Carrageenan-free chocolate milk
Carrageenan is a thickener extracted from red seaweed. It is in chocolate milk to stop the cocoa sinking: cocoa solids are heavier than milk, and without something holding them in suspension a carton separates into sludge at the bottom and pale milk above it. On a label it reads as carrageenan, E407, or occasionally Irish moss — never as seaweed, which is why people are surprised to learn it is there.
Of the 71 milks in the catalogue, 32 have an ingredient list recorded. 9 of those are made without carrageenan and 23 contain it. Read from the ingredient lists as of October 18, 2026.
The other 39 have no ingredient list here yet, so they are on neither list. Unknown is not the same as free of it. Add one from the carton if you have it in front of you.
Made without carrageenan
- Peila's Creamery Chocolate Milk
- Cocoa Metro Belgian Style Chocolate
- Maola Extra Rich Chocolate Whole Milk
- Horizon Organic Chocolate Organic Lowfat Milk
- Darigold Old Fashioned Chocolate
- Tom Parker Creamery Free Range Chocolate Milk
- Orgain Creamy Chocolate Protein Milk Shake
- Kalona Super Natural Carrageenan-Free Organic Whole Chocolate Milk
- Arruda's Dairy Farms Chocolate Milk
Contains carrageenan
Listed because the question is usually asked while standing in a shop, and knowing which to put back is half the answer.
- Arethusa Farm Chocolate Milk
- Promised Land Dairy Midnight Chocolate
- Upstate Farms Intense Chocolate Milk
- Mountain Dairy Chocolate Milk
- Woodstock Creamery Chocolate Milk
- Shaw Farm Fresh Chocolate Milk
- Hatchland Farms "Wicked Good" Chocolate Milk
- Kreider Farms Chocolate Milk
- Purity Chocolate Milk
- Pure Country Classic Chocolate Milk
- Borden Dutch Chocolate Milk
- Moozy Premium Farm Fresh Chocolate Milk
- Oberweis 2% Reduced Fat Chocolate Milk
- Duchess 2% Chocolate milk
- Sealtest Chocolate Milk
- Cowbelle LUSH British Chocolate Flavoured 1% Fat Milk
- Ronnybrook Chocolate Creamline Milk
- Cream-O-Land Dairy Chocolate Milk
- Mayfield Dairy Farms Chocolate Whole Milk
- Shamrock Farms Rockin' Protein Chocolate
- Producers Dairy 1% Low Fat Chocolate Milk
- Upstate Farms Milk for Life
- Fairlife Core Power 42g Chocolate Milkshake
Common questions
- Is there seaweed in chocolate milk?
- Often, yes, in the sense that carrageenan is extracted from red seaweed — Irish moss and related species. It appears on an ingredient list as carrageenan or E407 rather than as seaweed, which is why it surprises people. It is used as a thickener and is not there for flavour.
- What does carrageenan do in chocolate milk?
- It holds the cocoa in suspension. Cocoa solids are heavier than milk and sink, so an unthickened chocolate milk separates into sludge at the bottom and pale milk above it. Carrageenan builds a weak gel that keeps the mixture even, which is why it is so common in cartons meant to sit on a shelf.
- Is carrageenan bad for you?
- Food-grade carrageenan is approved as an additive by the FDA and by EFSA, which re-evaluated it in 2018. Much of the research that worries people used degraded carrageenan, also called poligeenan, which is a different substance not permitted in food. Some people report digestive discomfort and choose to avoid it. This site takes no position beyond recording which milks contain it.
- How can I tell if a chocolate milk has carrageenan?
- Read the ingredient list for carrageenan, E407, E407a, or Irish moss. There is no way to tell from taste or texture with any reliability, and 'organic' does not mean carrageenan-free — organic certification permits it in several countries.
- What can I drink instead?
- Chocolate milks thickened without it generally use nothing at all and ask you to shake the carton, or use gellan gum, pectin, or starch. The list below is every milk on this site whose recorded ingredients contain no carrageenan.
Ingredient lists are typed in or read from label photographs by people using this site, and a recipe can change without the packaging changing much. Check the carton if it matters to you. Tell us if one here is wrong.