People always ask me which type of milk is the healthiest: cow’s, goats, soy, almond, coconut, rice, hemp, etc. My answer is usually organic cow’s milk, because animal milk offers naturally-occurring protein & calcium and is the least processed.
But not everyone can or likes to eat dairy, and it’s nice to have some other options even if it’s just for taste.
I love the taste of almond milk – but don’t love the ingredients in store-bought almond milk. It has very little redeeming value nutritionally, and the addition of carageenan makes commercially made almond milk questionable.
Luckily, homemade almond milk is simple and quick to make.
Here’s how to do it.
Place a cup of raw almonds in a jar or glass food storage container and cover with water. Let the almonds soak overnight or for up to two days in the refrigerator.
Drain and rinse the almonds (you can get rid of the soaking water).
Blend the almonds with 2 cups of filtered water and 4-6 dried pitted dates (more = sweeter) until smooth.
Place a large piece of cheesecloth in a strainer (here I used a very fine meshed strainer but cheesecloth is much better) and put the strainer on top of a large bowl. Pour the almond mixture into the cheesecloth and let the milk drain through. Squeeze as much liquid out as you can.
Lightly rinse the blender, then pour the almond milk back into the blender with 2 more cups of water, a pinch of salt, and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract. Blend until smooth.
That’s it! Almond milk!
Chill and use for smoothies, cereal, oatmeal, baking, or just enjoy as a delicious beverage.
Store almond milk in the fridge, and use within 3-4 days.
Notes: Keeping the skins on the almonds during blending leads to a slightly bitter flavor. I like this, but if you don’t care for it, you can pull the skins off the almonds after soaking them. Once they’ve soaked 1-2 days it’s pretty easy to pop the skins right off.
27 Comments
Anna @ Fitness Ć la Anna
September 24, 2013 at 12:37 pmI am definitely trying this out! Way easier than I had assumed. And I agree, almond milk that is sold in grocery stores always seems to have a ridiculously long list of ingredients.
Laura
September 25, 2013 at 8:55 amI did not realize how easy it is to make almond milk! This is wonderful thanks for sharing š
Veenk
August 13, 2014 at 9:50 pmI need to give this a try!
After straining the “milk”, is there any good use for the “solids”? Perhaps as almond butter or something?
Amelia Winslow
August 15, 2014 at 9:32 amI don’t think the remaining paste would work for almond butter, but if you lay it out on a baking sheet and dry it slowly in the oven, maybe almond meal for baking & adding to other foods? That’s all I’ve ever done with it. I’ll do some research!
Laila
January 6, 2015 at 7:34 amI’m looking forward to trying my first ever homemade almond milk. Excited!
Marisa
July 24, 2015 at 11:11 amHow much milk do you get out of a cup of almonds? I’m looking to change my baby from breast milk to almond, and i’m struggling to find store bought almond milk without all the bad stuff in it.
Amelia Winslow
July 28, 2015 at 10:53 amHi Marisa,
One cup of almonds is about 3 cups of milk, if I remember correctly. However, I highly recommend talking to your pediatrician (or even better, a dietitian) before switching from breast milk to almond milk. Almond milk has significantly less nutritional value and it may be worth either moving to organic cow’s milk, or skipping milk altogether as opposed to introducing almond milk. Definitely talk to your provider about it š
wendy Trackim
October 27, 2015 at 10:52 amI just used your recipe to make almond milk for the firs time ever. So easy and so good. How long do you process in the blender the first time? I have a vitamix and the milk was a little warm after I blended not sure if I blended to long? And I had no solids left…nothing in the cheesecloth to squeeze out.
Amelia Winslow
October 29, 2015 at 11:47 amYay! I’m so glad to hear you liked it, Wendy. I use a BlendTec and there’s still a lot of pulp. If your VitaMix blends it into smithereens and you like drinking as is, go for it. It will be a richer, more caloric beverage but in small portions, very nutritious.
Norma
December 13, 2015 at 7:30 pmI read that when you make almond milk, it doesn’t last long can you help with this and how can you tell if there is a way to tell fresh almond from old and does that make a differance, thanks
Amelia Winslow
December 18, 2015 at 4:27 pmSince it’s a fresh, unpasteurized product, homemade almond milk will not last very long – maybe 3-4 days in the fridge. Best to make it in batches that last you that long, rather than making in bulk.
K
January 17, 2016 at 5:24 pmHI. I definitely will try this for my toddler. What kinds of almonds should I use. Obviously organic, but are there different kinds? Pasteurized v unpasteurized? Raw v roasted? Isn’t there a sprouted kind as well? hanks
Amelia Winslow
January 17, 2016 at 9:38 pmI normally just buy regular raw almonds for this, but I think any kind will work!
Janelle Gouras
February 25, 2016 at 10:15 pmHi I am allergic to vanilla. Is it important to put a flavoring (like Vanilla) in that I am not allergic to when making this almond milk?
Thanks so much,
Janelle
Amelia Winslow
February 29, 2016 at 4:31 pmFeel free to leave out the vanilla, Janelle. It’s just for flavor and the almond milk still tastes good without it.
Lisa
April 20, 2016 at 11:36 amI dehydrate it in the oven and use as almond flour. š
Amelia Winslow
April 22, 2016 at 8:58 amGreat idea, Lisa. I’ve heard that’s a great way to put it to good use!
Mary
May 29, 2016 at 4:00 pmCan blanched almonds like from Trader Joe’s be used in this recipe or is it best to remove the skins yourself?
Is it ok to leave out dates for unsweetened almond milk or does it taste better with them?
Amelia Winslow
June 1, 2016 at 2:20 pmYes, either would work so whatever is easiest!
laura m.
June 9, 2016 at 4:49 pmLisa: I buy almond flour (blanched almonds) add the water and some stevia, blend in blender (1/3 cu almond flour per 16 oz water appr.) This is easier than soaking whole almonds, etc. I use a pint jar and use on cereal and making smoothies or in baking. I am looking forward to trying hemp milk when it becomes available in the stores. Cannot tolerate soy.
Amelia Winslow
June 13, 2016 at 2:43 pmThanks for the thoughts, Laura.
Judy
August 2, 2016 at 6:39 amBeen reading that organic almonds are steamed when they are pasteurized versus checmical methods for non-organic almonds making them less nutricious. Do you know any additional information to verify this?
Amelia Winslow
August 11, 2016 at 2:13 pmHi Judy,
This is a topic I’ve been wanting to research further too. I know that some almonds are treated chemically during processing, but I’m not sure exactly how organic processes vary. I’ll let you know when I have some answers. Thanks!
NJ
November 11, 2016 at 5:34 pmHi Marissa ,
What did you end up giving your child finally? My son is allergic to cows milk and I am looking for a safe alternative ..almost all brands have carragenna and xantham gum. š
Amelia Winslow
November 14, 2016 at 9:58 amHi there — I’ve become a bin fan of Calafia products – they taste close to homemade and have a pretty clean ingredients list. By the way, xanthan gum is a thickener and something you can easily buy to use in home cooking/baking, and is considered safe by every scientific body. It’s not an unnatural additive and is not controversial at this point in time.
Lisa
September 21, 2017 at 5:40 pmThere are many uses for the almond meal left over!! If you Google you’ll find lots! I have a Rawlicious recipe book and made my first batch of almond milk from their recipe and then they had a recipe for superfood cookies using the leftover almond meal. I saved another recipe that I want to try that uses it to make crackers!! š
Amelia Winslow
September 27, 2017 at 3:24 pmThanks, Lisa!