The Plant Milk Guide: How Vegan Milk Compares To Dairy (2024)

When it comes to vegan alternatives, nothing has been more widely embraced quite like plant-based milk.

Walk into any major supermarket in the US and you’ll see rows of different plant milks, in many cases outnumbering traditional cow’s milk.

Vegan milks embody the cultural shift we are in, where informed consumers are choosing more healthy, sustainable and ethical products.

But what exactly are plant-based milks? Will they really replace dairy milk? And how do plant milks compare to traditional cow’s milk?

The Plant Milk Guide: How Vegan Milk Compares To Dairy (1)

What Are Plant Milks?

Plant milk provides a more sustainable, ethical, and healthy alternative to dairy.

Due to the vast benefits, plant milk popularity has soared in recent years. This has led to more plant milk hitting the shelves and a decline in dairy consumption (1).

When it comes to vegan milk, consumers also have more options. Plant milk comes in many different options from almond to oat all with unique textures, tastes, and benefits.

The Different Types of Plant Milks:

  • Oat milk
  • Almond milk
  • Soy milk
  • Coconut milk
  • Rice milk
  • Hemp milk
  • Cashew milk
  • Pea milk

There are dozens of other plant milks popping up, but these are the most common.

Oat Milk

The Plant Milk Guide: How Vegan Milk Compares To Dairy (2)

Oat milk is perhaps the creamiest of all the plant milks. Its thick creamy texture means it’s one of the closest plant-based milks to resemble dairy milk.

Oat milk is quickly becoming a favorite non-dairy alternative to milk with popular brands like Oatly disrupting the traditional milk industry. Currently, oat milk is the fastest growing plant milk when it comes to popularity, edging out soy milk as the second most consumed plant milk, behind almond milk (2).

As snack box curators, Vegancuts often works closely with oat milk brands who make regular appearances in the Vegan Snack Box.

Vegancuts Star Rating:

Taste

5/5

Affordability

4/5

Sustainability

5/5

Almond Milk

The Plant Milk Guide: How Vegan Milk Compares To Dairy (3)

Almond milk was the first plant milk to hit the mainstream and has held up as the most popular plant-based milk since.

Many cafes and restaurants embraced almond milk first due to its surge in demand, accessibility, and health benefits compared to dairy. Almond milk remains the most widely used plant milk.

It is made from soaking almonds in water. While almond milk has a generally low carbon footprint, the amount of water it requires to produce it has raised sustainability concerns.

Almond milk is widely known as a healthy milk choice. But while it is still far more environmentally friendly than dairy, there are more sustainable plant milks out there (3).

Vegancuts Star Rating:

Soy Milk

The Plant Milk Guide: How Vegan Milk Compares To Dairy (4)

Despite losing ground to oat milk, soy remains one of the most popular vegan milk options.

Its creamy taste, high protein nutrients, and easy accessibility make soy milk a great option for many transitioning to a plant-based diet as it resembles cow milk in many ways.

Soy milk is also a very sustainable milk choice. Its carbon footprint is similar to almond milk, but without the high use of water.

Vegancuts Star Rating:

Taste

4/5

Affordability

5/5

Sustainability

5/5

Coconut Milk

The Plant Milk Guide: How Vegan Milk Compares To Dairy (5)

Perhaps the most distinct of all the plant milks is coconut milk.

The creamy alternative has a higher fat content than a lot of plant-based milks making it popular with baking and thickening up dishes like curries.

Coconuts do not require any deforestation to produce, in the contrary, they require more trees. This coupled with low water requirements and emissions, makes them a great sustainable option.

Vegancuts Star Rating:

Taste

3.5/5

Affordability

4/5

Sustainability

5/5

Rice Milk

The Plant Milk Guide: How Vegan Milk Compares To Dairy (6)

While rice milk hasn’t hit the popularity levels that soy, almond, and oat have, it is still firmly on the non-dairy radar of many consumers.

This is because rice milk is a good alternative for those with nut allergies or for those who do not like the nuttiness of nut milks. Instead, rice milk has a watery consistency and natural sweetness to it.

Rice milk isn’t the most sustainable milk alternative option and ranks on a similar scale to almond milk. Rice milk doesn’t require as much water, but does produce more emissions than almond milk.

However, its environmental impact is relatively low in comparison to dairy.

