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Interested in the nutrition of oat drinks? You’ve come to the right place. At Oatly, we’ve been researching oats, oat drinks and their nutritional benefits for over 30 years. You could say we’re experts. You probably don’t want to spend every hour of your day thinking (and dreaming) about oat drinks, so we sat down with the head of our Science and Technology team, Professor Caroline Orfila Jenkins, and the rest of our nutrition experts, to create this little article. Everything is backed up by research studies and independent data sources — all of which are listed below — and you can read through them if they spark your curiosity. We hope they do. But most of all, we hope this article helps you to feel as good about Oatly as we do. Just remember: eating healthily and sustainably can be achieved in many different ways — it’s up to you to choose what’s best for you, your family and the planet. Eat — and drink — what you believe in.
In this article, you’ll find everything you need to know about our most famous drinks, from Barista Edition to anything that comes in a blue carton (e.g. Light, Semi, Whole, No Sugars). They’re all fortified unflavoured drinks — Oatly’s everyday heroes. Whatever your reason for picking up Oatly — whether you prefer the taste, dairy tends to disagree with you or you’re trying to cut back on it for the sake of the planet (go you!) — Oatly offers drinks that are delicious (okay, okay, that’s not scientifically proven), consistently have lower climate impact than comparable cow’s milk and are a nutritious choice too. Oatly’s fortified drinks benefit from the inherent goodness of oats as well as a handful of other vitamins and minerals we add in for good measure. The benefits might vary slightly between markets (due to legislation), but typically they:
- are a rich source of calcium, which is needed for the maintenance of normal teeth and bones, normal energy-yielding metabolism and the normal functioning of the muscle, nervous and digestive systems.
- are a rich source of iodine, which contributes to normal cognitive and neurological function, energy-yielding metabolism and thyroid function and the production of thyroid hormones. (Psst. This is not the case in Denmark, where fortification rules are different.)
- are a rich source of riboflavin (B2), which contributes to normal energy-yielding metabolism and functioning of the nervous system, red blood cells, skin and normal vision, and helps to reduce tiredness.
- are a source of vitamin B12, which contributes to normal red blood cells and nervous and immune system function, and helps to reduce tiredness.
- are a rich source of vitamin D, which contributes to normal calcium absorption and the maintenance of normal bones, teeth and muscles, and contributes to the normal functioning of the immune system.
- are low in saturated fats. Reducing consumption of sat fats contributes to the maintenance of normal blood cholesterol levels.
- contain fibre, which is important because many of us don’t get enough fibre-containing foods.
- are low in salt.
- contain no added sugar or sweeteners (except our flavoured drinks, of course).
- are free from dairy (cow’s milk protein and lactose) and soy.
- are never made from concentrate or syrup.
Our oat drinks also have a consistently lower climate impact than comparable cow’s milk. So hopefully you’re feeling pretty good about that carton of Oatly in your fridge right now!
1.
The power of oats
European oats are the main raw ingredient in our products, and we retain much of their goodness in our drinks. Oats are often referred to as a “super food” because they contain a good balance of the macro- and micronutrients we need and, compared with many other grains, better quality protein and more healthy unsaturated fats. 
They are also a good source of fibre. Clinical studies have shown that people who are given products containing oats improve their cholesterol levels, body mass index waist circumference. Other studies show that oats and oat-basedproducts could beuseful forpreventing cardiovascular disease.
2.
Oatly drinks are dairy-free.
All our products are 100% dairy-free (and therefore, obviously lactose-free too!). That’s not a small thing. There are literally billions of lactose intolerant people in the world, and thanks to Oatly, they now have an alternative.
This illustration makes total sense, at least if you ignore NUQ.
3.
The different benefits of Oatly and cow’s milk.
This topic comes up a lot, so let’s take a look. Oat drinks have a different nutritional profile to cow’s milk because one comes out of a cow and one comes from oats that come out of the ground. Both have nutritional benefits. By way of example, let’s put Oatly Semi next to your typical semi-skimmed cow’s milk.
