How to Make Delicious Homemade Nut, Seed and Grain-Based Milk

Are you ready for some DIY plant-based kitchen fun? 

This article will show you how easy it is to make fresh, wholesome, and healthy plant-based milk from nuts, seeds, or grains right in your own kitchen with a blender. One sip and you’ll be hooked – homemade plant-based milk is fresh, rich, and more flavorful than anything mass-produced. 

High-Speed Blender

For nut milk, a high-powered blender is recommended. Vitamix and BlendTec have popular high-speed blenders. 

Or, you can try this smaller version called The Nutr Machine that makes excellent smaller quantities of plant milk, including soy milk. I’ve written a review on it and have included a discount code if you’re interested.

Nutrition

There’s also no comparison when it comes to nutrition. If you’re curious, check out “Three Great Reasons to Make Your Own Almond and Other Plant-Based Milk.” You’ll find that mass-produced plant-based milk is not all that healthy after all. In fact, the little-known dirty truth is that the popular store brands of plant-based milk are mostly water along with thickeners and some added vitamins and minerals.

There are some newer high-end “boutique” brands such as Elmhurst, Malk Organics, New Barn Organics, Ripple, and Three Trees which have a better ingredient and nutritional profile. However, these brands are considerably more expensive, for instance, a quart of Elmhurst almond milk costs about $6 versus a half-gallon of Silk brand for about $4. At least right now, these newer brands are also available only at select retailers or online. Depending on where you live, you may not be able to find them in a store near you.

But What About Cost?

It’s challenging to do an exact cost comparison between homemade and store-bought milk because homemade plant milk contains a cup of nuts, seeds, or grain per quart, whereas store-bought half-gallons, according to industry insiders, have less than a handful of nuts or seeds. We’re really comparing apples and oranges here, as they say, two completely different products in terms of ingredients and nutrition.

However, there are ways to keep costs down, such as using lower-cost ingredients and buying in bulk.

Grains such as oats and brown rice are very affordable – even organic homemade rice or oat milk should cost considerably less than a dollar per quart. You will save money by making these varieties at home because store-bought grain milk tends to have a similar price point as commercial nut and seed milk. Despite the low cost of these grains, the savings won’t be passed on to you at the store.

With homemade nut and see milk costs are going to vary considerably depending on which nuts or seeds you’re using. For instance, hemp seeds are way more expensive than sunflower seeds, and macadamia nuts and walnuts are considerably more costly than almonds. Also keep in mind that organic nuts and seeds, despite their health and environmental advantages, are going to cost more than conventional.

(A note of caution: please consider using organic almonds, which are steam pasteurized. Conventional almonds are often pasteurized with a highly-toxic chemical called propylene oxide, or PPO, which is listed as “reasonably anticipated” to be carcinogenic by the American Cancer Society. Almonds are the only nuts that are required by law to be pasteurized, following salmonella outbreaks in the early 2000s.)

Another option if you’re trying to economize is to dilute your homemade milk a bit, to get more milk out of the same cup of ingredients. You’ll still be ahead of the curve nutritionally compared to the mass market store brands such as Westsoy or Silk.

For the best prices on nuts, seeds, and grains shop warehouse stores such as Costco, the bulk bins at natural food stores (and perhaps your local grocery store as well), and of course Amazon.com, where you can choose from a variety of brands and price points.

Have Fun and Get Creative

Feel free to get creative and experiment with these recipes! There’s no need to rely on just one main milk ingredient as the store brands do. Try almond-hazelnut milk, sunflower-cashew milk, almond-pecan-walnut or whatever combination sounds good to you. This is an economical way to incorporate the flavor and nutrition of some of the costlier nuts and seeds without breaking the bank. You can also experiment with different kinds of flavors and flavor combinations, such as cinnamon, nutmeg, extra vanilla, cocoa powder, and mint, or fruits such as berries and mango. How about some strawberry almond milk? The only limit is your imagination.

OK, let’s get started! 

Supplies

• Measuring Cup
• Mixing Bowl
• High-powered blender/Regular Blender
• Nut milk bag for straining
• Glass containers

How to Make Homemade Nut Milk

You can make nut milk with almost any nut – almonds, cashews, pistachios, hazelnuts, and even macadamia nuts, but the most commonly used are cashews and almonds.

