How to Make Almond Milk From Scratch

Your complete guide to making easy, healthy almond milk from scratch.

Homemade almond milk is smooth, fresh, creamy and so much better than the store-bought stuff. It’s also incredibly easy to make at home but until a few years ago, I had always relied on store-bought almond milk.

I had always imagined making my own nut milk at home would be difficult and messy, so for years never attempted it. But that couldn’t have been farther from the truth. Making almond milk from scratch is incredibly easy and so delicious.

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Why Give Homemade Almond Milk a Try?

Well, first of all, it’s pretty tasty.

Secondly, a lot of people have been making the switch from cow milk to nut milk. And we’re not just talking about vegans. More and more people (60 percent of American adults) report struggling with dairy-based food sensitivities and intolerances.

Personally, my digestive system doesn’t process dairy very well anymore (and plain milk will straight up destroy my body for about 24 hours, which I unfortunately discovered after an airport barista made my latte with regular milk instead of the almond milk I’d requested).

But enough about me. Let’s talk about you.

Maybe you live dairy-free or are looking to reduce your overall dairy consumption. Maybe you have dairy food sensitivities or special medical needs that require a lower phosphorus intake. Maybe you don’t care about any of that and just enjoy delicious things in your life.

Whatever the case, maybe you should keep reading and learn how make yourself some almond milk from scratch too.

Benefits of Homemade Almond Milk

Homemade almond milk actually has a lot of benefits to offer. Because of the way the nuts are processed, almond milk is actually quite low in fat and calories while still retaining several positive sources of nutrients.

11 Benefits of Making Almond Milk

• Free of artificial colors, flavors and preservatives
• Dairy-Free (and vegan!)
• Gluten-free
• Low calorie
• Low fat
• Low sugar
• A positive source of calcium
• Low in phosphorus (important if you’ve got chronic kidney disease)
• A positive source of potassium
• High in vitamin E
• A versatile ingredient

How Long Does Homemade Almond Milk Last?

Fresh almond milk is chemical and preservative-free, so it doesn’t have the same shelf life as many store-bought almond milk brands (which isn’t a bad thing if you like keeping artificial colors, flavors and chemicals out of your diet).

I like to make a week’s worth of almond milk at a time.

Store your almond milk in an air-tight container in the refrigerator and shake up before each use. It will typically stay fresh for about 5-7days.

Ways Incorporate Homemade Almond Milk

How do you incorporate almond milk? The same way that you would for regular milk, you silly. It’s super versatile and you can enjoy it all the same ways you would enjoy dairy-based milk. I use it for all kinds of things!

• In smoothies and protein shakes
• As coffee creamer
• For cereal or oatmeal
• Milk replacement in baking recipes
• As a housewarming gift (which I’ve done and always goes over well)
• Drinking a big ol’ glass just because it’s tasty

Best Tools for Making Almond Milk

Almond milk is crazy simple to make at home. But I’ve learned there are a couple important tools for making your best batch of almond milk from scratch: A quality blender and a nut milk bag.

A Quality Blender for Making Almond Milk

A solid blender is a non-negotiable for making quality almond (and other nut) milk. Cheaper and lower-quality blenders may struggle to help fully blend and extract full flavor and nutrients from the almond in your almond milk.

Vitamix 5200 Blender Professional-Grade
Click here to see on Amazon

The cream of the crop among blenders is hands down the Vitamix. This high-performance blender is revered by many people as the gold standard for home blenders and often surpassed the need to keep your old food processor around. It’s a little pricier than some, but it performs like no other and retains its quality and value over time.

Ninja Professional Countertop Blender

Click here to see on Amazon

I have had this model Ninja blender for five years and it is going strong. It’s so efficient, it’s essentially taken the place of my food processor in many recipes. I also love the fact that it comes with the single-serve blender cup option and I use it literally every day for making my morning keto coffee and daily protein shakes and smoothies.

