Comparison
Pistachio Milk vs Coconut Milk: Taste, Fat & Nutrition
Both carry similar-looking fat on the label. In the three coconut cartons we read, almost every gram of it is saturated, which no nut milk comes close to.
Quick answer
Carton coconut milk is lower in calories, at 50 to 60 a cup against pistachio milk's 80 to 100, and pistachio carries three to four times the protein. The difference that matters is the fat type: in all three coconut cartons we read, saturated fat was 90% to 100% of total fat, two of them declaring every gram of it as saturated. The pistachio carton publishing a full panel declares 13%, and no nut milk in our set exceeds 15%. Note this is the carton coconut beverage, not thick canned coconut milk.
The short answer: carton coconut milk is lower in calories, pistachio milk carries three to four times the protein, and almost all of coconut's fat is saturated where almost none of pistachio's is. They taste worlds apart and suit different jobs. One note up front: this compares pistachio milk with the carton coconut beverage, not the thick canned coconut milk used for curries, which is a different product.
Carton vs can: get this right first
Coconut "milk" comes in two forms that get confused constantly. The carton or refrigerated beverage is diluted for drinking, at 50 to 60 calories a cup in the three we read. Canned coconut milk is thick and rich, 400-plus calories a cup, made for cooking. Comparing pistachio milk to canned coconut would be unfair, so everything below is versus the carton drink.
Nutrition side by side
| Per 1 cup (237 to 240 ml), unsweetened | Pistachio milk | Coconut milk (carton) |
|---|---|---|
| Cartons read | 2 | 3 |
| Calories | 80 to 100 | 50.4 to 60.0 |
| Protein | 3 to 4 g | 1.0 g |
| Fat | 8 g | 5.0 g |
| Saturated fat | 1 g | 4.5 to 5.0 g |
| Saturated share of fat | 13% | 90% to 100% |
| Carbohydrate | 4 g | 1.0 g |
| Total sugars | 1 g | 0 to 1.0 g |
| Calcium | 45 mg | 139 to 451 mg |
| Allergen | Tree nut (pistachio) | Coconut* |
Per-serving Nutrition Facts values for real US cartons: coconut from USDA FoodData Central, read 9 November 2026; pistachio from our own panel study, since FoodData Central holds no usable pistachio record. Method, limits and the CSV are in best plant milk. *Coconut is classed as a tree nut by US labeling, though most tree-nut-allergic people tolerate it; check with your allergist.
The fat difference that matters
Total fat is not the story. The split is, and it is more lopsided than the usual "coconut is higher in saturated fat" line suggests.
In all three carton coconut milks we read, saturated fat is 90% to 100% of total fat. Two of them declare 4.99 g of fat a cup and 4.99 g of saturated fat, which is to say every gram of it. The third declares 4.51 g of 4.99. No other plant milk in our set behaves like this: across ten bases, every nut carton sits under 15%. The pistachio carton publishing a full panel declares 1 g of saturated fat out of 8 g, about 13%, and the pattern holds for cashew at 14% and macadamia at 14%.
So the honest framing is not that coconut milk is a bit richer. It is that coconut's fat is a different kind of fat, almost entirely, and the category name files it beside nuts where it does not belong nutritionally. The wider nut research summarized by the Harvard Nutrition Source is about unsaturated fat, and it does not transfer to a coconut carton.
None of this makes coconut milk bad, and a splash in a curry is not worth worrying about. But if you drink a plant milk daily and the fat type is why you chose it, this is the number to look at. Coconut is also the lower-calorie of the two, at 50 to 60 a cup against 80 to 100, so the trade runs in both directions.
Pistachio carries three to four times the protein, at 3 to 4 g against 1 g. Both numbers are small.
Taste and use
Coconut milk has an unmistakable tropical flavor that's wonderful in curries, smoothies and tropical bakes, and divisive in coffee. Pistachio milk is nuttier and more neutral-sweet, which makes it a more flexible everyday milk, good in coffee, on cereal, and across the kitchen (see pistachio milk uses). For frothing, coconut foams reasonably and pistachio makes a softer foam unless it's a barista formula.
Which should you choose?
Choose coconut when you want its tropical flavor, especially in cooking, and don't mind the saturated fat. Choose pistachio for an everyday milk with unsaturated fat, a little protein and a gentler, nuttier taste. Also see pistachio milk vs almond, vs oat and the comparisons hub.