Guide to the Best Almond Milk (2024) - Gimme the Good Stuff

A glass of fresh almond milk surrounded by almonds.

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In This Guide

Almond milk has the greatest share of the alternative-milk market.

If you’re interested in finding the healthiest non-dairy milk, check out our other plant-based milk guide! I’ve covered the best oat milk to drink, including my opinions on which is better between almond and oat milk.

The Benefits of Plant-Based Milks

There are definitely some benefits to drinking plant-based milk, including almond. These include:

Lighter footprint: Any plant-based milk has a lighter impact than dairy with greenhouse gas emissions.

Dairy Free : Plant-based milks are a dairy alternative for people with sensitivities to dairy or a vegan diet.

Taste: Some people simply prefer the taste of milk alternatives, and there is something for everyone.

Is Almond Milk More Healthy Than Dairy Milk?

Not necessarily! As you’ll see below, there is a lot of Sneaky Stuff and Bad Stuff among almond milk products on the market. Apart from veganism or dairy sensitivities, people may be better off drinking the best dairy milks (local, organic, and from pasture-raised animals) over poor-quality almond milks.

Almond Milk: Healthy and Unhealthy Ingredients

What is Almond Milk Made of?

All almond milks include at least almonds and water. Many also have sweeteners, thickening agents, emulsifiers and stabilizers, flavorings, preservatives, added protein, and added vitamins and minerals.

Do I Need to Choose a Fortified Almond Milk?

Some almond milk brands fortify their drinks with calcium and vitamins A, D, and E. This is in order to better mirror the nutritional profile of commercial dairy milk.

You may prefer fortified almond milk if you’re seeking a nutritional replacement for dairy. However, it is possible for children to consume too much of nutrients such as Vitamin A, zinc, and niacin. This is a good thing to bring up with your health provider.

What About Added Sugar in Almond Milk?

Thanks to lactose, cow’s milk is naturally sweet. Some almond milks contain added sugars to mimic the taste profile of cow’s milk.

However, lactose in dairy doesn’t impact blood sugar responses as much as added sugars do. Some sweetened almond milk can have as much as 20 grams of sugar per serving. We do not consider almond milk with added sugar to be Good Stuff.

Why You Should Choose Almond Milk With No Additional Stabilizers and Emulsifiers

Many commercial almond milks have ingredients that act as thickening agents, emulsifiers, stabilizers, flavorings, and preservatives. The most problematic tend to be some of the stabilizers and emulsifiers. They are usually listed as gums, lecithins, and carrageenan.

Some research suggests that these ingredients may cause inflammation, leading to mild discomfort or gas. In the case of carrageenan, symptoms include potential colitis, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes, and colon cancer. I definitely recommend avoiding carrageenan. If you want to skip all of these questionable ingredients, choose an almond milk from our Good Stuff category.

Almond milk with added thickeners usually contains the fewest almonds. Another hack for discerning the almond content in your milk is to look at the fat, protein, and calorie numbers. The higher those are, the more almonds are likely to be in the milk.

Scary Stuff in Almonds

After a few salmonella outbreaks were traced to California-grown almonds in the early 2000’s, the USDA implemented a rule requiring the pasteurization of California almonds. This rule applies to both conventional and organic almonds. Unfortunately, some of the methods used to pasteurize non-organic almonds involve toxic chemicals. Carcinogenic herbicides like glyphosate also frequently contaminate almonds.

Unfortunately, due to cross-contamination, even organic stuff isn’t necessarily glyphosate free. Therefore, organic almond milk is the only Good Stuff. The Best Stuff is certified glyphosate-residue free by The Detox Project.

Almond Milk’s Controversial Environmental Impact

Almond production is much more environmentally friendly than dairy production. However, growing almonds uses a lot of water. Some estimates suggest that each single almond represents 1.1 gallons of water!

Although this is a lot of water, data suggests that almond production is still better than dairy production. Growing almonds uses significantly less land and freshwater than dairy does. Almond crops produce less than a third of the greenhouse gas emissions of the dairy industry.

