If you’re looking for carrageenan free almond milk you’ve come to the right place! We’ve listed some of the best brands below so you don’t have to spend time checking all those labels. To be honest, I think most brands have cottoned on to the carrageenan issue now and you’ll struggle to find an almond milk that has it in the ingredients.
Carrageenan Free Almond Milk Top 10
In the table below we’ve compiled a comprehensive list of all the major brands out there and indicated whether their almond milk is carrageenan free or not.
| Almond Milk Brand / Type | Carrageenan Free? | Try It |
| Califia Farms Unsweetened Almond Milk | Yes | Buy On Amazon |
| Blue Diamond Almond Breeze Original Unsweetened Almond Milk | Yes | Buy On Amazon |
| Blue Diamond Almond Breeze Unsweetened Chocolate Almond Milk | Yes | Buy On Amazon |
| Orgain Organic Unsweetened Almond Milk | Yes | Buy On Amazon |
| Silk Unsweet Almond Milk | Yes | Buy On Amazon |
| Califia Farms Original Almond Barista Blend | Yes | Buy On Amazon |
| Whole Foods 365 Everyday Value Organic Unsweetened Almond Milk | Yes | Not On Amazon |
| Unsweetened Almond MALK | Yes | Buy On Amazon |
| Elmhurst 1925 Unsweetened Almond Milk | Yes | Buy On Amazon |
| So Good Almond Milk | Yes | Buy On Amazon |
Make Your Own Almond Milk
Watch: Carrie Forrest from Clean Eating Kitchen makes creamy almond milk:
(a top tip in this vid which may help those who experience bloating after almond milk)
Related: Can Almond Milk Upset Your Stomach?
Is Carrageenan Bad For You?
Carrageenan is a natural product made from red seaweed, otherwise known as Irish moss. But just because it’s natural that doesn’t mean it won’t mess you up.
There are two types of carrageenan – the degraded version and “food grade” which is the undegraded version.
Degraded carrageenan is not used in food products because it has been linked to cancers of the gastrointestinal tract in studies on rats [1,2]. I’m not aware of any human studies which have concluded similar but it’s probably a good idea to avoid this ingredient.
Undegraded carrageenan is still used quite widely in UPF (ultra processed foods) as a thickening agent and stabiliser. However, as the publicity around this controversial ingredient has grown, many brands are dropping it from their production lines.
The FDA has not declared carrageenan to be unsafe, but there is some evidence to suggest that the food grade version does degrade somewhat in the GI tract and that could be an issue. Some people choose to avoid it because of these potential health risks.
Which Brands Still Use Carrageenan?
As I already mentioned, most brands have now cottoned on to the carrageenan issue and have removed the ingredient from their offerings. We found only a handful still using it.
The Almond Dream brand still lists carrageenan on their ingredients list.
We found a post from 2015 on the New Zealand version of Blue Diamond’s website stating: “Almond Breeze contains food grade carrageenan as a thickening, emulsifying and stabilising agent.”
… and in fact if you click through to the product page, carrageenan is still listed in the ingredients for the Original Almond Breeze Almond Milk product (as of July 27th 2023).
So maybe if you’re in New Zealand it’s worth just double checking those cartons but I’d imagine they’ve also now removed the ingredient and just haven’t updated their website for a while!
Is Carrageenan Vegan Friendly?
Carrageenan is a plant based product and so is vegan by default. It’s more likely to be found in vegan products which benefit from the addition of a thickening agent.
It is commonly used as a replacement for gelatin which is definitely not vegan, being made by boiling up skin, ligaments, tendons and bones with water – usually from cows and pigs … nice.
Carrageenan is also added to many non-vegan products to improve their characteristics. A number of meat and dairy products use it as well as some ready-meals and infant milk formula.
It is also used widely in the pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries so if you’re trying to avoid it, always check your drug info sheets.
But yes … in and of itself, carrageenan is vegan friendly.
Carrageenan Is Not Banned In Most Countries
The European Union stands out in banning the use of carrageenan in baby formula milks but many other countries around the world still consider it safe.
In fact, as of this writing, we couldn’t find any countries which have outright banned the additive.
There is a reference to a 2018 UK product recall of confectionery containing carrageenan due to a choking risk. The concerns had nothing to do with any potential carcinogenic properties of the substance, it should be made clear.
Still, there is a growing body of evidence to suggest food-grade carrageenan breaks down in the human gut, potentially converting to the degraded version. It is this version which is likely harmful to human health.
Even though the product has been used for centuries in some countries we still know little about the health effects of degraded carrageenan and most of the papers I found stated that more research is needed in this area.
Conclusion – Err On The Side Of Caution
As we mentioned above, most food companies have now removed carrageenan from their almond milk products due to increasing public awareness of potential health concerns.
When there are perfectly adequate alternatives, I’d suggest you’re missing a trick by continuing to use this additive in your product ranges.
The internet has ushered in the age of a much more informed and discerning consumer. Where previously companies could get away with using dubious additives, these days it’s much more difficult to fool the keyboard warriors!
As for me, I love a creamy homemade almond milk on my muesli … yes, I’m a fully paid up member of the tofu-eating, muesli-munching wokerati 🙂
As far as the commercial almond milks go, there’s little to choose between them. But I’d advise you to steer well clear of that carrageenan.
I hope this article has provided you with the info you need and helped to clarify the issue. I would love to hear your thoughts, so please leave a comment below – I always respond. And please share this article with others using the social buttons.
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Thanks so much for reading and have a peaceful day.
Rohan.
[1] – Tobacman JK. Review of harmful gastrointestinal effects of carrageenan in animal experiments. Environ Health Perspect. 2001 Oct;109(10):983-94. doi: 10.1289/ehp.01109983. PMID: 11675262; PMCID: PMC1242073. [2] – Yasuyuki Oohashi, Tomonori Ishioka, Kazuo Wakabayashi, Noriyuki Kuwabara. A study on carcinogenesis induced by degraded carrageenan arising from squamous metaplasia of the rat colorectum. Cancer Letters, Volume 14, Issue 3, 1981, Pages 267-272. ISSN 0304-3835. https://doi.org/10.1016/0304-3835(81)90153-1.