Fortified Oatly drinks have more:
- Fibre
- Unsaturated fats
- Vitamin D*
- Carbohydrates...
...about the same
level of:
- Calories
- Total fat
- Sugar (natural sugar)
- Calcium
- Riboflavin
- Salt
... and less:
- Saturated fat
- Protein
- Iodine*
- Vitamin A
- Vitamin B12*
- Cholesterol
*most of the time, it really depends on the cow and how the milk is processed.
If you’re the kind of person who likes tables, below is a breakdown of exactly how Oatly Semi stacks up with the average semi-skimmed cow’s milk.
| Values per 100 ml | Cow’s milk* | Oatly oat drink |
|---|---|---|
| Energy (kcal) | 46—48 | 48 |
| Fat (g) | 1.4—1.8 | 1.5 |
| Saturated fat (g) | 0.9—1.1 | 0.2 |
| Unsaturated fats (g) | 0.3—0.5 | 1.3 |
| Cholesterol (mg) | 5—7.2 | 0 |
| Total Carbohydrate (g) | 4.8—5.0 | 7.1 |
| Of which sugar (g) | 4.8—5.0 | 3.4 |
| Fibre (g) | 0.0 | 0.8 |
| Protein (g) | 3.2—3.7 | 1.1 |
| Salt (g) | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| Vitamin D ( g) | Trace amount** | 1.1 |
| Riboflavin (mg) | 0.15—0.25 | 0.21 |
| Vitamin B12 ( g) | 0.2—0.9 | 0.24—0.38 |
| Calcium (mg) | 113—127 | 120 |
| Iodine ( g) | 10—32 | 22.5*** |
* Range of nutrient levels for semi-skimmed cow’s milk, including chilled and ambient. Data was obtained in May 2024 from publicly available national composition databases from France, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.
** Except Sweden, where fortifying cow’s milk with vitamin D is mandated at levels of 1.0 μg per 100 ml.
*** Psst, not applicable in Norway and Denmark right now
And what about other plant-based options out there? Generally speaking, oat drinks tend to contain more fibre, soy drinks contain more protein and coconut contains the highest level of saturated fat. Basically, it’s up to you what nutritional benefits you’re looking for, and which taste you prefer. Oat is a perfectly good choice.
4.
From a nutrition perspective, it’s fine to swap out cow’s milk for fortified oat drinks.*
Yep. Fortified plant-based drinks such as Oatly are a perfectly nutritious choice and are included in government dietary guidelines around the world.
*If you are less than 12 months old, specific dietary guidance apply to you (well done for learning how to read though). Any questions, always speak to a healthcare professional.
5.
We intentionally fortify our products. Here’s what it means.
Fortifying is just a fancy word for adding vitamins and minerals to food or drinks during production. When doing so, we need to list them as ingredients. There are many different foods that are fortified, and it’s recommended by the World Health Organisation as a safe and effective way to improve public health and reduce nutritional deficiencies. It means that, as well as all the goodness you’re getting from our oats, we add in some extra essentials too — such as calcium, iodine, riboflavin and vitamins B12 and D.
6.
The protein story.
Oats contain some pretty top-grade protein that is easy to digest and contains more essential amino acids than most other grains do — win! However, humans require the whole gamut of amino acids from a range of different protein sources. Oat drinks contain less protein overall than you’ll find in cow’s milk. But is protein in your milk something we even need to be thinking about? Probably not. According to dietary studies, you are very likely to be getting more protein than you need, including all essential amino acids. So a little less protein poured on your breakfast or mixed into your afternoon coffee is unlikely to make much difference.
7.
Oat drinks contain unsaturated fats — the healthy fat.
We need fat in our diets for energy and to help us absorb fat-soluble vitamins, such as vitamin D. Fats are also a source of essential fatty acids, which the body cannot make itself and are important for immune health, amongst other functions. There are basically two types of fat: the saturated and the unsaturated kind. Unsaturated fats are often referred to as “good fats” and can be found in vegetable oils, nuts, seeds and… Oatly drinks! In contrast, saturated fats (which can be found in fatty meat, full-fat dairy foods, butter, ghee, lard, palm oil and coconut oil) should be eaten in moderation and replaced with unsaturated fats when possible. Replacing saturated fats with unsaturated fats has been shown to reduce blood cholesterol levels.
