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!
Claire says
I used a regular blender and it worked fine! I added one cup of water at a time and blended thoroughly each time, and I think that helped get all the little pieces of almonds. The almond milk is DELICIOUS!! I didn’t have a cheesecloth so I used a towel with little tiny hole in it…it worked perfectly! Yippee!! Thank you Elana!
Elana says
Claire, that is so awesome!
Joan says
I clicked on the updated link for your vanilla bean source’s site. A Norton popup rated it as a dangerous site with over 100 threats. Since all the links in your book have proved to be to reliable companies, there may still be a problem with that specific link.
elana says
Joan,
Thank you for the warning. I’ve gone ahead and changed the link over to a new website.
JK says
Hi Elana, would like to check if almonds are highly sprayed? Is it better to get organic or is that not really necessary?
Tks
Katrina Love says
Don’t know about your part of the world, but in Perth, Australia, regular almonds are about $8 to $11 per kg. Organic almonds are around $45 per kg… prohibitive price difference. I don’t believe many nuts are highly sprayed, as the main pests are birds, but the soil in which the trees grow would be a greater concern. I certainly don’t think there is $35 worth of difference.
bumpkin says
In many parts of the world, a big concern for nut growers are worms (or larvae) and I am not sure of the larvae’s genus and species, but some nuts are sprayed to prevent infestation. (I have wild hazelnuts here and they are all wormy.) Furthermore, the trees are susceptible to fungi, and are sprayed for the same. Here is a link:
http://www.thealmonddoctor.com/2010/02/bloom-sprays-what-and-when-to-use-to.html As with anything else that grows, if at all possible opt for organic, if not, contact growers- google it- and ask if they spray or not, as some places will not spray but may not have an “organic” designation, and these “naturally-grown” almonds would be far superior to sprayed tree fruits. Either way, if you are purchasing or ingesting ANY “non-organic” foods, it likely will not make much difference to your health to use either. Indeed, some so-called “organic” growers are simply, NOT! Homework is a boor, but may be a healthy alternative- ask the natural foods store who their supplier is (on their boxes, likely,) and google it.
colleen says
I am interested in trying this and the cashew milk recipe, however, I do not own a vita-mix. I know they are pretty powerful, but would a regular blender still do the job? Or would a juicer work? Any insight would be awesome! Thanks
Carrol Dugan says
Elana – I just tried your almond milk recipe and it’s great! I added a smidge each of honey and vanilla extract and it’s so tasty. I am not gluten free but I stumbled upon your website when I was searching for an almond milk recipe and I’m on here all the time now. My husband was buying cartons of almond milk and I just thought it would be easier and cheaper to make our own. It taste so much better, too, there’s no comparison. Thanks for sharing your talent!
Phred says
MMM interesting recipe. I do 1 cup almonds to 3 cups water, 1/8 tsp sea salt, 2 tsp agave and 1/2 tsp vanilla.
I also used blanched almonds. I’m going to let them sit overnight in water see if that makes a difference.
Devorah says
Can’t wait to try this! How long does it last in the fridge? THanks!
Elana says
Devorah, close to 3 days :-)
Gina says
Hi Elana,
So glad to have found your website. I look forward to getting your recipes via emial.
Thanks to everyone too who shared what they did with the leftover almond pulp – that’s the google search I did that brought me to this site.
Gina
Andree says
Just wanted to let you and everyone else know that I just made this recipe, but since I don’t have a VItamix, I used my magic Bullet instead! I first tried it with the regular cups, but also didn’t have any cheese cloths or anything like it. So I decided to use the juicer that comes with the Magic Bullet. The mesh sieve it comes with is perfect and the way the juicer is made (the juicer strainer fits into the blender attachement) so it works really well. That said, once there’s too much pulp, it doesn’t grind the almonds anymore, so being that it’s a small appliance, it needs to be done in smaller batches.
It also ground the pulp to such a fine texture that with some drying time in the oven it becomes almond meal! Next time I’ll try it in my dehydrator to keep it from actually cooking the almond meal.
EXCELLENT recipe! THe milk itself is delish! And final note, I didn’t have a vanilla bean (they are 12$ here!) but used organic pure vanilla extract and it tastes perfect :)
Andrée
kelli says
Elana-
I am excited to use this recipe we have been making almond milk for a long time but never flavored. We really just make it as a novelty. My 3 year old son was just diagnosed with autism so i have a feeling he will be more likely to give up milk happily with this recipe.
I do use the nut pulp for crusts to make pie and lemon bars. I just toast it slightly in the oven first to dry it out. it turns out very yummy and a good substitute for graham cracker crust.