I first tried making homemade almond milk a couple years ago, after many of you told me so many amazing things about it. It’s so creamy! It’s better than store bought! It’s a cinch to make! Homemade almond milk is the best!
And you know what? My first couple tries didn’t exactly knock it out of the park. Two words come to mind: hot mess! I used a cheesecloth and things didn’t go very smoothly, if you catch my drift. I’m sure some of you have a lot more finesse with a cheesecloth, but I did not seem to be one of those people.
This time, I finally took the plunge and purchased a nut milk bag (feel free to giggle). Also called sprouting bags, these mesh straining bags make homemade nut and seed milks (among other things) a total breeze. I cannot wait to explore its many uses.
This time around, my almond milk making process was indeed a breeze.
Here are some step by step photos to show you my process. You should also know that every time I type “step by step” NKOTB starts playing in my head. I don’t even mind it.
We are going to soak a cup of raw almonds overnight or for 8 hours or longer. Sometimes if I’m in a time crunch I just soak them for 1 hour or so and it still turns out fine. Rinse and drain the almonds and pop them into your blender along with 3-4 cups of filtered water (I like 3.5 cups water in this recipe).
Which nuts do you think your body would rather digest – the dry, hard as a rock nuts or the plump, juicy nuts?
Sorry, that sounded all weird and awkward.
My favourite flavour combo is a whole vanilla bean, a couple Medjool dates, cinnamon, and a pinch of sea salt. Oh my lanta. It’s intensely vanilla flavoured with notes of caramel and cinnamon. The secret to an intense vanilla flavour is blending an entire vanilla bean. Just chop it up and toss the whole bean into the blender. You’ll be left with some amazing vanilla almond milk. Of course you can always use vanilla extract or liquid sweeteners too. If using the dates and/or vanilla bean, add them along with the almonds and water. If you simply want to add a liquid sweetener or vanilla extract, you can add them now or at the end. Your call.
Blend for 1 minute on the highest speed. Let’s go TURBO mode!!!!
Turbo mode scares me.
Place your bag over a large bowl and slowly pour in the milk. Thank you Eric for moonlighting as a hand model once again.
A lot of the milk will filter right through the bag without any effort.
But to get all of the milk out, you’ll need to do some gentle squeezing to encourage the milk through. This process took me a few minutes. As you can see in the photo on the right, I was left with about 1 cup of almond pulp.
I rinsed the blender out quickly and poured the milk back into the blender. I do this because I find it easier to pour the milk from the blender into the jar rather than from a large bowl into the jar. If you have a wide mouth funnel feel free to use that.
Check out those tiny specks of vanilla! I blended in a bit of cinnamon and a pinch of fine grain sea salt for even more flavour enhancing. Tell me, what’s better than Vanilla Cinnamon Caramel flavour?
Nothing.
You can use the almond pulp for all kinds of things like oatmeal, hummus, homemade granola, smoothies, cookie or muffin batter, crackers, or you can even dehydrate it and then blend it up to make almond meal. Oh, and you can freeze it too.
Man oh man, it tasted so lovely straight from the blender. I can assure you, it gets even better as it chills in the fridge.
I’ve never been a big milk drinker, but this almond milk had me going back to the fridge again and again and again for little sips. I can’t promise I’m organized enough to make this on a regular basis, but it’s a fun option to have up my sleeve when I’m feeling motivated or just want a special treat.
Vanilla-Cinnamon Almond Milk
Yield
3 1/2 cups (875 mL)
Prep time
Cook time
0 minutes
Total time
Creamy, lightly sweet, and so satisfying—homemade almond milk is a true luxury! My favourite flavour combo is a whole vanilla bean, a couple Medjool dates, cinnamon, and a pinch of sea salt. The secret to an intense vanilla flavour is blending the entire vanilla bean; just chop it up and toss the whole bean into the blender. Not to worry if you don't have one on hand though: a half a teaspoon of vanilla extract will work just fine in a pinch. This milk is delicious served with cookies, cereal, in a smoothie, or simply on its own.
