Even Easier Homemade Almond Milk Recipe
I know I’ve already posted a How-to-Make-Almond-Milk-from-Scratch recipe. In fact, I gave you three different versions! But my how-to involves slipping the skins off the soaked almonds before blitzing them in your blender which is really no big deal. The reason I do that is because I went to an ayurvedic cooking lecture many, many years ago and the teacher went into great detail about almonds. Almonds are wonderful and alkalizing and high in protein and good fats, BUT (I was hanging on the edge of my seat when I heard that “BUT”) they can be very hard to digest unless they are soaked. AND the skins can be a little bitter. AND the skins cause wrinkles. Whaaaaaat???? I will tell you no one was listening until she said that and then every manicured brow in the room went up. “Did she say almond skins cause WRINKLES?”
So obviously do you really think I was going to start eating almond skins after that? Silly question. Duh, noooooo. Of course I never did any research as to the validity of that statement and I still haven’t. But I did research how to make almond milk from other sources and everyone says to slip those skins off, perhaps due more to a bitter aftertaste than the wrinkles theory. But your friend Pamela here has gotten much busier since my last almond milk post and I have become practically dairy-free, so I have been making almond milk about twice a week. And there came a point when I decided that slipping those almond skins off was GIVING me wrinkles! Or maybe because I was doing it while watching Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Oy. Anyhoo, I decided to see what would happen if I soaked the almonds, drained them and blended them in fresh water WITH their supposedly bitter, age-advancing skins. Gasp. No difference. Same delicious taste and my skin still looks like it did before I drank the almond milk. Life-changing moment!
I also now exclusively use a nut milk bag (I know, sounds nasty, but totally fabulous!) instead of my fine mesh sieve to squeeze out every last drop from the blended almonds. If you don’t have a nut milk bag (gives me the willies every time I type that, but a great product, really!), a fine mesh sieve works great. You just really want to press down on the pureed almonds or squeeze them with your hands as I am convinced that the creamiest part of the almond milk comes from that last squeeze.
I use almond milk all the time, especially to finish off hot breakfast porridges like oats and millet. I use it in acai bowls and smoothies, as well as chia seed pudding and desserts. The girls have been using it over granola and my friend Matt pours it over cereal and in coffee. Just remember, homemade almond milk is pure goodness with no preservatives so it doesn’t last as long as the stuff in a box. What else do you use almond milk for?
Basic Almond Milk
Instructions
- Soak 1 cup raw almonds in bowl with plenty of room temperature water for 6-8 hours. (Soaking will make the almonds softer and more digestible.)
- Drain the almonds in a colander and rinse with fresh water.
- Place the almonds in a blender or Vitamix. Add 3 cups fresh water and blend until the nuts are pulverized.
- Strain through a fine mesh sieve, cheesecloth or a nut milk bag into a glass bowl. If using a sieve, use a spoon to scrape the almond meal around and allow as much liquid to drain through.
- Transfer to a glass jar and refrigerate, covered for up to 4 days. Add the remaining pulp, sweetened with honey or maple syrup, to hot cereal, granola or fruit.
Notes
Soak almonds in regular water, but use coconut water to blend with the soaked almonds. Almond milk sweetened with dates:
Follow directions for basic almond milk, but blend soaked almonds with water and 8 pitted dates. You can add a drop of vanilla and sea salt, if you like, but it is delicious just like this. Of course you can sweeten almond milk with stevia or honey or whatever you like, but I think dates are the best! You don’t need to sweeten the remaining pulp if you choose to eat it since it is already sweet from the dates.
59 Comments
The wrinkle story is too funny, I still love to read your older posts, eventhough thanks to you I am an expert almond milk maker now! Do you ever do an even easier easier easier almond milk by blending almond butter and water?
Yes! I put that hack in Kitchen Matters. Plus now I use JOI almond base with water. 😉
Hi Pamela
How do you wash the nut bag after you make the milk and is there a brand you would recommend?
Thank you so much!
