Best Tasting Almond Milk and Cashew Milk
As someone who drinks nut milk every day, I decided to do a taste test of various almond milks and cashew milks, and compare them to find my favorites. Here are the results!
If there’s one thing I have to say after comparing all the different types of almond milks and cashew milks available at the grocery store, it’s this:
It is astonishing how different they taste from each other.
Sure, there are a few that taste similar. For example, the Trader Joe’s brand has a similar taste and mouthfeel as 365 and Almond Breeze.
But overall, flavor and mouthfeel vary quite a bit from brand to brand.
There are also variations in added vitamins (if that’s something that’s important to you), as well as the thickeners that are used.
When I first made the switch from cow’s milk to nut milk, it was tough. Certainly they’re not the same, but I will say that some brands of nut milk are more similar to cow’s milk than others.
Let’s dive in and go over the taste test discoveries.
Here are the 8 almond milk and cashew milk brands I tasted, in alphabetical order:
- 365 Organic Unsweetened Almond Milk (Whole Foods Brand)
- Almond Breeze Unsweetened Original Almond Milk
- Califia Farms Unsweetened Almond Milk
- Forager Project Organic Cashew Milk
- New Barn Organic Original Almond Milk
- New Barn Organic Unsweetened Almond Milk
- Silk Unsweetened Cashew Milk
- Trader Joe’s Almond Beverage
Note that these are all “fresh” almond and cashew milks, as in, they’re in the refrigerated section and not shelf stable.
Why not include the shelf stable cartons?
Because if you’re drinking nut milks for taste, you’ll want to skip the non-refrigerated shelf milk. It doesn’t taste as good.
Also, I want to note that all of the nut milks I tasted were unsweetened versions, except for Forager Project, which is sweetened with dates, and New Barn Original, which is sweetened with maple syrup.
I threw those in just for fun and to compare, but surprisingly enough, they were two of my least favorite. I thought the added sweetness would make those contenders for my favorites, but that wasn’t the case.
Most almond and cashew milks have a natural sweetness anyway, without added sugar, so it makes sense.
For each nut milk, I go over taste, mouthfeel, ingredients, nutrition, and any other attributes I find worth mentioning.
Note that when I include percentages of vitamins below, I only bothered typing up the ones that were more than 5% DV (I don’t think it matters much if a cup of almond milk has 2% of my daily magnesium).
365 Organic Unsweetened Almond Milk
Taste: Mild, pleasant, neutral. There’s a natural sweetness here and it has a nice smell too. You know those cake ice cream cones that they have at the ice cream parlor? There’s a subtle note of those in here, in a good way.
Mouthfeel: Cohesive, even, and lightly creamy. The milk is not too thin and not too thick, and it doesn’t linger too long in the mouth. Clean finish.
Other notes: This nut milk is one of the most similar to cow’s milk. I’m generally weary of store brand products, but this was surprisingly good. It was one of my favorites, and I like that there are vitamins added.
Ingredients: Organic almond milk (filtered water, organic almonds), organic locust bean gum, sea salt, sunflower lecithin, tricalcium phosphate, gellan gum, potassium citrate, vitamin A palmitate, ergocalciferol (vitamin D2), Dl-Alpha-to-Copherol Acetate (vitamin E), Cyanocobalamin (vitamin B12)
Nutrition Facts for 1 cup: 40 calories, 3g fat, 2g carbs, 0g sugar, 1g protein
Vitamins: vitamin A 10%, calcium 10%, vitamin D 25%, vitamin B12 25%, vitamin E 50%
Almond Breeze Unsweetened Original Almond Milk
Taste: Clean, light, with a subtle sweetness. It felt like I was drinking the essence of almonds.
Mouthfeel: Fantastic. Creamy body, but not thick. Clean finish, and doesn’t linger too long in the mouth.
Other notes: I actually didn’t like this one at first but it really grew on me as I began tasting it against the others. My husband said this one feels the most like cow’s milk out of all of them, and I agree.