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw almonds, soaked
- 3 1/2 cups (875 mL) filtered water
- 2 to 4 pitted Medjool dates, to taste*
- 1 whole vanilla bean, chopped or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract*
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- Small pinch fine sea salt
Directions
- Place almonds in a bowl and cover with a couple inches of water. Soak the almonds in water overnight (about 8 to 10 hours). For a quick-soak method, soak the almonds in boiled water for 1 hour. Rinse and drain well.
- Place drained almonds into a blender along with the filtered water, pitted dates, and chopped vanilla bean.
- Blend on the highest speed for 1 minute.
- Place a nut milk bag over a large bowl and slowly pour the almond milk mixture into the bag. Gently squeeze the bottom of the bag to release the milk. This process can take a few minutes so be patient!
- Rinse out blender and pour the milk back in. Whisk in the cinnamon and sea salt.
- Using a funnel, pour into a large glass jar and secure lid. Store in the fridge for up to 3 to 4 days. I recommend storing in the coldest spot in the fridge (typically the back) rather than on a door. Shake the jar very well before drinking as the mixture separates when sitting.
Tip:
- * If your dates or vanilla bean are dry/stiff, soak in very hot water for 30 minutes before using. Drain well. You can use another sweetener of your choice like maple syrup instead of the pitted dates.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
You might be wondering – If I don’t have a nut milk bag can I use a fine mesh sieve? Yes you can. I did a trial using my sieve. I didn’t find the milk got as smooth compared to using a nut milk bag, but if you strain it several times, it comes out decent. Also, feel free to try a cheesecloth, but I’m definitely not the person to give you advice using that method.
What about the cost?
Homemade almond milk can be cheaper than store bought or it can be more expensive; it really depends on your ingredients. When I see bulk almonds on sale, I like to stock up and buy a big bag. Pop a bag in the freezer to ensure they stay fresh.
To avoid almonds sprayed with the chemical propylene oxide, please see this article and this handy guide to common brands that do and do not use the chemical. If you are concerned about propylene oxide on your almonds be sure to check with your almond retailer to see what sterilization method is used.
Have you ever made homemade almond milk before?
Where do you buy almonds? Any good deals out there in store or online?
I have a 4 cup cuisinart food processer/chopper. Do you think it can handle the nuts? I’d have to do the recipe in smaller batches but I have blended soaked nuts in there before with no problem actually. I love your recipes Angela they’re brilliant. I go through Blue Diamond Almond Breeze Unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk Like nobody’s business but your recipe looks so much better!! With the dates and the real vanilla! To die for, honestly.I think I would go with buying a paint bag at a hardware store, even if I could track down a nut bag in Edmonton I can’t afford one right now!
These photos are beautiful! Thanks for sharing. I have thought about making my own almond milk many times… especially since your post on vegan milk and that pesky ingredient carrageenan was brought to our attention! I will definitely be giving this a shot soon.
Also, as a fellow Ontarian, I know affordable almonds are tough to come by. I buy mine at either Costco or The Bulk Barn. But I always keep my eye out for sales!
Lovely pics. This looks so decadent. I usually just make mine plain, but never just drink it, and I can imagine I might enjoy it if I gave it a little oomph. Might have more luck converting the kids this way, too. I agree 100% that the milk bag gives better results. I use mine in coffee and the metal sieve really did not give a good result for that purpose.
Oi have a stand that goes with the “nut bag”. I used it for making jelly and coconut milk. The bag ties onto the stand and the whole thing sits on top of a large bowl. Very easy to use and no mess.
Hi Angela!
Thanks for sharing this. You made it look so easy! I giggled right on cue with “nut milk bag” and when I saw your note about giggling that made me giggle even more! The “Oh my lanta” was a good one too :) So silly!
Thank you Angela!