Replacing saturated fats with the unsaturated kind = win!
8.
Rapeseed oil is one of the best oils available.
The fats in cow’s milk make it taste creamy and help it to froth well when steamed before being poured onto your coffee. Oats, on the other hand, are naturally low in fat. So for every litre of our drinks (other than Low fat/ Light options), we add in one or two tablespoons of rapeseed oil for extra nutritional value and to recreate the creamy texture of dairy. Is rapeseed oil good for you? Yep. It’s one of the best oils available, and has been consumed by Europeans for centuries. The rapeseed oil in our drinks has an excellent fat composition, with more unsaturated fats and less saturated fat than most other plantbased oils. But don’t just take our word for it. Rapeseed oil, instead of hard fats, is encouraged in global dietary recommendations, including the UK’s Eatwell Guide, the Swedish Food Circle, the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and the World Health Organisation.
The Seeds of Love is not only a 1989 smash hit album by Tears for Fears. It’s also the name of this illustration.
9.
Oatly drinks contain carbohydrates for energy.
Oats contain a great combination of starchy carbohydrates, protein and fat — and, therefore, so do oat drinks. Carbohydrates are important — they’re an essential source of energy, and dietary guidelines recommend that at least 50% of our daily energy comes from them. A large glass of oat drink or a splash in your coffee is the equivalent of 6% or 0.5%, respectively, of daily recommendations.
10.
We don’t add sugar or sweeteners.
We do not add sugar or sweeteners to any of our drinks (unless you’re enjoying products such as our chocolate drink, of course!). The sugar referenced on the back of our packs is derived from the starch found in our oats. It gets broken down into sugars during the making of our drinks, similar to how the human body converts starch to sugar during digestion. The sugar you’ll find in our drinks works out to about a teaspoon (3.5 g) per 100 ml, which is similar (actually a little less) to levels found in cow’s milk. If you prefer a milder, less sweet flavour, you can always opt for our No Sugar or Unsweetened options, available in certain markets, where we don’t break down the sugars in our oats quite as much and instead leave your body to do that for you.
A typical fizzy drink has a GL of nearly double that of oat drink.
11.
The glycaemic load from Oatly is low.
Blood sugar levels vary throughout the day and also after you eat or drink — it’s a normal part of human physiology. Monitoring blood sugar levels is only really relevant for people who have insulin resistance or diabetes. The glycaemic load (GL), which, importantly, looks at both sugar and the effect of serving sizes on blood glucose response, shows that a large glass of Oatly Barista Edition (250 ml) or a dash in your coffee (100 ml) is considered in the “low” category for GL (9 and 4, respectively). Equivalent cow’s milk (full fat/whole) is also in the low category (GL 4—5 for 250 ml). As you’d expect, the blood glucose response to cow’s milk and oat drinks isn’t perfectly identical, and that’s because the carbohydrates you’ll find are slightly different (lactose in cow’s milk vs. maltose and starchy carbohydrates in oat drinks). Despite these differences, both drinks sit in the same “low” category, so it’s unlikely to be something you’ll ever need to think about over your next cappuccino. For context, a typical fizzy drink (250 ml) has a GL of nearly double that of oat drink (around 17 and in the medium category), and a 500 ml bottle of fizzy drink has a calculated GL value of 35 in the high category.
12.
Oat drinks are processed — and that’s a good thing.
To turn oats into drinks, we put them through a production process, because you can’t technically squeeze an oat in your hand and produce milk. Believe us, we tried. Being “processed” doesn’t mean a food or drink is unhealthy — the term simply refers to how it has been made, such as canning, chopping, freezing, juicing, fortifying, pasteurising or drying. And guess what? Many of the processes we use, such as heat treatment and homogenization, are similar to those used for cow’s milk. We just leave the cow out of it. Food processing has been adopted by humans for centuries to reduce nutrient loss, curb food waste and give people access to safe, nutritious and more affordable food. Pretty neat.