Taste

3/5

Affordability

4/5

Sustainability

3/5

Plant Milks Vs Dairy

Oat Milk Nutrition Per 100 ml

The Plant Milk Guide: How Vegan Milk Compares To Dairy (7)The Plant Milk Guide: How Vegan Milk Compares To Dairy (8)
Energy – 46 cals

Fat – 1.5g

Sat Fat – 0.2g

Carbs – 6.7g

Fiber – 0.8g

Protein – 1.0g

Sodium – 39mgs

Vitamin D

30%

Vitamin B12

15%

Calcium

15%

Source: Oatly

3.25% Whole Milk Nutrition Per 100 ml

Energy – 60 cals

Fat – 3.3g

Sat Fat – 1.9g

Carbs – 5.3g

Fiber – 0g

Protein – 3.2g

Sodium – 40mgs

Vitamin D

10%

Vitamin B12

7%

Calcium

11%

Almond Milk Nutrition Per 100 ml

The Plant Milk Guide: How Vegan Milk Compares To Dairy (9)The Plant Milk Guide: How Vegan Milk Compares To Dairy (10)
Energy – 17 cals

Fat – 1.51g

Sat Fat – 0.1g

Carbs – 0.59g

Fiber – 0.3g

Protein – 0.64g

Sodium – 2mgs

Vitamin D

0%

Vitamin B12

0%

Calcium

1%

Source: Fat Secret

What Is The Most Sustainable Plant Milk?

The Plant Milk Guide: How Vegan Milk Compares To Dairy (11)

Plant-based milk is a fantastic way to reduce your environmental impact. Dairy milk’s amount of land use, water use, and emissions leave every plant milk in the dust.

With that said, any transition to plant-based milk is a positive move for the planet.

However, each plant milk differs in its environmental impact. For example, while almond milk produces the fewest emissions, its high water usage holds it back.

With all things considered, the most sustainable plant milk would likely be oat milk and soy milk.

Here is our list of plant milks ranked by sustainability.

1. Oat Milk

2. Soy Milk

3. Coconut Milk

4. Almond Milk

5. Rice Milk

Which Plant Milk Is Healthiest?

A lot of people transition from cow’s milk to plant milk for the health benefits. But what exactly are the benefits of choosing vegan milk?

Cow milk contains all the necessary ingredients a calf needs to grow into a big, bulky adult cow. It is truly nature’s own weight gainer.

This works great for baby cows, not so much for humans.

The Plant Milk Guide: How Vegan Milk Compares To Dairy (12)

Dairy has also numerous links to various cancers, including prostate cancer (5).

So, transitioning to plant-based milk is better for us – but which is the best?

It’s important to remember ‘healthy’ is often subjective depending on individual needs and goals. An athlete might consider ‘healthy’ differently to someone looking at reducing their weight significantly.

That aside, when you break down each plant milk by the value of nutrients contained and with fewer calories, almond milk, and soy milk stand out.

The Plant Milk Guide: How Vegan Milk Compares To Dairy (13)

Oat milk and coconut milk contain more fat and calories, but oat milk contains a high percentage of Vitamin D and B12.

As with any dietary choices, nutritional balances are essential to a healthy diet.

Interested In Plant-Based Milks?

Plant milk is widely available nowadays from most grocery stores. At the very least, almond and soy milk should be easy to find.

You might need to search a little further afield to find specialty plant milk like hazelnut, macadamia, or hemp milk.

At Vegancuts we often include a unique, harder-to-find, plant milk regularly in our Vegan Snack Box.

Use the coupon code tryplantbased to claim a $5 discount on your first box.

Jump to Article Section

The Plant Milk Guide: How Vegan Milk Compares To Dairy (15)

Jase Quelch

Jase is passionate about everything vegan. When he's not advocating for animals, you'll find him roaming the globe scoping out the best vegan eats.

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The Plant Milk Guide: How Vegan Milk Compares To Dairy (2024)

FAQs

How do plant milks compare to cow's milk? ›

Plant-based milks are generally lower in calories than cow's milk, which is part of their appeal. But calories aren't everything. Some of these beverages have less fat and fewer carbs than cow's milk, but almost all of them are also lower in protein.

Does plant-based milk have the same nutritional profile as dairy milk? ›

While many plant-based milk alternatives have the word “milk” in their name, the nutritional content can vary between the products, and many of them don't have the same amount of calcium and vitamin D or other nutrients as milk.