Crunchi Littles 3-in-1 Bath Bar

Made with organic ingredients
Safe for newborns
Great for the whole family
Packaged in 100% recyclable post-consumer waste paper for zero waste.

Cost per ounce: $4.00

Ingredients: Sodium Palmate (Organic Palm Oil & Sodium Hydroxide), Sodium Cocoate (Organic Coconut Oil & Sodium Hydroxide), Water, Glycerin*, Avena Sativa (Oat) Kernel Flour*, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter*, Cocos Nucifera (Coconut) Oil*, Sodium Citrate, Argania Spinosa Kernel Oil*, Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil*, Chamomilla Recutita (Matricaria) Flower Extract*, Tocopherol
*Certified Organic Ingredients

Buy from Crunchi

FATCO Baby Fat Bar

Made with grass-fed tallow, calendula and oats
Organic ingredients

Cost per ounce: $2.50

Ingredients: Grass-Fed Beef Tallow, Sodium Hydroxide (Lye), Colloidal Oats, Calendula*, Olive Oil*, Distilled Water, Sucrose, Sodium Lactate. *Denotes and Organic Ingredient

Attitude Baby Leaves 2-in-1 Shampoo & Body Wash

EWG-Verified
Contains sodium benzoate, which is what is bumping this down to just Okay Stuff.

Cost per ounce: $0.89

Ingredients: 1: Standard ISO 16128 Aqua / Water / Eau, Sodium Coco-Sulfate, Coco-Glucoside, Glycerin, Sodium Cocoyl Isethionate, Lauryl Hydroxysultaine, Citric Acid, Glyceryl Oleate, Sodium Benzoate, Sodium Chloride, Potassium Sorbate, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Inulin, Vaccinium Myrtillus (Blueberry) Leaf Extract.

Buy from Amazon

Attitude Baby Leaves 2-in-1 Shampoo & Body Wash

Primary Baby Pants

Buy from Primary

Test

Buy from Amazon

The Healthiest Almond Milk Brands

Almond milk is Good Stuff if it’s organic, has no added thickeners or stabilizers, and has only a few necessary, familiar ingredients.

Malk Organic Unsweetened Almond Milk

My personal favorite—the Best Stuff
Ingredients: Filtered water, Organic Almonds, Pink Himalayan Sea Salt (The Vanilla Malk also uses vanilla beans for flavoring)
Certified glyphosate-residue free by The Detox Project
$0.38/fl oz
8 fl oz
Fat 6 grams
Protein 2 grams
Fiber 3 grams
Sugar 0 grams
Calories 70

Buy from Amazon

Milli Almond Mylk

Made from Organic Nuts and Organic Coconut Sugar
Ingredients: Organic Spanish Almonds, Organic California Almonds, Organic Tiger Nuts, Organic Almond Protein, Organic Coconut Sugar, Organic Cashews
$0.39/fl oz
8 fl oz
Fat 14 grams
Protein 9 grams
Fiber 4 grams
Sugar 6 grams
Calories 180

Buy from MILLI

Mooala Organic Simply Almond Milk

Note: choose the Simple Almond milk rather than the Original; the Orignal contains Gellan Gum
USDA organic certified
Ingredients: Water, Organic Almonds, Salt
$0.16/fl oz
Fat 4 grams
Protein 2 grams
Fiber < 1 grams
Sugar 0 grams
Calories 50

Buy from Amazon

New Barn Organic Almond Milk

The Best Stuff; USDA Certified Organic
Ingredients: Organic Almond milk (Filtered Water, Organic Almonds), Organic Acacia Gum, Sea Salt.
$0.19/fl oz
Fat 8 grams
Protein 3 grams
Fiber 0 grams
Sugar 0 grams
Calories 90 calories

Buy from Amazon

Three Trees Original Almond Milk

The Best Stuff; USDA Certified Organic
Ingredients: Organic Almonds, Filtered Water
Also available in Vanilla, Pistachio, and Black Sesame Seed flavors
$0.24/fl oz
Fat 9 gram
Protein 4 grams
Fiber 2 grams
Sugar 1 gram
Calories 100

