Best Vegan Milk - How They Compare

If you follow a non-dairy diet you have probably wondered, “What is the best vegan milk?” There are tons of different plant milks out there and many of them have been popular for years. However, there’s probably more now than ever and many more brands providing these dairy-free plant based milks!

I love that more brands are providing dairy-free milk options for those that have dairy allergies or are lactose intolerant. I’m all about providing safe food options for those that need them! But with so many different options out there it’s hard to know which one is best.

I’m going to go through 5 different allergy-friendly milks you have probably used at home and judge them on 8 different criteria, as well as go through the nutrition content of each one.

Keep in mind that your best plant milk might not be someone else’s best plant milk. We all have different dietary needs and preferences but hopefully this information will help you make the decision about which is the best vegan milk for you and your family!

*Disclaimer* I am not a nutritionist. I have written this article based my own research and personal experience. I link articles from professionals at the end of this post if you would like to read more.

The contestants are:

Almond milk
Soy milk
Flax milk
Oat milk
Coconut milk

Nutrition Content of the Best Vegan Milks

The nutrition content of different plant milks vay quite a bit. Some have more calcium, some have less. Some are high in protein, and some are quite low.

Looking at the nutrition content is really important when deciding which choice is the best vegan milk for you and your family!

The best one might be different for different people. For example, the best vegan milk for a toddler is probably going to be one that is low in sugar and has a high fat content since fat is essential for brain development in those early years.

Soy Milk

Nutrition per cup of unsweetened soy milk

Calories: 80 calories
Protein: 7 grams
Carbs: 4 grams
Fat: 4 grams
Sugar: 1 gram
Calcium: 30% DV
Vitamin D: 15% DV

Flax Milk

Nutrition per cup of unsweetened flax milk

Calories: 70 calories
Protein: 8 grams
Carbs: 2 grams
Fat: 3.5 grams
Sugar: 0 grams
Calcium: 30% DV
Vitamin D: 25% DV

Almond Milk

Nutrition per cup of unsweetened almond milk

Calories: 30 calories
Protein: 1 gram
Carbs: 1 gram
Fat: 2.5 grams
Sugar: 0 grams
Calcium: 35% DV
Vitamin D: 15% DV

Oat Milk

Nutrition per cup of unsweetened oat milk

Calories: 100 calories
Protein: 2 grams
Carbs: 9 grams
Fat: 7 grams
Sugar: 4 grams
Calcium: 25% DV
Vitamin D: 20% DV

Coconut Milk

Nutrition per cup of unsweetened coconut milk

Calories: 40 calories
Protein: 0 grams
Carbs: 1 gram
Fat: 4 grams
Sugar: 0 grams
Calcium: 35% DV
Vitamin D: 10% DV

The Criteria for the Best Vegan Milk

To help you decide which milk alternative is best for you I have judged these 5 plant milks on 8 different criteria. They are:

Protein Content
Fat Content (important for toddlers and young children)
Calcium Content
Sugar Content
Top 8 Allergen Free
Neutral Flavor for Cooking
Best Tasting
Creaminess

I chose these categories as I felt they were the most important factors for most people – myself included!

Ready to see which plant milk wins?

Protein Content

Winner: Flax Milk (8 grams)

Runner Up: Soy Milk (7 grams)

Loser: Coconut Milk (0) grams

Fat Content

Winner: Oat Milk (7 grams)

Runner Up: Soy milk (4 grams) and Coconut Milk (4 grams)

Loser: Almond Milk (2.5 grams)

Calcium Content

Winner: Almond Milk (35% DV) and Coconut Milk (35% DV)

Runner Up: Soy Milk (30% DV) and Flax Milk (30% DV)

Loser: Oat Milk (25% DV)

Sugar Content

Winner: Coconut (0 grams), Almond (0 grams), and Flax Milk (0 grams)

Runner Up: Soy Milk (1 gram)

Loser: Oat Milk (4 grams)

Allergy-Friendly (Top 8 Allergen Free)

Winners: Flax Milk and Oat Milk

Runner Up: Coconut Milk

Losers: Almond Milk and Soy Milk

To determine the winners for this category I chose the milks that were top 8 allergen free and were also not another common food allergen. Coconut milk is technically top 8 free as coconut is not a tree nut – however, coconut is still a common food allergy, which landed it in the runner up spot. Almond milk and soy milk are not top 8 allergen free.

Most Neutral Flavor for Cooking

Winner: Almond Milk

Runner Up: Soy Milk

Loser: Oat Milk and Coconut Milk

Best Tasting

Winner: Almond Milk

Loser: Coconut Milk

Taste is very subjective so obviously this category is by far the most subjective of the 8! I asked my followers on Instagram which plant milk they thought was the best tasting, and which they thought was the worst tasting. The answers were all over the place!

Oat milk was the most common answer for best tasting but it was also the most common answer for worst tasting. The responses for those who said it was the worst tasting said it was “too strong” or “way too sweet.”

Soy milk was another common response for both best tasting and worst tasting. Flax milk was never mentioned for either.

Determining a winner and a loser for this category was tough! I eventually decided to award almond milk as the winner since it was the only response for best tasting that wasn’t also ever named as worst tasting.

Coconut milk wasn’t the most frequent response for worst tasting, but it wasn’t ever named as best tasting either, so it became our loser for this category.

Creaminess

Winner: Coconut Milk (lowest water content)

Loser: Almond Milk (highest water content)

Best Vegan Milk Overall

Once again, this completely depends on the individual and what is important to you! For me, the best overall is flax milk. This is because it is high in protein, fat, and calcium while at the same time it’s low in sugar and allergy-friendly. However it’s not my favorite milk to cook with. Almond milk is because if almond milk’s neutral flavor.

I actually buy two different kinds of non-dairy milk each week: Flax milk (or soy) and almond milk. I use them for different things and using both these kinds together meets all of our needs! If you can’t decide on just one milk then use two!

How To Chose the Best One For You

As I mentioned earlier, the best milk option for you may not be the best option for someone else. Determine what your needs are. Is a top 8 allergen free milk important or necessary to you? Do you need a milk that is high in fat because you have young children? Do you want something high in protein to help you meet your daily protein needs?

Figure out what your needs are and what is most important to you. For example, the most important things in a dairy-free milk to me are:

Low in sugar
High in protein
Mild in taste

This is why I buy two different kinds. The flax milk or soy milk (depending on which one I can find at the store that week) are low in sugar and high in protein. I use these choices to help my family and I get our protein (and calcium and vitamin D!) in for the day. Almond milk is low in sugar and mild in taste so it’s my choice for cooking. If I needed a milk to be nut-free then I would probably choose soy milk to cook with.

If you know what factors are important to you then you should easily be able to determine the best choice for you based on the nutritional comparisons in this post!

Recipes with Plant Milk

I have many recipes on my blog that use plant milk. If you are interested in any of these recipes, please check out my Recipe Index.

Some of my favorites are:

To stay up to date on all my dairy-free recipes follow me on Pinterest and Instagram or subscribe below to get all these recipes sent straight to your inbox!

Want to Learn More?

Want to learn what the experts are saying about which milk is best? Check out the articles below!

Allergy a la Mode

Best Vegan Milk – How They Compare