Sticking with our DIY Theme this month here is another item you might buy at the store but could easily make yourself. Making your own almond milk is much easier than you would think. Once you make your own you won’t want to go back to the store variety.
The process is almost the same as making your own coconut milk. I enjoy using both my homemade coconut and almond milks. While coconut milk is great for curries it’s not something I want to use in a substitute for dairy milk or cream in most soups, whereas the subtitle flavor almond milk makes it perfect for just that. One of my girls’ favorite ways to enjoy almond milk is in a cup of tea.
However you use it, this recipe is sure to please. Right now I’m sipping a cup of hot cocoa made from almond milk I made this morning.
Note: I prefer to use raw organic almonds. I prefer to buy mine from the awesome co-op Azure Standard, which may have a drop-point in your area.
DIY Homemade Almond Milk
Ingredients
- 2 cups almonds
- 1 tsp real salt
- warm water
- 8 cups water*
- Optional Add Ins:
- 1 tsp of vanilla extract
- 4 dates
- 4 TBS raw honey
- *You can use more water to for a milk more similar to skim milk, it is also more frugal.
Instructions
- Soak the almonds with salt and warm water for at least twelve hours. Strain and rinse once the soaking is complete.
- Add the almonds (and dates if using) and water to a blender. You may have to do this in two batches if your blender is smaller. Blend on high for 2 minutes.
- Strain the contents of the blender through a fine sieve gently pushing on it with a spoon to remove all the liquid. You may need to remove some of the almond pulp so that the milk can strain out. Or pour through a cheesecloth or nut milk bag, allowing the almond milk to collect in the jar. Twist the cheesecloth or nut milk bag to be sure to get all the precious liquid out.
- If using add the vanilla extract and/or honey.
- Store the almond milk in glass jars. The almond milk should stay fresh in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
This post is part of Simple Lives Thursday, Pennywise Platter Thursday,
Hi katie, ive only recently changed to Almond milk, mostly because of its health benifits and i dont use dairy. The main reason i use it now also is for its added calcium, the calcium aids in blocking iron being absorbed into my blood stream, i have Hemocromatisis so this is very important. Ive looked for added calcium in a lot of the brands near where i shop but they also include other addatives, and the organic brands dont have the added calcium. So im very interested in your homemaďe recipe, im wondering if u know how i could add calcium. Im thinking i may be going slightly overboard here, and maybe just settle for the store brands that have the added calcium, with the additives but, no harm in asking. Peadar.
Hi Peadar, I’m sorry for not seeing this sooner! I’ve never used a powdered calcium substitute but I’ve seen them on Amazon before. You could simply as much of the powder to the almond milk or possibly just take a supplement separately. Have you talked to your doctor or a naturopath about how much calcium you need to be taking in a day?
I don’t see in the recipe where you use the date and other ingredients. Are those optional or supposed to be added at sometime?
Chris, yes they are optional. I just now updated the recipe for when to add them if using.
After soaking for 12 hours, do I need to peel the almonds? I didn’t see in your recipe to peel them.
No, some people prefer to but I never do. In my opinion, it does not affect the taste.
I tried using almond flour/meal and was able to eliminate the soaking process. I blended, strained and had milk in 5 minutes?
I’m glad that that worked for you! Personally, I soak the almonds to break down the phytic acid to make the milk more digestible. That’s the great thing about cooking from scratch, we can all change recipes to best fit our own needs.
Thanks, appreciate the recipe!!!
Would it make any difference if I soaked the almonds for 12 hours but left them sitting around for a few days until I was ready to make the almond milk? Maybe I can put them in a ziplock bag until I had more time?
You’re welcome! There is a chance that they might spoil. If you want to try it out I would drain them after the 12 hours and then store them in a clean glass jar in the fridge.
Should you use roasted or raw almonds?
Raw 🙂
Thank you for the recipe. Long story short, I have just (as in a month ago) embarked on a healthy eating journey that has included cutting out dairy, gluten and sugar, all big steps for me and this recipe has been very helpful, so thank you for sharing!!!
