Learn how to make almond milk at home! This easy almond milk recipe requires only two simple ingredients, and the result is creamy, delicious, and totally refreshing.
People sometimes look at me like I'm nuts when I tell them I make my own almond milk. As if it's so ambitious and must be so much work and wow, I didn't realize you were such a big hippie!
Well, let me tell you, none of that is true. In fact, I'm pretty darn lazy and making almond milk is very easy. Easier, to me, than lugging cartons of almond milk home from the supermarket, which is a personal pet peeve of mine. Almonds are way lighter than almond milk and water comes out of the faucet (but make sure you filter it if you use tap water to make your almond milk!).
Just to prove to you how lazy I am, today I'm going to share with you my super easy almond milk recipe. Maybe you'll try it and become as big of a slacker as I am!
Here's my easy peasy DIY almond milk tutorial!
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Almond Milk Ingredients
You only need two ingredients for this almond milk recipe!
- Almonds. Obviously. Raw almonds work best for almond milk and will give you the creamiest milk with the cleanest flavor. Steer clear of roasted almonds.
- Water. Because we need some kind of liquid!
If you want to add some flavor, you can do that with a few extra ingredients. These are all optional:
- Sweetener. I like to add maple syrup to my almond milk after making it, but pretty much any type of sweetener works. You can also add a couple of dates before blending the almonds.
- Vanilla. A teaspoon or so of vanilla extract will give your milk a nice vanilla flavor.
- Chocolate. Add some cocoa powder for chocolate almond milk.
Equipment
You do need a few pieces of equipment to make almond milk.
- Blender. It doesn't have to be a super high-powered one. I use an older model Ninja for this recipe.
- Nut milk bag. This is a small, tightly woven bag that you'll use to strain the almond pulp out of your milk. This is the one I currently use.
- Bowl or pitcher. Something large enough to catch all of your milk after straining it through the bag.
How to Make Almond Milk
My method requires three simple steps, and the active work takes all of about ten minutes.
Soak the Almonds
- Place the almonds in a container and cover them with a couple of inches of water, taking into account the fact that they'll expand in size as they soak.
- Soak your almonds for 8 to 12 hours.
Tip: In a rush? You can boil your almonds in water for 20 minutes instead of soaking them, but they won't soften up quite as much, so your milk might end up a tad less on the creamy side.
Blend the Almonds
- Place your almonds into your blender with some water. I like to use 1 cup of almonds and 3 cups of water, but play around with the ratios to get a consistency that's right for you.
- Blend them up! I like to let the blender run for about a minuet to make sure the almonds are well blended. You can probably get away with a quicker blend if you're using a high-powered device.
Strain Out the Pulp
- Set the bag in your pitcher or bowl and open it up as best you can.
- Pour your almond mixture into the bag — the liquid that comes through it is your milk!
- Now pick up the bag and squeeze it to get every last bit of milk out.
Drink up, or chill for later!
Frequently Asked Questions
Because it's made without additives, homemade non-dairy milk doesn't last quite as long as store-bought. For best results, store it in a sealed container in the fridge. It should last for about 5 days.
It is!
So many ways! It's excellent for drinking, in cereal or with granola. It's also the perfect liquid for smoothies. As far as cooking goes, I like almond milk best for baking. I find it's a tad on the sweet side and prefer other non-dairy milks like soy for savory recipes.
Pro Tips
- Your milk will separate while it sits in the fridge. This is totally normal and I haven't found a way to avoid it. Simply stir it back together before serving.
- If you're always forgetting to soak your almonds, soak a bunch and freeze them! You'll want to freeze them right in the soaking water, then when it's time to make nut milk, thaw, drain, rinse, and proceed as if they're freshly soaked.
- You'll end up with some almond pulp as a by-product of this recipe. Put it to good use!
- Make almond flour. Dry your pulp out in the oven or a dehydrator, then blend it to a powder and use it in recipes that call for almond flour.
- Make almond pulp crackers.
- Make energy bites.
- Put it in a batch of granola.
Video
For more guidance on DIY almond milk, check out my video!
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Almond Milk
Learn how to make almond milk with two simple ingredients! This stuff is creamy, delicious, and super easy to whip up.
Instructions
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Place the almonds into a medium bowl and cover them with a couple of inches of water.
