Plant Based Legume Extracts as Milk Alternatives - A Review

Aditi Garg; Sheel Sharma; Preeti Verma

doi:doi:10.11648/j.jfns.20251303.11

Review Article |

| Peer-Reviewed

Plant Based Legume Extracts as Milk Alternatives - A Review

Aditi Garg^*

, Sheel Sharma

, Preeti Verma

Published in Journal of Food and Nutrition Sciences (Volume 13, Issue 3)

Received: 1 April 2025 Accepted: 16 April 2025 Published: 14 May 2025

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Abstract

Animal based milk and its products have been the most important part of dairy consumption, but then demand has steadily outpaced the consumption since the mid-20th century especially in the last decade. This shift has coincided with a growing consumer preference for vegetative origin milk alternatives, which increasingly come from soy, legumes, nuts, seeds, and grains. This review is focused on the potential of plant-based milk alternatives, including soymilk, chickpea milk, kidney bean milk and cowpea milk as sustainable, nutritious, and functional substitutes for traditional dairy milk. Recent findings highlight advancements in processing methods such as heat treatment, fermentation, and germination, which mitigate anti-nutritional factors, enhance flavor profiles, and improving sensory and nutritional qualities. Emerging legume-based options, beyond the widely consumed soymilk, appear promising to for diversify the-se alternative plant-based milk resources owing to their superior protein quality, bioactive compounds, and environmental benefits. This review also underscores the sustainability of legumes, highlighting their contributions to soil health, nitrogen fixation living little carbon footprints compared to dairy milk and its products. This review affirms that legume-based milk alternatives offer a viable, sustainable solution to global challenges in food and nutrition security and environmental health apart from providing healthier options for lactose-intolerant and saturated fat consumption conscious consumers.

Published in	Journal of Food and Nutrition Sciences (Volume 13, Issue 3)
DOI	10.11648/j.jfns.20251303.11
Page(s)	109-118
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Plant Based Legume Extracts, Plant-Based Milk Alternatives, Legume-based Milk Alternatives, Food Security, Environmental Health, Lactose-intolerant

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Garg, A., Sharma, S., Verma, P. (2025). Plant Based Legume Extracts as Milk Alternatives - A Review. Journal of Food and Nutrition Sciences, 13(3), 109-118. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jfns.20251303.11

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Garg, A.; Sharma, S.; Verma, P. Plant Based Legume Extracts as Milk Alternatives - A Review. J. Food Nutr. Sci. 2025, 13(3), 109-118. doi: 10.11648/j.jfns.20251303.11

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Garg A, Sharma S, Verma P. Plant Based Legume Extracts as Milk Alternatives - A Review. J Food Nutr Sci. 2025;13(3):109-118. doi: 10.11648/j.jfns.20251303.11

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@article{10.11648/j.jfns.20251303.11,
  author = {Aditi Garg and Sheel Sharma and Preeti Verma},
  title = {Plant Based Legume Extracts as Milk Alternatives - A Review
},
  journal = {Journal of Food and Nutrition Sciences},
  volume = {13},
  number = {3},
  pages = {109-118},
  doi = {10.11648/j.jfns.20251303.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jfns.20251303.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.jfns.20251303.11},
  abstract = {Animal based milk and its products have been the most important part of dairy consumption, but then demand has steadily outpaced the consumption since the mid-20th century especially in the last decade. This shift has coincided with a growing consumer preference for vegetative origin milk alternatives, which increasingly come from soy, legumes, nuts, seeds, and grains. This review is focused on the potential of plant-based milk alternatives, including soymilk, chickpea milk, kidney bean milk and cowpea milk as sustainable, nutritious, and functional substitutes for traditional dairy milk. Recent findings highlight advancements in processing methods such as heat treatment, fermentation, and germination, which mitigate anti-nutritional factors, enhance flavor profiles, and improving sensory and nutritional qualities. Emerging legume-based options, beyond the widely consumed soymilk, appear promising to for diversify the-se alternative plant-based milk resources owing to their superior protein quality, bioactive compounds, and environmental benefits. This review also underscores the sustainability of legumes, highlighting their contributions to soil health, nitrogen fixation living little carbon footprints compared to dairy milk and its products. This review affirms that legume-based milk alternatives offer a viable, sustainable solution to global challenges in food and nutrition security and environmental health apart from providing healthier options for lactose-intolerant and saturated fat consumption conscious consumers.
},
 year = {2025}
}

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TY  - JOUR
T1  - Plant Based Legume Extracts as Milk Alternatives - A Review

AU  - Aditi Garg
AU  - Sheel Sharma
AU  - Preeti Verma
Y1  - 2025/05/14
PY  - 2025
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jfns.20251303.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.jfns.20251303.11
T2  - Journal of Food and Nutrition Sciences
JF  - Journal of Food and Nutrition Sciences
JO  - Journal of Food and Nutrition Sciences
SP  - 109
EP  - 118
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-7293
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jfns.20251303.11
AB  - Animal based milk and its products have been the most important part of dairy consumption, but then demand has steadily outpaced the consumption since the mid-20th century especially in the last decade. This shift has coincided with a growing consumer preference for vegetative origin milk alternatives, which increasingly come from soy, legumes, nuts, seeds, and grains. This review is focused on the potential of plant-based milk alternatives, including soymilk, chickpea milk, kidney bean milk and cowpea milk as sustainable, nutritious, and functional substitutes for traditional dairy milk. Recent findings highlight advancements in processing methods such as heat treatment, fermentation, and germination, which mitigate anti-nutritional factors, enhance flavor profiles, and improving sensory and nutritional qualities. Emerging legume-based options, beyond the widely consumed soymilk, appear promising to for diversify the-se alternative plant-based milk resources owing to their superior protein quality, bioactive compounds, and environmental benefits. This review also underscores the sustainability of legumes, highlighting their contributions to soil health, nitrogen fixation living little carbon footprints compared to dairy milk and its products. This review affirms that legume-based milk alternatives offer a viable, sustainable solution to global challenges in food and nutrition security and environmental health apart from providing healthier options for lactose-intolerant and saturated fat consumption conscious consumers.

