The short answer
Every soya, oat and almond drink we compared had 1g or less of saturated fat per cup, less than 1% dairy milk (about 1.5g). Coconut drinks were the exception at 2.6 to 2.9g. So pick an unsweetened, calcium-fortified drink, and choose soya if you want the protein.
Lowest in saturated fat with no added sugar in our table:
- Silk Unsweetened Almondmilk (US) and Alpro Almond Unsweetened (UK): 0g per cup
- Silk Unsweetened Organic Soymilk (US): 0.5g, and Alpro Organic Soya Unsweetened (UK): 0.7g
- Alpro Oat No Sugars (UK): 0.5g
Alpro Coconut No Sugars (2.6g) and Koko Unsweetened (2.9g) had the most.
Label data only, not medical advice
This ranking compares what each carton's nutrition label says about saturated fat and sugar. It isn't a health rating of any brand, and no drink here is a cholesterol-lowering food. Recipes change, so check the label on the carton you buy. If your doctor or dietitian has given you specific limits, follow those.
19 plant milks ranked by saturated fat
Every drink is compared on the same 1 cup (240ml) serving, the US label serving; a UK glass is about 250ml. Bands: Better 2g or less per serving, Occasional over 2g up to 4.5g, Treat over 4.5g. "Added sugar" shows the US label's added sugars per cup; UK labels have no added sugar line, so for UK drinks it shows whether sugar or a sweetening extract is in the ingredients.
| Silk Unsweetened Almondmilk | 0g | 0g | Better |
| Planet Oat Original Oatmilk | 0g | 3g | Better |
| Alpro Almond Original | 0g | Yes | Better |
| Alpro Almond Unsweetened | 0g | None | Better |
| Silk Original Soymilk | 0.5g | 5g | Better |
| Silk Unsweetened Organic Soymilk | 0.5g | 0g | Better |
| Oatly Original Oatmilk | 0.5g | 7g | Better |
| Califia Farms Extra Creamy Oatmilk | 0.5g | 4g | Better |
| Alpro Oat Original | 0.5g | None | Better |
| Alpro Oat No Sugars | 0.5g | None | Better |
| Oatly Oat Drink Semi | 0.5g | None | Better |
| Alpro Soya Original | 0.7g | Yes | Better |
| Alpro Organic Soya Unsweetened | 0.7g | None | Better |
| Oatly Barista Edition | 0.7g | None | Better |
| Rude Health Organic Oat Drink | 0.7g | None | Better |
| Oatly Full Fat Oatmilk | 1g | 7g | Better |
| Alpro This Is Not M*lk (whole) | 1g | Yes | Better |
| Alpro Coconut No Sugars | 2.6g | None | Occasional |
| Koko Unsweetened Coconut | 2.9g | None | Occasional |
Nutrition data from Open Food Facts, available under the Open Database License (ODbL). Product names link to each product's Open Food Facts page.
What the ranking shows
- Plant milks are low in saturated fat, except coconut. Soya, oat and almond drinks had 0 to 1g per cup. For comparison, US labels give about 4.5g for whole milk, 3g for 2% and 1.5g for 1%. Coconut drinks had 2.6 to 2.9g, close to 2% milk, because coconut fat is mostly saturated.
- "Barista" and "full fat" versions have a little more. Oatly Full Fat and Alpro's whole-milk-style This Is Not M*lk had 1g per cup, against 0.5g for the standard versions. They add more rapeseed or sunflower oil, which is mostly unsaturated.
- Added sugar is the bigger difference. Sweetened soya and almond drinks, such as Silk Original Soymilk (5g added sugar per cup) and Alpro Almond Original, have sugar added; the unsweetened versions don't.
- Oat milk labels look different in the US and UK. When oats are made into a drink, enzymes break some of the starch into sugar. US labels count that as added sugar, so Oatly Original shows 7g of added sugar per cup with no sugar in the ingredients. UK labels just show it under total sugars, so UK oat drinks such as Rude Health (11g per cup) show none added.
- Soya has the protein. A glass of unsweetened soya drink has about 7g of protein, close to dairy milk. Oat and almond drinks have much less. Soy protein is one of the four food groups in the Portfolio Diet.
