One of the biggest surprises from my first experiment in homemade almond milk was that it spawned a small tribe of devotees. It’s been a nut-milk-making factory around here, and it’s the elves busy at the blender more than me. Virginia and Rosie alone have knocked out three batches, and counting.
This is a revelation, since heretofore my girls have all turned their button noses up at nut milk of every stripe. I’ve brought home a number of brands and blends, and while they’ll drink them in a smoothie without protest, they’ve never drowned their cereal in nut milk or drank it by the glassful.
Delicious Homemade
With homemade almond milk, all that’s changed, largely because fresh nut milk tastes terrific. Much in the way a packaged cookie can’t measure up to one hot from the oven, boxed almond milk can’t hold a candle to the flavor of fresh (and that’s coming from someone who regularly stocks and enjoys store-bought nut milk).
Another upside of making your own almond milk it is that you get total control over what goes in there. Store bought nut milk is often spiked with stabilizers, preservatives, sugars, and other ingredients. Homemade is simply almonds and water blended together and strained, with a touch of honey and vanilla, if you like.
A Few Minuses
Now that I’ve sold you on the idea of fresh nut milk, there are a couple of downsides. First, it only lasts a few days in the fridge, which hasn’t been a problem here since it disappears quickly. More importantly, though is that homemade almond milk is not a good calcium substitute for cow’s milk or calcium-fortified almond milk. Homemade almond milk has about 45 milligrams of calcium per cup, which falls well short of the roughly 300 milligrams in a cup of cow’s milk or fortified nut milk.
The way I see it, homemade almond milk is a delicious new addition to our home cooking repertoire. Will I be ditching the carton of 1 percent milk that lives in our fridge? No. And I imagine I’ll continue to stock store-bought almond milk as well. But I’m more than happy to hand over my blender so my kids can watch the magic of turning a cup of nuts into a cold and creamy treat.
I encourage you to give homemade nut milk a whirl; you’ll find a photo tutorial below and a recipe for Honey Vanilla Almond Milk at the end of this post. :
Start with 1 cup of almonds.
Immerse them in 3 1/2 cups of water and leave overnight.
Blend the soaked almonds and water until pulverized
Get yourself a nut milk bag, a very thin dish towel, or cheesecloth.
Line a pitcher or bowl with the nut milk bag/tea towel/cheese cloth and pour in the blended milk.
Strain the liquid out of the bag. A colander may come in handy for this.
What you’ve got now is almond milk and almond meal. A true homesteader might dry out that almond meal in a low oven to use in baked goods, but alas, I fed it to my compost.
Blend in a touch of honey and vanilla, if you like.
Chill for a couple of hours to get it good and cold.
Now, drink your milk. Quick, before the elves get to it.
Honey Vanilla Almond Milk
Making your own nut milk yields a delicious drink and gives you total control over what goes in there. Store bought nut milk is often spiked with stabilizers, preservatives, sugars, and other ingredients. Homemade is simply almonds and water blended together and strained, with a touch of honey and vanilla, if you like.
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw almonds (not roasted or salted)
- 3 1/2 cups water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1-2 tablespoons honey
Instructions
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Put the almonds and water in the pitcher of a blender and leave overnight to soak.
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Once soaked, run the blender on high until the almonds are completely pulverized, a minute at least.
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Drape a nut milk bag over the top of a pitcher. Alternatively, line a colander with a double layer of cheese cloth or a thin tea towel and set over a mixing bowl. Pour in the contents of the blender into the pitcher or colander and strain out the liquid. Squeeze the bag/cheese cloth/tea towel very firmly until all that remains in the bag is fairly dry almond meal.
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Rinse the blender of any almond meal residue and pour the strained almond milk back in. Add the vanilla and honey and run the blender until mixed through.
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Chill for a couple of hours. Stir the almond milk just before serving. Store in the fridge for up to three days.
Comments
02.16.2014 at8:11 PM #
Jessie C.
I like using almond flour for baking and add chopped almonds into muffins.
tcarolinep at gmail dot com
02.16.2014 at8:11 PM #
Jessie C.
