The Best Plant-Based Milk in the UK. Every Type, Compared.

Why Are There So Many Plant-Based Milks?

Twenty years ago the dairy-free shelf in a UK supermarket was mostly soya. Now oat, almond, pea, coconut and rice sit alongside it, with hemp, cashew and potato turning up more often.

They aren't interchangeable. Soya brings protein, almond keeps calories down, oat behaves in coffee and rice avoids the major allergens. Which suits you depends on what you pour it into.

Plant-Based Milks Compared at a Glance.

Typical ranges for unsweetened drinks on sale in the UK. Brands vary, so check the label. Based on Clegg et al., Food Research International, 2021 and current UK labels.

The Six Main Types of Plant-Based Milk.

Soya milk.

Soya is where UK plant milk started, and it is still the one to beat on protein: around 3g per 100ml unsweetened, close to cow's milk, and soya protein contains all the essential amino acids. It is naturally low in sugar and behaves well in tea and cooking. Ordinary soya can split in hot coffee; barista versions are made to cope with it.

Soya is one of the 14 major allergens. On the recurring question of soya and hormones, current evidence suggests soya foods are safe as part of a normal, balanced diet.

Best for: protein, tea, cooking and baking.

Oat milk.

Oat is now the default plant milk in most UK cafés. It tastes mild and slightly sweet, and barista versions foam well for lattes. The sweetness comes from enzymes breaking oat starch down into sugars during processing, so even an oat drink with no added sugar contains some.

Protein is low. Oats are often grown and milled alongside wheat, barley and rye, so anyone with coeliac disease needs a drink labelled gluten-free. For oat set against cow's milk and almond, read What Makes Oat Milk the Best Plant-Based Milk?

Best for: coffee, cereal, tea and everyday pouring.

Almond milk.

Unsweetened almond is the lightest plant milk, often under 20 kcal per 100ml. It pays for that in protein, usually well under 1g, and in body: it can taste thin in coffee. Most almond drinks contain only a small share of almonds, so any calcium or vitamins have been added. Not suitable for anyone with a tree nut allergy.

Best for: smoothies, cereal and anyone counting calories.

Pea milk.

Pea drinks are made from yellow pea protein, usually with a plant oil for body. At around 2 to 3g of protein per 100ml they come closer to soya than anything else, and they are free from soya, nuts and gluten. The taste is neutral. Calcium and vitamins are there only if they have been added.

Best for: protein without soya or nuts.

Coconut milk.

The coconut drink in a carton is not the coconut milk in a tin. The carton drink is mostly water, at around 20 to 30 kcal per 100ml, with almost no protein. Its saturated fat, around 1g per 100ml, is higher than other plant milks and about the same as semi-skimmed cow's milk. Tinned coconut milk is far richer.

Best for: smoothies, curries and desserts.

Rice milk.

Rice drink is thin and naturally sweet. It is free from the most common allergens, which is why it suits some adults with several allergies, but it is very low in protein and higher in natural sugars than most plant milks. Rice drinks also contain more inorganic arsenic than other plant drinks, so the Food Standards Agency advises that children under 5 should not have them.

Best for: adults with several food allergies.

Newer and Niche Plant-Based Milks.

• Hemp. Earthy and nutty, with some omega-3 fats. Low to moderate protein.
• Cashew. Creamy and slightly sweet. Low in protein. Contains tree nuts.
• Hazelnut. A roasted flavour that works in hot chocolate and coffee. Contains tree nuts.
• Potato. Usually blended with pea protein and oil, and free from the major allergens. The nutrition depends on what has been added.
• Spelt. Tastes of cereal. Spelt is a type of wheat, so it contains gluten and is not suitable for coeliacs.
• Quinoa, flax and others. Rare on UK shelves, and usually blended with another base.

How to Choose a Plant-Based Milk.

For coffee.

Use a barista version. The extra protein and fat help build microfoam and stop the drink splitting in hot, acidic coffee. Oat and soya barista drinks are the most dependable. Steaming temperatures, curdling and latte art are covered in the best oat milk for coffee.

For tea and cereal.

Unsweetened oat or soya are the easy choices for tea. Add a splash first to check it doesn't split in your brew. For the bowl, including how sugar in the drink adds to sugar in the cereal, see the best plant milk for cereal.