I am so glad to here that it is helpful for you!
Any reason why you need to strain it?
You don’t *have* to strain it but it is thick and grainy if you don’t, even with a Vitmix.
Hi Katie Mae, I would like your input on making almond milk without straining it.? So, after soaking it, rinse and put in almonds and water and drink! Do you need to strain it? Thank you.
I want to know that too.
Due to intestinal issues, I was comparing the almond milks on line. I can easily see where my digestive problems are coming from. I am going to try making my own milk and see how I fair with that. Thanks
I hope it helps!
You’re welcome! I’m sorry I missed your comment last year. How are you doing now?
I was wondering what the nutritional information of the homemade almond milk would be?
I’ve never looked it up but you could add the ingredients to a nutrition calculator online to find out!
What are the dates and honey for and when would you add them to the recipe? Thanks 🙂
To sweeten it. You would add them while blending the almonds. I’ll go and clarify that.
Why does it only last 4 days refrigerated???? Other almond milk lasts for weeks. Please let me know.
It has on additives or preservatives because it is homemade. Almond milk from the store has those added to preserve it longer. Homemade almond milk is better for you because of the lack of preservatives but it does need to be used quickly.
Just curious…can this homemade almond milk be frozen. I would not be able to drink a quart in 3-4 days. I’d hate to see it go to waste.
I’ve never tried because I go through it so fast! I drink it plain, use it make hot cocoa, add it to my coffee, and even use it in soup from time to time. I’ve heard of people freezing it in an ice cube tray and then using those cubes in smoothies and other meals.
You can do a half cup of almonds to two cups of water. I use it for my coffee and oatmeal. So every four days I do a new batch. Sure better than that store stuff, yuck.
Great tip! Smaller batches to indeed work. 🙂
Hi! My son and I Love almond milk, but I am not a fan of how sweet and slimy or artificially smooth most commercial brands are, so I am attempting homemade almond milk for the first time..this might be a dumb question, but should the warm water stay warm for 12 hours (i.e., should I keep it on the stove on the warm setting?) Or does it just need to start out warm, and then OK if left on the counter?
Also, have you ever tried roasting the almonds first? I’m going to try this plain first, and then if it goes well I will experiment with different variants…
Thanks!!
No you just need to start with warm water. Yes, just leave it covered on the counter. I haven’t tried roasting them first. If you do roast I wouldn’t suggest soaking them since the roasting “cooks” the almonds. I prefer to just soak them. Let me know what you end up doing!
Thank you for this recipe! Have been looking to drastically reduce dairy intake, but I live off of smoothies during the warmer months. I recently decided to substitute lowfat milk for almond milk, but all of the brands in the store, many which were labeled “unsweetened,” contained some variation of cane sugar or sweetener. I look forward to trying this recipe without the honey and extract. Seems so wholesome! 🙂
I’m so glad you found it Jeni! 🙂 I really do prefer homemade almond milk over the variety in the store. It’s always bugged me when there are added sugar to thing that don’t need it, like almond milk or even chicken broth. When I don’t use almond milk I use raw cow milk or coconut milk.
I find so many smoothie recipes that call for almond milk. Too many times I read the almond milk content and wonder if there is a just-almond milk out there. I guess there is. I’ll make this for sure.
Not to be rude but…Can you please explain how this is cheaper than buying almond milk? A half gallon is about $3 while 16 oz. (2 cups) of almonds is about $6-7. It takes almost 10 cups to get one HALF gallon therefore costing almost $60-70 to make a half gallon of homemade almond milk…WHAT !?
Not rude at all Ashley. You make a good point. I should change the post since I took a break from making my own milk for about a year. Once I started up again I found mylsef making it MUCH weaker. Now I make about 3 quarts out of the two cups of almonds. It’s been a
a while since I looked at my recipe. I’ll go in and add my changes. I also save the pulp, dry it, and bake with it so I don’t have a need to buy almond meal. That cuts costs in a different away even if the up front cost seems more.
