milk?

Pea milk usually has the most protein of all vegan milk since it has eight grams per cup, which is the same amount a cup of low-fat cow milk has. Soy milk comes close with at least seven grams of protein per cup. Honorable mentions include oat milk and hemp milk which have around four grams of protein.

Which vegan milk is most similar to cow’s milk?

In terms of nutritional value, soy milk and pea milk are the most similar to cow milk. These vegan milk both have comparable protein levels with significantly less fat and carbohydrates. Oat milk often tastes most similar to cow’s milk.

Common Types of Vegan Milk

While there are around 20 types of vegan milk, a few varieties are the most popular. These are the kinds of milk you can most easily find in grocery stores and cafes. The ingredients are also readily available to make your version of these kinds of milk.

Almond Milk

Almond milk is made by blending almonds and water and straining.

Nutritional Value: Per cup, almond milk has around 30 calories, no sugar, one gram of protein, 160 milligrams of potassium, 45% of your daily value of calcium, and 25% of your daily value of vitamin D.
Taste/Texture Profile: Almond milk does have a slight taste of almond and nuttiness. The texture is more watery than cow milk, but it is fairly creamy compared to other vegan milk.
Best Used For: A great all-purpose vegan option, almond milk works well in cereal, tea, and baked goods.
Environmental Impact: While almond milk production is known to require a fair amount of water, “almond and rice milk still require less water to produce than the typical glass of dairy milk” (BBC News, 2019).
DIY Recipe: Downshiftology Youtube Channel / How To Make Almond Milk

Soy Milk

Soy milk is made by soaking soybeans in water, removing the skins, then blending and straining.

Nutritional Value: Soy milk has a lot of protein, with at least seven grams of protein in a cup of milk. It also has 80 calories, four carbohydrates, one gram of sugar, 45% of your daily value of calcium, and four grams of fat.
Taste/Texture Profile: Soy milk is popular due to its smooth and creamy texture and slightly sweet flavor. Occasionally, this milk can be somewhat grainy.
Best Used For: Soy milk is another great multipurpose vegan milk. It is a common creamer, baking ingredient, with cereal, in sauces, and curries.
Environmental Impact: “Legumes, which include soybeans, are a crop that emits some of the lowest amounts of carbon dioxide.” (King Arthur Baking, 2022)
DIY Recipe: Mary’s Test Kitchen / How To Make Soy Milk Easily At Home (with just 2 ingredients) for drinking AND for making tofu

Oat Milk

Oat milk is made by blending oats and water and then straining.

Nutritional Value: Oat milk has 130 calories, 24 carbohydrates, five grams of sugar, four grams of protein, and 35% of your daily value of calcium per cup. A big benefit of oat milk is its high level of potassium, with 95 milligrams per cup.
Taste/Texture Profile: Oat milk has a smooth texture and a fairly neutral flavor.
Best Used For: Oat milk is a multi-faceted vegan milk that does well as a creamer, in soups, baked goods, and smoothies.
Environmental Impact: “Oat milk gets high marks for its relatively low emissions, land use, and water usage, even when compared to other plant-based milk.” (King Arthur Baking, 2022)
DIY Recipe: The Green Creator / HOW TO MAKE OAT MILK – not slimy

Coconut Milk

Coconut milk is made by mixing shredded coconut with warm water and then straining it.

Nutritional Value: Coconut milk is one of the lower-calorie options, with 45 calories per cup. Each cup also has 40 grams of potassium, seven grams of sugar, four grams of fat, no protein, and one gram of carbohydrates.
Taste/Texture Profile: People value coconut milk due to its cow milk-like consistency. The flavor can be on the sweeter side with a hint of nuttiness.
Best Used For: Since coconut milk is rather sweet, it is a good addition to sweet items. Popular applications include vegan creamers, baking, dips, curries, smoothies, and in cocktails.
Environmental Impact: “Coconuts’ emissions and water usage remain low… As coconut milk’s popularity grows, it has ripple effects on the supply chain.” (King Arthur Baking, 2022)
DIY Recipe

Cashew Milk

Cashew milk is made by soaking the nuts and blending them.