Ingredients: Almondmik (filtered water, almonds), calcium carbonate, sea salt, potassium citrate, sunflower lecithin, gellan gum, natural flavors, vitamin A palmitate, Vitamin D2, D-Alpha-Tocopherol (Natural Vitamin E)
Nutrition Facts for 1 cup: 30 calories, 2.5g fat, 1g carb, 0g sugar, 1g protein
Vitamins: vitamin A 10%, calcium 45%, vitamin D 25%, vitamin E 50%
Califia Farms Unsweetened Almond Milk
Taste: Pleasant, subtle almond flavor, slight sweetness. There was a little bit of “rice-yness” that I don’t like, but it’s not too strong.
Mouthfeel: Fantastic. It’s just right, for me. There is body to the liquid, but it’s not too thick. The mouthfeel reminds me a lot of cow’s milk. It’s thin enough to be thirst-quenching, but it does have a creaminess too. Very balanced and clean finish. Doesn’t linger too long in the mouth.
Other notes: Califia Farms was one of the first almond milks I ever tasted and I think they’re still one of the better options out there. It’s also one of the more commonly available brands. My toddler likes this milk and went back for followup drinks, which is a good sign.
Ingredients: Almondmilk (water, almonds), calcium carbonate, sunflower lecithin, sea salt, potassium citrate, natural flavors, locust bean gum, gellan gum
Nutrition for 1 cup: 35 calories, 3g fat, 1g carb, 0g sugar, 1g protein
Vitamins: calcium 45%
Forager Project Organic Cashew Milk
Taste: I think my husband summed it up with this comment: “That would take some getting used to.” I dislike the taste of this one. I feel like I’m tasting so many things, and not cohesively. There’s a cardboard flavor too. Pete kept saying “this one just tastes weird.”
Mouthfeel: Unpleasantly thick, chalky. Coats my mouth with both flavor and a thickness that I dislike. You can tell that there’s no gum in it, and there’s sediment. You can see stuff floating in the bottom of the glass.
Other notes: This is a gum free nut milk, and they thicken with other ingredients instead. With 4g of sugar per cup, it’s lightly sweet, but I can really taste the oats here and I don’t like that. Also, I didn’t notice when I purchased this that there are oats in it, so this milk would be trouble for people eating paleo or Whole30-compliant.
Ingredients: Cashewmilk (filtered water, cashews), dates, cassava root, gluten-free oats, natural flavor, vanilla extract, sea salt.
Nutrition for 1 cup: 80 calories, 3.5g fat, 10g carbs, 4g sugar, 2g protein
Vitamins: none added
New Barn Organic Original Almond Milk
Taste: It’s hard to separate the sweetness of the maple syrup from the almonds, but the taste is delicious and high-quality. It tastes like homemade almond milk, though very sweet. You definitely taste the maple.
Mouthfeel: Chunky, coats the mouth. There are little clumps of almond cream/fat floating in it, despite shaking. Liquid is bordering on chalky, and it coats the mouth longer than other brands.
Other notes: With 7g of sugar per cup, this stuff is definitely sweet. I wouldn’t drink this for thirst quenching. This is probably a better option for baking or for adding to coffee.
Ingredients: Organic Almondmilk (water, organic almonds), organic maple syrup, organic acacia gum, sea salt
Nutrition for 1 cup: 120 calories, 8g fat, 10g carbs, 7g sugar, 3g protein
Vitamins: none added
New Barn Organic Unsweetened Almond Milk
Taste: Similar to homemade, clean flavor, tastes like almonds.
Mouthfeel: A little chunky, despite shaking. There are little clumps of fat floating in the milk, kind of like coconut milk in the can, though it dissolves much more easily in the mouth than coconut cream. I don’t find this quality to necessarily be a bad thing, but it’s not cohesive like other brands. The liquid sticks around in your mouth longer than other brands.
Other notes: With only three ingredients, this is probably the closest you’re going to get to a homemade almond milk. It tasted homemade when I first tried it blind.
Ingredients: Organic Almondmilk (water, organic almonds), organic acacia gum, sea salt
Nutrition for 1 cup: 120 calories, 8g fat, 10g carbs, 7g sugar, 3g protein
Vitamins: none added
Silk Unsweetened Cashewmilk
Taste: Strong, but delicious. This tastes like liquid toasted cashews. It has a clean flavor that’s cohesive. There’s a slight sweetness, even though there’s no added sugar.
