Photo: Lazhko Svetlana (Shutterstock)
Potato milk is the newest addition to the pantheon of plant-based milk-like liquids. It’s being called the “new oat milk,” and the comparison seems apt—both products became popular by being marketed to coffee shops and coffee drinkers. The texture reportedly foams well in lattes. But how does it stack up nutritionally?
An important thing to remember about alternative milks is that they rarely have a nutritional profile that mimics real milk. Whole milk is high in fat and protein, with some carbs from milk sugar; skim milk skips the fat but is still high in protein. Plant-based milks, by contrast, are usually lower in protein and fat, while being substantially higher in carbs.
So here’s the breakdown for a cup of Dug Original potato milk:
Calories: 92Carbs: 10g (4.3 from sugar)Fat: 3.6gProtein: 3gLet’s compare that to oat milk:
Calories: 120Carbs: 16g (7g from sugar)Fat: 5gProtein: 3gSo potato milk has fewer calories, fewer grams of carbohydrate, sugar, and fat, and the same amount of protein. If you’re just having a small amount as a coffee creamer, that’s not a huge difference nutritionally. But if you’re using it in your cereal or smoothies, it may be helpful to note those subtle differences.
While we’re at it, let’s look at soy milk, one of the arguably best plant-based milks (it’s one of the highest in protein, anyway)
Calories: 80Carbs: 4g (sugar: 1g)Fat: 4gProtein: 7gPotato milk has half as much protein and twice as much carbohydrate as soy milk, while being comparable in terms of calories.
For good measure, let’s compare those to milk from an actual cow. The first number is for whole milk; the second is for skim.
Calories: 156 (skim: 86)Carbs: 11g, all of it sugar (skim: 12g)Fat: 9g (skim: <1)Protein: 8g (skim: 8.4)Potato milk has similar calories and carbs as skim cow’s milk, while being substantially lower in protein. It has more fat than skim, but less than whole.
Nutritionally, potato milk is comparable to many of the existing plant-based milks out there, but ranks lower than soy and dairy milk when it comes to protein. We hear it tastes great in coffee. I’m a fan of potato bread—it’s always sweet and soft—so I can see the neutral flavor working well in drinks. Good luck out there, potato milk.
