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Almond milk is one of the most popular non-dairy alternatives on the market. It’s affordable, has a mild taste and is widely available in most grocery stores. Yet choosing which brand to buy can be confusing. With the help of the Simple Green Smoothies Team, we shopped and blind taste-tested all the almond milk brands we could find online and in grocery stores.
Best Almond Milk Brands Results
In our very own rawkstar report, you can see how almond milk brands stack up when tested side by side. We focused on unsweetened and unflavored varieties, which I recommend using all the time. We rated them based on the quality of ingredients, taste (and texture) and sustainable packaging.
Elmhurst Milked Almonds
Thrive Market Organic Almond Beverage
Silk Almond Organic
Silk Almond Unsweetened
365 Organic Original Almondmilk
Three Trees Organic Original Almondmilk
Simply Almond Original
Good & Gather Original Almond (refrigerated)
Sprouts Organic Almondmilk Original
Great Value Almondmilk Original
Pacific Foods Organic Almond
Blue Diamond Almond Breeze Almondmilk Original
Califia Farms Almondmilk
ALDI’s Friendly Farms Almond Original Almondmilk
Publix Original Almond Milk
Trader Joe’s Almond Beverage Original
Kirkland’s Almond Milk
Good & Gather Original Almond (shelf-stable)
Factors To Determine the Best Brands
As you’ll see from the ratings above, almond milk is not all the same. Many brands add fillers, gum, fortify with vitamins, and alter taste with “natural flavors” to modify the true flavor.
Always read labels when shopping; you never know what you’ll get if you don’t. The best quality you will ever find is homemade almond milk. Yet if that’s not a possibility for you, then let this list be your guide to getting the very best brand.
High-Quality Ingredients
Just because the branding looks clean, attractive and healthy, it doesn’t mean the ingredients tell the same story. While we know taste and texture are huge buying factors, we also compared ingredient lists to give our best recommendations:
Taste + Texture
Blind taste-testing was a game-changer when it came to comparing the taste of a variety of milk. Some were gritty, others were smooth. Some had a bitter taste. Others had a smooth sweetness. We took all this into account when rating each brand.
- Silk Almond Unsweetened
- Friendly Farms Original Unsweetened Almond
- Good & Gather Original Almond, refrigerated
Silk Unsweetened Almond was the top-tasting winner hands down (and the only was to get a “green pass” for its taste score). Overall, we realized that every brand of store bought almond beverage isn’t that tasty, especially when you compare it to oat milk or coconut milk.
Eco-Conscious Packaging
Eco-friendly packaging also gave certain brands a boost. If a brand used recyclable materials or had B-Corp status then they got bonus points.
- Elmhurst Milked Almonds
- Silk Almond Organic + Silk Almond Unsweetened
- Thrive Market Organic Almond Beverage
Where to Buy Almond Milk
Erin spent a day driving around Tampa Bay, so that she could buy every brand available. She purchased every almond beverage brand available at Costco, Whole Foods, Sprouts, Trader Joe’s, Walmart, Target, Aldi, Publix, The Fresh Market, and NutritionSmart. We also purchased online from Thrive Market and Amazon to get everything we could. You can pretty much find it in every grocery store in 2024.
- Elmhurst Milked Almonds: Publix, Amazon, Elmhurst.com, Wegman’s, Thrive Market, Whole Foods, etc.
- Thrive Market Almond: ThriveMarket.com is the online grocery story loved by many, including myself. They make their products at an affordable price too.
Health Benefits of Almond Milk
Almond milk has exploded on the market in recent years. Consumers are buying more plant-based products and grocery stores are listening. Dairy also happens to be one of the most common food sensitivities, which makes this milk, oat milk and coconut milk great options. Whether you choose to buy one of the best brands above or make homemade almond milk, you can enjoy some wonderful health benefits.
If you’re concerned with almond milk production with regard to water use and pesticide use then check out my reviews for Oat Milk Brands and Coconut Milk Brands.
