8 Almond Milk Brands, Ranked Worst To Best

As a professional food reviewer, many of the foods that I sample are ones I am very loosely acquainted with; I know of them, but I don't have enough background experience to go in with an inherent bias or opinion. But that is certainly not the case when it comes to almond milk. I was a vegan for almost seven years, and now eat a mostly vegetarian diet, so it's safe to say I have had my fair share of almond milk over the years. And by fair share, I mean I've seen the good, the bad, and the downright watery.

Almond milk really is a fickle beast. It's not as creamy as oat milk, and it doesn't have the same weird aftertaste as soy milk, making it a very popular option for cereals, coffee, and really any application where the milk's flavor is not otherwise obscured by other ingredients. As the interest in plant-based eating has grown, so has the number of almond milk products in the grocery store. I wanted to do a tasting of all of the almond milk brands that I could find in my local grocery stores to see which one was the most worth buying. To decide which one was the best, I sampled each brand from a glass before ranking the milks from worst to best based on their mouthfeel, flavor, value, and overall versatility.

How do you feel about spending close to $7 on a very, very small (like, less than half the size of almost every other brand on this list) container of almond milk? Although I tried not to consider price too much in this ranking, it's something that I had to really think long and hard about when it came to MALK. This seemingly niche almond milk product looks like something that someone would buy at Erewhon — not at a standard grocery store. 

I had a feeling I was going to run into issues with this product the second I saw the label. It doesn't contain any gums, which are what give almond milk its creamy texture. As I suspected, this MALK tasted more like WATER than a plant-based milk substitute. Its flavor was salty (albeit not as salty as some of the almond milks I sampled), very watery, and there was no creaminess or richness to report. It just tastes like tap water that's been in the same room as a bottle of almond extract. The flavor is very raw and unprocessed, and I could see where some people would really want that from an almond milk. But at this point, if you're forking over hand over fist for this premium-priced product, you might want to consider just making your own almond milk at home. Its poor value and flat texture made it a shoo-in for the bottom spot.

Mooala, in short, has curb appeal. The cute plastic milk bottle is printed with an adorable koala, and it kind of makes you just want to add it to your cart without thinking twice about its hefty price tag. After tasting it myself, I can assure you that falling for this gimmicky marketing would be a mistake.

I was excited to try this almond milk because of how well it poured from the container into my glass. It almost resembled real milk, so much so that if you used it as a stand-in for plain ol' whole milk in a cereal commercial, I doubt anyone would be able to tell the difference. However, the taste is where things start to diverge. The creaminess of the almond milk is very obvious at first sip, though there was very little almond flavor to back this up. Although its mouthfeel was heavy, its taste was watery. I was baffled by this sensory experience.

Though not as salty as some of the almond milk brands that ranked above it, I knew Mooala deserved a spot at the bottom of the ranking due to this, frankly odd, texture. If you were baking with it or using it in a recipe that would otherwise hide it, it might be fine. Plus, there are no real "off" flavors to it. However, if you were to use it in your coffee or in your cereal, you could definitely tell there's something wrong with it.

For those not in the know, bettergoods is Walmart's in-house premium brand. While Walmart's classic Great Value umbrella may encompass plain items, like basic jarred salsas, salad dressings, and ice creams, bettergoods offers funky and, occasionally, plant-based spins on these staple products. I was surprised not to see any Great Value almond milk in the refrigerated section of my local Walmart — just several varieties of bettergoods almond milk. I sampled the unsweetened original almond milk for this review, and I was honestly left wishing I didn't. 

The last flavor I expected to sample in an almond milk ranking was salty — but here it was. On the nose, the aroma doesn't give much away. Maybe there are some slightly nutty aromas at play, but not so much that I would be able to identify it as almond milk. When I tasted it, I noticed the saltiness almost immediately. It wasn't like a metallic or savory kind of salty; it was like someone tipped just a little too much Morton's into the carton of almond milk before serving. When I looked at the label, I saw that it contains 160 milligrams of sodium per 1 cup serving — which isn't much different from other brands on this list, at least in terms of quantity. Sea salt is the third most prevalent ingredient on the label, and I don't think it did bettergoods any favors. Considering that most people use almond milk for sweet — or at least neutral — applications, I don't think the saltiness fits in well. 

To be completely honest, it's really hard to describe and subsequently rank Califia Farms unsweetened almond milk. I knew that there was going to be at least one brand with a very raw and unadulterated flavor; I just wasn't expecting it to be Califia Farms. This almond milk is packed in a very attractive-looking bottle, and I was familiar with its brand as I had tried its coffee creamers before.

While the aroma is oddly nutty, I don't think that I would describe it as being very almondy. It kind of gave off a cashew milk-like smell. I couldn't really choose a word to describe its flavor, but if I had to, it would be "dusty." Regardless, it tastes like somebody made it in their kitchen rather than bought it at the grocery store. The very nutty, pulpy flavor persists in the mouthfeel and gives it a very weird and almost filmy texture. I could taste this almond milk for several minutes after trying it, which led me to believe that it wouldn't be a good fit for most of the things that people use almond milk for. If you're after the unadulterated taste of a homemade almond milk, it might appeal to you. But I'm betting that sentiment doesn't apply to most of the populace. Plus, when you consider that there are more neutral-tasting almond milks out there, I can't see why anyone would want to add this one to their cart.

