A milk substitute is any substance that resembles milk and can be used in the same ways as milk. Such substances may be variously known as non-dairy beverage, nut milk, grain milk, legume milk, mock milk and alternative milk.
For adults, milk substitutes take two forms: plant milks, which are liquids made from plants and may be home-made or commercially produced, and coffee creamers, synthetic products invented in the US in the 1900s specifically to replace dairy milk in coffee. For infants, breast milk can be substituted with infant formula based on cow's milk or plant based alternatives such as soybean.