How does cow's milk affect the environment compared to plant-based milk? ›

All of the non-dairy milks are much better for the environment than cow's milk. They use less land, less water and generate lower amounts of greenhouse gases. The milk with the lowest greenhouse gas emissions is almond milk, because the trees lock up a lot of CO₂ as they grow.

How much is plant-based milk compared to cow's milk? ›

Despite their explosion in popularity, they remain substantially more costly compared to dairy milk. Coffee shops often still charge extra money for dairy-free cappuccinos, and in US supermarkets plant-based milk costs an average of $7.27 (£5.73) a gallon compared to $4.21 (£3.32) a gallon for cow's milk.

Which plant milk is closest to real milk? ›

The test made a few things clear: soy milk, at its best, tastes closest to cow's milk. Oat tastes like a sweetly nutty cereal milk while almond tastes like the water left in your sink after washing the breakfast dishes.

What are some of the disadvantages of plant-based milk? ›

One of the biggest downsides to plant-based milk is most options on the market have low or are void of protein. Since consuming adequate protein is a requirement for good health, if you're considering eliminating dairy from your diet, it's critical to ensure you are receiving protein from other sources.

What is the healthiest plant milk? ›

The healthiest milk alternative is soy milk because it's nutritionally comparable to dairy milk, says registered dietitian Jamie Nadeau. Dairy milk is an important source of protein, calcium, vitamin D and other nutrients. It contains 8 grams of protein per cup while soy milk contains just over 6 grams per cup.

Which plant milk has the most calcium? ›

Top 5 Calcium-Rich Vegan Milks
  • 1-Sesame milk: If you fancy the taste of sesame or tahini, this is a milk you'll adore. ...
  • 2- White soy milk. Soy plant has been widely manipulated and in it's hard to find non GMO soy today, but it's still possible. ...
  • 3- Almond milk: ...
  • 4- Flax milk: ...
  • 5- Hazelnut milk:

What is the best vegan alternative to milk? ›

If you're looking for a milk that provides a good source of protein, for example, choose soy, pea or flaxseed milk, said Sheth. If you're concerned about high blood sugar and want a milk lower in carbs, consider almond milk or macadamia nut milk -- another rising plant milk star.

Why do people prefer plant-based milk? ›

Why is plant-based milk so popular? Over the last decade, plant-based milk has only grown in popularity, and for good reason. Not only do they fill a void for people with allergies and different dietary restrictions, but they also offer a host of nutritional benefits while helping lower our carbon footprint.

How environmentally friendly is vegan milk? ›

They are considerably lower environmental impact options than cow's milk when it comes to consuming calories – around 50% lower in terms of carbon emissions and 90% lower for land use. However, they fare much less well when it comes to protein.

Why is vegan milk more expensive? ›

It might sound nonsensical that the juice of a grain costs more than the milk of a huge creature—but it's pricier to grow crops and blend and bottle them than it is to raise and milk a cow. “Milk is pretty close to what comes out of the cow,” explains Carolyn Dmitri, a food systems economist at New York University.

Does plant-based milk last longer than regular milk? ›

Another benefit of plant-based milk is that it typically has a longer shelf-life than dairy and usually doesn't need to be refrigerated before use. A longer shelf-life means that retailers have more time to sell the product, which helps to reduce food waste.

Which is better animal milk or plant milk? ›

The quality of vegetable protein is generally not as high as that of animal protein. Cow's milk has a lot of protein that humans need in their diet. Some plant-based milks are very low in protein, which can be a concern for children and the elderly.

What is the healthiest milk to drink? ›

Low-fat, skim or 1% cow's milk are healthier options compared to 2% or whole milk. They contain less fat. “If you can't have cow's milk, soy milk and rice milk are often the healthiest milk for gut health – especially for people with celiac disease, an autoimmune disease that can cause inflammation,” Park said.

Why might someone choose to use plant milks rather than cow's milk? ›

Many adults have an intolerance to lactose – the sugar in dairy – to some degree. If they drink cow's milk or eat other dairy by-products, they can experience bloating, pain and diarrhoea. For those people, plant-based milk offers a lactose-free alternative.

Is plant-based milk healthier than animal based milk? ›

The current study considered different brands of almond-, oat-, rice-, coconut- and soya-based beverages for a comparative analysis and found that they indeed presented lower contents of total protein, lipids, amino acids, and minerals than cow and goat milk.

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