I decided to taste Almond Breeze's unsweetened original almond milk after I had tasted Silk's. I assumed that the two would be neck-and-neck, as they both occupy a ton of shelf space. Both brands offered far more almond milk varieties than other brands at the store.

Almond Breeze's parent company is Blue Diamond. I am very familiar with it, as I have seen it many times in the nut aisle of the grocery store. And, I can confirm that the nut giant does a really good job at making a neutral-tasting almond milk that is easy to like. I think one of the problems with almond milk is that it can sometimes taste a little too nutty, which makes it very obvious that it's made with a very unique-tasting base. But Almond Breeze's product really didn't taste nutty in the slightest. It had a little bit of a lighter mouthfeel than the product that ranked above it, and its flavor was a touch more sour.

I ultimately had to rank Almond Breeze lower because its flavor was saltier. You might not notice it if you use it in a very sweet cereal or somewhere with a sugary flavor to hide it, but if you were drinking it from a glass, it's noticeable. In the grand scheme of things, though, I wouldn't have a problem buying either brand again. You might just need to consider how you plan to use it when selecting which one to buy.

I could only taste so many almond milks before I finally decided to bite the bullet and try the Silk unsweetened almond milk — arguably the most well-known almond milk brand on the market. The bottle touts that it has 50% more calcium than dairy milk, as well as other essential nutrients and no added sugar. I think that Silk might rest on its laurels as far as health claims go, based on this labeling, as not many other brands really feed into this "almond milk is healthy" marketing.

Going into this race, I assumed that Silk was going to be one of my top picks — simply because it has so many products. It must have perfected its recipe already, right? When I took a sip of this almond milk, which poured very nicely from the container, I thought that it had a solid flavor overall. There was no weird saltiness or awkward creaminess like there was with the Mooala product, and its flavor was otherwise mediocre. It wasn't particularly nutty, nor was it particularly sweet or flavorful. It might have been made with stale almonds, too (seeing as I couldn't really taste them); it was hard to tell. But overall, it's a pretty decent almond milk and one that I would use in everything from baking to cereal to really any other use where I wanted a non-dairy milk with a creamy texture, but not necessarily a strong flavor. However, it was beaten out by more affordably priced products.

When I went into this ranking and was making my shopping list, I tried to only purchase unsweetened almond milk. However, the only option carried by Nature's Promise at the time of writing is an original almond milk that contains 7 grams of total sugar per serving. While I get that this added sugar is not ideal for many people, I overall think that the benefits of this product outweigh its sugar content.

The flavor was certainly sweeter than the other almond milk that I had sampled (as expected), but I didn't think that its sweetness was so overwhelming that it would disrupt a recipe — even a savory one. The mouthfeel of this almond milk was almost that of soy milk. It was very creamy without any pulpy aftertaste or undertones. I can't say how big a role the sugar played in masking this flavor, but I can say that it paid off when it came to the overall flavor of this beverage. There weren't many brands that I sampled that I wouldn't mind drinking straight from the carton — but this is, surprisingly, one of them.

Despite being a non-name brand almond milk, it was very affordably priced, making it a good option for folks who shop at Stop & Shop, Nature's Promise's parent company. However, considering there is a slightly more affordable and non-sweetened option there, I had to rank this one in second place. It's still a valiant effort from a store-branded product.

Let's get one thing straight: I am a proud and unapologetic Aldi super-fan, but I can also admit that the grocery store, which is known for its great deals, sometimes goes wrong. However, I'm glad to say that its almond milk is one of the things that it does very well. This product is sold under the Friendly Farms label and comes in just a few varieties, compared to top picks and milk behemoths like Silk and Almond Breeze. But this small-but-mighty discount empire is really showing the almond milk world that it's a force to be reckoned with.

This was a very creamy, natural-tasting almond milk. It wasn't raw or pulpy like Califia Farms, nor did it have the slight saltiness of Almond Breeze or bettergoods. I could have sworn that I was drinking a very watered-down cow's milk or oat milk, which is a compliment when it comes to almond milk. If you aren't a big fan of almond milk because you don't like the mouthfeel or its nutty undertones, this would be a product that I would recommend trying.

Another big selling point of this Friendly Farms almond milk is its price. It's just over $2 for a carton, making it the most affordably priced almond milk that I sampled. I have purchased it in the past and can affirm that it is a very good value for the money. While it might not be as widely available in grocery stores as brands such as Silk and Almond Breeze, it's still a great-tasting and affordable almond milk option for all of the plant-based eaters out there.

In order to ensure peak freshness, I sampled each of these almond milks on the day that I purchased them. I opted to try them cold in a glass so that I could assess their overall flavor and mouthfeel without being distracted by other ingredients. 

I went into this ranking with the assumption that people usually don't drink almond milk straight from the glass, and especially not for its flavor. A good plant-based milk, in my opinion, is one that blends seamlessly with its surroundings and does not draw attention to itself. With that in mind, I ranked the almond milks with the most neutral flavor, clean, but creamy, mouthfeel, and versatility in recipes above those with pulpy aftertastes, sour or salty flavors, or some other textural issue that limits their use. Value was also a big point of consideration. While I didn't inherently score the most expensive product at the bottom of the list based on price alone, I did consider how the price and value correlated to decide whether a frugal plant-based eater like myself should buy it.