Some recipes say that you don’t need to soak the nuts before using them to make milk. I think soaking is worth the extra time and effort for a few reasons. First of all, soaking makes the nuts softer and easier to blend. It makes the nuts easier to digest by reducing enzyme inhibitors. The nuts will start to sprout when they’re soaked for 12-24 hours which reduces their phytic acid content.  Phytic acid is found in plant seeds such as nuts, grains, seeds, and legumes and is often referred to as an “anti-nutrient” because it impairs the absorption of calcium, iron, and zinc. (Keep in mind that phytic acid is not all bad, however. It’s an antioxidant and may help prevent kidney stones and cancer.)

Makes About 1 Quart

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of raw nuts
• 4 cups of filtered water plus soaking water
• 2 Medjool dates
• a pinch of sea salt (optional)
• 1 tsp vanilla (optional)

Instructions:

1. Soak the nuts in water to cover in the fridge overnight or for up to 24 hours.

2. Drain and rinse the nuts and add them with the water into your high-powered blender. You can use a “regular” blender, but you may have to blend it longer and it may not be blended as finely.

3. Add the Medjool dates, salt, and vanilla, if using.

4. Blend on high for several minutes until the mixture becomes smooth and the nuts are finely ground.

5. Pour the blended milk into a nut bag over a large bowl.

6. With your hands, carefully “milk” the bag to release the liquid into the bowl until all of it is strained.

7. Carefully pour the milk into your container. 

8. Discard the pulp or decide if you’d like to make something with it. (*see the last paragraph)

Note: If you’re using nut milk for a savory dish, leave out the dates and vanilla.

How to Make Homemade Seed Milk

Makes About 1 Quart

You can make plant milk out of pumpkin, hemp or sunflower seeds or a mixture of the three. Although you don’t need to soak seeds to since they blend up quite easily, soaking does help reduce the phytic acid. 

Ingredients:

• ½ cup pumpkin seeds
• ½ cup hemp seeds
• ½ cup sunflower seeds
• 2 Medjool dates pitted
• 4 cups of filtered water plus soaking water
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
• pinch of sea salt (optional)

Instructions

1. Soak the seeds overnight or for a few hours.
2. Drain off the excess water and put the seeds in a blender. You don’t need to use a high-powered blender for this.
3. Add 4 cups of water, vanilla, dates, and a pinch of sea salt.
4. Blend on high until the mixture becomes creamy. If it seems smooth enough for you, you may not need to strain the milk. Otherwise, strain the liquid through a nut milk bag for complete smoothness.

Note: If you’re using seed milk for a savory dish, leave out the dates and vanilla.

How to Make Homemade Oat, Rice, and Quinoa Milk

Makes About 1 Quart

If you want to keep it super easy, try using oats for your homemade plant milk. You might have rolled oats in your pantry already. But you can also make plant milk from rice and quinoa.

The soaking time for oats is short, just 30 minutes, so you can whip it up in a pinch if you’re in need of delicious and good-for-you plant milk. Soaking can help with the sliminess (yep, it’s true) that comes from the soluble fiber in the oats. Just remember that soluble fiber is one of the things that so nutritious about oats because it helps reduce cholesterol.

If you make plant milk made from rice and quinoa, you’ll need to cook the grains first.

Oat, Rice and Quinoa Milk

Ingredients

• 1 cup rolled oats, soaked in water for 30 minutes, or 1 cup cooked rice or quinoa
• 4 cups of filtered water
• 2 Medjool dates, seeded
• 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
• pinch of sea salt (optional)

Instructions

1. Drain the oats and rinse in a strainer under running water to remove the slime. If using rice or quinoa, add to the blender.
2. Add the rinsed oats, date, vanilla extract and water to a blender. You don’t need to use a high-powered blender for this.
3. Blend about a minute and not too long to cause it to heat. (Don’t go over 1 minute or it may add to the sliminess.)
4. Strain through a nut bag, if preferred, and add to your container.
5. Shake when you’re going to use it if it’s been sitting for a time.

Note:

• If it’s too thick you can add more water to thin it.
• If you’re using oat milk for a savory dish, leave out the dates and vanilla.

What to Do with Nut and Seed Pulp

Making homemade vegan milk does generate quite a bit of pulp. A quick google search, “What to Do With Almond Pulp,” brings up a variety of cracker recipes, most of which should be appropriate for other kinds of nut and seed pulps, or you can simply specify the type of nut or seed pulp recipes you’re looking for.

Here’s two that look especially good: Oil-free Almond Pulp Crackers and very low-oil Almond Pulp Energy Bites.

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