Gwynedd Stuart
Danny Palumbo
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.
The following article contains affiliate links that may generate a small commission to us when you make a purchase through the link. Learn more about how we work with affiliates here.
- Oatly Chocolate
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
-
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
Justine Sterling
Jordan Myrick
Heads up, WalMart appears to have rebranded their “Great Value” brand oat milk as “bettergoods”. Same great stuff, though.
Absolutely agreed that Chobani is the best, but not a big fan of the extra creamy for general drinking. Great for anything else. I drink the regular daily.
This guide was helpful as I navigated which oat milk was best to make my daily Cometeer latte.
Update 2023: I’ll get Planet Oat original in a pinch, but Sporked is dead-on, I go for Great Value in my oat milk lattes and have planned grocery trips around it. Does what it’s supposed to and doesn’t overtake the flavors I’m drinking a latte for.
I have tried all of the tanked ones but my favorite is Califia Farms Barista Blend. I use it for everything and have to buy it in bulk. It gets bonus points from me because it’s shelf stable.
Anybody ever had rise oat milk? Their vanilla oat milk is my personal favorite.
Can’t believe Trader Joe’s oat milk ranked so high! But completely agree with Chobani’s ranking, my go to for oat milk, delish in coffee and baking.
Loaded this article on my phone at the store and bought vanilla oat Silk on the strength of it. Enjoying it on my mini-wheats now — yum!
I am suprised that planet oat got such high scores. I just tried it and the sediment it left behind was alarming… My coffee cup looked like it had been used to start a batch of flesh-colored slime. The taste is fine, until you get to the bottom of the cup or bowl. It also did that thing bad milk does in hot coffee…the tiny curdles…did I drink it anyway? Yes. But some people probably wouldn’t.
interesting. I didn’t actually get to the bottom of the container. The taste is rather neutral, which I personally enjoy.
My brother buys Elmhurst for him and his family, which I quite enjoy. It’s the most natural of the bunch, and I didn’t notice any curdling. Pretty thin, though.
Silk Extra Creamy Oat Milk is the ONLY one that did it right.
In your expert Sporked opinion…. How does the Extra Creamy Planet Oat Oat Milk hold up to the Ciobani Extra Creamy you have in first? Because in my opinion Planet Oat is the best Oat milk on the market!
You know, I’m not sure that we tried the Extra Creamy Planet Oat, just the Original. I’ll make sure to include it as we update the list, though. I loved that Planet Oat has less sugar – I’m more about the plain taste of Oat Milk. Personally, I like Elmhurst a lot for that reason. It’s just all natural. A little too watery, though, Elmhurst is.
Planet Oat Extra Creamy is probably the best oat milk I’ve ever tried! It’s superior imo
I tend to drink chai instead of coffee (preference) and if you’ve ever had a strong oat milk in your chai latte you know how bad that flavor can be.
This confuses me because my major issue with oat milk is the overly oat-grass flavor that tends to come with it and I don’t see much here about how much that flavor comes through. Any chance of adding something here on how oat-y the taste actually is for people who want to switch to something sustainable but don’t want that overly grassy aftertaste? The consistency and texture review is fantastic but is Chobani Plain Extra Creamy because of the texture and actual oat flavor or is it at the top because of the texture and a very subtle flavor? Ultimately what tastes the least like oat with out added vanilla and way too much sugar?
I’d love to see one of these done with nut milks (cashew is more sustainable than almond at this point but that could be due to the low demand. Its also my favorite on creamy texture and subtle flavor).
I find that the Extra Creamy Planet Oat milk is the best for Chai. I dont get the oat grass flavor from it and the texture is great.
#5- Starbucks uses Oatly Barista for their coffee’s…the regular will not make your at home coffee taste the same if that is what your looking for. It often sells out quick but stock up because it is delish!! Another alternative for coffee creamer is Planet Oat creamer- the coffee cake flavor has an amazing cinnamon flavor. Have a great day!
I’m so surprised that this: https://www.califiafarms.com/products/extra-creamy-oat-milk-48oz didn’t make the list! It’s a great substitute to dairy milks and my all time favorite oat milk. Highly recommended.
This ^
Its so funny, because I am kind of not a huge fan of it compared to things like chobani or oatly. Its funny how just oat milk can have so many differing opinions, like i wouldnt be caring if it were normal milk, i wouldnt notice, but its fun with non dairy milk because like, every one is different and you can hunt out your favorite by trying different ones!
I’m with Steve on this. Califia Oat Milk might be my least favorite for usage as a latte mixer. Just not good.