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Once upon a time the idea of plant-based milk seemed actually alternative. If you were lactose intolerant or followed a vegan diet, you could purchase a smattering of alt-milk options made with soy, rice, almond, or coconut—with the cult of oat milk led by Oatly soon to follow. Today, walking down the aisle at your local supermarket, you’ll sometimes find more space devoted to dairy-free milk alternatives than cow’s milk. The veteran actors have persisted, but they’ve been joined by milks made from practically every nut, seed, grain, legume, and vegetable imaginable (yes, there’s a company called Dug Drinks that makes potato milk).
There are recipes dedicated to making your own at home and appliances to help you do so. There are coffee shops that have stopped charging extra for oat milk and ones like Matchaful that make all their alternative milks in house. In 2023 there was $2.9 billion in sales of plant-based milk (according to the Good Food Institute’s State of the Industry Report) and nearly 80% of US households reported repeat purchases of milk alternatives in retail last year.
But do the newer plant-based milks (or mylks, if you must) really improve upon the almond milk we’ve been drinking for years? I spent six months tasting a range of options, including milks made from pistachios, buckwheat, cashews, and sunflower seeds. I sought out unsweetened versions with short ingredient lists, trying to determine which boxes and bottles tasted the best, frothed well into a latte, and made for a pleasant base for my morning chia pudding.
While I could probably spend a year or more testing all the other milks out there—there’s flax milk from Good Karma, pea milk from Ripple, sesame milk from Hope and Sesame, and even banana milk from Mooala—here’s what I’ve learned so far, and the wide-ranging handful of alternative milks that I’m actually excited to buy again.
Hazelnut
Verdict: If there’s one word to describe Elmhurst’s alternative milks, it’s creamy. Their hazelnut milk, made up of just filtered water and hazelnuts, is luxuriously toasty and rich in flavor and voluminous in texture. It might just be the best-frothing non-dairy milk out there. It’s excellent in hot chocolate (you might think you’re drinking pure liquid Nutella) and equally delightful in oatmeal, chia pudding, or your morning coffee. Of all the alternative milks in Elmhurst’s sizable portfolio, the hazelnut milk is my favorite.
Ingredients: Filtered water, hazelnuts
Nutrition: One cup serving has 90 calories, 1 g sugar, and 2 g protein.
Verdict: It’s worth having Hazelicious in your fridge for its adorable packaging, which features a smiling hazelnut on the front. It doesn’t hurt that their hazelnut milk also has a buttery flavor with a hint of sweetness; it brings a lovely nuttiness to your morning oatmeal or caffeinated beverage. It also froths really well. The brand uses dry-farmed hazelnuts sourced from Turkey, the home of their family farm, to produce their milks (available in unsweetened and lightly sweetened) and nut butters.
Ingredients: Filtered water, hazelnuts, less than 1% of gum acacia, gellan gum, salt
Nutrition: One cup serving has 80 calories, less than 1 g of sugar, and 2 g protein.
Pistachio
Verdict: Táche’s pistachio milk is so indulgent-feeling that it landed itself in our nut-lovers gift guide last year; I’d more than happily accept a case as a present at any time of year. The minimalist pastel carton screams luxury and so do the taste and texture—it’s creamy, both savory and sweet, and froths like a champ. This is for the coffee-drinker who prefers to taste the flavor of their milk. Commerce editor Carina Finn says: “I hate the way most alt-milk tastes in coffee, but Táche is the one exception. It makes the most velvety, luscious latte foam, and is my go-to for any kind of iced beverage." It’s also great in overnight oats, hot chocolate, and French toast. The brand also offers a thicker-textured barista line meant for coffee drinks, as well as vanilla-flavored and slightly sweet varieties, plus a new ready-to-drink pistachio milk latte.
Ingredients: Filtered water, pistachios, less than 2% of gum acacia, gellan gum, dipotassium phosphate, calcium carbonate, natural flavor, tricalcium phosphate, sea salt
Nutrition: One cup serving has 50 calories, less than 1 g sugar, and 2 g protein.
Verdict: Three Trees claims they use four times the nuts of other brands—and that tastes true. While the flavor is predominantly of pistachio, this alt-milk gets a nutty boost from the inclusion of almonds and almond extract in addition to the pistachios. It’s beautifully light green in color, creamy, and froths very well. It’s also a bit thicker and higher in protein than the other alternative milks I tried. A little goes a long way with this product; it’s especially good for baking, and for adding to hot chocolate and chai. The brand also makes almond, oat, and black sesame milk.