Here’s how one cup of almond milk stacks up to one cup of dairy:
Unsweetened Almond Milk (on average)
- 50 calories
- 2 grams of carbs
- 35% daily Vitamin E
- 35% daily Calcium (manufacturers enrich most almond milks to compete with dairy milk)
Low Fat Dairy Milk (on average)
- 103 calories
- 12 grams of carbs (mostly sugar)
- 28% daily Calcium
How to Use Almond Milk
We love using almond beverages as a recipe base to create a creamy, protein-enriched meal, so here are a few of our favorites:
- Chocolate Banana Protein Smoothie: an ultra creamy, filling shake to drink before or after a workout.
- Maple Cauliflower Smoothie Bowl: a delightfully sweet smoothie bowl recipe.
- Spiced Almond Drink: my go-to bedtime beverage to help stabilize blood sugar.
- Chocolate Fiber Smoothie Cubes: an easy blender bomb recipe to add to smoothies for extra fiber.
- Almond Milk Smoothie: a nutty smoothie with berries that is super filling.
Almond Milk Brands FAQs
The healthiest almond milks on the market are the ones with the most limited ingredient list. There are several brands that contain just almonds and water without any extra gums or fillers. Make sure to always read the nutrition label so you know exactly what ingredients are in your preferred brand.
As with any food, you can have too much of a good thing! Almond milk is not a great source of protein and can be filled with lots of gums and other additives to help with the flavor and texture. In recent years, the public has been made increasingly aware of the farming and processing practices of almonds and there has been much discussion and debate on the amount of water and pesticides used. If this is a concern for you, definitely do your homework to determine which milk brand most closely aligns with your beliefs.
Based on our blind review of over 20 brands, we determined that Silk Almond Unsweetened milk is the best tasting one on the market. It might not have the most quality ingredient list yet we all gave it highest marks for flavor and texture.
Leave a comment letting us know if this report was helpful and if there are any almond milk brands we can test next! We’re here to do the work for you, and then give you the inside scoop. If your favorite isn’t listed, then we’d love to know which brand you think has the best-tasting milk because we want to try it, too!
Can you list where the different brands can be found?
This is where we shopped (some stores carried multiple brands so you can get more of them there): Costco (Silk), Whole Foods (365, Malk, So Delicious), Sprouts, Trader Joes, Walmart (almond Breeze, Great Value), Target (Good & Gather), Aldi (Friendly Farms), Publix (Calafia, Elmhurst, Silk, Almond Breeze)
Thanks for this. I’m surprised you didn’t include Thrive Market.
You’re welcome, Brett! Glad you found this helpful. Jen loves Thrive Market but I believe she didn’t include it since it’s an online store and she was focusing on the brick and mortar grocery stores in her area. She did mention the possibility of doing a similar review for all the shelf-stable almond milks and I think the products that can be purchased online would fall into that category. So stay tuned!
I found Califia Farms to be the best tasting, in my opinion, out of all the almond milks I’ve tried. I love that you guys did a blind taste test and I’m excited to try the Elmhurst brand.
Thanks for weighing in, Sommer! Glad you enjoyed this report. If you can’t find Elmhurst at your local grocery store, you can actually order it online (it doesn’t have to be refrigerated, even though they sell it in the refrigerated section). Come back and let us know what you think of Elmhurst after you give it a try!
Very much appreciate your research. Will now read labels even more carefully, eg I did not know the difference between the gums. Some of the tested brands are not available in Toronto, but I have seen So delicious (we enjoy the coconut milk beverage) and have actually bought 365.
Thanks, Dieta, glad this could help you! Are there any not on this list that you’ve tried in Canada? Once you give some new ones a try, come back and let us know what you think of them.
So I can assume that the dark green leaf is the best but can you break down the other colors so I have an easier time comparing.
Ellen, of course! Here’s the rating system (from highest rating to lowest): dark green, light green, yellow, orange, red.
Thanks for this study. Always nice to have an unbiased opinion. Would love to see this for the shelf stable brands as well.
Suzanne, glad you found this helpful! Thanks for your feedback, we hope to do more of these so I’ll make sure to pass on your comment to the entire Rawkstar Team!
I love Simple Green Smoothies and I have followed you for a long time so I say this with love, but why leave out the protein when comparing to milk? I do think it’s an important distinction. Milk has a good amount of protein while almond milk has next to none, so it’s not necessarily a perfect replacement if you’re looking to have that extra protein.
