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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!
Many thanks for the Rawkstar Report on best almond milk!! I look forward to future research!!
You’re welcome! Glad you found it helpful!
Love the picture!! Great job. I hope you will do an analysis of shelf stable boxed almond milk. I was totally into boxed milks until I realized that the refrigerated cartons were a much better buy — more for less cost — even in the same brand. Buying boxed milks allowed me to go to the store less often. Now we live across the street from the grocery store and I can walk over and get some more milk, but I still like to have extra supplies in my pantry.
Thanks for your feedback, Elizabeth! We are hoping to do a report on shelf-stable almond milks in the near future.
Please include the Costco shelf stable almond milk also I would love to see a report on oat milk too. Thanks !!:)
Noted! 🙂
Great report Jen! I have moved your emails to my primary on Gmail and really enjoy reading all of your content and even more so putting as much as possible into action and my diet. Your app is absolutely fantastic for anybody who is thinking about getting it. You have categorize things so well and your recipes are delicious. Amazing! Thanks for all you do. I’m a fellow B school graduate.
I agree! Simple green smoothies.com and all the emails I receive are so professionally done. Kudos to your team. So beautiful and full of great helpful and authentic info. Thanks to Rawkstar!
This is so incredibly in-depth!! I’m going to bookmark this for future reference. Thank you for doing everyone such a big favor, and without pushing a bunch of ads in our faces 🙂
(Also- I have yet to make homemade almond milk, but if the taste is light-years above store-bought like homemade coconut milk is, I’ll probably never want to go back!)
Thank you, Emilita! We’re very happy you found this so helpful. And… we won’t tell you homemade almond milk tastes amazing (except, yes we will, it’s SO GOOD)! When you’re ready to make your own, we got you!–> How to Make Almond Milk
Hey Sue— we we’re talking abut doing a Shelf Stable review since there are SO many more choices in that section now too. So glad you mentioned that! As for refrigerated vs shelf stable— it really just depends on the brand. Fun fact: Elmhurst is actually a shelf stable mylk. They just product place it in the refrigerated section to help elevate it + soften the higher price (that last part is totally my own opinion).
I make my own almond and coconut milks. They are so easy to make and taste the best. Only downside is that they aren’t fortified with anything like calcium.
Agreed. NOTHING beats making your own almond milk. It’s truly the best taste and you can control the ingredients.
My favorite almond milk is Silk unsweetened. No upset stomach on this. I have tryed alot of them. This one, I find works the best for me.
That’s awesome you found the one for you! Are you doing the organic or original? I’m alwyas so curious about this and love how everyone responds so differently. As long as you’re happy, we’re happy for you. 🙂
Great review! Very helpful. But can you make a legend for the color coded leaves? I’m assuming red is the worst but not sure about the in between colors. Thanks
Hahaha— I’m not sure how I missed that! I just added it to the top of the chart. Thanks for the heads up Andrea!
We used to use almond milk but since learning about the environmental impact (e.g. Commercial almond production in California requires diverting ground and surface waters from the state’s aqueduct system for irrigation. As cited in an article in the New York Times, it takes approximately 15 gallons of water to produce just 16 almonds, ) have decided to switch to either Soy or Oat milk instead. What do you think of the environmental impact as a factor in choosing a dairy alternative?
Hey Robyn. I think Almond milk is a good option for someone stepping into a more plant=based diet. Of course making it at home is the best option, yet a busy life often gets the best of our day. We did take the environmental impact of the packaging into consideration with this report and scored the more eco-friendly packaging higher because that’s important to us (and you too!). I saw the environmental impact report you mentioned as well and we hope to do Rawkstar Reports for other milks as well— esp Oat Milk and Coconut Milk. Exciting times when we have so many options and resources to dig deeper into everything we do and eat!
Wow! I’m also surprised that the Califia was low scoring! That’s what I mostly get. I guess I’ll be trying the so delicious and elmhurst!
Solomon, it seems like a lot of people are saying the same thing as you (me included)! We’d love to hear what you think of So Delicious and Elmhurst after you give them a try.
This report was super helpful. Thank you for taking the time to taste all of these! I’ll def be giving Elmhurst a try this week.
Thanks, Beverly! So glad you found it helpful. Let us know what you think of Elmhurst!
I loved this!! I always get califia cuz I like the taste and thought it was one of the best nurtrituonally. Guess I’ll start looking at so delicious (no Trader Joe’s near me)
Kelly, I thought the same also! Really glad you liked this and it helped you. Let us know what you think of So Delicious once you try it.
Thank-You for the study on almond milks..!!! I think this information for us Health Hawks are Very Valuable……
Now i know which ones i can buy and I Trust your Testing…., I will be passing this info on to my Friends and family.
I know about Trader Joes’ but is it possible you can list where the Elmhurst and Malk Almond milks are found.?
Thank-You.
Debra, thank you for your feedback! They got Elmhurst from Publix, a regional supermarket that you may not have, depending on where you live. But, you can also buy Elmhurst online. And they got Malk at Whole Foods.
I have Califia Farms in the fridge right now mostly because I love the packaging! I shop at Publix, looking forward to trying Elmhurst.
I love Publix, Michelle! I always shop there when I’m in Florida (I know it’s in other states but that’s where I’ve seen it 🙂 ). Let us know what you think of Elmhurst after you give it a try!
I loved this. Thank you so much. My mom is lactose intolerant and so we switched to almond milk when I started my first green smoothie chalkenege and then after that cleanse. I didn’t know there was such variety and can’t wait to try the winners!
Isn’t it crazy how many there are! And we honestly only hit the southern part of the US. I’m certain there are prob 10+ other brands across the US that we could test at some point too. Yet it really was eye opening for us to compare like this.
This is an awesome report! I really appreciate that the testing wasn’t sponsored. I would love to see more of this kind of comparison reporting!!!
I’m glad you liked this (esp that it isn’t sponsored. Gotta keep the integrity!). I do hope we can do more so thank you for letting me know you’d like that too. I’m thinking oat milk might be next.