On a side note, I’ve never been able to find almond milk in the store for less than $2.50/quart. I don’t like the additives that are in the store brands so it is important to me to make my own at home even if it does cost more. Sometimes I just go without.
2 cups or about $6.99 worth of almonds for a quart of almond milk isn’t frugal not to mention its pretty tough on the environment. It takes about 1 gallon of water to grow one almond which means your quart of almond milk taxes the environment 184 gallons (+4 cups) of water to produce. I’m curious if anyone here would pay $28 for a gallon of almond milk which requires 736 gallons of water to produce. I’m also curious if anyone has experimented with recipes that make a tasty almond milk using much less almonds.
That’s expensive, I’ve never payed that much for my almonds. I’ll admit that I have never looked into how much water goes into growing almonds. It comes down to your perspective, you can eat almonds, make them into butter or milk. You can eat them or drink them but it is still going to use the same amount of water to grow them. I’d be interested to know how much water is used to grow a tomato or any other plant we eat. If you come up with a recipe that uses less almonds please share it with me.
When you think of how much it costs to buy almond milk in the store and the energy that is put into creating the packaging making your own can still be a frugal option when you compare the two.
For 2 cups of almonds, if you’re starting with 8 cups of water (1/2 gallon), where does half of the water go to only end up with 1 quart of almond milk?
So you eat ? Everything takes water. Dairy milk is even harder on environment.
Cows and the water/grain/grass they require to produce milk depletes water resources on a much larger scale than producing almonds. Let’s not forget the ozone depletion as a result of all those cattle as well!
I buy steam pasteurized almonds at COSTCO, at the store or online, at 3lbs. for 19.99. They’re delicious and always taste super fresh!
I can’t help but comment. I realize this is amongst older posts. But this information is false.
Read real research:
UCLA study
Almond Milk vs. Cow Milk Life Cycle Assessment – UCLA Institute of the …
PDFhttps://www.ioes.ucla.edu › uploads › co…
Ultimately everthing we do impacts the environment in one way or another. Almond milk isn’t an answer to anything. It’s a luxury.
In terms of nutrient density cows milk is a superior bevarage. It’s not perfect and quality varies from one country to the next..
The almond milk industry is yet another contributing factor taxing an already precarious water supply problem in the state of California.
Almond Milk is a Luxury? When you’re lactose intolerant. I don’t see it that way that Almond Milk isn’t answer; no I haven’t tried it but just reading this posts makes me question what your motives are. In was born on St George Island, Alaska in 1965, with Cleft lip & plate. The federal government was owed & had operations to have the villagers to harvest Fur Seal for the skins for there own gains. Which I’m mentioning this because on the Island the Villagers weren’t allowed to have what the white people to eat & drink. Which means No fresh milk. I was given evaporated milk with water mixture as my milk as a baby . So my family be came also lactose intolerance & still to this day in 2019. I will leave this as to my comments and not go any further.
Really interested to read a recipe for home-made almond milk. ‘Have changed my diet considerably, following horrendous side-effects of opiate-based meds for chronic neuropathic pain, caused by collapsed neck discs; now a matter of ‘controlling & managing’ the illness. I’m swinging from total lethargy to bouts of insomnia, and looking forward to trying to make my own Almond/Coconut milk. Always traditionally told to eat ‘dairy for calcium’ to avoid osteoparosis later in life, but have learned that almonds contain more calcium than ‘cows’ milk!!! Looking for other dairy alternatives and grateful for further tips- thank you so much. Elmarie, Ireland.
Hi,
Sorry to hear that you are in pain. I was also until I went to a Plant Based Diet.
In other words, Vegan.
No dairy and no meat. It all went away.
Do you use blanched almonds or those with the skins still on?
Almonds with the skins on.
How many cups of milk would 2 cups of almonds make? Thanks!
About 4 cups. The ninas liked it too! 🙂
I was wondering if the salt is necessary. I’ve never added salt to the soaking water when making almond milk, so I was curious.
Great question! The salt helps neutralize the enzyme inhibitors in the almonds. That way it’s easier to digest and healthier for you too.