Vivian
I turn it inside out and rinse it with warm water until all traces of nuts are gone. Ellie’s Best is a great nut milk bag.
Hi Pamela, thanks for all of your fabulous recipes! And the recipe planner! I am obviously late to the almond milk game (we have access to great local raw milk) but I don’t love using that in smoothies or hot cereals. And coconut water tends to overpower smoothies. I haven’t used almond milk in several years because I was so surprised when I saw Carrageenan listed as an ingredient in the organic versions! Yuck. So we’ve been making due but I have recently really wanted some almond milk and saw this link in your Friday Favorites today. Where do you get your almonds? Do you use true raw, unpasteurised almonds? Here in Georgia it’s maybe not as easy to access them as it is in CA…even at Whole Foods they are all pasteurized. What are your thoughts on pasteurized vs unpasteurized? Thanks!
My Whole Foods sells truly raw almonds, but they are imported from either Italy or Spain. You cannot buy raw domestic almonds in the US unless you buy them directly from the grower. A great source is livingnutz.com or some farmers markets will have almond growers selling truly raw almonds. Steam pasteurization is fine, I guess. But there’s no life force left to the almond after pasteurization. Not-steam pasteurization (such as for non-organic almonds) is via propylene oxide fumigation(PPO), a highly toxic chemical. So I buy unpasteurized, organic almonds, but if you can’t find those, buy steam-pasteurized organic almonds. 🙂
I made my first batch of almond milk yesterday and it was not only easy, but fun! We are not necessarily dairy free but I like having different options when cooking. I used it in the dutch baby pancake yesterday and there was not any difference in the pancake. I am going to make the banana bread today. We are on spring break so I am trying as many things as possible before we go back to school and I have to go back to reality and no time. 🙂 I can’t thank you enough for making cooking easier, more fun and exposing me to things I have never tried before. 🙂
You’re too kind. That’s my goal! Thank you for all of your generous feedback. It means so much!
You are very welcome!
Hi Pamela, I’m off dairy and have been making almond milk every week. It’s super delicious, but I have almond pulp coming out of my ears! I’ve been freezing it in baggies until I figure out what to do with it (I don’t have a dehydrator). Could the pulp be dried in the oven and used to make almond butter? This is also something I make often so I’d love to re-use in this way, if possible. TIA
Did you see my Instagram post yesterday?? I just made a banana bread using the pulp from my almond milk! I’ll post soon! In the meantime, I add it to my son’s smoothies, and stirred into oatmeal and hot porridges. I doubt it would work as a nut butter. I think you could put it in the food processor with some dates and cacao powder and make an energy ball!
Bummer about almond butter! 🙁 But I just saw your banana bread and it looked delicious and a great way to use up large quantities of pulp. Will be able to make enough for the neighborhood. ha. Can’t wait for the recipe. Thx!
Listen, I’m not entirely sure that it wouldn’t work, but I don’t think it would turn out exactly the same. I will try it out next time.
Hi,
Not sure if my question submitted properly. So I am sorry if is is a repeat. Do you cover the nuts when soaking overnight or leave uncovered on counter? Wonder same for beans and grains. Thanks!
Just made the almond milk for the first time; plain and date versions. So delicious, and my kids were intrigued. They did a taste test and liked it better than the store bought version. Am super excited! I then made almond paste with the remaining pulp, to use for baking. Am sure you could make marzipan too.
Of course what you made is better than store bought! No comparison. I recently had to use store bought almond milk somewhere and I was so surprised how horrible it was! Very clever use of the pulp — thanks for the suggestion!
So delicious ! Thank you for this recipe !
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Hello, where to use leftover of nuts after making milk??
This is the question. If you have a dehydrator, you can make almond meal and use it in baking or as a binder. You can also add the pulp to smoothies, hot porridges, pancake batter. I have seen recipes online for veggie burgers made with nut pulp, but I haven’t tried any.
Hi Pamela..
