We Style-Examined 11 Almond Milks—These Are the Greatest Ones

Within the US, many could consider almond milk as a comparatively new fad, born of the dairy-substitute revolution, however almond milk has been round for greater than a thousand years. One of many first recognized mentions of it was in The Golden Treatise, an Islamic textual content from the early ninth century. Almond milk gained recognition, as almonds have been extra shelf-stable than dairy milk, and unfold to Europe by the 1200s. It even acted as a dairy substitute for Christians throughout Lent, when dietary restrictions typically dominated out the consumption of dairy milk.

In far more current historical past, almond milk took maintain within the US, when producers started stocking it alongside dairy milk. It rapidly turned the preferred dairy different within the nation and has remained so.  However with recognition comes saturation. There are such a lot of choices these days, all touting completely different superlatives, from “further creamy” blends to “clear” labels. To seek out the very best almond milk, we taste-tested 11 broadly obtainable manufacturers. We sampled them in random order, in search of a mixture of creaminess, taste steadiness, and texture. We tabulated the outcomes and located three favorites.

The Standards

Almond milk is, at its core, a mix of floor almonds and water. However the very best almond milk is greater than the sum of these elements. Our preferrred almond milk has the options of dairy milk: a thick physique much like complete milk, refined sweetness, and no grittiness or chalkiness. We additionally need it to have a transparent, nutty, pure almond taste. It ought to work effectively in quite a lot of makes use of—in espresso, in cereal, and even perhaps used in its place for baking or cooking.

Total Winner: Most Versatile

Good & Collect Unsweetened Unique Almond Milk (Out there at Goal)

This almond milk stood out to our testers for its thick physique, which was much like that of complete milk. Laila, our affiliate culinary editor, famous that whereas the flavour was delicate, she gave it factors for texture. “It is not too skinny, and I can see it working in espresso,” she mentioned. It struck the suitable steadiness between drinkability and richness, making it essentially the most versatile choice of our samples. Two of our testers discovered this almond milk palatable sufficient to take pleasure in a full glass. I favored its steadiness of sweetness and nuttiness—it was refined however simply candy sufficient—in comparison with the overwhelming sweetness of different samples.

Runner-Up: Most Almond-Ahead

MALK Natural Unsweetened Almond Milk

This almond milk was the nuttiest of the samples, however its taste and texture divided tasters. Most appreciated its milk-like physique. Our editorial director, Daniel, famous that it’s “much like complete milk in texture,” and our affiliate director of visuals, Amanda, commented on its thickness. As for its taste, Laila praised its nuttiness, “with no sweetness,” which made it her favourite. Daniel discovered it drinkable, however he thought that the nutty taste had a stale, dusty high quality.

Runner Up: The Greatest Substitute for Creamer

Nature’s Promise Plant-Based mostly Unique Almond Milk

This almond milk—which is bought at varied retailers, together with Hannaford, Cease & Store, and Big Meals—did not make the highest spot resulting from its extra outstanding sweetness. All of our testers famous that this milk was candy. Whereas Amanda discovered that sweetness nice, I believed it was candy to the purpose of tasting like sugar had been added. Laila mentioned, “It tastes candy, with a heat, vanilla-leaning be aware that reads synthetic.” That mentioned, for those who normally take your espresso with milk and sugar, or a dairy-based creamer, this can be an amazing different on your morning cup. 

The Contenders

• Almond Breeze Unique Almond Milk
• Califia Farms Almond Milk
• Elmhurst Unsweetened Milked Almonds
• Good & Collect Unsweetened Unique Almond Milk (Goal)
• Kirkland Signature Almond Milk
• MALK Natural Unsweetened Almond Milk
• Nature’s Promise Plant-Based mostly Unique Almond Milk (Cease & Store, Hannaford, and Different Shops)
• Silk Almond Milk
• Dealer Joe’s Natural Unsweetened Almond Beverage
• Healthful Pantry Natural Unsweetened Unique Almond Milk (Shoprite)
• 365 by Entire Meals Market Natural Almond Milk

Key Takeaways and Conclusion

Our favourite almond milks every have their very own strengths: Good and Collect is simply candy sufficient, with a milk-like texture; MALK is almond-forward; and Nature’s Promise is wealthy and candy. Any of them will be the very best almond milk, relying on its use. 

Our winner, Good and Collect, makes use of gellan gum, xanthan gum, and sunflower lecithin as thickeners and emulsifiers, which instantly correlate to its creaminess and dairy-fat-like richness. MALK, compared, lists solely filtered water, natural almonds, and Himalayan pink salt as substances. This explains its genuine, nutty taste, however its bare-bones ingredient left these almonds extra uncovered, and could also be why some tasters discovered it stale. 

The Nature’s Promise almond milk that we picked solely as a advice for espresso creamer was intensely candy (cane sugar is its second ingredient). That sweetness put most tasters off, although, as famous, it will work as a espresso creamer for individuals who like some sweetness of their brew. 

In the end, we most popular Good and Collect for its gentle sweetness and creamy mouthfeel, however really feel that for various makes use of, MALK and Nature’s Promise may also be good decisions.

Our Testing Methodology

All style exams are carried out with manufacturers utterly hidden and with out dialogue. Tasters style samples in random order. For instance, taster A could style pattern one first, whereas taster B will style pattern six first. That is to stop palate fatigue from unfairly giving anybody pattern a bonus. Tasters are requested to fill out tasting sheets, rating the samples in response to varied standards. All knowledge is tabulated, and outcomes are calculated with no editorial enter to supply essentially the most neutral illustration of precise outcomes doable.