I started making homemade almond milk in the late 1990’s. It’s creamy and delicious and so much better than store bought. Almond milk is wonderful because it’s a natural, dairy-free alternative to cow’s milk. The boys drink my homemade almond milk by the glassful, while I enjoy it in my Dandelion Coffee. It’s also great in smoothies. If you’ve been wondering how to make almond milk you’ll love my easy almond milk recipe, as well as all the amazing uses I have for the leftover almond pulp.
The hands-on time for this almond milk recipe is around 10 minutes. First though, you’ll need to soak the almonds overnight to soften them. Soaking the almonds makes the milk super creamy. Soaking also makes the almonds easier to digest because their phytic acid is released into the soaking water. Phytic acid is an anti-nutrient that impairs digestion and steals minerals from the body. That’s why we throw away the soaking water and blend the almonds up with fresh water to make the almond milk.
After blending the almonds with fresh water, you’ll separate the liquid, i.e., the milk from the pulp. That will be a cinch if you use a nut milk bag. I’ve linked to it in the recipe for you. In the old days I used cheese cloth and that was a bit messy because the almond pulp squirted out of it. You won’t have that problem if you use a nut milk bag. If you have children don’t say the words “nut milk bag” in front of them, or they’ll laugh at you!
Almond Milk
Ingredients
- 2 cups almonds
- 4 cups water
- 1 vanilla bean
Instructions
- Soak almonds and vanilla bean overnight in several cups water
- Discard soaking water and rinse almonds in a deep bowl of water, repeat until water is clear
- Place soaked almonds, vanilla bean, and 4 cups water in vitamix
- Blend on high speed for 90 seconds
- Strain milk through a nut milk bag, save pulp to make Wheat Thins
- Serve
This almond milk recipe has an incredibly sweet flavor when you use vanilla bean. You can make this recipe with vanilla extract instead. If you do that, add the vanilla extract to the strained milk after you soak, blend, and separate it from the pulp. You can also add honey or maple syrup to it if you want a sweeter milk. Store your homemade almond milk in a glass mason jar in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Don’t worry about wasting the leftover pulp from your homemade almond milk. I’ve created healthy recipes for you that use leftover almond pulp, so that you don’t have to throw it away. These almond pulp recipes do not require you to dehydrate the almond pulp prior to using it, and each of them are made with only 5 ingredients. Yes, they’re that simple!
Natercia says
Hi there elana ;) you mention that due to the almonds phytic acid they should be soaked first , but I wonder is the same done to the almonds made into commercial almond flours soaked before turning into a flour? I ask bc I assume otherwise the almond flour like the almond milk would be difficult to digest. ive started using almond flour in recipes and this makes me concerned.
Thanks:)
Elana says
Natercia, thanks for your question! I haven’t had any issues digesting almond flour. That might be because it is blanched which removes the skins which contain a good deal of phytic acid :-)
andy says
Elana, first, I’ve been a non-commenting visitor for some time but now really paying attention again since I have switched to eating keto style. Thanks for great recipes and a great and generous attitude.
Not a complaint, but just wondering. There are over 1600 calories in 2 cups of almonds. So your finished cups are 400 calories each? Store bought Silk is 35 calories per cup. No wonder yours is creamier. :) Silk must only have about 1/3 cup in their whole 8 serving carton. Yours has 1/2 cup PER SERVING. Or am I doing my math all wrong?
Elana says
Andy, I think that’s correct. Store bought almond milks are super thin and I’m guessing they use 4-6 cups of water with 1 cup of almonds, or something like that :-)
Bonny Hillebert says
Hi Elana,
Thanks for helping make our lives easier with gluten free and dairy free recipes! They are always delicious!
I found a delicious, and quick method to make almond/coconut milk. I use 1C of almonds to 6C of water, and add some coconut milk powder or cream (non-dairy).
Soak the almonds for 7-8 hrs., rinse thoroughly as you say, then you can just pop off the almond skins and discard. (It is like blanching, but so much less work.) Then I fill my Vita-mix with 2C of hot water, and the rinsed nuts, and blend, & while blending, add 1/2t celtic sea salt, 1t non-alcohol vanilla, and 1t sunflower lecithin (can leave out). I add 6T coconut milk powder or coconut cream powder. Blend for about 2 min total, on high, and then add cold water to the 6C line, and briefly blend to mix. Pour into pitcher, and you are done! No pulp left, so no need to strain! Blender does all the work for you! I’m sure if someone wanted to sweeten it, they could, but we find it is sweet enough without any sweetener. Then chill, and it is ready to use.
Elana says
Bonny, thanks for sharing your method here! I’m so happy to hear that you are enjoying my recipes and that they make your life easier and are always delicious :-)
Lincoln says
Got into smoothies this Christmas when I was given a blender that has enough power to make smoothies. Had seen a lot of recipes that use almond milk but had never tried them. Living as I do in a little village in the mountains in Spain, almond milk is not considered a necessity in the small local shop!