Buy from THREE TREES

Malk Almond Milk Creamer

The Best Stuff; USDA Certified Organic
Ingredients: Ingredients: Filtered Water, Organic Coconut Sugar, Organic Almonds, Organic Soluble Tapioca Fiber, Pure Organic Vanilla Extract Made from Vanilla Beans, Baking Soda, Himalayan Pink Salt.
Also available in Caramel
$0.50/fl oz

Buy from Amazon

Unclean Almond Milks

Califia Farms is certified glyphosate-residue free by The Detox Project but

Not Certified Organic
Contains very few almonds
Ingredients include: Sunflower Lecithin, Gellan and Locust Bean Gums (all potentially problematic)

Almond Breeze Unsweetened (Blue Diamond)

Not Certified Organic
Ingredients include: Sunflower Lecithin, Gellan Gum

Almond Dream

Not Certified Organic
Ingredients include: Sunflower Lecithin, Tapioca Starch, Gellan Gum, Carrageenan

So Delicious

Not Certified Organic
Contains fewer Almonds and more fillers than “Good Stuff” Almond Milks
Ingredients include: Sunflower Lecithin, Gellan and Locust Bean Gums

Friendly Farms Almond Milk by Aldi

Not Certified Organic
Contains few almonds and more fillers and additives
Ingredients include: Sunflower Lecithin, Gellan Gum, Vitamin A Palmitate, Vitamin DR and D-alphatocopherol

Silk Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk

Only contains a few almonds per cup
Fortified with an added vitamin and mineral blend
Contains added “natural” flavor

Kirkland Organic Unsweetened Almond Milk

May have as few as only 5 almonds per cup
Contains added vitamins and thickeners

Orgain Organic Unsweetened Almond Milk is popular because it’s USDA certified organic and contains added calcium but

Contains many thickeners and emulsifiers
Contains pea protein, a sign that it may contain few almonds per cup

Pacific Organic Almond Milk is certified organic but

Contains few almonds and more fillers and additives
Ingredients include: sunflower lecithin, rice starch

Trader Joe’s Organic Unsweetened Almond Beverage is USDA certified organic but

Contains many fillers like gellan and locust bean gum
Is fortified with vitamins

Homemade Almond Milk Recipe

For the healthiest, most transparent, best almond milk, make it yourself! Although you have to soak the almonds overnight, the milk comes together very quickly. See our favorite recipe here. We’ve also recently become obsessed with the Nutr Machine for the easiest possible way to make plant milk.

Read more about our choices for the safest products for your family here.

Be well,

Suzanne, Certified Holistic Health Coach

Note: This article contains affiliate links or sponsored content, which means that if you make a purchase, we may earn a commission. We only recommend products that meet our strict standards for non-toxicity and that we use (or want to use!) ourselves. Thank you so much for supporting the brands that make Good Stuff!

Tags:Grocery Guides, guide

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15 comments

Maia James

December 19, 2023 at 10:37am

Update here:

Malk removed the natural flavor from their vanilla blend.

Stephanie

July 29, 2022 at 11:35am

What about the Simply brand?

bluesonpark

March 20, 2022 at 00:50am

Thanks for the information! Really disappointing that all the good brands are in plastic containers!

Terry P

February 18, 2022 at 19:59pm

I appreciate all the great suggestions but almond milk production is so damaging to our environment, not just for the significant amount of water needed to grow the almonds, but also the amount of greenhouse gas emissions it produces and contributions to droughts. Almond crops even impact bees. As a site promoting health for families, I think you should also promote health for our planet. It is irresponsible of you to publish this guide without pointing these issues out. Personally, I drink Malk oat milk which is the least damaging to the environment.

Suzanne Weaver-Goss

February 07, 2022 at 18:19pm

Hi Shoni,

I hadn’t heard of this brand. I did a quick look. It is organic which is good, but they do add a few gums for thickening and emulsifiers which always makes me question how many almonds it has in it. And then I see they add pea protein to give it protein because they probably don’t have very many almonds in it. So as far as protein it’s good if you want pea protein. I wonder why it has to have so many other ingredients. I wonder why it has so much calcium and why? I will have to look into this more. I probably wouldn’t recommend it because of all the fillers.

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