The Perfect Milk Substitute

One of life's sweet gifts is drinking a delicious smoothie in the morning, after a workout, or in the water. Refreshing smoothies can also be packed with fruits and veggies that give you an extra boost to kick start a diet or enhance a workout. They also are perfect for pool parties and for making frozen cocktails.

However, most smoothie recipes ask for milk or some form of dairy as a base. From milk alternatives to completely different bases, the options are endless, but what are the best non-dairy bases for your smoothies? We put all of them to the test and are giving you our top five favorite milk alternatives.  It may be an allergy, preference, or a hunt for a great smoothie, either way we got you covered.

1. Oat Milk

We love this new trend because this milk is not only non-dairy, but it also isn't trying to be normal milk. It does not taste like oatmeal either if that is what you're thinking, like some of us did. Oat milk is naturally creamy, makes smoothies thicker, and is not overpowering in flavor. We also love it on ice with a shot of espresso for the perfect iced latte. Although not the best for frozen cocktails, we loved it in our breakfast smoothies. Also, many brand's oat milk is gluten free and vegan. Oat milk is a new trend that is here to stay in our fridges.

2. Orange Juice

OJ is one of our favorite smoothie tricks to take out the dairy and is a great base if you aren't trying to get a thick and creamy smoothie. One downside we felt is that OJ naturally has a high level of acidity and not everyone is a fan of oranges in their smoothies. We found our OJ smoothies to make the best poolside and party drinks that felt a bit more tropical but not quite for a post-workout drink.

3. Coconut Milk

Coconut milk is an alternative we are starting to see grow in popularity everywhere recently. In fact, most coffee shops even serve it now in their coffees and frappes. We think it is one of the best alternatives that have a very close texture to real milk. What we also like is how our Kuii coconut milk drinks come in multiple flavors that help take your smoothie the next level. The Kuii coconut milks also come with nata de coco, which is a chewy jelly made from the meat of coconuts that is similar to tapioca pearls. When blended in a smoothie, they add a delicious element of flavor. Coconut milk is our favorite alternative for smoothies and frozen cocktails.

4. Coconut Water

Coconut water is a close second to coconut milk because it adds the same elements of taste and comes in a variety of flavors but is less thick and milky. If you're someone who doesn't like their smoothies to be so creamy, coconut water is the next best thing. It blends with almost any fruit and is naturally sweet. 

5. Almond Milk

At this point between almond milk and oat milk, the differences are just personal preferences or diet. We do think that almond milk adds a slightly more hearty and nutty flavor than oat milk. Either way, we found this to be a great base for our smoothies and a better base than oat milk when it came to making frozen cocktails.

Give one of these a try and make one of your favorite smoothies with one of these alternatives or make a smoothie from one of our recipes we've tried!