I put the leftover pulp on a cookie tray lined with parchment paper, then throw it in a 200 degree oven for 4hrs to overnight. (depends on how much pulp you have) Until it is completely dry.. I then put it in the food processor or nutribullet and turn it into almost a flour..
I use this to throw into my flour for making bread and cookies..
You might also want try a method that gives the milk a little more flavor.. That is to blend the nuts with just one cup of water (makes a paste), then add 2 cups of boiling water and let rest for 10 minutes or so..
Then just give it a whirl and strain as usual..
Thanks for spreading the word and don’t forget about sesame seed milk.. (made the same way)…
WHere have you been all this time with these fantastic suggestions?! Love it all and I will try sesame milk. Never even thought about that one! Thank you!
My pleasure Pamela..
Another thing I do; when I didn’t have a nut bag and just a strainer.. (didn’t like tiny particles in my milk, which the strainer method often left in, and I am always out of cheesecloth because I am always sprouting).. I lined the strainer with a coffee filter, it works beautifully and you can gather it up and very gently squeeze out every drop of mikj..
Hope someone will find that useful.. I better get back to making my homemade neosporin.. Isn’t doing things for yourself and your family, that are really healthy and save money.. (with the price of things and all the chemicals they put in everything, I think it is a necessity.. Don’t you..
Have just made this milk it is very deliousous and leftover meal great on cereal
Great suggestion, Gwen! Thank you 🙂
and speaking of “to heck with it” I was quite delighted with the batch I made. Sweetened with agave sweetener. Wife took a few sips and remarked on it’s relation to pina colada.
Well, out came the rum, and there went the evening 😉
That is AWESOME! Thanks for sharing — I’m inspired 😉 !
Where did you buy your nut milk bag, Pamela? I am dying to try this!
Amazon! http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004EFW3NE/ref=as_li_qf_sp_asin_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=pamesalzkitcm-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B004EFW3NE
Awesome, thank you! I tried it out today with a sieve, and it turned out good enough. I think the nut milk bag will help with the tiny pieces of almond at the bottom. But really, I’m just happy to have the real stuff!
Yes, the nut milk bag is awesome. When you do use a sieve, use the one that is super fine, like for rinsing quinoa. The other ones don’t work well for almond milk. Homemade almond milk is soooooooo good!
I know from experience that “organic” almonds are much easier to skin than non organic almonds. There is a difference!
How interesting! Didn’t know that, thanks!
Thanks for the recipe! Is the nut milk bag terribly hard to clean?
You’re welcome! The nut milk bag is super easy to clean. I rinse off the outside. Then turn it inside out and rinse off that side until I don’t see anymore almond residue. That process takes a minute or two. Then I hang it on my faucet to dry. That’s it!
Hi, I stumbled across your blog when I was trying for a third time to make some delicious almond milk. I like your date idea, so I tried it with some tweaks, and it came out SO GOOD. I soaked 2 cups of almonds for about 8 hours, which made about 2.5 cups of almonds. I threw in 6 cups of water, a cinnamon stick, four dates, and a vanilla bean (I bought from the grocer store). It was missing something, so I threw in a couple pinches of salt – PERFECT! I had to blend and strain 3x, but I have a $50 one speed Oster blender, so I can’t complain.
Thanks again for your blog. It’s a real inspiration.
And The nut bag makes all the difference!
Nice job, Lee! Love that nut milk bag.
Can you freeze almond milk?
Now that’s a good question. I honestly don’t know. If I were in town right now, I would try an ice cube of it and let you know. I think I’ve read on the cartons not to freeze, but I can’t be sure. I’ll have to get back to you on that one!
I’m eager to try making my own almond milk now. I hate to waste anything, I was wondering about using the almonds that are left after squeezing out the juice to add to oatmeal or millet or other grains for a hot cereal or even to soups as a thickener. Seems like it would be a good taste and a good use,
You can definitely do all of those things! The almond pulp has a very neutral taste, although a little grainy. Adding it to hot porridge would be great or in a smoothie and I think it would be a great thickener for soups!
