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1. Three Trees / 2. Malk / 3. New Barn
Plant-based milks have become very popular in recent years. They arenโt new, however. When I began to learn about healthy eating back in the 1970โs, soy milk and rice milk were available at health food stores. Now I go to the store and find everything from oat milk to pea milk! The options can be overwhelming.
Many of you have requested that we research plant-based milks. Because this category is now so broad, I quickly figured out that I needed to focus on one type at a time. So Iโm starting with the most popular plant-based milk–almond milk. Market research indicates that almond milk has the greatest share of the alternative-milk market.
Spoiler alert: Not all almond milks are created equal, and most of the more popular brands are Sneaky Stuff or Bad Stuff. But donโt worry if Iโve bashed one of your old favorites–there is some amazing Good Stuff out there, and it may be more delicious than anything youโve tried before. And you can always DIY it. Here is my favorite recipe for homemade almond milk. We’ve also recently become obsessed the Nutr Machine for the easiest possible way to make plant milk.

What are the benefits of plant-based milks like almond milk?
Lighter footprint: Any plant-based milk, be it made from beans, grains, nuts or seeds, has a lighter impact than dairy when it comes to greenhouse gas emissions. A 2018 study estimates dairy to be around three times more greenhouse gas emission-intensive than plant-based milks. However, almond production uses a lot of water. Some estimates suggest that each single almond represents 1.1 gallons of water!
Vegan: Plant-based milks are a dairy alternative for people who choose a vegan diet for health and/or ethical reasons.
Dietary sensitivities: For people who have sensitivities to lactose, casein, or other components of dairy, plant-based milks can be a good choice (barring nut allergies, of course!).
Taste: Some people simply prefer the taste of milk alternatives, and with so many on the market these days, there is something for everyone.
Is almond milk healthier than dairy milk?
Short answer: Not necessarily! As youโll see below, there is a lot of Sneaky Stuff and Bad Stuff among almond milk products on the market. In that case, and veganism and dairy sensitivities aside, people may be better off drinking the best dairy milks (local, organic, and from pasture-raised animals) over poor-quality almond milks. But you have some excellent Good Stuff to choose from.
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. Generally, I find that the more ingredients there are in an almond milk, the lower the quality of the product.
Do I need to choose a fortified almond milk?
Some almond milk brands fortify their drinks with calcium and vitamins A, D, and E to better mirror the nutritional profile of commercial dairy milk. Some products even try to outdo cowโs milk by boasting twice the calcium in a cup of the normal stuff!
You may prefer fortified almond milk if youโre seeking a nutritional replacement for dairy. However, this can be a concern if children are consuming fortified almond milk in addition to lots of other fortified foods. It is possible for them to consume too much of nutrients such as vitamin A, zinc, and niacin. This is a complicated issue and will depend on your personal nutritional profile. Itโs a good thing to bring up with your health provider.
Personally, I use almond milk in place of cowโs milk, but I am not looking for the nutrition that I would get from cowโs milk. I eat a healthy diet and supplement with a multi-vitamin and vitamin D, so I choose a non-fortified almond milk (see my top pick in Good Stuff).
What about sugar in almond milk?
Thanks to lactose, cowโs milk is naturally sweet, so some almond milks contain added sugars to mimic the taste profile of cowโs milk. Then there are what I call the โdessert milksโ that have even more sugar to produce a treat in the form of chocolate almond milk or seasonal โnog.โ
An important difference between cowโs milk and almond milk is that lactose in dairy doesn’t impact blood sugar responses as much as added sugars do. So watch out for the added sugars in almond milk. 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, below.
Whatโs the problem with additives in almond milk?
As I mentioned, many commercial almond milks have ingredients that act as thickening agents, emulsifiers and stabilizers, flavorings, and preservatives. These ingredients arenโt all bad; the most problematic ones tend to be some of the stabilizers and emulsifiers. They are usually listed as gums, lecithins, and carrageenan.
Some research (mostly in animals) and anecdotal evidence suggests that these ingredients may cause gastrointestinal inflammation, leading to mild discomfort or gas, or, in the case of carrageenan, potentially even 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.
Most of the popular commercial almond milks contain several ingredients to compensate for a low proportion of actual almonds in the product. In fact, many almond โmilksโ are really more like thickened almond water. Eww! Some almond milk products have as few as three almonds per cup, while others may contain twenty or more.
How can you tell if youโre choosing actual almond milk, versus glorified almond water? First, check the ingredients list. Look for ingredients such as starches (like tapioca or rice); gums (like guar and gellan); sunflower lecithin; and carrageenan. Generally speaking, almond milk with added thickeners contains the least amount of actual almonds.
Another way to discern how almond-rich your almond milk is: Look at the fat, protein and calorie numbers on the nutrition label. The higher those numbers are, the more almonds are likely to be in the milk.
Hidden scary stuff in almonds
After a few salmonella outbreaks were traced to California-grown almonds in the early 2000โs, the USDA implemented a rule requiring the pasteurization of California almonds. This rule applies to both conventional almonds and organic almonds, and because almost all almonds grown in in the United States are from California, it applies to almost all domestically produced almonds.
There are a variety of ways to pasteurize almonds, from steaming and dry-roasting to fumigation with propylene oxide. Propylene oxide (PPO) is a toxic chemical used in many non-food applications, and a suspected carcinogen. Fortunately, it is prohibited in organic foods.
But PPO isnโt the only scary thing to watch out for in almonds. Glyphosate, the carcinogenic active ingredient in Monsantoโs RoundUp and other herbicides, is widely used to treat almonds, according to a 2016 EPA document that was released and then retracted. And unfortunately, thanks to potential cross-contamination, even organic stuff isnโt necessarily glyphosate free. Therefore, organic almond milk is the only Good Stuff, and the very best of the Good Stuff is certified glyphosate-residue free by The Detox Project.