Funnily enough I am surrounded by almond trees, I even have my own! Your recipe therefore was just what I was looking for. Can’t thank you enough for sharing. I now have a use for all my almonds…..oh and it tastes good too!
Elana says
Hi Lincoln, you’re welcome! I love homemade almond milk and find it so much tastier than store bought :-)
kaye grill says
Dear Elana, can I use the “super fine Almond flour to make almond milk. Please send me receipe because I am cutting down on carbs and other forms of milk and have a huge bag of the flour that I would like to use up. Thank you, Kaye
Elana says
Hi Kaye, I haven’t tried that so not sure. If you do experiment please let us know how it goes :-)
Karen says
Hello I have never made almond milk I live in Albany Or. Where is a good organic place to purchase almonds to make milk?
Elana says
Karen, thanks for your comment! If you click the green text in the ingredients portion of the recipe that says “almonds” you will be taken to the place where I buy them :-)
Roving Punster says
Hi Elana,
I’ve been making almond milk weekly for about a year now, for my wife (various allergies), and have some tips to share.
1) Extraction Tips: I seem to get a richer extraction of milk by first pulsing the almonds a few times in my food processor to a roughly peppercorn sized grit, and then I’ll soak it overnight in the fridge and decant off (and discard) the free-run of the soaking liquid before topping up with enough fresh water for grinding. Also, you can increase your yield slightly further by pressing your almond pulp – I sit my buttercloth bag in a stainless steel colander, which I sit in a 3L stainless steel work bowl. Pour the puree into the bag, and after the freerun milk drains, gently shake the bag to settle the pulp, close the mouth, and twist the neck of the bag until all the slack is gone, then lay the bagged ‘ball’ of pulp on it’s side in the bottom of the colander, and press firmly with a flat bottomed paillard pounder until the milk stops draining and the solids form a dense dry gritty cake. The other advantage of pressing the pulp (besides more milk) is that it’s less likely to crack the container you freeze it in (less water equals less expansion during freezing), it thaws faster (simply pop a frozen pint into the microwave for a minute or two, then pulse in a food processor), has less impact on the moisture balance of recipes, and it dehydrates faster … a win win.
2) For a lightly sweet finish without adding sugar, I find about 5-10 drops of liquid stevia is just about right for a quart of almond milk, along with a half teaspoon of homemade vanilla extract, and a small pinch of salt.
3) The shelf life of homemade almond milk is longer than most aficianados realize. Because it hasn’t undergone commercial homogenization to fully emulsify the fats, homemade almond milk begins to separate after a day or so, and will fully separate in about 3 days (which is when a lot of people mistakenly toss it). The milk is still fine when it separates … just give it a brief but vigorous shake in a sealed bottle, and it will revert to it’s original appearance. In my experience, as long as you keep it nice and cold, and give it a quick shake each time you pour some (I store ours in an old fashioned clear glass quart milk bottle), I’ve found optimum shelf life is roughly 6 days, not 3.
4) Tip for almond newbies: When making almond milk, it’s ok to completely ignore the skins – they’re insoluable and will be captured by the buttercloth during pressing. Even if the soaking liquid appears discolored, the milk will still promptly turn a brilliant titanium white when pureed and strained.
Cheers
Roving Punster
Elana says
Roving Punster, thanks for your incredible comment :-)
Matthias says
Hi Elana, I know Vitamix is the one to go for, but for all those who are about to buy a Vitamix, you might want to read that first: http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/03/tritan-certichem-eastman-bpa-free-plastic-safe?page=1
I am currently waiting for a reply from Vitamix on it.
Elana says
Matthias, I hope you’ll let us know what you hear back!
Maryam Atighechi says
I simply used almond flour from Honeyville that you recommended. I have 25lbs so needed to use it!! It’s so much :-) Just using Almond flour worked great. You can bypass the soaking etc. I put some maple syrup and vanilla in there and it was an awesome milk shake.
Elana says
Maryam, that’s a great idea :-)
Megan Heaton says
Elana,
It is my understanding that almond skins contain phytic acid, which is an enzyme inhibitor making it difficult for your body to absorb nutrients. Once you soak the almonds overnight and go to re-use the pulp, do you know if the pulp still contains phytic acid?
nat says
I know Megan Heaton’s comment was a while ago, but maybe others were wondering as well. From what I gather, the phytic acid remains in the soaking water, so as long as you drain and rinse after soaking, your whole almonds, the milk and the pulp should be fine. Thanks for all the great recipes Elana!
Elana says
Megan, I agree with Nat, that’s what I’ve heard as well :-)