Making fresh almond milk might seem like a luxury until you do it a few times and see how easy it is. It really helps to have a Vitamix blender, but a regular blender is fine too. For someone who has just started to eliminate regular dairy, you may miss milk and want a substitute especially if you eat foods like cereal and smoothies. I have been buying almond milk for years and even got my husband to use it at home, but recently I have been enjoying making my own.
Store bought nut milks are fine and good to have as a backup. They do contain gums and emulsifiers that help to keep the consistency of the milk together. I just recently finished a 30 day juice cleanse and after coming out of it, I did not want to muck up my digestion again with all the sugars and gums in store bought almond milk. So I have been making it part of my routine to soak some nuts every 3 days.
You will need a nut milk bag to strain the pulp as well as a large, 4 cup measuring cup to pour the milk into. A bowl works also, but I like using a measuring cup to strain the milk into because it has a spout and makes pouring out the milk much easier after.
I use dates as the sweetener along with a pinch of sea salt and sub out half the almonds for brazil nuts. I really like mixing the two nuts as brazil nuts are higher in fat, resulting in a creamier milk, and also have a very mellow flavor. You can make this with all almonds if you prefer. The best nut milk comes with soaking the nuts for 24 to 48 hours. You can get away with just a quick soak, but you will get far more milk out of a longer soak.
Ingredients
1/2 cup raw almonds
1/2 cup raw brazil nuts
2 dates
water
pinch of salt
Tools you will need:
Nut milk bag
Vitamix or Blender
Large measuring cup
Additional flavorings (optional)
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract or seeds scraped from 1 vanilla bean
Procedure:
Soak nuts by placing in a bowl and covering with water to about 2 inches above the surface of the nuts. Ideally soak the nuts 1 to 2 days before blending. This helps to soften the nuts so that you get the most of out them. The softer they are the more easily they break down in the blender, which means better milk. If you did not plan ahead, then at least soak the nuts for 2 to 3 hours before blending.
Drain soaking liquid and discard, then place nuts in blender and fill with filtered water to the 4 cup line.
Remove pits from the dates and add them to the blender as well. (If you have the time, let sit an hour, this also helps to soften the dates so they break down easier in the blender.)
Place lid on blender and blend on a low setting, for about 30 seconds, then increase to a high setting and blend for 1 full minute.
Set the nut milk bag into a large measuring cup. This will help to hold the bag in place. Pour almond milk into the nut milk bag.
Close the top of the bag and gently lift out of the measuring cup or bowl, letting the milk drip out of the bag.
Once the flow starts to slow down, gently close one hand around the top of the bag, squeezing down on the pulp. Eventually, you will be using both hands to twist the top of the bag to make it smaller and smaller, applying pressure on the almond meal inside to squeeze out as much milk as possible.
Discard the almond pulp and immediately rinse out the bag. Pour almond milk into an airtight container with a lid and store in the refrigerator up to 4 days.
If you would like to see a good video on making almond milk, check this one out. She gets into the straining part at 2:30 minutes in.
And here are a few recipes to use your new homemade almond milk in:
Blueberry Cobbler Overnight Oats from Eating Bird Food
Almond Milk Cold Brew Coffee Latte from Love & Lemons
How about a Kale, Pineapple and Almond Milk Smoothie from Martha Stewart
Enjoy!
PRINTER FRIENDLY RECIPE
Fresh Almond Milk
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 cups 1x
Description
Making your own nut milks at home is a great way to avoid gums, emulsifiers, and other additives that store-bought brands use to keep milks stable in the supermarket. It might seem like a luxury, but trust me – it’s a lot easier to make than you’d think.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup raw almonds
- 1/2 cup raw brazil nuts
- 2 dried dates
- water
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Soak nuts by placing in a bowl and covering with water to about 2 inches above the surface of the nuts. Soak the nuts for at least 2-3 hours before blending. Ideally, you can start soaking them 1 to 2 days before blending. This helps to soften the nuts so that you get the most of out them. The softer they are, the more easily they break down in the blender, which means better milk.
- Drain soaking liquid from the nuts and discard, then place nuts in blender and fill with filtered water to the 4 cup line of your blender.
- Remove pits from the dates and add them to the blender as well. (If you have the time, let dates sit in the blender with the nuts and water for an hour – this also helps to soften the dates so they break down easier in the blender.)
- Place lid on blender and blend on a low setting for about 30 seconds, then increase to a high setting and blend for 1 full minute.
- Set the nut milk bag into a large measuring cup. This will help to hold the bag in place. Pour freshly blended almond milk into the nut milk bag.
- Close the top of the bag and gently lift out of the measuring cup or bowl, letting the milk drip out of the bag.
- Once the flow starts to slow down, gently close one hand around the top of the bag, squeezing down on the pulp. Use both hands to twist the top of the bag to make it smaller and smaller as the liquid drains out, applying pressure on the almond meal inside to squeeze out as much milk as possible.
- Discard the almond pulp and immediately rinse out the bag. Pour almond milk into an airtight container with a lid and store in the refrigerator up to 4 days.
Notes
Tools you’ll need:
- Nut milk bag (this is the one I use)
- Blender
- Large measuring cup or pitcher (to squeeze the nut milk into)