Michelle, that is a good point but if we’re talking about smoothies specifically, we prefer to use fruits and veggies with higher protein content (e.g., avocado, kiwi, spinach) as well as plant-based protein powders, so the protein content of our liquid base is less important. We believe dairy can do more harm than good, which is why we prefer to always reach for a plant-based milk over cow’s milk.
I was shocked that my brand ranked so poorly. I use Almond Breeze but def will try out your top three suggestions. Great share.
I felt the same about my preferred brand, Trader Joe’s. So glad you found this article helpful! After you try out some new ones, come back and let us know what you think of them.
This is such a helpful article!!! Thank you so much for putting it together! I’ve always loved New Barn Almond milk but I can’t find it in my Whole Foods anymore so I switched to the So delicious almond with cashew milk. Now I’m so curious about Elmhurst! Thanks again!
Thanks, Kavli! So glad you found the article helpful. Once you give it a try, let us know what you think of Elmhurst!
What a giganticWASTE OF TIME! Not all these brands are available me nation wide. For my money, Silk is the best because taste is number one. Unless you have lived on another planet, these nut juices have been around long enough for people to know what the want.
Hi Paula! So sorry you feel this way. Jen did clarify that they searched grocery stores near her hometown of Central Florida (so she’s aware not all almond milks on her list may be available to folks in other areas). However, many of them are! We understand that everyone has their own preferences and if Silk is the one for you, then it’s great you know that! The truth is, there are many people who are new to plant-based milks. There are even folks who have been drinking almond milk for years but who are open to learning more and trying new brands to see if they like another one better. I’m actually one of those people, so they do exist! We hope to do more reports like this and hopefully we’ll be able to expand where we can pull products from for the testing. Until then, rawk on!
Hey SGS team,
I think this was a winner. I appreciate the side by side comparison. I have many of these options readily available, but often wonder if it really makes a difference in taste. I typically buy the Kirkland brand organic unsweetened vanilla flavor. While you did not have it in the mix of taste testing, your reviews gave me things to look for on the label.
I’d love to see you do this with coconut milk or maybe frozen fruits?
Thanks for sharing this good info!
Pam, we’re glad we could help you! Thank you for your feedback, this was our first Rawkstar Report and Simple Green Smoothiesopes to do more so I’ll pass on your suggestions!
Hey Pam! I was always curious if there would really be a difference in taste. When we did the blind taste test it was SUPER obvious and kinda blew us away at how different they could all be. I think coconut milk sounds like a good one to do too! Thanks for the suggestion.
Excellent Article thank you!
I’m glad you enjoyed it! We had fun doing the research. 🙂
Appreciate the review. I like to make my own almond milk but sometimes need a quick fix (haven’t soaked the almonds yet…). Thanks for doing my homework for me
I hear ya— nothing beats homemade. I just got an Almond Cow and did a demo of it on YouTube and it’s been amazing at making homemade almond milk in just minutes. You might like that as an option too. Here’s the demo if you wanna watch it:
Thank you so much for doing this! It was very eye opening for sure. I try to eat at clean as I can so now I am going to check my label of the one I use. I am in Michigan and the brand I use (Simple Truth) wasn’t on your list. I am going to see if I can find the Elmhurst in my area.
Simple Truth is a Kroger brand, I believe and we don’t have it down here in Florida. Wish we did! I would be curious how the taste + texture compares to the list. You’ll have to try Elmhurst and compare it to Simple Truth and let me know!
Can you buy Elmhurst Almond Milk in Colorado? Where did you buy the Elmhurst and the So Delicious Organic Almond Milk? Thank you. Great blog post!!
You can order Elmhurst online too through their website ). Yet you can also prob find it at Whole Foods. They sell it at my local grocery store, which is called Publix. You might find it at yours. I feel like Colorado will have it (and so much more!).
I used to buy Califia Farms exclusively, but I found their quality control has gone down the tubes. I switched to oat milk in a different brand that’s how bad I found it to be. I’m interested to see how Elmhurst is, if I can find it.
Hey Beth— I was buying Califia too and it was crazy to realize it compared with the others with this taste test. You can order Emnlhurst online too (It doesn’t have to be refrigerated, even though they sell it in the refrigerated section).
Beth, let us know what you think after you try Elmhurst!