A couple of months ago I came back home with some upseting blood test results and decided to make some changes. I came across your blog and step by step, I made a difference in my health and daily routine and your story and delicious recipes me a lot!!
Today I received some follow-up results and I couldn’t be happier! Within 2 months I went from possibly 2-3 pills a day for the rest of my life to perfect lab results! I can’t wait to show them to my “nutrispicious” doctor :) I think I just made that word up:D. Greetings from Cluj, Romania
Congrats on all your changes! Thanks for trying out the recipes :)
This sounds delicious! I would love to get away from buying the carton each week. First, I will have to get a Vitamix! Your recipe is just one more reason to purchase one. :) Thanks for sharing!
This post cracked me up. I love your additions! I’ve never tried cinnamon, but it sounds delicious! I bet some melted coconut oil would make it almost like a milkshake!
I used to use a sieve, but a nut milk bag makes it soooo much smoother. If I have the time, I’ll take the skins off the almonds, and that really enhances the flavor as well. :-)
After I initially commented I seem to have clicked on the -Notify me when new comments are added- checkbox and from now on whenever
a comment is added I get four emails with the same comment.
Perhaps there is an easy method you can remove me from that service?
Thanks!
Hi! I just made some almond milk, but I didn’t put any sweetener in it….. I never buy the sweetened variety at the store, so I thought I’d leave it out when making it at home. What do you think?
Found your blog through Pinterest yesterday. Just wanted you to know how much I’m drooling over your almond milk! I want to make it soon…just need a Vitamix first :)
Almond milk is my favorite! But I never thought to make my own. I bet this is delicious and chocolate almond milk would be fantastic as well!
Your page is my go to for so many recipes and ideas. I love that you are so practical. Here in the Philadelphia area I get my almonds at Trader Joe’s. They seem to have the safest (according to the article you posted) and best prices around.
I love the milk recipe. It also makes a wonderful hot chocolate with some nice cocoa powder and a touch of stevia or another date or two whipped in.
Keep them coming Angela!
Thank you Patti :) So glad you are enjoying the recipes!
Can you provide any additional detail on what to do w/ the pulp? How to use it in the ways you mentioned? Thanks!!
This has been really fun to play with!
I was too impatient to go out and buy a milk bag, so I just sewed (4 times on the seam) two sides of a handkerchief (feels kind of like a linen material) together. Perfect. The “teat” shape of the handkerchief made for an intriguing “milking” experience, lol!
Also, after wringing out the nut pulp, I was left with 1/2 a cup of very smooth “butter.” Having heard rumours of nut cheeses, I added a 1/4 tsp of salt to this, and the result was a cream-cheese-like texture and taste.
I’m going to keep playing, but this has been very fun!
haha oh that’s a funny image in my head now!! glad it worked
Made the almond milk!! Homerun!! I found a package of 3 “Got It” reusable produce bags made of a very fine mesh for $8.95 Cdn. Worked really well. Next time I am going to use all 3 bags inside each other to see if it will speed up the straining process. Almond milk was really good. Almond crackers…not so good… My next time will be making a combo of both the oat milk and the almond milk together…
Yummy, homemade almond milk is the best – probably just topped by homemade cashew milk, which is my favorite. Guess I have to whip up a batch next week.
And now NKOTB is officially stuck in my head! oooh baby!
You’ve finally convinced me to make my own almond milk. Thanks :)
Just wanted to say that something that works very similarly to a nut milk bag is just an old cotton sock. Everyone is creeped out when I make soymilk with one but it works :)
I’m fairly new to veganism and have considered making my own almond milk, though, never really before seeing your gorgeous photo tutorial! Add that to my list of new wonderful things to try :)
I love your tutorials, Angela – you do such a great job with them. I’ve never made my own almond milk before, but I would like to try it sometime – as with all food, I love to make my own versions so I know exactly what goes into it! Also, congratulations on being included on the Greatist list of the top health and fitness blogs – that’s so awesome, and you really deserve it!