Nutritional Value: Cashew milk has between 25 and 160 calories per cup, depending on if you buy or make your milk. A cup of cashew milk also has between one and nine grams of carbohydrates, up to five grams of protein, between two and 14 grams of fat, up to a gram of fiber, and between 2% and 10% of the daily value of iron.
Taste/Texture Profile: Cashew milk is one of the creamiest vegan milks you can make or buy. It has an earthy, slightly sweet flavor.
Best Used For: Thanks to its creamy texture, cashew milk is a popular coffee and tea creamer and a great ingredient in soups. It is also a popular ingredient in vegan cheese-making.
Environmental Impact: “Ultimately, cashew milk is a greener option than almond milk, but make sure you purchase only varieties that are organic and Fairtrade.”
DIY Recipe

Rice Milk

Rice milk is made by pressing rice in a grinding mill, filtering, and blending.

Nutritional Value: Rice milk has around 120 calories, 23 grams of carbohydrates, 10 grams of sugar, one gram of protein, 2.5 grams of fat, and 35 milligrams of potassium.
Taste/Texture Profile: Rice milk has a fairly neutral flavor, with some slight natural sweetness. The texture is on the thinner side of vegan milk.
Best Used For: Rice milk is a solid all-purpose vegan milk, especially for those with allergies to soy or nuts. It does well in smoothies, cereal, and baking.
Environmental Impact: “Rice milk is also comparatively thirsty, requiring 54 litres of water per glass.”
DIY Recipe

black magnifying glass on white and brown marble table

Vegan Milk Powders

You can make vegan milk powders by placing vegan milk in a dehydrator or an oven at a low temperature.

Nutritional Value: The nutritional value of a vegan milk powder will vary depending on the milk from which the powder is derived. Nutrition in the powder will be very similar to the nutrition in the milk it is made from.
Taste/Texture Profile: The texture of this powder is quite similar to cow milk powder. The taste of vegan milk powder is similar to whatever root milk it comes from. However, the flavor is slightly concentrated.
Best Used For: Vegan milk powders are useful in certain baked goods and beverages, such as smoothies.
Environmental Impact: The environmental impact of a vegan milk powder will be similar to the original vegan milk it comes from.
DIY Recipe

Less Common Types of Vegan Milk

Beyond the most common varieties, there are several types of vegan milk you can try.

Hemp Milk

Hemp milk is a vegan milk ideal for those who want a nut-free option. It has a light and nutty flavor and comes from hemp seeds.

yellow banana fruit on brown wooden table

Banana Milk

Banana milk (not to be confused with banana-flavored dairy milk) comes from blended bananas and water. This beverage is creamy and slightly sweet, and it has plenty of potassium and other health benefits.

green round fruits in close up photography

Pea Milk

The high-protein pea milk is a creamy beverage without any soy, nuts, or other allergens. It is also quite low in sugar and carbohydrates compared to other vegan milk.

Flax Milk

Derived from ground flaxseed meal, flax milk is slightly nutty-tasting milk. It has plenty of omega-3 fatty acids and many vitamins, including vitamins A, B12, and D.

Hazelnut Milk

This nutty and slightly sweet milk is creamy and great as a creamer or in baked goods. It has around three grams of protein and only one gram of carbohydrates per cup.

Macadamia Nut Milk

Macadamia nut milk comes from macadamia nuts. The texture is quite milky, and the taste is slightly sweet and nutty. This milk is a good choice for a ketogenic diet.

Spelt Milk

There is no need to cry over spilt milk with the number of vitamins, minerals, and dietary fiber you can get from this milk.

Popular Vegan Milk Brands

While you can easily make your own vegan milk, there are several brands you should consider if you are looking for the convenience of purchasing your vegan milk. Some of these brands offer several types of plant-based milk, while others focus on one specific variety.