Mouthfeel: A little thicker than some of the other nut milks, but still has a nice balance of being thin and drinkable, creamy, but not too thick. It has a milky, creamy body, and doesn’t linger too long in the mouth.
Other notes: I drink this milk regularly. Long ago I tried it on a whim and was stunned by how much more I liked it as compared to almond milk, so I switched. I have used this cashew milk in a lot of baked goods like these Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcakes and these Whole Wheat Pancakes with great results.
Ingredients: Cashewmilk (filtered water, cashews) Contains 2% of less of: Almond butter, vitamin and mineral blend (including calcium carbonate, vitamin E acetate, vitamin A palmitate, Vitamin D2), Sea salt, natural flavor, sunflower lecithin, locust bean gum, gellan gum, ascorbic acid.
Nutrition for 1 cup: 25 calories, 2g fat, 1g carbs, 0g sugar, <1g protein
Vitamins: vitamin A 10%, calcium 45%, vitamin D 25%, vitamin E 20%
Trader Joe’s Almond Beverage
Taste: Flavorful, clean, cohesive taste. My husband’s first impression of this was, “This one actually has flavor. Others are bland.” I found the taste to be well rounded, and it tastes like the essence of almonds. It has a natural sweetness to it.
Mouthfeel: Similar to 365. Cohesive mouthfeel, relatively thin but still creamy, definitely not overly thick. The milk doesn’t linger too long in the mouth.
Other notes: I like Trader Joe’s, but sometimes I find their branded products to be lower quality and less flavorful than I’d like, so I was a little prejudiced against this one. But, it surprised me! I really like the taste and mouthfeel of this milk and would definitely buy it again.
Ingredients: Almond base (filtered water, almonds), tricalcium phosphate, sea salt, gellan gum, dipotassium phosphate, xanthin gum, sunflower lecithin, vitamin a palmitate, vitamin d2, d-alpha tocopherol (vitamin E)
Nutrition for 1 cup: 40 calories, 3g fat, 2g carbs, <1g sugar, 1g protein
Vitamins: vitamin A 10%, calcium 45%, vitamin D 25%, vitamin E 50%
Final Conclusions:
I decided not to factor cost into this taste test, because I wanted to judge truly on the deliciousness of the products. But I honestly expected to find that I liked some of the more expensive nut milks with the pretty bottles, because I tend to associate a higher price with higher quality and flavor…but that was not the case for me here. The less expensive or average cost nut milks were overall my favorites.
My personal favorite: Silk Unsweetened Cashew Milk – I love the flavor and mouthfeel, I like that it has some added vitamins, and it’s one of the less expensive options.
Runner up: Trader Joe’s Almond Beverage – Good flavor and mouthfeel, one of the less expensive options.
I would buy it again: Califia Farms, Almond Breeze, and 365 if they were what was available when I was shopping.
If you have any further questions about any of these milks, leave a comment below.
Do you have a favorite nut milk, or characteristics you like? Let me know in the comments.
Disclaimers: Of course, all of my opinions here are very subjective, so if you drink nut milk regularly, it may be worth it for you to buy several and do a taste test of your own. All of the nutritional information was typed from the outside of the packages. Ingredients and nutrition may change, so check these ingredients and the nutrition when you purchase.
19 Comments on “Best Tasting Almond Milk and Cashew Milk”
Between the Califia and the Almond breeze, which to go with?
if you can get both do a blind taste test and see which one you prefer 🙂
Very helpful information,I.am.currently making my own cashew and almond milk,but may want to have store bought occasionally
I use open nature almond milk for my coffee I was looking for a roasted almond flavor unsweetened for the less sugar option but when I tried this one it turned out to taste quite good but I’m still looking for the roasted almond taste this one doesn’t have it but it still tastes quite good any recommendations for a brand that has the roasted almond taste?
I am a die-hard cow’s milk enthusiast forced into a Fins & Feathers diet due to an alpha-gal allergy.
I have very limited choices as I live an hour from the city and big grocery stores. I make an occasional trip to civilization to stock up on non-dairy items not available at home. I keep trying these nut milks in hopes of finding a perfect balance of creamy thickness, smooth mouth feel, no aftertaste, and slightly sweet.