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Allow the almonds to soak overnight, for 8 to 12 hours.
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Drain the almonds and rinse them.
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Place the almonds into a blender with 3 cups of water.
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Blend until the almonds are very finely chopped and the liquid looks milky. I recommend letting the blender run for 1 to 2 minutes to achieve this.
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Gather a bowl or wide-mouthed pitcher and place a nut milk bag inside with the opening facing upwards and as wide open as you can get it.
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Carefully pour the almond mixture into the bag.
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Allow the liquid to drain through the bag, then squeeze the bag to extract any excess liquid from the blended almonds.
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Use your almond milk immediately, or transfer it to a sealed container and refrigerate for up to 5 days.
Absolutely love this almond milk recipe, not tried it yet but certainly will. This may seem a little presumptuous but can you let me know how to make rice milk. Thank you, love your recipes.
Glad you like it! Rice milk is made pretty much the exact same way! Just substitute rice for the almonds, and I *think* you can reduce the soak time a bit, but I'm not 100% sure - I only rarely make rice milk.
Hi Alissa,
This is exactly the way I make my almond milk. It is soooo good. And as you say, much easier than buying from the store. In 5 minutes you have your milk (of course almond soaked on hand). I use the almond milk to make vegan butter, certain sauce for pasta,the pulp and milk for muffins and the milk just to drink straight from the nut 😉. Same here, if I want it sweeter I put dates and flavor it with vanilla. The milk sweet with vanilla can be used to make a smoothie in a few minutes. And me too, I'm lazy lol, so making my milk in my pj without having to up in the car and go to the store, that's the best option!
Lol! So it's not just me! :) You make vegan butter out of your almond milk? That's so cool! I'll have to give it a try myself.
Great idea, Suzanne for the date and vanilla. I'm assuming you just throw it in the blender along with the nuts and water. I 3rd the motion of staying home in my jammies vrs going out in our cold Wisconsin winters. 😁☃️⛄
My boyfriend came up with a good idea for straining the milk: Place your nut bag inside a tall vase secured by clothespins and let the weight of the pulp/milk drain itself. I then remove the bag and put it on a plate, pop it into the freezer for a few minutes to make it cool enough to handle then squeeze out the remainder of the milk.
Lately, I'm just making my almond milk with blanched almond flour. I only make a pint at a time since I just don't use milk to often. 1/4 cup blanch almond flor to 1 cup ice water (to taste). really blend well! Couldn't be easier.
Great idea! I will give it a try!
Wonderful and really easy to make! Two anecdotal remarks: The LIDL supermarket chain over here in Germany is currently selling "Green Bags" (they're using the English term) intended to carry your fruits and vegatables home without having to use a pastic bag. They sell it at the fruit and vegetable stand - and it's 49 Euro cts (about 60 USD cts.) for two bags (!). I had a look at the nut bag that you recommend - and it's actually the same product. In the case that you're using it to carry your fruits and vegetables home with its help it's even washable at 30°C... What a bargain! The other thing is how to use the almond pulp. What I found was one of the funniest blog articles that I ever read, and it's about "Turn Leftover Almond Pulp into Marzipan": http://www.badmamagenny.com/2008/12/10/homemade-marzipan-or-hallelujah-guys-i-just-invented-another-use-for-leftover-almond-pulp/ It shouldn't be taken too seriously, I think, and the result looks really horrible - BUT: Once the almonds are soaked overnight their skins are easily removable, leaving you white almonds and white almond pulp. I put the pulp in an open tupperware box and put it on the heating. If you stir it with a spoon every now and then it will dry at (almost) no time. I found more recipes for homemade marzipan with almond pulp leftovers in the web (Bad Mama's isn't fully vegan). I've not yet decided which one I will use. In the meantime I'm enjoying this wonderful drink. 5 stars for you!
Lol. I can totally relate to Bad Mama's "nagging creep-up is that of bags and bags of leftover almond pulp."
I actually have a couple of those bags in my cabinet, and I never even thought to try using them for nut milk. Thanks for sharing!
I'm so glad you're enjoying the almond milk! Thank you for your review. :)
Love this almond milk. Excellent recipe. Thanks for posting it. It is delicious and easy to make.