Ingredients: Filtered water, organic pistachios, organic almonds, organic almond extract, pink Himalayan salt
Nutrition: One cup serving has 100 calories, 1 g sugar, and 4 g protein.
Cashew
Verdict: While Forager’s cashew milk technically has oats too, it’s definitely worth trying. Unlike some brands that dabble in a few different dairy-free base ingredients, Forager goes all in on cashews in products like yogurt, creamers, and sour cream. Their unsweetened cashew milk has no added gums or sugars. It’s creamy (the oats certainly help here), with a subtle sweetness, and it froths quite well. Because the flavor is on the more neutral side, it works well in lots of applications—even cooking and baking.
Ingredients: Organic cashews, oats, salt, filtered water
Nutrition: One cup serving has 90 calories, 2 g sugar, and 3 g protein.
Verdict: Malk has a cult following that faithfully stands behind its simple philosophy of no fillers, no gums, and no added flavors. Their newest alternative milk is made with over a cup of organic cold-pressed cashews plus organic almonds in each bottle. It’s creamy, smooth, and slightly sweet-tasting. Like Forager’s version, Malk’s cashew milk has a pretty neutral flavor—making it well-suited for smoothies, cereal, and lattes—-and I slightly prefer it because of its use of almonds over oats in addition to the cashews.
Ingredients: Filtered water, organic cashews, Himalayan pink salt, organic almonds
Nutrition: One cup serving has 90 calories, less than 1 g of sugar, and 3 g protein.
Macadamia
Verdict: Milkadamia offers a range of macadamia milks; while the unsweetened version is on the thinner side, it has a lovely natural sweetness and pretty neutral flavor. It’s great in smoothies and lattes. The brand just launched an Organic Artisan Macadamia Milk with just filtered water, macadamias, organic agave nectar, organic citrus fiber, and sea salt—meaning it lacks added gums, natural flavors, and pea protein—I’m excited to try that next.
Ingredients: Macadamia milk (filtered water, macadamias), calcium phosphate, guar gum, natural flavors, pea protein, sunflower lecithin, sea salt gellan gum, zinc sulfate, vitamin A acetate, vitamin D2, riboflavin (B2), vitamin B12
Nutrition: One cup serving has 45 calories, 0 g sugar, and 1 g protein.
Buckwheat
Verdict: I can’t get enough buckwheat and while I’m more than acquainted with snacks, teas, and noodles, I was shocked to hear that I could have buckwheat milk. Bam’s buckwheat milk is made from both organic buckwheat and organic coconut cream. The light brown milk is nutty, creamy, and high in protein thanks to the nutrient-dense buckwheat seed. It’s definitely on the sweeter side, so it’s best in drinks or rice (or chia) pudding where you’re looking for a touch of sugar.
Ingredients: Organic buckwheat base (water, organic buckwheat), organic coconut cream, regenerative organic cane sugar, organic acacia, sea salt
Nutrition: One cup serving has 130 calories, 2 g sugar, and 4 g protein.
Sunflower
Verdict: I associate sunflower seed-based products with shockingly bitter allergy-friendly nut butters that made me sad in elementary school, but I was pleasantly surprised by this sunflower seed milk. It’s greige in color, but boasts a slightly sweet sunflower seed taste and froths pretty well.
Ingredients: Sunflower milk (filtered water, organic sunflower seeds), 2% or less of natural flavor, calcium carbonate, vitamin D2, riboflavin, vitamin B12, sunflower lecithin, dipotassium phosphate, sea salt, gellan gum
Nutrition: One cup serving has 50 calories, 0 g sugar, and 2 g protein.
Walnut
Verdict: You have to love walnuts to love walnut milk. This alt-milk is light brown in color and has a nice roasted flavor, but there’s definitely the same slightly bitter aftertaste that comes with eating a handful of walnuts. For this reason, it’s best in your go-to caffeinated beverage or morning oatmeal rather than as a dairy-free alternative in a baking recipe. The brand also makes a Maple Walnut Barista Edition which is pretty much an autumn beverage dream.
Ingredients: Filtered water, walnuts
Nutrition: One cup serving has 120 calories, 0 g sugar, and 3 g protein.
Pecan
Verdict: Pecans rank pretty high in the nuts hall of fame, mostly thanks to pecan pie. This Pkn’s pecan milk is light brown in color, has a subtle pecan taste, and goes great in coffee or dirty chai. We noted that it wasn’t as thick or creamy as some of the other alternative milks, and some separation occurred, requiring you to shake well before using.
Ingredients: Pecans, salt, vanilla extract, water
Nutrition: One cup serving has 90 calories, 0 g sugar, and 1 g protein.