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.
Featuring all new, protein-packed salads, hearty toppers, flavour boosters, and dressings you'll want to drink, my new cookbook will transform the way you think about salads. Oh, and be sure to flip to the back for a surprise dessert chapter!
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?
Just made this for the 1st time! I used about an 8″ strainer, lined it with cheesecloth (used a rubber to hold it in place), placed strainer over wide mouth bowl and poured away. Less than 5 minutes to blend and pour. It’s in the kitchen dripping away while I catch up on paperwork in my office!
Thank you for this simple and delicious sounding recipe. I have a few questions. Do you know roughly the nutritional content of the milk and also is there a good way to add calcium to it. I ask because I don’t feed my toddler dairy and as he weans off of breastmilk I want a healthy “milk” to give him but that also contains enough fat and nutrients to sustain growth! Thanks!!
My wife and I just made this recipe and it is delicious. We used the vanilla extract because vanilla bean is expensive. Eventually I’d like to grow my own for various uses but that isn’t set up quite yet. The only issue we had with this is that we don’t have a nut bag, so we used a sieve which wasn’t quite as effective and gave us a thick textured, frothy milk. Still very good, but next time we will get a nut bag, and hopefully find a cheaper bulk source of almonds. (We spent 6 dollars on almonds alone for this recipe, not exactly saving money over the almond milk we’d normally get at the store.
I was wondering how long this normally lasts in the refrigerator? Sorry if you’ve already answered that.
Where do you buy your almonds from? Thanks!
This sounds nice, thanks for posting up this recipe for us.
Simon
Hello,
This is awesome! I cant wait to try it!
Has anyone made homemade granola with the material left in the bag?
Thanks in advance!!!!
Fantastic pictures! They really helped me with making my first batch! I’m going to purchase a nut bag stat, that cheese cloth really is very messy. The cinnamon and pinch of salt were the perfect addition. I added a squeeze of Stevia for my husbands sweet tooth. Thumbs up from him! Thanks for your blog!
Great recipe, even better writing style! Enjoyed your post, thank you!
Yummmm! I’m having homemade almond milk in my tea right now. Your photography is beautiful here. I’m starting a food blog and my first post will be almond milk. Making the almond milk is totally worth it. Once you go homemade nothing else compares! You can make milks with any other nuts and seeds as well. Pecan milk mixed with pumpkin pie spices makes a lovely egg nog alternative. I’ll be posting my almond milk post soon. Your site is an inspiration!
Katie
I’m so excited about this recipe. I just bought an almond milk made with dates, vanilla bean, and sea salt at a juice store and it was like a milkshake! I wanted to see if I could find one to mimic it, and this sounds like the winner!
Hi, I love the way you have made it so clare and simple to follow. I was just wondering that does it harm your body if you skipped the soaking part?
This looks great- trying it now. Almonds are soaking and will be having with vegan pb cookies (!)
Angela- I have a question:
I’ve just started using vanilla bean. I extracted just the paste from inside and put it in my “nana icecream” but it didn’t really give it the vanilla taste I was anticipating. Does the entire bean need to be used, like you say to do here, in order to get that flavor in things? Or did I just not use enough of the paste?
Hi Tricia,
For this recipe I used the entire vanilla bean (I roughly chop it in a few pieces before adding it to the blender).
just awesome so easy to follow , need to go find a nut bag thank you for posting
Try squeezing the milk into a batter bowl or large glass measuring cup. That way, you can easily pour the milk into your storage container.
I can not wait to try your almond milk recipe. Your web site is not only insightful. but also hilarious! I happen to live in a “small city”, so finding a nut sack, firguretivly and literally, may be a bit difficult. I will try my best.
I thoroughly enjoyed this post. And did in fact, giggle. Pinned and will be going to Fleet Farm to buy some almonds.
Oh, YUM! I just tried this. I’ll never go back to store bought – Thanks!
Are sprouted almonds the same as soaked. I buy sprouted almonds from blue organic and the y look like the dry ones on your post. So if my almonds are sprouted should i still soak them. I thought sprouting them was taking them one step further than soaking.
Thanks, Diana.
This recipe was so delicious! I added a bit of cocoa powder and peppermint oil to mimic a flavor that is sold at a pressed juicery – so tasty – thank you!!
LOVED this recipe…made a great batch of almond milk. I finally got a vitamix and so glad i did. i made coconut milk too!