Follow on Instagram
02.16.2014 at8:14 PM #
Chelsea
Thank you for posting this great tutorial! I have always wanted to try making our own almond milk and after reading your post I can’t wait to try it! 🙂
Our family LOVES almonds and our boys request almond butter on their sandwiches we pack for their lunch each day! My personal favorite it to eat raw almonds with an apple as a perfect afternoon snack!
02.16.2014 at8:53 PM #
Neena
I love almonds but rarely cook with then! We prefer to just eat them straight out of the jar!
02.16.2014 at11:50 PM #
Kelsey Thomas
Toss almonds with spices and roast!
02.17.2014 at4:07 AM #
Darlene Owen
I use almonds in my smoothies with my Nutri Bullet also I like them in cookies as they are healthy for you
02.17.2014 at4:08 AM #
Darlene Owen
I Follow you on Instagram
02.17.2014 at5:47 AM #
Vanessa Man
I prefer to eat almonds as a snack, but I use it also in many dishes. I used it with sauteed green beans to add some extra texture, flavor and protein; in rice with coconut, raisins and almonds, many others, and they make my turkey stuffing super special on Thanksgiving day. I have also used substituted some of the coconut milk in curries with almond milk to make it a little lighter.
02.17.2014 at5:48 AM #
Vanessa Man
I followed you on Instagram.
02.17.2014 at6:27 AM #
Kelly
I love to just eat almonds as a snack, but also use them in muffins and other baked goods. I like almond milk from the store, but this is so simple, I will have to try to make my own.
02.17.2014 at6:34 AM #
Diana Cote
I use almonds to just snack on, i also use them in almond butter, chopped in salads, add them to my smoothies or veggies from extra crunch, to bake with as a flour… I’ve been dying to make my own milk but i just don’t know where to get a cheese cloth bag from. lol Thank you so much for the chance. 😀
02.17.2014 at6:35 AM #
Diana Cote
I follow you on instagram @wasabilime
02.17.2014 at6:47 AM #
Jacqueline
I have just recently learned that I can use almond milk for EVERYTHING. We now use it in coffee, quiches, omletts, chia puddings, cereal, casseroles, biscuits, cakes and cookies. Almond milk can be used as a substitute in any recipie that calls for milk. We love both the plain and the vanilla flavored milk. I had not made my own, but I am hoping to acquire a vitamix with my tax refund and it’s at the top of my list. 🙂
02.17.2014 at6:48 AM #
Jean
I make my own almond milk and I use the resulting almond meal to bake grain-free biscuits. I also love tossing toasted almonds into vegetable dishes for some crunch.
02.17.2014 at6:50 AM #
Jean
I follow on Instagram as jeanfbrinkley
02.17.2014 at7:35 AM #
Alli
I love almonds! They are my easy snack and happy crunch in salads. Excited to try almond flour.
02.17.2014 at7:42 AM #
lana simanovicki
i try to use almonds in everything i can we love almonds
02.17.2014 at7:52 AM #
Cynthia Pinnock
My favorite way to enjoy this healthy nut is when I sprinkle almond meal atop plain Greek yogurt drizzled with honey. I also like almonds right out of the bag.
02.17.2014 at7:59 AM #
Sarah N
I eat almonds for snacks, use almond butter for sandwiches, use almond flour for
pancakes, cookies, and other treats and use almond milk when I can sneak it in recipes where the kids won’t notice. Love almonds!
02.17.2014 at8:00 AM #
Sarah N
following on instagram
02.17.2014 at8:08 AM #
Nancy
We love almond butter and we also top salads and baked chicken with sliced or slivered almonds.
02.17.2014 at8:22 AM #
Alyssa M
I love making granola with almonds! So tasty over yogurt! I might actually try making almond milk now, looks so easy!
02.17.2014 at8:23 AM #
Melissa
My family made the switch to almond milk and butter, about a year ago. They love it! However, I still haven’t tried my hand at making it. Yeah, I have no good reason why. I just haven’t. LOL! You made this look so easy! Thank you!!!
