A Guide to Choosing Plant-Based Milks

Betsy cow and Meredith calf at Farm Sanctuary

Photo credit: Connie Pugh

A Guide to Choosing Plant-Based Milks

Photo credit: Connie Pugh

Soy or coconut? Oat or cashew? How do I choose the right plant milk?

More and more people are choosing plant-based milks due to growing concerns over their health, the environment, and animal welfare. And as plant-based milk goes increasingly mainstream, it’s getting easier than ever to find soy, almond, hemp, and pea milk in both large chain stores and smaller neighborhood shops. (Data shows that, as of 2020, plant milk sales were up 20 percent from the year before and made up 15 percent of all dollar sales of retail milk!)

But how do you know which plant-based milk to choose? Which tastes better in coffee and which should you cook with? The truth is there is no “right” plant milk––a lot of it is up to your taste buds. That’s because each plant and each brand has something different to offer. You may have to do some experimentation to find out which you prefer to use in different situations––some people choose to keep a variety of plant milks on hand!

However, there are some key elements that can help you choose––particularly flavor and texture. Let’s explore some of the options out there!

The mainstay:

Soy Milk

Venus Goat enjoying a snack in a field at Farm Sanctuary

According to Harvard’s School of Public Health, soy protein is considered a complete protein rich in B vitamins, magnesium, and fiber. Soy milk has a nice, thicker body—thicker than, say, rice milk, but thinner than oat milk—and a more or less neutral flavor that lends itself well to both savory and sweet dishes.

Almond milks, by contrast, depending on the brand, can come off as chalky if they’re not done right. Soy is always a pretty safe bet if you’re not sure what plant milk to choose. And, thanks to its longstanding popularity, it’s almost always the most affordable.

Some things to watch out for: More than other milks like cashew or pea, some soy milk brands can have an artificial aftertaste due to additives and flavorings—and if you’re sensitive to that, it’s something to be aware of. As with all plant-based milks, there are significant differences between varieties and brands, so test to find one you really like.

Venus Goat enjoying a snack in a field at Farm Sanctuary

The new rock star:

Oat Milk

Charlie calf

If oat milk seems like a new thing, that’s because it wasn’t developed until the 1990s––and its popularity is still growing.

Oat milk is lovely for its thick, rich nature, which is perfect for a frothy cappuccino: a drink defined by its foam. (Use caution when getting it in your iced latte, however, as its very thick and viscous nature can mask the espresso itself. We prefer almond milk for this.) It’s also great for cream-based sauces, as its thickness reduces the need for other thickening agents like flour or cornstarch.

Unlike hemp milk or cashew milk, which are sweeter, oat milk has quite a neutral flavor that lends itself to savory and sweet uses. It still retains a little bit of sweetness that mimics the flavor of dairy milk.

Charlie calf

The coconut-y one:

Coconut Milk

Otto Lamb with food in his mouth

This can be confusing because there are two kinds: the one that comes from the can—super thick, usually with solid coconut cream, or fat, at the top—and the kind in a carton. Arguably, you could just thin one out to yield the other, but carton coconut milk is formulated specifically for adding to coffee and to use in cooking. This means that it has additives to give it a stable, uniform texture without clumps.

So how strong is the coconut flavor in a carton of coconut milk? It really varies by brand! You’ll also have to watch out if you’re sensitive to added flavors––some brands may be off-putting to some people. If you’re making a well-spiced dish that calls for just a bit of coconut milk, you can get away with using most brands without noticing an overt coconut flavor (say, a splash of it in a dhal makhani). However, using a strongly flavored coconut milk as the main ingredient in a cream-based dish like corn chowder, it may not be successful. Definitely try out a couple of different brands (and read online reviews!) to see which coconut milk might fit your recipe.

Otto Lamb with food in his mouth

The peanut (milk) gallery:

Other Plant-Based Milks You May Have Missed

Lenny and Freddie standing in the grass

Pea milk
High in protein and made from yellow peas, this milk has an earthier taste than its soy, oat, and hemp counterparts (more on hemp below). While the flavor is not detectable in smoothies or more complex sauces, those with a sensitive palate might not use it in an alfredo sauce where it would be the main star. It tends to be quite thick and rich, but this can vary by brand.

Cashew milk
Cashew milk is lovely and rich and absolutely luxurious. It’s usually a little more expensive, and so a bit of a splurge—but worth it to use in a smoothie with, say, farmer’s market strawberries, or to pour into a nice dark roast coffee. While you could choose to use it in savory dishes, we think the flavor profile is particularly well-suited for sweeter ones. One exception: due to its predictably nutty taste—subtle, but not overpowering—it’s actually great to use in small quantities in any recipe that might normally call for cashews, like queso or mac and cheese.

Hemp milk
Thick like oat milk and with a similarly neutral flavor—although arguably a bit sweeter—hemp is particularly well-suited to smoothies and desserts due to its flavor profile. However, if you were to use an unsweetened version in savory dishes, they’d come out well. And like cashew milk, it’s lovely to use as creamer in your coffee because of its viscosity and slight sweetness.

…And more!
Plant milks can be made from grains, pseudocereals (e.g. amaranth and quinoa), legumes, nuts, seeds, and fruit––which make the options seem endless. Depending where you live, rice, almond, or flax milk may be readily available. You can also make your own. If you travel, you’ll likely find other plant-based milks you’ve never considered!

Experts estimate that about 68% of the world is lactose intolerant.

The Lancet

Three Main Reasons to Choose Plant-Based Milks

Your Health
It’s estimated that 68% of the world is lactose intolerant. But because milk and cheese are so pervasive in the traditional American diet, it’s often difficult to tell unless you cut dairy out entirely and see the effects for yourself.

Even for those who don’t have a hard time digesting dairy, it has other proven health risks. According to the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, “Milk and other dairy products are the top sources of saturated fat in the American diet, contributing to heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and Alzheimer’s disease. Studies have also linked dairy to an increased risk of breast, ovarian, and prostate cancers.”

More than 3 million "spent" cows from the dairy industry are slaughtered each year in the United States.

The Environment
With more than nine billion animals raised and slaughtered for human consumption each year in the U.S. alone, modern animal agriculture puts an incredible strain on natural resources such as land, water, and fossil fuels.

In fact, producing a glass of dairy milk results in almost three times the greenhouse gas emissions than any type of plant milk. And yes, there are more water-intense plant milks––for example, a glass of almond milk requires 19.5 gallons of water and a glass of rice milk requires 14.3 gallons. However, it’s no comparison to dairy: “…both almond and rice milk still require less water to produce than the typical glass of dairy milk.”

The Animals
Contrary to the “happy cow” caricatures depicted in dairy industry advertising, these nurturing animals endure systematized suffering on factory farms. Cows used by the dairy industry are intensively confined, continually impregnated, and bred for high milk production with little concern for their well-being.

By definition, the dairy industry necessitates separating panicked calves from their mothers hours or days after birth. And like other mammals, a mother cow doesn’t make milk endlessly. To keep the cycle going, the industry impregnates her over and over, until her body is worn out. Then, she is sent to slaughter. In short, the milk industry IS the meat industry. Learn more.

The facts of the dairy industry are cruel, and the cycle will continue as long as we continue consuming dairy products. But it’s 2021 and the delicious alternatives are endless.

The Someone Project: Cows

A photo of caregiver Daniel Singleton laying with a cow.

The Someone Project is a Farm Sanctuary-sponsored research-based initiative documenting farm animal sentience through science. Download our white paper on cows titled Thinking Cows: A Review of Cognition, Emotion, and the Social Lives of Domestic Cows at the link below.

Download