Almond Breeze

Almond Breeze is Blue Diamond’s almond milk brand. It offers almond milk creamer, almond milk yogurt, shelf-stable almond milk, and other almond milk products. This brand avoids artificial flavors and strives for sustainable practices.

Oatly

Oatley is one of the leading oat milk brands. The company sells chilled oat milk and shelf-stable oat milk, as well as ice cream. The oat milk from this company is Non-GMO Project Verified.

Califia

Califa offers many vegan milk varieties and similar products, including creamers, coffee, juice, and more. Those products include plant-based milk made from almonds, oats, coconut, and blends.

Ripple

Ripple offers plant-based milk and similar products made from pea protein, sunflower oil, cane sugar, and additional vitamins and minerals. It also offers an oat milk beverage.

Rice Dream

Rice Dream is Dream’s rice-based beverage. In addition to Rice Dream, this company offers oat, soy, and coconut products. Rice Dream is USDA organic and has no GMOs.

Pacific Foods

Pacific Foods offers several plant-based food products, including several plant-based milks. These milks include almond, cashew, coconut, hemp, oat, and soy. These products are USDA organic and without GMOs.

Silk

Though Silk is primarily known for its soy milk, the company also offers almond, oat, coconut, and cashew milk. It also has several vegan milk-based products, such as yogurts and creamers. These products do not contain GMOs.

Planet Oat

Planet Oat offers desserts, creamers, and plant-based milk. Oat milk comes in many flavors, including original, vanilla, extra creamy, chocolate, unsweetened, and shelf stable.

SO Delicious

SO Delicious offers many plant-based products, including coconut milk and Wondermilk. Wondermilk comes from a blend of oat milk, coconut milk, coconut oil, and many vitamins and minerals.

Good Karma

Good Karma offers flax milk and Plantmilk. Plantmilk is made from a blend of oats, flax, and peas. These milks come in several flavors. The company also sells other products, such as sour cream, dips, and creamers.

Milkadamia

Milkadamia is a company that offers many macadamia-based milks and a buttery spread. This company prioritizes regenerative farming practices.

Elmherst

Elmherst offers plant milk, creamers, and other dairy-free products. The non-GMO milk includes almonds, cashews, oats, walnuts, and hazelnuts.

Mooala

Mooala produces USDA organic plant-based milk. These kinds of milk include banana milk, coconut oat milk, almond milk, and oat-based products. It also offers Keto Mylk, which contains coconut cream, pea protein, and coconut oil.

Frequently Asked Questions About Vegan Milk

What are the most popular types of vegan milk?

There are many types of vegan milk, but the most popular ones are soy milk, almond milk, and coconut milk. Soy milk is made from soybeans and is a higher protein option. Almond milk is made from almonds and is a good all-around option that is high in calcium. Coconut milk is made from coconuts and is a good choice for higher fat.

Which vegan milk matches my dietary choices best?

There are many types of vegan milk on the market, and it can be confusing to choose the right one for the dietary restrictions you’re following. Here are some things to consider when choosing vegan milk:

Do you want a dairy-free milk? If so, almond milk, cashew milk, and hemp milk are all good options.
Do you have a nut allergy? If so, soy milk, rice milk, and oat milk are all safe options.
Do you want a low-calorie option? If so, skimmed soy milk or unsweetened almond milk are good choices.
Do you want a high-protein option? If so, choose soy milk or quinoa milk.

Can vegan milk replace cow’s milk in recipes?

Most recipes that call for milk will turn out fine if you use a vegan milk option instead. Vegan milk can also be used in baking or to make creamy soups and sauces. Each type of vegan milk has a slightly different flavor and consistency, so it’s important to choose the right one for your recipe.

Soy milk is a good choice for baking because it has a neutral flavor and thick consistency.
Almond milk is a good choice for drinking because it’s light and refreshing.
Coconut milk is a good choice for making creamy soups and sauces because it has a rich, creamy texture.
Rice milk is a good choice for people with allergies or sensitivities to soy, nuts, or dairy because it’s hypoallergenic.

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