So far, I prefer the Almond Breeze Original Almond/Coconut blend, although I really don’t like coconut in anything. The balance of creaminess, mouth feel, sweetness, and how long it lingers with an aftertaste is closer to cow’s milk (aside from the coconut). If I could just find that same creaminess in an UNFLAVORED almond/coconut milk, I’d be thrilled!
I prefer the milder, slightly sweet taste of unsweetened cashew milk to that of unsweetened almond milk. I think that cashew tastes a bit closer to dairy milk than almond. I use Silk unsweetened cashew milk.
Just a comment on Silk, I haven’t tried their Cashew milk but I’ll give it a try on your recommendation. However, I feel very strongly against their almond and soy varieties and they have a strong artificial taste. I’m an Almond Breeze drinker and the almond flavor is faint. With Silk, it tastes like fake almond flavored.
One other question – have you used any of them in coffee? I tried the Almond Breeze almond-cashew blend and it didn’t combine well with the coffee compared to regular almond milk. Separated particles appeared in the latte.
Hi Jon, let me know what you think of the silk cashew. We drink it every day. I realize a lot of this probably comes down to personal taste, but we think it’s the best. Unfortunately I don’t have any good recommendations on the coffee, as I’m not a coffee drinker.
Jon, for coffee, absolutely try Elmhurst brand”Milked Cashews”. It is so creamy and amazing and doesn’t have that artifical/gummy taste at all. Only 4g sugar total in the whole bottle. It is by far my favorite brand I’ve tried. I don’t like Califia brand stuff at ALL as it tastes awfully gummy to me, and I’ve had similar experiences with a couple of Silk and other brand products. I’m serious, try the Elmhurst Milked Cashews.. it is absolutely amazing and thick and creamy in coffee, and it doesn’t separate or leave any particles even in iced coffee. It’s great to use as a base for sauces too!!
@Jon V
I have to agree with you on the Silk almond milk. It’s more expensive than the other brands and it is absolutely the worst I’ve ever had. Friendly Farms almond milk is decent (from Aldi’s) but Blue Diamond’s Almond Breeze is the best I’ve ever had. The Silk almond milk is so nasty. The company should just take it off the market if that’s the best they can do.
Hi Joanne, I really appreciate that you took the time to compare these non dairy drink. I’ve been drinking Rice milk becayit basically has a “no taste “ taste which I prefer in my English Breakfast tea. So would you say that the 365 Organic Almond Milk that you tried had the LEAST almond taste out of the drinks you compared?
Thanks
Rose
Hi Rose, if you haven’t tried the silk cashew milk, I honestly recommend that over any almond milk. Cashew milk doesn’t have the “cardboard taste” that almond milk has.
I recently tried the Forager Organic Original Cashew Milk when it was on sale at Whole Foods. Ugh! I found it extremely watery and tasteless except for an unpleasant slight nutty flavor. I drank about a quarter cup and promptly asked for a refund next time I was at Whole Foods. Fortunately, they gave me one.
I like Trader Joe’s unsweetened almond milk (I usually add a little liquid stevia to it); the texture is creamy and the taste is very mild. I haven’t tried any other nut milks yet, and I make my own coconut milk.
It really is bad. The bottle looks so pretty too! TJ’s is good, I agree!
Thank you for doing theses comparisons, i am looking for a nut milk that has no sweet taste period so i can make cream based soups etc that does not have that sweet taste.
Hi Kendra, fortunately there are quite a few offerings that are zero-sugar, so that would work for soup!
Very interesting, thanks for the recommendations! I’ll have to try cashew next time.
Hi Joanne, thanks for doing this comparison. I have been thinking of switching from cows milk to nut milk so this came at a great time. Here in British Columbia Canada I can get three of your suggestions. I was wondering if you tried any of these nut milks on cereal and if you did what did you think?
Nancy ??
Hi Nancy, I think nut milk on cereal is definitely an adjustment. I don’t eat cereal much but I remember trying it, and it’s different. My dad (who drinks dairy too), uses almond milk on his cereal to save on calories, since he really just uses enough to moisten. It’s a personal call, so I think you should try and see. Good luck!