With food prices increasing over the past few years, Aldi has become one of the most popular retailers for affordable groceries. Fortunately for vegans and plant-forward eaters, they offer a variety of plant-based products like meatless meatballs, non-dairy ice cream, and non-dairy milk.
One of their most popular offerings is their oat milk. But if you’re looking to save money without compromising on quality, you may not be sure whether it’s worth it.
That’s where I come in! I’ve reviewed and tested the Aldi Oat Milk myself, giving you all the details on its nutrition profile and ingredient quality, as well as the most important question — does it taste good?
After reading this review, you’ll come away with a much better understanding of whether Aldi Oat Milk will fit your needs.
Friendly Farms Aldi Oat Milk – a brief overview
The oat milk at Aldi is from their private label, Friendly Farms. It has a very creamy consistency which works well in coffee, tea, and hot chocolate or as a non-dairy substitute for cream in soups and sauces.
Aldi Oat Milk is similar to other commercial brands, fortified with important nutrients like calcium, riboflavin, and vitamins A, D, and B12. Nutritionally, it’s almost identical to Oatly Original Oat Milk with the exception of Aldi’s slightly higher sodium content.
Aldi Oat Milk is a little higher in added sugars than I would typically prefer, especially if drinking multiple servings a day. However, I do think that it’s an excellent, nutritious choice overall especially if you aren’t getting too many added sugars from the rest of your diet.
Nutrition profile
Overall, Aldi Oat Milk is an excellent source of vegan-friendly vitamin D, calcium for strong bones and teeth, vitamin A for immune and vision support, and vitamin B12 for neurological function. I love that it has even more calcium than a cup of cow’s milk!
I typically recommend choosing non-dairy milk fortified with calcium and vitamin D at a minimum. It’s also a good idea for vegans to choose products fortified with vitamin B12. I was happy to see that Aldi Oat Milk is fortified with vitamin B12, since not all plant milks are.
Interestingly, the nutrition profile of Aldi Oat Milk is almost exactly the same as Oatly Original Oat Milk, except that Oatly is lower in sodium at 100 milligrams per cup.
You may have noticed that Aldi Oat Milk contains 7 grams of added sugar per cup despite having no sweeteners in the ingredients list. How is this possible?
It’s due to a process called “enzymatic hydrolysis” used in the production of many oat milk products. This process uses enzymes to break the natural carbohydrates in oats down into simpler, smaller sugars, improving the flavor and consistency of the final product.
These smaller sugars act like added sugars in the body, so they must be labeled as added sugars on the nutrition label. Oat milk produced without the use of enzymatic hydrolysis will have zero added sugars on the nutrition facts label.
Of note, a small amount of added sugars in the diet doesn’t pose much of a health concern. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends limiting added sugars to 10% of your total calories, or about 50 grams (200 calories) for a 2,000-calorie diet.
One cup of Aldi Oat Milk has 7 grams of added sugar, or 14% of the recommended daily limit for a 2,000-calorie diet. This leaves some room for other sweets in your day without overdoing it on sugar.
That said, if you already struggle to limit added sugars, it may be better to choose an oat milk with zero added sugars on the nutrition label, such as Oatly Unsweetened Oat Milk.
With only 3 grams of protein per cup, Aldi Oat Milk doesn’t make the cut for my list of high-protein plant-based milks. This means it isn’t the best choice for optimizing your protein intake. If you’re already getting enough protein from the rest of your diet, however, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Ingredients
Aldi Oat Milk contains the following ingredients:
- Oat beverage (filtered water, oats)
- Contains 2% of less of:
- High-oleic sunflower oil – A form of sunflower oil higher in monounsaturated fats
- Calcium carbonate – A form of calcium
- Tricalcium phosphate – A form of calcium and phosphorus, two essential minerals
- Sea salt – Flavor enhancer
- Gellan gum – An emulsifier, thickener, and stabilizer
- Potassium phosphate – A form of potassium and phosphorus
- Vitamin A palmitate – A form of vitamin A
- Ergocalciferol (vitamin D2) – A vegan-friendly form of vitamin D
- Riboflavin – Vitamin B2
- Vitamin B12 – An essential vitamin needed for neurological function
As you can see, Aldi Oat Milk is made primarily from oats and water. It also contains vitamins and minerals, salt, gellan gum (a thickener), and high-oleic sunflower oil.
Worried about seed oils? Contrary to widespread misinformation online, sunflower oil is a nutritious oil rich in vitamin E, a powerful antioxidant. High-oleic sunflower oil is a variety of sunflower oil higher in monounsaturated fats, meaning it holds up better to high temperatures and goes rancid less quickly.
You can read more here: Canola vs. Sunflower Oil: Nutrition, Oxidation, & Best Uses.
Another ingredient that gets a bad rap is gellan gum, a soluble dietary fiber and food additive used to improve the consistency of plant milk. It has gelling properties similar to gelatin, but is cruelty-free.
Gellan gum is only used in small amounts in food, and is considered safe when consumed in these amounts. There is no conclusive evidence in humans showing any harmful side effects of gellan gum.
Flavor & consistency
Aldi Oat Milk has a mild flavor with a slight bit of sweetness to it, although it doesn’t taste overly sweet. This means it works for both sweet and savory applications.
I usually use soy milk in my coffee for the extra protein, but I enjoyed the creamier consistency of this oat milk. It also worked well in homemade hot chocolate and as a cream substitute in a blended butternut squash soup I made for dinner one night.
Price
Aldi Oat Milk is very affordable at $2.89 a carton. That’s only $0.36 per cup, almost half that of Oatly Original Oat Milk priced at $0.67 per cup at my local Target.
For basically the same nutrition at Oatly, Aldi offers a real bang for your buck.
Final thoughts
Aldi Oat Milk is an affordable, delicious, and nutritious alternative to more expensive oat milk brands.
It isn’t as high in protein as soy or pea milk and is higher in added sugars than I’d typically recommend in a plant milk, especially when consumed every day. However, it can be consumed within a balanced diet as long as you aren’t getting too many added sugars from the rest of your diet.
For more information on choosing a non-dairy milk, check out A Vegan Dietitian’s Guide to Non-Dairy Milk.
The scientific information in this article was accurate at the time of publishing but may change over time as new research becomes available.
