The best oat milk is creamy, oaty but not too oaty, and a great milk alternative if you’re dairy free. Oat milk is making serious gains among socially conscious consumers, and for good reason. It’s the most allergen friendly of the alt milks, it’s vegan, and it’s only second to almond milk in terms of carbon emissions.
Some oat milk is minimalistic and natural, while other types include a small amount of gum and stabilizers to recreate that creamy milk texture. Some oat milks have added calcium, some are shelf stable, and some are loaded up with sweet, sweet sugar, which, to us at least, isn’t a bad thing. Milk, in all of its various forms, should be an enjoyable experience, and healthy, vegan-friendly food doesn’t have to be bland. A little sugar helps.
So, what are we looking for in the best oat milk brand? Well, it should have flavor, body, and versatility. You should be able to use it for cereal, lattes, cake, and to make mac and cheese. But some oat milks just seem better suited than others to certain uses. That’s why, in this list, you’ll find not only the best oat milk overall, but also the best oat milk for cereal, the best oat milk for coffee, etc. Over the course of three separate taste tests, we tried and retried the best oat milk brands to find the best tasting oat milk you can buy.
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- Oatly Chocolate
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We only tried a couple, but this was the best chocolate oat milk we tasted in our taste test. It’s extremely creamy, and the oaty flavor really melds nicely with the flavor of chocolate—it reminds me of drinking chocolate pudding. If you really want bold chocolate flavor, I’ll admit this probably isn’t the best chocolate oat milk for you, but it’s really good if you just want a quick sweet treat rather than a total cocoa bomb. Very satisfying and great for vegans! —Gwynedd Stuart
Credit: Liv Averett / Instacart
- Planet Oat Original Oatmilk
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Planet Oat isn’t the thickest oat milk, but it’s not watery either; there’s something refreshing about the texture. Also, it has less sugar than some of the other oat milks on this list, making it an excellent base-level option for your cereal. Whether you pair it with something healthy like a fiber cereal or go full sugar monster with something like Cap’n Crunch, Planet Oat is a great addition to your breakfast bowl. I’m on board. Shoot me into space, Planet Oat. —Danny Palumbo
Credit: Ryan Martin / Amazon
- The Original Oatly Oat Milk
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Oatly has a full-bodied creaminess that has made it the oat milk brand of choice for Starbucks. It works well in lattes and cappuccinos, but it shines brightest in cold brew. Oatly has a hint of vanilla and a slight nuttiness to it that makes it quite enjoyable and versatile. This is the best oat milk for coffee, period. —Danny Palumbo
Credit: Ryan Martin / Walmart
- Trader Joe’s Non-Dairy Oat Beverage
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Trader’s Joe’s Oat Beverage is creamy and has a great, concentrated oat flavor. There’s some slightly earthy notes that are accented by the milk’s relatively thick texture. This is exactly what the box says: It’s an oat beverage. Keep it cold, drink it by the glass, dunk cookies into it, make a White Russian, so long as you obey the package and treat it like a drink. This is the best oat milk if you really want to taste oats. Important note: Trader Joe’s has two different types of oat milk, and here we’re talking about the perishable one in the refrigerated section. —Danny Palumbo
Credit: Ryan Martin
- Whole Foods 365 Original Oat Non-Dairy Beverage
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Whole Foods 365 Oatmilk is smooth and creamy, yet refreshing. There isn’t an overwhelming blast of sugar, meaning you can harmlessly add it to just about anything. It’s a lot like 2% milk in that regard: It’s plain, but not bland. Plus, the texture is perfectly balanced; not too creamy, not too watery. That means it’s versatile. This is the best oat milk to add some decadence to your oatmeal. Use Whole Foods 365 confidently, and use it often. —Danny Palumbo
Credit: Ryan Martin / Whole Foods
- Oat Silk Vanilla
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As Sporked’s Jordan Myrick put it, “This tastes like birthday cake.” Silk Vanilla is straight-up delightful and sugary, and yet it doesn’t have more sugar than many of the other brands on this list. It also has the best raw flavor by a mile. If you want to double down on flavored cereal or are looking for a lactose-free, flavored creamer substitute for coffee, this is the best oat milk brand. There’s also a ton of possibilities to explore if you want to bake with an oat milk that has a subtle birthday cake flavor to it. Silk Vanilla scores big in the “pure joy” category and that’s of utmost importance to us here at Sporked. —Danny Palumbo
Credit: Ryan Martin / Amazon
- Oatly Unsweetened Oat Milk
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At home, I only drink unsweetened alternative milk. To me, cereal tastes even better when I know I’m not consuming unnecessary sugars. Seriously, unsweetened oat milk tastes good! If it’s your preference, too, give Oatly Unsweetened a shot. You have to shake it up really good, but it’s delicious. It’s not super creamy; in fact, it’s more like skim milk in terms of viscosity, but personally, I don’t like cereal with thick milk with cereal. The wild thing is that even though it’s pretty thin and refreshing, it has an excellent oaty flavor. It’s really delicious and I think its character comes through even better without any added sugar. Note: If you want thick unsweetened oat milk, try Planet Oat Unsweetened. But this is the best unsweetened oat milk for my oat milk money. —Gwynedd Stuart
Credit: Liv Averett / Target
- Chobani Plain Extra Creamy
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This is the best oat milk if you like it thick. Like, half and half thick. It also has a delightfully fresh and neutral flavor. Squirt in some Hershey’s syrup to make bangin’ chocolate milk. Use it for cereal, coffee, and baking. Chobani would also make an amazing smoothie or latte. After our most recent taste test,e bumped this from the top spot in favor of something a little less thick, but no less creamy. —Gwynedd Stuart
Credit: Ryan Martin / Target
- Great Value Original Oatmilk
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That’s right: Walmart’s budget oat milk bumped Chobani from the top spot, taking the title of best oat milk. I’m a Chobani loyalist, so this wasn’t easy for me, but Great Value Original oat milk just has so much going for it. It fills your mouth with a rich, almost fatty flavor, but it’s actually way less fatty than Chobani Extra Creamy (Great Value has 3.5 grams of fat and 3 grams of sugar, while Chobani has 8 grams of fat and 7 grams of sugar). It’s creamy but not thick. It’s beautifully neutral so you can use it in anything and be happy. If you like very, very thick oat milk, go for our #2. If you want something you can really chug, this is the best oat milk you can buy. — Gwynedd Stuart
Best Chocolate
Best Oat Milk for Cereal
Best Oat Milk for Coffee
Best Oat Flavor
Best 2% Substitute
Best Vanilla Oat Milk
Best Unsweetened Oat Milk
Best Thick
Best of the Best