The Good Stuff


Three Trees Original Almondmilk is another favorite of mine. It only has two ingredients: organic almonds and filtered water. They also offer vanilla, pistachio, and black sesame seed versions. All are organic and the only one that is sweetened is the black sesame, which is sweetened with dates, a good alternative to refined sweeteners.


If you’re enjoying this guide, to be alerted when we publish or update our Safe Product Guides.
The Bad Stuff

Almond Breeze Unsweetened (Blue Diamond) is popular because itโs affordable and widely available. Blue Diamond offers a wide variety of almond milk and other almond products, but we are reviewing this version because it is unsweetened. It is not certified organic and they use sunflower lecithin and gellan gum, which raise some health concerns.
Almond Dream is not certified organic and their ingredient list shows sunflower lethithin, tapioca starch, gellan gum and even carrageenan!
So Delicious is also not certified organic and contains quite a few fillers and additives like sunflower lecithin, locust bean gum, and gellan gum. The nutrition label indicates that there are likely fewer almonds and more fillers than those products on our โGood Stuffโ list.
Friendly Farms Almond Milk by Aldi is similar to others in this category. Itโs not certified organic and contains quite a few fillers and additives. The ingredients include sunflower lecithin, gelllan gum, vitamin A palmitate, vitamin D2 and D-alphatocopherol, and gellan gum. The nutrition label indicates that there are likely fewer almonds. Pacific Organic Almond Milk is also similar to others in this category. It is certified organic but contains fillers and additives like sunflower lecithin and rice starch. The nutrition label again indicates that there are likely fewer almonds.
The Sneaky Stuff

Silk Organic Unsweetened Almond Milk and Organic Unsweetened Vanilla Silk are organic and unsweetened, but they may have only a few almonds per cup! Both have an added vitamin and mineral blend, which is a potential problem for children who consume too many fortified foods. The vanilla milk has added โnaturalโ flavor, not real vanilla; โnatural flavorsโ can contain unsavory, undisclosed components and are often anything but natural.
Kirkland Organic Unsweetened Almond Milk has added vitamins and other ingredients such as organic locust bean gum and gellan gum; another thickener. These gums are considered safe food additives but some people report problems tolerating them, and I prefer my almond milk to have fewer ingredients. Additionally, this product may have as few as only 5 almonds per cup.
Pacific Organic Almond Milk is similar to others in this category. It is certified organic but contains fillers and additives like sunflower lecithin and rice starch. The nutrition label indicates that there are fewer almonds.
To your health,


15 responses to “Healthy Almond Milk Guide”
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What about the Simply brand?
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Coke is no longer producing Simply Almond.
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Thanks for the information! Really disappointing that all the good brands are in plastic containers!
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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.
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The Malk brandished formula does contain natural flavors. I just get their unsweetened version which only has three ingredients. I’ve also been trying to to make my own with Almond butter which is really easy.
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Great Sheri! I like making my own almond milk.
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Thanks for this guide! It was very enlightening. Iโm just confused as to why Elmhurst Dairy is in your โSneaky Stuffโ list. Itโs not organic, but doesnโt claim to be, and it sounds like the absence of fillers makes it much more desirable than others on the list. Iโm now ot seeing what would be particularly deceptive about them. No additives, and certified glyphosate-residue free by The Detox Project sounds pretty good compared to the rest of the field!
Maybe it qualifies as OK stuff?? In any case, based on the info, Iโm going to choose it over some other options on the โBad Stuffโ and โSneaky Stuffโ lists when the Good Stuff is not available. I had been reluctantly avoiding them in favor of organic products, but seems like thatโs not always better depending on additives.
I have a soft spot for Elmhurst Dairy, (being a vegan and former NYer) because they were a long-established traditional dairy, making animal products, and made the move to switch their whole operation over to plant milks. I appreciate their boldness and wish there were more out there like them.
Also, wondering where Whole Foods organic almond milks would rank. Thatโs my current go-to.
Thanks for covering this topic!
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Iโm *not*seeing what would beโฆdeceptive.
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Lauie, Yes, I struggled with this too because I was buying Elmhurst and didn’t notice right away that they weren’t using organic almonds! Perhaps, I felt deceived.I was surprised because it was so healthy otherwise. Once I did the research on almonds and how many toxins were in the ones that weren’t organic I felt I had no choice. But I think you make some good points and maybe it is Ok?
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Thank you for this! My go to brands have been Blue Diamond and Kirkland. Looks like I need to update my shopping list this weekend….
What do you think about Trader Joe’s unsweetened almond milk?-
Hi Bella,
Like many of the other almond milks that I researched Trader Joe’s has a lot of fillers and therefore I think it probably has fewer actual almonds.
Suzanne
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Thanks for this! What do u think of orgain almond milk? I am needing the extra calcium. Thank u!
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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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Thank you for this! Iโm pretty new to almond milk, but I really thought my go-to brand was โgood stuff.โ It turns out itโs not at all. I went out and bought Malk after reading this, and I like the taste so much more than that other brand.
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Hi Vanessa,
That’s great! Glad you are enjoying Malk, I like that one a lot.
Suzanne
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