For baking and cooking.

Soya and oat behave most like cow's milk in sauces, batters and bakes. Use unsweetened versions so the recipe controls the sugar.

For children.

From age 1, the NHS says unsweetened, calcium-fortified plant drinks such as soya, oat or almond can be part of a healthy, balanced diet. They should not replace breast milk or formula for babies under 1, and children under 5 should not have rice drinks. If a plant drink will be your child's main milk, ask your health visitor or GP about protein and iodine.

For allergies and intolerances.

• Tree nut allergy: avoid almond, cashew and hazelnut.
• Soya allergy: avoid soya, and check blends.
• Coeliac disease: choose an oat drink labelled gluten-free. Avoid spelt.
• Lactose intolerance: every plant-based milk is lactose-free.

Which Plant-Based Milk Is the Most Sustainable?

Every plant milk in the study below has a much smaller footprint than dairy. Among the plant milks themselves there is no outright winner.

Source: Poore and Nemecek, Science, 2018, via Our World in Data. Coconut, pea and others were not included in the study.

Almond has the lowest emissions but needs a great deal of water. Rice uses the least land and has the highest emissions of the plant milks. Oat and soya stay low on all three measures.

What the Footprint Figures Leave Out: the Water.

Those figures cover farming and processing. They don't show that nearly every plant milk on the shelf is mostly water, added at a factory, packed into a carton and driven around the country.

MYOM is an oat drink premix. An oat drink premix is oat drink made without the water. You add the water at home. It isn't a carton and it isn't a powder. Pour cold water into the bottle, add the pouch, shake for 30 seconds, top up and shake again.

Against a typical 1 litre carton, a MYOM pouch uses at least 80% less primary packaging by weight and ships around 87% less weight per litre. EIT Climate-KIC independently validated a saving of 0.106kg CO2e per litre against a standard imported carton, covering packaging, UK transport and household waste. The formats are compared in Carton vs Premix and Powder vs Premix.

MYOM Original or MYOM Barista?

MYOM Original is the everyday one: 34 kcal per 100ml, low in sugar and low in fat, for tea, cereal, smoothies and baking. It holds a Great Taste 2-Star award.

MYOM Barista has 1.2g of protein per 100ml against Original's 0.4g, from added fava bean protein, so it steams and makes cold foam. Vegan Food & Living named it Editor's Choice in Best New Launch 2026.

Both have no added sugar and are fortified with calcium, vitamin D, vitamin B12 and iodine. The full figures are in Plant-Based Milk Nutrition, or you can compare Original and Barista side by side.

Try MYOM. Start With a Starter Bundle.

A Starter Bundle is four pouches, four litres, and a reusable glass bottle to make it in.

• MYOM Barista Starter Bundle. £14.99. For flat whites, lattes and cold foam.
• MYOM Original Starter Bundle. £14.99. For tea, cereal and everyday pouring.
• Free UK delivery on Starter Bundles. Check the product page for current dispatch times.

Shop the Starter Bundles: myom.shop/collections/oat-milk

Not sure which? See Original and Barista side by side.

Keep reading

• Plant-Based Milk vs Cow's Milk. Which Nutrients Do You Need to Replace?
• What Makes Oat Milk the Best Plant-Based Milk?
• The Best Plant Milk for Cereal: A Complete Guide
• The Best Oat Milk for Coffee. What actually matters in the cup.
• Beyond the Carton: Powder vs Premix Oat Milk

Sources

1. Poore J, Nemecek T. Reducing food's environmental impacts through producers and consumers. Science, 2018.
2. Our World in Data. Environmental footprints of dairy and plant-based milks.
3. Clegg ME, Tarrado Ribes A, Reynolds R, Kliem K, Stergiadis S. A comparative assessment of the nutritional composition of dairy and plant-based dairy alternatives available for sale in the UK. Food Research International, 2021.
4. NHS. Drinks and cups for babies and young children.
5. Food Standards Agency. Arsenic in rice.

This article is for general information and is not medical or dietary advice. If you have specific dietary needs, speak to your GP or a registered dietitian. Figures correct at September 2026.