You make it look so easy to make :) Looks delicious
I use a paint strainer bag, found at hardware or home improvement stores, when I soak my wheat in order to plant it and grow wheatgrass. I wonder if this type of bag would work to strain the almond milk, too. I will be making, instead of buying, my almond milk from now on. Thanks for the lesson – and for nudging me to do what I have been meaning to try for a long time.
Where do you go to buy raw nuts in bulk? Most of the nuts in my local grocery store are roasted or are salted and the raw ones are expensive and in small packages.
I buy them usually at Ontario Natural Food Coop (Im a member) or Bulk Barn
I make Almond Nut milk all the time – even have a nut milk bag! In fact, my recipe is almost exactly like your recipe – dates, vanilla, and cinnamon. However, I’ve never added a pinch of salt. I’m going to go soak some almonds right now and give it a try tomorrow. Thanks for sharing!
BTW…I make your detox salad all the time. YUM! :)
I just made this and I’m so happy with how it turned out! It was so easy too! I think I’ll be doing this quite a bit in the future. Also, we have the same Vitamix… and turbo mode is totally scary.
Making this today! Thanks for sharing!
I love almond milk but HATE that store bought versions are fortified (the added calcium does not digest well for me). Your version inspired me to make chocolate almond milk. I added 1/4 cup dutch processed cocoa, 4 dates, and 1/2 teaspoon homemade vanilla extract. I swear it tastes just like melted ice cream. SO GOOD! Thanks for the inspiration!
Made this yesterday. I normally make raw almond mylk, but this was my first time adding a whole vanilla bean. Interesting idea and it works!
Another pro of making homemade almond mylk: your hands get silky smooth after milking a nut mylk bag! All that almond mylk running down your hands has got to be good for the skin!
Hi great recipe! I just wanted to share. I used a reusable produce bag. They look just like the nut milk bags. Only cheaper and in my eyes more useful! I also just used a normal blender and had no problems! Thanks for all your great work. Do you have a specific recipe you use your almond pulp in? Could I use it in your gf pb choc chip cookies?
Hi Angela,
Loved the post and the light streaming in all the pics! I have never heard of a “nut milk bag”. I did try the almond milk once with a cheesecloth but got stuck with a huge load of the crushed, almond residue and I was not too happy with it. I do love my vitamix and I am thrilled that I can make so many smoothies in a jiffy! I get my almonds from the Whole Foods bulk bins!
Shobha
Hi,
First of all thank You for Your page and all the detailed pics, they look fantastic and are motivating me to actually try something. Like the almond milk. I thought I could never ever create tasty almond milk. But I saw your pics, and thought looks easy. And I just did it like on the pics, without exact amounts of ingrediants. I just used water, a lot of almonds and a lot of dates (I know I have to be cautious, because since I got a juicer this year I cannot fit into my pants:( And it tasted fantastic!!!! But I really have no idea what to do with the rest of almonds that are left now. I put it into oven to dry it a little bit, but still don´t know what to do and I don´t want to compost it.
Please help with a detailed recipe!
Yours,
Daniela
Hi Angela! You make homemade almond milk look like a breeze. I wonder if hazelnut milk would work in the same way? I’ll try it out and let you know. I love my dairy free milks :)
Thanks for the great article!
I bought some thick organza at the fabricstore to make my own nut bag. Works like a charm!
This recipe is amazing. So creamy and the perfect amount of sweetness. Thanks Angela!
Thank you for those links at the end. I’ve heard of the Almond issue, but had never read up on it. Now I have. You’re awesome!
Isn’t this too fat to drink on a regular base?
xLaura
Angie, where did you get the screw top glass milk bottle? It looks so cool with the almond milk in it…thanks
I think it might have been from a store called Solutions? Not 100% sure though!