A Reusable Nut Milk Bag

Pro Quality Nut Milk Bag

Click here to see on Amazon

This thing will make your life so much easier when it comes to making nut milk. Or washing quinoa. Or french press or pour over coffee. It’s washable and reusable and utterly fabulous.

I’ve had mine for years and use it on a regular basis for all kinds of straining activities in the kitchen. And dude, it’s like, $5 on Amazon so why wouldn’t you want an amazing nut milk bag in your life?

The Best Salt for Almond Milk

Our family made the switch to less processed salts after doing some research to learn that not all salt is made (or processed) equally. Many brands of refined salt are depleted of much of their mineral and nutritional value.

Furthermore, we learned that 90 percent of common table salts may contain microplastics (i.e. little bits of plastic). This includes sea, lake and rock salts.

We’ve made the switch to salt brands known for higher purity with less processing to retain more of their nutritional value. They’re fantastic for all kinds of cooking!

Celtic Sea Salt

(Non-GMO Verified, Vegan, Kosher and Paleo-Friendly)

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Recipe for Homemade Almond Milk

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 Cup raw, unsalted almonds
• 3-4 cups filtered water
• A pinch of Celtic salt

(See additions and substitutions list below for some extra options.)

DIRECTIONS:

Prepping the Almonds:

Begin by soaking your almonds in water overnight. Or possibly up to two days if you put them in your refrigerator and forget about the (not that I’m speaking from experience or anything…).

Note, you’re not soaking them in your 3-4 cups of filtered water. Go find thyself some other water. Otherwise, you’re going to feel quite ridiculous when you get to the next step.

The next step: Drain your soaked almonds. (You were warned.) Dump that nasty old water out (or use it in your garden) and proceed to thoroughly rinse the nuts under cool water. The almonds should now resemble an extended family member after a Thanksgiving Day meal: Plumper, rounder and squishy to the touch.

Creating the Milk:

Place the almonds, filtered water, and sea salt into blender or food processor. Depending on the desired thickness of your milk, you can choose to add more or less of the filtered water (less water will produce less, thicker milk, more water will produce a greater amount of thinner milk).

Blend on high for several minutes to completely pulverize almonds until you are left with a smooth, cloudy (dare I say it, milky) liquid.

Now it’s time to grab your straining accessory of choice.

I’ve made almond milk both by straining it through cheesecloth and (once, in desperation) a very thin dish towel layered in a strainer. Both get the job done, but after recently purchasing a fine-mesh straining bag I can honestly say that has been the easiest method (it’s also super handy for rinsing grains like quinoa). Whatever you choose, strain your almond milk into another container, squeezing out any excess milk left in the pulp.

Additions and Substitutions

• Not a fan of almonds? No worries! This standard nut milk recipe will work with cashews, hazelnuts, walnuts and pecans!
• Don’t have a nut milk bag on hand? You can also strain it through cheesecloth or (as I did once in desperation) a very thin, clean dish towel layered in a strainer.
• Want your nut milk a little bit thicker? Add one teaspoon of ground chia seeds.

Video: How to Make Almond Milk in American Sign Language

Final Thoughts on Making Almond Milk from Scratch

Not only is almond milk easy and affordable to make from scratch, it’s also a healthy alternative to dairy-based milk. There are definitely a few tricks and tools for making the best batch of almond milk, but now that you know them you’re now ready to start making your own almond milk!

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Related Healthy Recipes in American Sign Language:

• How to Make Oat Milk in ASL

• Pina Colada Smoothie in ASL

• How to Bake Asparagus in ASL

• Apple Pie Protein Smoothie in ASL

Related Healthy Drink Recipes and Articles:

• The Incredible Green Protein Smoothie

• Chocolate Covered Strawberries Protein Smoothie

• 3 Healthy Protein Smoothies for Fall

• 3 Healthy Holiday Protein Smoothies

 

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All writing and images copyright © 2020 Rachel Elise Weems Woods

Originally published 3-6-2017. Updated 8-14-2020.