How To Make Nut Milk

Nut milks are the new staple in most household's refrigerator. Whether you are looking for non-dairy milk or a vegan-friendly option, nut milks are great alternatives to your traditional cow's milk.

Homemade nut milk is super easy to make right in your kitchen, and most likely, you have everything you need right in your pantry. And the best part, you can customize it to your liking, and you know exactly what is in your nut milk. Store brought nut milks are often filled with filler to give it a creamy texture, fortified vitamins so you can feel good about the product, artificial flavors to make it taste good, and it is filled with preservatives—all the reasons why you should be making nut milks at home.

Homemade nut milk is more affordable, healthier, and super delicious than store brought nut milks that you will want to make your own over and over again. You can make nut milk with any type of nuts: almond, cashew, hazelnut, or even a blend. You can even go nut-free make it with oats or seeds. You can use a single or a nut blend. The combination and options are endless.

Is It Cheaper to Make your own Nut Milk than purchase it from store?

One of my favorite nut milk brands is Elmhurst. I like the brand because they use simple ingredients in their product and claims to use more nuts than other brands.

Elmhurst almond milk, for example, only contains two ingredients. And the brand claims to use up to 4 times more nuts than other brands. One 32 oz of Elmhurst almond milk cost about $7 from the grocery store. If you follow my recipe below, you will only need 1 cup of raw almonds to make a 32 oz of homemade almond milk. Raw almonds cost about $12 for a pound, which means one cup of almond (~1/3 pound) will cost $4.

Elmhurst Cashew milk, for example, also only contains two ingredients and contains up to 5 times more nuts than other brands. One 32 oz Elmhurst cashew milk costs about $6. Raw and organic cashew cost about $10 for a pound, which means one cup of cashew (~1/3 pound) will cost a little over $3.

By comparing these two examples, the homemade option is cheaper. While you may think to yourself brands like Silk, Trader Joe's, or 365 brands offer a cheaper almond milk option, remember to read the ingredient list. These brands contain more than just two ingredients.

How To Make Nut/Seed Milk

1. Choose your nut(s)

Your nut options are endless. You can either choose a single type or a blend. Some delicious nut milk includes almond, cashew, tiger nut, macadamia, hazelnut, peanut, etc. You can also go nut-free and use other ingredients like oats or hemp.

If you never tried nut milk before, here is an idea of what some of the nuts have to offer:

Almond Milk

Almond milk offers a delicate nutty flavor, creamy, thick, and a mildly sweet taste. 

Cashew Milk

Cashew milk offers a less nutty flavor than other nuts, but it offers a thick, full, and creamy consistency.

Hazelnut Milk

Hazelnut milk offers a rich and creamy but not as full of a mouthfeel. It has a robust nutty flavor and makes it a great flavorful alternative. 

Walnut Milk

Walnut milk offers a rich and creamy texture but not a full mouth. 

Pecan Milk

Pecan milk offers rich and creamy but not as full of a mouthfeel. It also provides a buttery taste with a nutty flavor.

Pistachio Milk

Pistachio milk offers rich and creamy but not as full of a mouthfeel. It provides a distinct and robust pistachio flavor.

Brazil Nuts Milk

Brazil nut milk offers a thick, full, and creamy consistency.

Macadamia Nuts Milk

Macadamia nut offers a thick, full, and creamy consistency. Macadamia milk offers a buttery flavor with crisp undertones with a subtle sweetness.

Nut-Free Options

Oat Milk

Skim-milk consistency and mild sweetness. Great for someone who doesn't like any nutty flavor. 

Hemp Milk

Hemp Hearts offers a rich and creamy, but not as full of a mouthfeel.

Coconut Milk

Skim-milk consistency. Have distinct coconut taste and subtle undertones.

Pumpkin Seeds Milk

Pumpkin seeds are rich and creamy but not as full of a mouthfeel. 

Tips:

• If you are looking for maximum creaminess and don't want to spend a lot, go with almond or cashew.
• If you are looking for maximum creaminess with no budget restrain, check out brazil nut and macadamia.

2. choose your sweetener/salt (Optional)

If you enjoy a little sweetness to your nut milk, here are some of your options: dates, honey, maple syrup, or coconut sugar.

I like adding a pinch of salt gives balances out the sweetness and enhance flavors.

3. Add additional flavor (optional)

Here are some additional flavors you can add to spice up your nut milk a little: vanilla extract, cacao powder, cinnamon, cardamom.

4. Choose your base

You can either blend your nut with filtered water or a base of your choice: coconut water, aloe water, etc.

5. Blend, blend and more blending

You can make this recipe with any type of blender. But I prefer using a higher speeder blender because it will mix and chop the nuts a lot better. 

Ingredients

1 Cup of Nuts (single kind or a blend)
3 Cups of Water (for creamier texture) or 4 Cups
2 Dates (Without pits, Optional)
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract (Optional)

Instructions

1. Soak the nuts/seeds in a jar overnight. Make sure the nut/seed is completely submerged underwater, plus more. The longer you soak them, the creamier they will be when you blend. You can either leave the nuts/seeds at room temperature on the counter with a lid or keep them in the refrigerator.
2. Once it is soaked, drain and rinse the nuts. Then put them in a high-speed blender.
3. Mix the nuts with about 3 cups of water. If you are looking for a creamier texture, you can use 2 cups of water instead. The more water you use, the thinner it is. At this point, you can also add your sweetener and vanilla extract.
4. Turn your blender on high speed and let it blend for about 90 seconds. Don't blend for too long, or else it will heat up.
5. Once you are done blending, place either a strainer, nut milk bag, fine mesh, or cheesecloth over a large measuring cup (that can handle more than 3 cups) or a jar. If you are using a strainer, pour the nut milk and press and then remove nut grind. If you are using a nut milk bag or cheesecloth, you will want to squeeze and press.
6. Store the nut milk in sealed containers.

How To Store Your Nut Milk

Store the nut milk in sealed containers and place it in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. You can save the nut pulp for other uses, and don't throw it away! One way you can use it is to add it to your baked goods.

Check you my almond pulp dark chocolate hazelnut pie. 

How to Make Homemade Nut Cheaper than Store-Bought

The advantage of making your non-dairy milk at home is that YOU get to determine the ingredients. There are no added artificial sweeteners, flavors, or fillers! That also means that you can decide how many nuts/seeds to use in the recipe. The fewer nuts/seeds you use in the recipe, the less creamy it is, and also, the cheaper it is!

If you drink nut/seed milk daily, I recommend that you purchase your nuts and seeds in bulk or check out Thrive Market.