I’ve tried a lot of popular oat-milk brands out there — here’s why I think Oatly is the best

“Alternative milk” can be a lifeboat for people who are lactose intolerant or want to be dairy-free. Milk substitutes come in various forms — like soy, almond, cashew, rice, or coconut, to name a few — but oat has become increasingly popular.

I personally don’t have any dietary restrictions, but my girlfriend does have an allergy to both dairy and nuts, so I’m now trained to keep an eye out for nut- and dairy-free milk alternatives every time I venture out into the world — which has admittedly been a lot easier since moving to Brooklyn, the hipster capital of the world.

Once oat milk hit the scene, we were immediately intrigued and began trying a variety of brands to determine which one was our favorite. While the versions offered by established brands like Silk and Pacific Foods were solid, Swedish brand Oatly quickly became our go-to fridge-filler, even though it has a reputation for being notoriously hard to find both online and in physical grocery stores. Besides being dairy-free, the beverage is also gluten-free and vegan.

Oatly offers a few different varieties of its popular drink — the Original, a Barista Edition that you might’ve have seen at your local coffee shop, chocolate versions of both the original and barista ones, and a low-fat version of the original flavor. The brand also has oat milk “ice cream,” which is currently only available at Oatly’s site but will roll out in stores this June and be available nationwide in the fall.

The brand invented its complicated oat-milk formula more than 30 years ago at a university in Sweden, and is now sold across the US and in several other countries around the world. Surprisingly, the final product consists solely of oats, water, and less than 2% of rapeseed oil (a type of vegetable oil) and added vitamins. The chocolate version includes cocoa powder, of course.

But it’s not as easy as throwing those items into a blender though. Oatly goes through an extensive patented process to separate the soluble fibers in the oats that help them create all the different types of oat milks, creamers, and “ice cream.”

Beyond being a tasty drink that my girlfriend can consume safely, the thoughtful packaging is one of the major reasons we’re an Oatly household. The packaging provides fascinating information about how the brand created oat products and how it accomplished its goal of inventing a plant-based alternative that’s easier on the earth and our digestive systems.

Currently, only the original and barista oat milks are available for online purchase in the US.

Here’s how each of the different oat milks from Oatly taste:

The Original Oatly Oatmilk

I love the Original Oatmilk because instead of trying to replicate the taste of traditional dairy milk, it offers its own unique and delicious flavor. Compared to other common milk alternatives like almond and soy, it offers a fuller bodied drink, so a little goes a really long way — which is good for my girlfriend and I since it costs almost $8 for one liter.

Oatly has a nuttier flavor than dairy milk despite not having any nuts and tastes more like a vanilla-flavored milk than oatmeal — which you’d expect, of course. The texture itself has a very creamy consistency too — which I didn’t expect as it’s considered vegan.

Oatly’s full-bodied creaminess has an almost dessert-like quality, so it’s more like a creamer when added to coffee instead of milk. In fact, my favorite way to drink oat milk is to add it to iced coffee, because it makes it taste like coffee-flavored ice cream.

The Original Oatly Oatmilk Barista Edition

If you’ve ordered oat milk at a local or artisan coffee shop, then you’ve probably seen — and used — the Barista Edition drink.

One of the first things my girlfriend and I take note of at a coffee shop or restaurant is the kind of oat milk they’re using for their coffee drinks, and we’ll gleefully slap each other’s shoulders whenever we catch a glimpse of that gray Barista Edition box emerging from the fridge.

The Barista Edition Oatly is specifically formulated to foam up and be used to create latte art, so it’s great for coffee shops and restaurants — or even at-home baristas if you want to experiment. But if you’re just adding it to your coffee, it makes the most sense to stick with the original blend rather than splurging for the Barista Edition ($14.07 on Amazon).

The Original Oatly Chocolate Oatmilk

If you have more of a sweet tooth, try the chocolate versions of the original and the Barista. While I personally prefer the original flavors to the chocolate varieties, any chocolate milk lover will rejoice in the thick, creamy, and cocoa-y deliciousness.

Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find the chocolate version of the oat milks online, but hopefully, the brand will start making that available soon.

Buy 1L of Oatly Original Oat Drink for $7.51 from Amazon

Buy 1L of Oatly Original Oat Drink Barista Edition for $14.07 from Amazon