02.17.2014 at9:52 AM #
Michelle Proper
I love almonds straight out of the jar and also love slivered almonds with my green beans!
02.17.2014 at9:54 AM #
Cydni
I love swirling almond butter in my oatmeal and eating almonds straight from the bag!
02.17.2014 at9:56 AM #
Meghan
granola! So delicious! Never tried almond milk. Will have to try!
02.17.2014 at9:57 AM #
Meghan
Follow you on Instagram. 🙂
02.17.2014 at12:07 PM #
Ris
I use almonds in my morning oats and the occasional batch of granola but I’d love to incorporate them into more recipes 🙂
02.17.2014 at12:49 PM #
miranda
I chop up almonds and use them in granola bars
02.17.2014 at12:50 PM #
miranda
Follow you on Instagram
02.17.2014 at12:50 PM #
Gary
I use almond butter on my sandwiches
02.17.2014 at12:52 PM #
Bill
I love almonds in my oatmeal, but more often I just eat them alone as a snack
02.17.2014 at1:02 PM #
Spring
I like almonds plain, in smoothies, salads and on yogurt!
02.17.2014 at1:13 PM #
Rosie
I love to use almonds to add them to veggie and fruit salads. I like to use almond butter for my homemade tahini, for my own energy bars, also for “cream” sauces. I love to make marzipan and macaroons and make my own almond paste. I like using them for cookies esp biscotti. I also just made cookies with almond butter and added chopped candied orange peel that I had made from scratch – soo good! I adore almonds plain, also toasted with spices.
02.17.2014 at8:58 PM #
Chris
How don’t we use almonds! Plain for a snack, in trail mix, milk for muesli, milk and butter in smoothies. The list goes on!
02.18.2014 at4:02 AM #
Valerie
We use a LOT of almonds….they are my emergency car snack too! I’ve made almond milk before, and it SO utterly different than the carton stuff, you are absolutely right. However, I’ve always dumped the soaking water and used fresh water for the blender step. Do you know the differences between the two methods? You can also soak for up to 2 days, which makes it creamier. I’ve done that and can fully attest to 2 days be EVEN BETTER! Such a shame it doesn’t last longer though. I also use cheap muslin from the fabric store for that a my yogurt straining. I’d love to win this one!
02.18.2014 at10:37 AM #
Ann
We are a dairy-free home, so we use almond milk daily! Everything from smoothies to baking.
02.18.2014 at11:21 AM #
erin @ yummy supper
Katie, it has been years since I’ve made almond milk. You are reminding me that I need to get back with the program;)
I have to say… I’ve always felt bad about tossing out the precious solids. I need to figure out a way to put them to good use. Mine have always gone to the compost bin as well.
I hope you and the crew are well. SO fun to hear of little helpers in the kitchen.
xoxo
E
02.18.2014 at7:49 PM #
Barb
Love almond everything! I start nearly everyday with a slice of whole grain toast spread with almond butter and homemade jam.
02.19.2014 at9:26 PM #
Anna K
Almond everything, especially almond milk!
02.19.2014 at9:27 PM #
Anna K
I follow you on Instagram! @annakerns
02.21.2014 at9:18 PM #
Elena
I like to make almond butter
02.21.2014 at9:19 PM #
Elena
follow you on Instagram
instagram.com/elena1509
02.22.2014 at4:57 PM #
Seth
We use almond milk instead of dairy at home. Tastes better and easier to digest.
02.23.2014 at12:38 PM #
Kate @ ¡Hola! Jalapeño
I’ve never made my own almond milk because I always assumed you’d have to use a ton of almonds (which are expensive)! But alas, now I know you don’t! Getting out my blender as we speak.
02.23.2014 at12:38 PM #
Katie Morford
I know…some recipes have a higher ratio of almonds to water, which would make for a creamier milk, but more expensive too. I’ve also done a 4 to 1 ratio, and it’s still tasty.
02.26.2014 at5:34 AM #
Heather
I love almonds for a snack, in homemade nut butters and milks, and definitely chopped up into Indian and Middle Eastern dishes!