Sweet Vs Unsweetened Almond Milk (A Complete Guide)

Milk is a staple food that many people use on a daily basis, so if you’re considering switching it’s a good idea to ensure you’re making the best choice for you and your diet.

When it comes to almond milk, there’s lots of choices, with the main one being unsweetened or sweetened?

In this article, we have all the information you need to make an informed choice on which almond milk is best for you and your diet, with a complete comparison between the two – including calories, fat, carbs, protein, and calcium content.

Almond Milk Calorie Comparison

The USDA confirms that the average number of calories in 100g unsweetened almond milk is 19kcal ( 0.19kcal per gram). In contrast, there are 30kcal in 100g of sweetened almond milk (0.3g per gram). This is a difference of 11kcal between sweet and unsweetened almond milk per 100g.

Unsweet almond milk is always the lowest-calorie option when compared to sweetened milk and it’s one of the lowest calorie milk-alternatives you can choose.

Please note that this information and the calorie calculator below is based on average generic almond milk and calorie values may vary depending on the brand. For specific almond milk brand calories, take a look at the article below:

How many calories are in almond milk? (with calculator)

Almond Milk Calorie Calculator

If you need to work out how many calories are in your serving of almond milk, you can use the calculator below to find the information you need.

This calculator will work for any amount of almond milk (sweetened or unsweetened).

Choose your milk and measurement type to continue:

Almond Milk Fat Comparison

When it comes to comparing the fat content in sweet and unsweet almond milk, there’s little difference between the two, making both sweet and unsweet almond milk winners in this category.

Compared to cow’s milk, almond milk is a lower fat alternative which is particularly low in saturated fat with only 0.2g per cup and this is one of the reasons it’s so low in calories.

Harvard Health Publishing has a useful calculation to help you work out the maximum amount of saturated fat you should be consuming per day.

Almond Milk Protein Comparison

Cow’s milk is known for being high in protein, however almond milk is not the best source of protein in comparison.

According to the USDA unsweetened almond milk contains slightly more (0.05g) protein than sweet almond milk, however it’s a nominal amount and neither kinds of milk can be considered high-protein.

If getting more protein is an important consideration for your diet, you can buy almond milk with added protein, such as Orgain Organic Protein Almond Milk which contains 10g of protein per cup (available at Walmart).

Almond Milk Carbohydrate Comparison

If you’re on a low carb diet or are trying to reduce the amount you consume, unsweet almond milk is the best option.

Unsweet almond milk is very low-carb, with only 2.3g per cup, compared to sweet almond milk which contains 12.58g of carbs per cup.

Opting for an unsweet almond milk, (either plain or vanilla) is the best choice if you’re on a low-carb diet because it doesn’t have any added sugar.

Almond Milk Sugar Comparison

If you’re looking to reduce your sugar intake, unsweet almond milk is the best choice because it contains 9.5g less sugar per cup than the sweetened alternative.

Sugar content will vary between brands, but using the example below, unsweet almond milk contains 1.9g of sugar per cup compared to sweet almond milk which contains 11.4g of sugar per cup.

Almond Milk Calcium Comparison

Calcium content in almond milk will vary between brands, but when you consider USDA data for generic brand almond milk, sweetened almond milk contains a little more calcium than the sweetened alternative.

Both kinds of almond milk is a good source of calcium and they even contain more calcium than cow’s milk.

If you’re looking to increase your calcium, some brands of almond milk have added calcium, which should be stated on the packs nutrition label. You can find out how much calcium you need per day in this Mayo Clinic article.

Key Takeaways

The comparison above shows that there are some benefits to consuming higher-fat milk, but there are also some negatives as well. Ultimately, which is best for you is dependent on your dietary requirements, but here’s a summary of the key takeaways to help you decide:

• Unsweet almond milk is lower in calories than sweet almond milk and is one of the lowest-calorie milk alternatives.
• Sweet and unsweet almond milk is low in fat and particularly low in saturated fat.
• Neither kinds of almond milk are high-protein, but you can get almond milk with added protein than contains ten times the amount of protein than regular almond milk.
• Unsweetened almond milk is very low in carbs and sugar and is the best choice if you’re on a low-carb diet.