VL  - 13
IS  - 3
ER  -

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Author Information

Aditi Garg

Food Science and Nutrition, Department of Home Science, Banasthali Vidyapith, Jaipur, India

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http://orcid.org/0009-0000-9228-903X
Sheel Sharma

Food Science and Nutrition, Department of Home Science, Banasthali Vidyapith, Jaipur, India

Contact Email

http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2844-1732
Preeti Verma

Home Science, Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Banasthali Vidyapith, Jaipur, India

Contact Email

http://orcid.org/0009-0002-4737-2816

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Garg, A., Sharma, S., Verma, P. (2025). Plant Based Legume Extracts as Milk Alternatives - A Review. Journal of Food and Nutrition Sciences, 13(3), 109-118. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jfns.20251303.11

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ACS Style

Garg, A.; Sharma, S.; Verma, P. Plant Based Legume Extracts as Milk Alternatives - A Review. J. Food Nutr. Sci. 2025, 13(3), 109-118. doi: 10.11648/j.jfns.20251303.11

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AMA Style

Garg A, Sharma S, Verma P. Plant Based Legume Extracts as Milk Alternatives - A Review. J Food Nutr Sci. 2025;13(3):109-118. doi: 10.11648/j.jfns.20251303.11

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@article{10.11648/j.jfns.20251303.11,
  author = {Aditi Garg and Sheel Sharma and Preeti Verma},
  title = {Plant Based Legume Extracts as Milk Alternatives - A Review
},
  journal = {Journal of Food and Nutrition Sciences},
  volume = {13},
  number = {3},
  pages = {109-118},
  doi = {10.11648/j.jfns.20251303.11},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jfns.20251303.11},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.jfns.20251303.11},
  abstract = {Animal based milk and its products have been the most important part of dairy consumption, but then demand has steadily outpaced the consumption since the mid-20th century especially in the last decade. This shift has coincided with a growing consumer preference for vegetative origin milk alternatives, which increasingly come from soy, legumes, nuts, seeds, and grains. This review is focused on the potential of plant-based milk alternatives, including soymilk, chickpea milk, kidney bean milk and cowpea milk as sustainable, nutritious, and functional substitutes for traditional dairy milk. Recent findings highlight advancements in processing methods such as heat treatment, fermentation, and germination, which mitigate anti-nutritional factors, enhance flavor profiles, and improving sensory and nutritional qualities. Emerging legume-based options, beyond the widely consumed soymilk, appear promising to for diversify the-se alternative plant-based milk resources owing to their superior protein quality, bioactive compounds, and environmental benefits. This review also underscores the sustainability of legumes, highlighting their contributions to soil health, nitrogen fixation living little carbon footprints compared to dairy milk and its products. This review affirms that legume-based milk alternatives offer a viable, sustainable solution to global challenges in food and nutrition security and environmental health apart from providing healthier options for lactose-intolerant and saturated fat consumption conscious consumers.
},
 year = {2025}
}

Copy | Download

TY  - JOUR
T1  - Plant Based Legume Extracts as Milk Alternatives - A Review

AU  - Aditi Garg
AU  - Sheel Sharma
AU  - Preeti Verma
Y1  - 2025/05/14
PY  - 2025
N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jfns.20251303.11
DO  - 10.11648/j.jfns.20251303.11
T2  - Journal of Food and Nutrition Sciences
JF  - Journal of Food and Nutrition Sciences
JO  - Journal of Food and Nutrition Sciences
SP  - 109
EP  - 118
PB  - Science Publishing Group
SN  - 2330-7293
UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.jfns.20251303.11
AB  - Animal based milk and its products have been the most important part of dairy consumption, but then demand has steadily outpaced the consumption since the mid-20th century especially in the last decade. This shift has coincided with a growing consumer preference for vegetative origin milk alternatives, which increasingly come from soy, legumes, nuts, seeds, and grains. This review is focused on the potential of plant-based milk alternatives, including soymilk, chickpea milk, kidney bean milk and cowpea milk as sustainable, nutritious, and functional substitutes for traditional dairy milk. Recent findings highlight advancements in processing methods such as heat treatment, fermentation, and germination, which mitigate anti-nutritional factors, enhance flavor profiles, and improving sensory and nutritional qualities. Emerging legume-based options, beyond the widely consumed soymilk, appear promising to for diversify the-se alternative plant-based milk resources owing to their superior protein quality, bioactive compounds, and environmental benefits. This review also underscores the sustainability of legumes, highlighting their contributions to soil health, nitrogen fixation living little carbon footprints compared to dairy milk and its products. This review affirms that legume-based milk alternatives offer a viable, sustainable solution to global challenges in food and nutrition security and environmental health apart from providing healthier options for lactose-intolerant and saturated fat consumption conscious consumers.

VL  - 13
IS  - 3
ER  -

Copy | Download