What's the Difference Between Soy, Rice and Almond Milk?

Shopping for non-dairy milk has become increasingly confusing, with new flavors and variations added all the time. The three main players remain the same – soy, rice and almond – but what's the difference?

Soy Milk
Soy milk is probably the most popular, and the most controversial, depending on how you feel about soy in general. It typically has a thicker consistency than rice or almond milks, and lacking a sweet flavor (in non-sweetened varieties) is probably your best bet for cooking in savory dishes. Soy milk is made by soaking dry soybeans and then grinding them with water. The relationship between soy milk and tofu is similar to that of milk and cheese – both are coagulated protein versions of their liquid counterparts. Compared to dairy milk, soy milk has nearly as much protein, less fat and no cholesterol. Most soy milks are fortified to contain calcium and vitamins.

Rice Milk
Perhaps the most watery of the bunch, rice milk has a slightly sweet taste, and can be used in sweet recipes. It is typically made with a ratio of 1 cup cooked short-grain rice (usually brown rice) to 4 cups water. Nutritionally speaking, it contains more carbohydrates than dairy milk and no cholesterol, but does not contain significant portions of calcium or protein, although it is often fortified with vitamins and minerals. With very little natural fat, rice milk is often thickened with tapioca or a seaweed product called carrageenan.

Almond Milk
Made by blending almonds into water, almond milk dates back at least as far as Medieval Europe. Sometimes made with raw almonds, it is popular with raw food enthusiasts, though some recipes call for boiled or roasted almonds. It has a slightly sweet and nutty taste and can be used in non-savory dishes. Almond milk has nearly as much protein as dairy milk with little or no saturated fat.

All three non-dairy milks are often sweetened with sugar and other products, so read the labels carefully to be sure you know what you're buying.

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(Image: Flickr user ceanandjen, licensed under Creative Commons)

Comments (16)

there is a nice brand of oat milk in the UK called Oatily, and they also make an "oat cream" that is wonderful with berries!

no matter how much sugar and vanilla/chocolate/strawberry flavoring you add to it i just can't get past that liquid-cardboard taste of soy milk =(

when i was pregnant with my daughter i had to cut out dairy, and rice milk was my saving grace! i know it's not the nutritional knockout of the bunch, but it beat the taste of soy milk by a longrun in my book!

I've recently begun trying to get away from dairy and haved tried all three (still have yet to try oat or hemp milk).
So far, Almond Breeze almond milk with no sugar added is winning. I only use milk for ceral and it seems to taste the best and has the best consistency for me.
The only problem is that it isn't as fortified as the soy is and as a vegetarian, I like having 50% of my B12 in there.

I really like SILK unsweetened soy. It is in a green carton. But not available everywhere...I can't get it at Safeway but I can get it at Fred Meyer (Kroger).

It tastes exactly like regular milk IMHO.

Having to avoid dairy proteins entirely as well as soy, I have settled on Almond Breeze almond milk with no added sugar as well. It works best in the majority of my recipes. I have tried it in a few savory dishes and it works ok but the majority of savories have some sort of cream sauce with cheese so I have mainly just changed what I make.

Truenic - a lot of Kashi cereals are fortified with B12. I know their Healthy Heart one is and it is delicious!

I have a question. Why does some soy milk require refrigeration and some not? This confuses me, which is a bad thing, because I am already quite confused.

it's about how's its packaged.

if it's aseptically packaged (like juice boxes, just larger), then until it's opened; it does not need to be refridgerated.

if it is in a paper carton; then it needs to be refridgerated.

and all the aseptically packaged milks must be refridgerated once opened.

i'm not sure why you didn't mention that almond milk doesn't have any cholesterol either. i know you guys at thekitchn know that only animal products have cholesterol! that's why it's funny when peanut butter is all, 'no cholesterol!'

anyway, i've had a lot of good nondairy milk. depending on what you're aiming towards though, it's good to know that a lot of nondairy milks are made by companies that are less than ecologically sound (i don't have the list, but somewhere there is a flow chart of all the conglomerates that own 'organic' food companies.)

but anyway, my friend pointed out to me that the best soymilk ever is the asian vitasoy? i think it is vitasoy. it's different than the vitasoy we usually see in american stores, she gets it in chinatown. and it was really good.

cashews are pretty good for nondairy milkstuffs. there is a good cream called mimicreme that has no soy and no dairy, but lots of cashews.

i love all of the different milks from almond breeze. I like the vanilla flavor with plain cheerios. Usually I would add sugar to the bowl but now I just use the vanilla milk.

Almond milk is my favorite, but Hazelnut is the best by far when I have time to soak the nuts and make it myself. It is very easy to do. You can also ferment the pureed nuts that you filter to make dairy free yogurts (look up rejuvelac for the culture).
Hemp milk is also good and may work in savory dishes if you get the unsweetened.

I am both lactose and (mildly) soy intolerant, so alternatives are paramount for me. I have also heard of fermented soy milk (easier to digest) but I have never seen it unless it is one of those weird tasting yogurts. I have made it myself using regular (sugar is needed for a happy culture) Natura soy milk and 1 container of dairy-free Bio-K left on the counter for 8-12 hours or until it smells like the Bio-K did. (You can also keep it in the opened carton with the lid loose so it can breathe) It creates a very light yogurt which works the same as a milk.

I LOVE Silk chocolate soy milk. It tastes like chocolate pudding pie. Unfortunately it's also high in calories (even the "lite" version, if you drink a lot like I do), so it has to be a once in a while treat. Never had almond milk but I want to try it. My issue with rice milk in the past has been that it "settles" pretty quickly, and you end up with sediment at the bottom of the glass with no flavor in the liquid.

Also worth noting:

Soy milk tends to curdle in hot beverages such as coffee.

Most brands of rice milk are made with oil. If that concerns you, read the ingredients. Ryza is made with brown rice and without oil.

Not all brands of hemp milk are the same so if you try one and don't like it try another.

If you have a problem with your soy milk curdling in your coffee, heat the milk before you add it. It's the fast temperature change that does it.

I like Pacific Natural Foods's organic, unsweetened almond milk in the Original and Vanilla flavors. A cup of Original only has 35 calories. It is not as easy to find in grocery stores as Almond Breeze, but I prefer it. The box has a screw top, rather than the push-up top on Almond Breeze, which has come in handy to prevent spills more than once. One thing to keep in mind is that almond milk does not contain calcium, so if you are substituting it for dairy milk, you will need to get your calcium from another source.

Well I tried soy in every flavor euuuuu just could not get into it.
Been drinking a local store brand HEB MooTopia.. good but tomuch sugar. Neighbor uses rice milk and I tried some. It was good i just use it for my cereal. Low sugar, not great but my blood sugars stay down /
Question why do they have to put up to 12 grams of sugar in 8oz of milk? MaJ