I couldn’t believe that I would ever like my coffee without milk. But I am enjoying just that today. Especially with this Homemade Almond Milk.
I found the store-bought variety to be overly sweet (although there are unsweetened, they’re hard to find), to contain carageenan, and not nearly as deliciously fresh, slightly date sweetened, and vanilla flavored as this one.
If you’re looking to enjoy more plant-based milks, read my article that includes recipes on How to Make Delicious Homemade Nut, Seed and Grain-Based Milk.
So drag out your most powerful blender and make yourself some of this delightful beverage! It’s easy enough to do if you have raw almonds.
AND, you can even make it out of almond butter.
Just add 1/3 cup of raw almond butter to the blender along with 4 cups of filtered water, 2 dates, 1 tsp. vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt (or none if you prefer). Then give it a whirl. You don’t really need to strain it, either.
Milk using raw almonds
For almond milk from raw almonds, just soak 1 cup overnight and you’re ready for fresh homemade almond milk in the morning. It also helps to have a handy-dandy nut milk bag for straining. There are several nut milk bags available on Amazon (affiliate link).
If you decide to strain your almond milk, be sure to utilize this pulp in your recipes. Maximize your ingredients and use every bit the almonds and have an accessible source of fiber to have for your recipes.
Also, it’s easy to store this almond pulp in your freezer when you’re ready to use it.
Add this to your smoothies for a extra touch of fiber and thickener, or even your baked goods. Try using the leftover almond pulp in these Almond Jam Dot cookies. made with homemade Chia Seed Berry Jam!
Once you’ve blended the almonds with 4-5 cups of fresh filtered water, you’re ready to squeeze the pulp for a nice and smooth drink. Not only that, but a low calorie beverage that can be enjoyed as is, or added to many recipes.
A few fan-favorite recipes to use your Homemade Almond Milk in:
- Vegan Green Bean Casserole
- Pasta Primavera
- Strawberry Ice Cream
- Cherry Vanilla Swirl Cake
- Plant-Based Cream Sauce
You don’t have to strain it, however, if you like it with more body. You’ll also retain the benefits of whole almonds. Though, the nutritional value increases in calories, carbs and other aspects.
Almond Milk is the most enjoyable right after making, but you can absolutely store it in the fridge. Just be sure to shake it up before using. It should last up to 3 days!
You could even add a bit of maple syrup and about 2 tablespoons of cacao powder for a smooth, chocolaty almond milk. Maybe even try a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg for a nicely spiced drink.
A Few Health benefits of almond milk
- Firstly, almond milk is dairy-free, and for a plant-based diet, this is key. There’s no lactose or casein which is known to cause distress to the digestive tract.
- You’ll also find that almond milk holds a decent percentage of iron.
- Almond milk is low in calories and carbs per (strained) serving.
- It is also low in Phosphorus with just a moderate amount of Potassium which is known to be harmful to your kidneys. Those who suffer from chronic or acute kidney disease would benefit from reducing their intake of these.
I’d hope you enjoy this recipe and I’d love to hear your feedback in the comments below for this Homemade Almond Milk recipe! If you have a photo, post it on Instagram, tag me using the hashtag #plantbasedcooking in your caption, and I won’t miss it!
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This recipe is Plantricious Friendly because it meets the following guidelines.
The Trusted Seal for
Plant-Based Nutrition
- Must be whole food plant-based, contains no animal products
- May be minimally processed
- No added oil
- No added sugars
- No artificial additives or preservatives
- *Plantricious Friendly foods may include but are not limited to condiments, fermented foods, soups, sauces, beverages, dressings, marinades, etc.
Homemade Almond Milk
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup of raw almonds soaked in water to cover for several hours or overnight.
- 4 cups filtered water
- 2 small dates pitted and coarsely chopped
- 1 tsp vanilla extract non-alcoholic preferred
- 2 dashes salt (optional)
Instructions
- Soak the almond overnight or up to 2 days.
- Drain and rinse the almonds.
- Add almonds, 4 cups water, salt, vanilla and dates to your high powered blender.
- Cover securely and blend slowly at first. Then turn up the speed to high for about 30 seconds or until well blended up to 2 minutes.
- Pour the blended mixture into a nut-bag* or cheesecloth and massage with your hand to extract all of the liquid. Discard the left-over pulp or save for another use such as in baked items.
- You don't have to strain it if you don't want to, but will contain the pulp and be thicker.
- Pour into your container and chill.
Notes
Label is for strained milk.
You are using a Vita Mix here, right? What do you know or think about the Almond Cow machine for making nut/seed milks? It is not supposed to heat the milk in the process. Just wondering if one needs it if one already has a Vita Mix?
Yes, I use a Vitamix. I don’t know much about the Almond Cow or maybe I’ve seen an ad for it. I don’t find that the Vitamix heats the milk unless you really let it go a long time. Perhaps the Almond Cow is more convenient, I’m not sure, but generally, I think you’re set if you already have a Vitamix.
So happy to find a nutritional panel for homemade almond milk made with 1 to 4 ratio of almonds to water! Can you please tell me whether the 1 serving = 1cup? Thank you!
It’s probably a little less than 1 cup because it’s made with 4 cups water and some of that water will be soaked into the almond pulp. Doing the nutrition for this recipe is tricky because you have to subtract the pulp. 😉 I should test it again to confirm. Let me know if you make it and how many total cups you got out of the recipe.
Hi!
May I ask you how to calculate the calories of home-made almond milk? Can I ask you for the calculation formula?
Thank you.
Hi Cindy, I don’t have a formula but use an online app that calculates the calories and all of the nutrition information. I used a paid version of Nutrifox.com but there are other free sites such as this one at Very Well Fit. I’m not sure if that’s what you wanted but I hope that helps.
Hi!
Thank you, That’s exactly what I need.
Your calorie count doesn’t align with your macronutrient breakdown. 5.6 g fat, 16 g carbohydrates, and a gram of protein add to roughly 2x the calories you report. So something is way off. I’m not sure how a calorie calculating app could provide any accurate information. Without knowing the calories and macros left in the pulp, I don’t see how any nutritional information could be accurate.
Hey Sedonia, You make a good point. Because we don’t eat the pulp it’s hard to know what’s leftover to subtract from the calculation… When I checked back with my original calculation of this recipe, I see that some almond pulp was subtracted, but when I recalculated the nutrition info again, it came up different. I’ll be updating that soon. Thanks for the heads up.
Do you blend the almonds with the 4cups of water they have soaked in overnight?
Hey Sandy, Drain and rinse the soaked almonds and then add fresh water. 👍