I just bought a Vitamix nut milk bag through Amazon but previously had made my own almond milk using almond butter and an immersion blender. Your post is very timely for me; I appreciate the exquisite photography at every step and am happy to know I’ll need to soak my almonds tomorrow morning (even sprouted almonds?) when I drink my last cup of the almond butter + water + date sugar “milk” I’ve been enjoying for years (recipe compliments of a friend who developed it, so I can’t share it).
Just finished my second batch of this milk. LOVE IT!!!! The first time I made it I couldn’t find dates at my store so I used Agave Nectar and it was good. This time I used 4 dates and Yummo-O!! Also, I have been doubling the recipe and it has turned out wonderful. Thank you so much for the tutorial.
I LOVE this recipe! I really love almond and soy milk, but I hate the extra additives in the store bought. BUT, I can not find Nut bags anywhere near me in Indiana. I was going to make my own with 100% cotton, but I just read an interesting article and watched an interesting video where a woman uses just a fine mesh sieve to drain. It did not seem like a huge mess in the video, so tomorrow I will be making this recipe using a fine mesh sieve. Thanks again for the wonderful post!
I loved this post and just made my first ever batch of almond milk following your directions. YUM!
I seen someone mentioned “Oat” milk ? How do you make that ? Would love to know, thank you…and if anyone has a copy of the book Fit For Life and would like to sell it please let me know. Thank you !
Hey Sharon, I recently wrote a post on Homemade Oat milk..you can find it here: http://ohsheglows.com/2013/01/10/homemade-oat-milk-easy-fast-cheap/
thank you so very much :)
this site just opened a whole new chapter in my life !
Hi Angela, first of all: Your site is awesome, I love it. A featured post about your go-to chilled summer tea: Chocolate Chai got me on this homepage and I became a fan right after reading that post. (Also: I love that tea as well. Thanks for letting me know that something chocolaticious like that tea exists in this world!). But back to the topic: I’ve just made my first home-made almond milk myself and it tastes sooooo good! Really big thanks for this tutorial. I just have to figure out what to do with the almond pulp now…
Greetings from Germany :)
Hey Chrissy! It’s a pleasure to meet you. Thanks for your comment! Glad to hear the milk was a hit.
I always make cookies with my pulp after deydrating it… they turn out so light fluffy!
Thanks for the post! So it’s only good for 3-5 days after you make it?
Yup, although I find I drink it within a few days so it’s not an issue for me.
I love making almond milk at home – good call on the nut milk bag – they are so handy for so many things!!! I make a big batch of almond milk weekly but never considered adding a whole vanilla bean to it! I must try that instead of extract! Thanks for another great post!
Definitely subscribing too this post to see how many other ideas your readers have for their almond mash. I’ve been making my almond milk with this type method since July but double the amount of water to make it more of a ‘skim’ milk and in my protein shakes and iced coffees is is great. Your idea of using cinnamon is intriguing. For me, the leftover mash is sure a challenge. I’ve tried dehydrating and re-Vitamixing it to use as almond flour which is ok but time consuming. About my fav so far but not calorie free is to stir in some coconut oil, cocoa powder and agave to make a sort of nutella. But the texture is wrong from the nuts being wet. However, it really does help a chocolate craving. :)
Thank you so much for sharing. I’ve always wanted to make this. Can’t wait to try it.
My brother gave some of his homemade almond milk yesterday and it was like dessert…yum!
My question is: I do not have a blender…can I use a Cuisinart?
Thanks for a great recipe!
~Theresa
I think if made in a food processor it might leak all out through the lid?
I have a stopper for the top and haven’t had issues with leakage before. Will have to experiment to find out.
Thanks!
Thank you so much for this beautiful explanation, I just love the detailed pictures. :)
You made me curious by mentioning that the almond pulp can be used for hummus, I’ve never heard of almond in hummus before, maybe you can tell me how exactly to use it for that (or any other food)? :)
Thanks!
Best, Deli