We Made Almond Milk and Oat Milk to Find the Best Nut-Milk Makers
We tried the Almond Cow and three other models to make dairy-free milk at home. Some were a lot easier to use than others.
When you shop through retailer links on our site, we may earn affiliate commissions. 100% of the fees we collect are used to support our nonprofit mission. Learn more.
Cow’s milk is out and dairy-free (or raw dairy) milks are in. U.S. per capita milk consumption has decreased year over year in the past decade, while the U.S. market for plant-based dairy grew by 11 percent from 2021 to 2022. Reasons abound. Veganism is easier than ever to adopt in the U.S., and the number of people who call themselves vegans appears to be on the rise. Still others opt for nut milk (like almond or cashew) or oat milk simply because they like the flavor better or find that it agrees with their gut better than dairy milk.
- Nut-Milk Makers: Products We Tried How We Evaluated Them Why Nondairy Milk?
The Arcmira Automatic Nut Milk Maker was simple to use, with easy instructions and incredibly basic controls. There were only two buttons to choose from, with very clear temperatures, plus a self-cleaning button. The adjustable temperature means you can make all kinds of plant-based milks, including oat, almond, and cashew.
Arcmira was also very quick to use, with only 6 to 7 minutes required (this includes prep and cleaning time) to produce 20 ounces of plant-based milk.
The Arcmira maker specifically shined with its self-cleaning function, which worked better than those of the other makers we tried. A brush is included to help you get into the blades. (This is important because spoiled milk doesn’t smell great and can quickly grow bacteria.)
The Arcmira felt sturdy as well. It’s made from stainless steel with a hard plastic outer shell. The plastic handle is ergonomic. Perhaps best of all, the Arcmira produces oat and nut milk that is by far better-tasting than those you can buy in a store. You can doctor the mix with vanilla, cinnamon, salt, maple syrup, or honey, but you’ll likely want to drink this straight.
The Arcmira maker is nearly identical to our runner-up, the AlfaBot, but it’s slightly cheaper.
The AlfaBot Automatic Nut Milk Maker is nearly identical to the Arcmira. It’s equally as sturdy, with stainless steel inside and a plastic shell and handle to protect it. It has two buttons with clear temperatures, plus a self-cleaning function that works beautifully. Like the Arcmira, you’ll also find a cleaning brush included for the blades.
The AlfaBot was similarly quick to use, creating 20 ounces of nut or oat milk within 6 minutes. And it comes with very easy-to-follow instructions. The AlfaBot’s only downside, compared to the Arcmira, is that it’s slightly more expensive. At nearly $100 ($30 more than the Arcmira at the time of this writing), but with identical features that make tasty plant milks, we think you’d be better off to choosing the Arcmira. But if you can’t find it, this is also a good option.
Other Nut-Milk Makers
These two models didn’t impress us as much as our winning models.
Photo: Jenni Gritters Photo: Jenni Gritters
The Chef’n Nut Milk Maker: The cheapest option we tried, this $30 nut milk maker was easy to use, with a simple screw-top colander. But it requires you to boil water, soak the materials, blend them, and then filter them, which takes nearly four times as long as the other makers on this list. The results taste good, but you’ll need to be patient. It also doesn’t come with a self-cleaning cycle, although it’s easy to clean because it’s so basic.
The Almond Cow Milk Machine: This nut milk maker is more than triple the cost of our top choice, the Arcmira, but we didn’t find that the extra cost led to a better experience. It has only a single button to press on the top of the machine, and it’s fast to use, creating nondairy milk in under 5 minutes. The single button does mean, however, that the appliance is less flexible: You can’t adjust the temperature settings or timer for different kinds of milk, which means you might need to boil ingredients beforehand. For the price, we would want more flexibility. This maker was also the hardest to clean compared with the others we tried because it has so many pieces. That said, it’s also very hardy, and we think it would last longer than the other makers due to its metal construction.
How We Evaluated Nut-Milk Makers
We ordered four of the most popular nut-milk makers and put the results to the test against popular store-bought brands like Oatly and Elmhurst Milked Almonds. We used each maker according to its instructions, using them to produce oat and almond milk.
We taste-tested the resulting nondairy milks with and without flavorings (like cinnamon, salt, maple syrup, and honey). We also made almond milk the traditional way, soaking the almonds in water and then processing them, and compared the time savings to using the machines.
Finally, we noted how easy (or annoying) they were to keep in great condition. And we took note of the cost differences between store-bought almond and oat milks vs. buying a machine and all the ingredients.
Photo: Jenni Gritters Photo: Jenni Gritters
Why Choose Nondairy Milk?
Taste: During testing, we found that homemade almond, cashew, and oat milk tasted far better than the options we tried from a store, including Elmhurst Milked Almonds and Oatly. They tasted fresh and had a distinctive taste related to the ingredients. With a pinch of salt and cinnamon, and a drizzle of maple syrup, we wanted to drink tall glasses of plant milk and found that they tasted more delicious than cow’s milk. We all preferred it in our coffee, cereal, and smoothies. Oat milk foams in a similar way to dairy milk, while almond and cashew milk are a bit thinner.
Nutrition: Plant-based milks aren’t necessarily more healthful than dairy milk, according to a recent Consumer Reports analysis. In fact, choosing plant milk instead of cow’s milk can mean you’ve lost one of your diet’s top sources of calcium. Some plant-based milks are fortified and can help with this. Look for ones that have at least 300 mg of added calcium per serving, which is roughly the same as you’d find in a cup of dairy milk.
Cow’s milk also contains protein, while plant-based milks don’t. If the plant-based milk you’re trying is fortified, aim for brands (like Elmhurst) that contain more protein as well as added vitamin D. Soy milk is the exception; it contains a similar amount of protein per cup as cow’s milk.
“The nutritional fortification process is missing in DIY nondairy milks,” Hormachea says. “It would be more nutritious to just eat oatmeal or whole almonds than to make milk from them at home.”
And if you’re concerned about added oils, thickeners, and sugars, she encourages everyone to do their research about products that avoid these ingredients but still provide nutritional fortification. Making your own plant-based milk means you avoid these additives.
A vegan diet: Plant-based diets are becoming much more widely accepted. Veganism, which is defined as abstaining from consuming all animal products, may be a reason to opt for nondairy milk in your diet. Vegans typically avoid eggs, meat, dairy-based milk, and cheeses.
Asha Patel, founder of the tea company Leely Chai Co., became vegan because she no longer wanted to contribute to what she says is the exploitation of animals. “Factory farming is intensive animal agriculture, where profit is maximized at the expense of the animal,” she says. “These animals are sentient beings just like our dogs. Once I learned of what they go through, I realized I did not want to contribute to their exploitation, suffering, and abuse.“
She opts for oat and soy milk in chai, coffee, oatmeal, and baking. And she reminds interested people that vegan diets can be incredibly healthy.
Lactose intolerance: “Given that almost 70% of the world’s population has lactose malabsorption [intolerance], it’s no surprise that plant-based milks are on the rise,” Hormachea says.
Environmental concerns: Alternative milks are better for the planet than dairy. (A 2018 study showed that producing a glass of cow’s milk results in three times more greenhouse gas emissions than plant-based milk. It also consumes nine times more land.)
But that doesn’t mean nondairy milks are in the clear. Almond milk, in particular, requires more water than the crops grown for other alternative milks. A recent article in the Guardian reported that 130 pints are required to produce a single class of almond milk. Almond milk production can also be dangerous for bees. In this environmental equation, oat milk typically comes out on top.