How to choose a plant milk
- Choose unsweetened. "Unsweetened", "no sugars" or "no added sugar" on the front, and no sugar or syrup in the ingredients.
- Check it's fortified. The NHS advises choosing unsweetened, calcium-fortified versions. Many organic drinks aren't fortified: Alpro Organic Soya Unsweetened and Rude Health Oat list no added calcium.
- Skip coconut drinks for everyday use if you're cutting saturated fat, and keep canned coconut milk for occasional cooking: it has around 13g of saturated fat per 100ml, about ten times as much as the drinks.
- Pick soya if you want protein, for example if you're replacing dairy milk in porridge or smoothies.
- Check the saturates line. In the UK, a drink with 0.75g or less per 100ml counts as low in saturated fat, and every drink here except the coconut ones qualified.
Soya and the Portfolio Diet
Soy protein, nuts, plant sterols and viscous fibre are the four parts of the Portfolio Diet, which lowered LDL by 13 to 17% in trials. Unsweetened soya drink in porridge covers two of them at breakfast. Our cereal ranking shows which cereals bring the most fibre.
Check any carton before you buy it
Scan any product’s barcode in Heart Tracker to see its saturated fat per serving, then log your glass to see how it fits into your day alongside your cholesterol results.
Download Heart Tracker FreeHow we ranked them
We picked best-selling plant drinks in the US and UK, including soya, oat, almond and coconut from Silk, Oatly, Alpro, Califia Farms, Planet Oat, Rude Health and Koko, and took each one's nutrition data from Open Food Facts, an open database built from product labels. To catch mistakes, we compared each product's current record with an earlier copy and left out any where the saturated fat, fat or sugar didn't match. That excluded So Delicious Unsweetened Coconutmilk and Oatly's UK Oat Drink Whole.
All drinks are compared on 240ml, calculated from the per 100ml values. Percentages are of 13g, the American Heart Association's suggested daily limit for saturated fat on a 2,000 calorie diet. The NHS upper limit is 20g a day for women and 30g for men. Dairy milk figures are from standard US Nutrition Facts labels. The full dataset and the script that builds it are kept with this page and refreshed periodically.
Plant milk and cholesterol: quick answers
What is the best milk for high cholesterol?
By saturated fat, unsweetened soya, almond and oat drinks were lowest in our comparison, at 0 to 1g per cup, against about 1.5g for 1% dairy milk, 3g for 2% and 4.5g for whole milk. Skimmed dairy milk has almost none. Pick an unsweetened, calcium-fortified version; soya has the most protein.
Is oat milk good for high cholesterol?
Oat milk is low in saturated fat: 0.5g per cup for standard versions and 0.7 to 1g for barista and full-fat versions in our table. That makes it a lower-saturated-fat swap for whole or 2% milk. It has more sugar than unsweetened soya or almond drinks, because enzymes turn some of the oat starch into sugar.
Is almond milk good for cholesterol?
Unsweetened almond drinks had 0g of saturated fat per cup in our table and no added sugar. They are low in protein, though, and the "Original" versions usually have sugar added, so choose unsweetened and calcium-fortified.
Is soy milk good for high cholesterol?
Unsweetened soy milk had 0.5 to 0.7g of saturated fat per cup in our table, and a glass has about 7g of protein. Soy protein is one of the four food groups in the Portfolio Diet, an eating pattern shown to lower LDL. Choose unsweetened and fortified.
Is coconut milk bad for cholesterol?
Coconut drinks had the most saturated fat of the plant milks we compared, at 2.6 to 2.9g per cup, close to 2% dairy milk. Canned coconut milk for cooking has far more, around 13g per 100ml. If you are cutting saturated fat, soya, oat or almond drinks are a better everyday choice.
Sources
- Open Food Facts (product nutrition data, ODbL)
- NHS: Milk and dairy nutrition (unsweetened, calcium-fortified alternatives)
- American Heart Association: Saturated fat
- UK Department of Health: Front of pack nutrition labelling guidance (low and high saturates thresholds for drinks)
- FDA: Added sugars on the Nutrition Facts label
- USDA FoodData Central (protein in soy milk)