I have never tried to make almond milk – but I’ve been inspired and will try this week. I’m wondering – the vitamix blender and the ninja blender – aren’t they supposed to essentially juice anything that goes in them? Would there be any almond pulp to strain?
Go for it! You’ll never look back. The Vitamix doesn’t “juice” anything, though. It blends most things into a very fine texture, but the almond milk will be very grainy and pulpy. Take a sip and try it for yourself, maybe you’ll like it that way. Personally, I need to strain it in a nut milk bag. Let me know if you have any questions!
Hi Pamela! I love this recipe, I make it all the time and my family loves it too!
I do have two questions: Is it okay to soak the almonds for longer than 8 hours? Sometimes I put them in a bowl to soak, expecting to be back in 6-8hrs to make the milk, but life gets in the way and I can’t get to it till the next day?
Also, I heard you make a delicious breakfast with millet and almond milk…do you cook the millet in almond milk or do you add almond milk afterwards?
Thanks Pamela!
Now that’s a great question! You can soak longer than 8 hours for sure. Just change the water and refrigerate if necessary until you’re ready to use them. I cook a batch of millet twice a week just to have on hand. I cook 1 cup of millet with 2 1/2 cups of water and store it in the fridge. Then I reheat with almond milk and a little coconut milk until the millet is heated through and soft. I never measure the liquids since I eyeball it to what looks good to me (I like it kind of soupy.) You can cook the millet in almond milk and it would probably be creamier, but I’m not willing to part with that much homemade almond milk!
What is the shelf life of the almond milk?
4 days, 5 max. Not as long as boxed unfortunately.
What would the cost be to make 1/2. Gal of almond milk? Wouldn’t it be cheaper and time saving to just buy a 1/2 gal of non gmo almond milk?
Th cost would depend on what kind of almonds you’re getting. I buy truly raw, unpasteurized organic almonds which are about $8/pound, sometimes up to $10/pound. 1 pound of shelled almonds is about 3 cups which means you can get 3 quarts of almond milk. But for 2 quarts, it’s a little more than $5-6 + your time. Of course, homemade almond milk from soaked, raw almonds is not comparable to almond milk in a box which contains additives and isn’t a raw product. You can compare homemade almond milk to the kind you buy at a fresh juice bar and that usually costs about $6…a pint.
Almond milk lattes with honey and cinnamon are my absolute favorite. Looking forward to trying this!
Y-U-M! Did you see Amy’s comment about using homemade hazelnut milk in her coffee? Either way, homemade nut milks are the best!
I have been making hazle nut milk, using my nut bag. I’m telling you folks, if I can do it, then it is super easy. I use hazle nuts for two reasons. One- they make a great non-dairy coffee creamer. Slightly creamier than coconut or almonds. Secondly, almonds are high in salicylic acid and I am a bit sensitive to that. I never thought I would be dairy free due to my love of creamm in coffee, but hazle nut milk changed that!
Genius, Amy!!!! This is awesome. First of all, those non-dairy creamers are poison, so how great if your comment could get people to switch over to making their own homemade hazelnut milk. Second, I didn’t realize almonds caused an allergic reaction in many people, including one of the girls that assists me in my classes. She’ll be so psyched to learn about your suggestion. Thank you!
Have you ever tried blanching the raw almonds? I wonder if that would soften them up enough, like the quick soak method for beans, as well as loosen the skins.
It’s a good thought, Miriam, but I like keeping it raw for maximum nutrition. Soaking not only softens the nuts, but more importantly neutralizes the phytic acid and makes the nuts more digestible. Most of the phytic acid is in the skins, so I suppose if you’re removing the skins, it’s not a big deal. I guess if you need to make instant almond milk, it’s a good Plan B!
I used to peel the soaked almonds, but then for some reason thought heck I’d just blend it all, extra fiber? Whether it is or not, it just saves time not peeling. I also don’t strain after blending because I liked it as well as strained.
Exactly, Marty. The heck with it!