You can’t technically squeeze an oat in your hand
and produce milk. Believe us, we tried.
13.
Ultraprocessed foods explainer.
Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) is a catchall term that has been oversimplified in the media to mean “bad and unhealthy” by default. Sure, many UPFs are high in saturated fat, sugar and salt and should be eaten in moderation for those reasons, but there are also many that are not. Some modern food scoring apps and food writers would automatically classify plant-based drinks as “ultra processed” for simply having vitamins and minerals added in as ingredients! Yet, a fortified plant-based drink is a better option than an unfortified one, and is therefore recommended in dietary guidelines around the world. Confusing, huh? That’s why we — and many others in the world of food and science — think we need to stick with dietary guidance based on nutrition quality, rather than how a product is made. If it's important to you to have a little less going on, you can always opt for Oatly's Organic options (sadly, not always fortified due to EU/UK regulation). Or make your own oat drink at home (you’ll probably only try doing that once). Just remember that you won’t be benefiting from the vitamins and minerals we add to our fortified drinks, so make sure you’re getting those essential goodies from somewhere else.
We add more zing to the already powerful oat
14.
About additives.
We always try to keep the number of ingredients in our products to a minimum without compromising on taste, nutrition or performance (no one likes their milk splitting in their coffee). That’s why we have a dedicated Innovation, Science and Technology team who regularly review and improve our recipes. In Oatly Barista Edition, for example, you’ll simply find water, oats, a little rapeseed oil, very small amounts of salt, vitamins and minerals, and an acidity regulator called dipotassium phosphate. Dipotassium phosphate is a safe and approved additive which balances the pH level of coffee (which is quite acidic) and prevents our oat drinks from curdling when added to it. We don’t use emulsifiers, stabilisers, colours or flavours. Our Oatly Organic drinks, available in certain markets, have even fewer ingredients (if that’s important to you).
15.
Yes, Oatly is mainly water, just like most other drinks.
Hydration is important to humans. And, just like cow’s milk, other plant-based drinks and most other drinks, around 90% of Oatly oat drinks are made up of water. The remainder is oats, a sprinkling of vitamins and minerals and other important ingredients such as rapeseed oil needed for taste, nutrition and consistency. Getting the ratio of water to oats and other ingredients right is what makes our drinks taste so amazing. If they were 60% oats, you would probably need a fork to drink them.
16.
Oats are naturally gluten-free.
In most places where you can get Oatly, you won’t hear us call out our products as “gluten-free”. That’s because our amazing oats might contain tiny traces of other grains, such as wheat, barley or rye. They can be blown in by the wind from a nearby field or introduced in the mills we use. They are extremely small quantities, but even these tiny amounts can be serious to those who are sensitive or intolerant to gluten. Therefore, we don’t promise a completely gluten-free drink (unless you live in the US, where we can source guaranteed gluten-free oats and our products are certified gluten-free).
17.
Oatly drinks have a lower climate impact than comparable cow’s milk*.
Making our drinks creates less greenhouse gas emissions than comparable cow’s milk. In fact, studies on our drinks show the impact is between 44% and 80% lower per litre. That means every litre of cow’s milk swapped for Oatly reduces the climate impact on people and planet — and that’s something we’re really proud of.
Thanks for making it all the way to the end. Unfortunately, you don’t get a prize for getting here, but you do now know a lot more about Oatly and our drinks. If you want to learn even more about our products or their nutritional value, you’re very welcome to visit oatly.com or get in touch with our nutrition team via info@oatly.com. They love nerdy questions. And in case you just skipped to the end, here’s the cut-and-paste version:
As well as being dairy- and soyfree, Oatly’s fortified drinks benefit from the inherent goodness of fibrous oats and contain vitamins and minerals including calcium, riboflavin and vitamins B12 and D. They’re low in salt and saturated fats — and best of all, they have a consistently lower climate impact than comparable cow’s milk.
Yo, fact checker! Here are some fancy
tables with information about the nutritional content of our fortified range.