I have a confession to make. I’m not a big fan of store bought almond milk. (enter gasp here!). My husband on the other hand, loves it. Now, homemade almond milk? That’s a different story. It’s smooth, it’s creamy and you can add any flavor enhancements you like to make it unique to you. I have created a step-by-step tutorial for you on how to make homemade almond milk that’s easy and insanely delicious!
The first time I made homemade almond milk I was thinking, “what on earth did I just get myself into?” But I was determined to find a way to fall in love with my husband’s favorite dairy-free alternative. Turns out, it was so much easier to make than I anticipated and was as creamy and satisfying as I had hoped!
Did you know that most store-bought almond milks contain carrageenan, a “natural” food additive derived from red seaweed that is used to thicken food products? As I was researching the health benefits of consuming almond milk, I came across this interesting fact, which now explains why I don’t like the store-bought version!
Aside from not agreeing with my taste buds, this common ingredient has been debated among health experts and in research studies as having the potential to increase the risk of stomach ulcerations, glucose intolerance, and could be categorized as a carcinogen (cancer-causing substance). I don’t know about you, but when there is reason for concern, I try to avoid it when I can and stick with a safer alternative (hence, my homemade almond milk).
While almond milk is not as nutrient-dense as almonds, it is a great cow’s milk substitution for those who are lactose-intolerant or sensitive, looking to cut down on dairy intake for other health reasons, or those (like me) who are simply looking to switch things up. Almond milk is low in calories and saturated fat, and with a ratio of 2 cups water: 1 cup of almonds, the homemade variation retains more nutrients than the store-bought kind.
How to Make Homemade Almond Milk: Step-by-Step
Step 1: Soak away. Place 1 cup of almonds into a bowl and cover with water. The almonds will plump as they soak, so we want to be sure to give them some wiggle room! Cover the bowl with a cloth and leave the almonds to soak overnight.
*This recipe can be made with raw almonds that have not been soaked, but the milk will be creamier the longer the almonds soak.
Step 2: Blend, baby, blend! When you’re ready to make almond milk, discard the soaking water and rinse the almonds thoroughly. Combine 1/2 cup of the almonds at a time with 3 cups of filtered water in a blender. Blend on high for about 2 minutes or until the almonds are broken down to a fine texture and the water looks like…. Milk!
Step 3: Strain. Line a bowl with cheesecloth (or if using a nut milk bag, place in the bowl) and slowly pour the almond milk mixture into the strainer. Gather and twist the cheesecloth or nut milk bag to extract as much of the almond milk from the pulp as you can.
Step 4: Store and enjoy! Almond milk can be stored in sealed containers in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. However, I would be willing to bet it won’t even last that long before you’ll be wishing for more!
Flavor Variations
While “naked” almond milk is delicious all on it’s own, you may find yourself wanting to take it up a notch from time to time. I have three flavor combinations that will make your glass of homemade almond milk even dreamier!
Simply Vanilla Almond Milk: For a refreshing vanilla taste, add 2 dates (pit removed) + 1 tsp. vanilla to the blender.
Maple Cinnamon Almond Milk: If you’re looking for a delicious coffee creamer, look no further! Add 1 Tablespoon maple syrup + dash of cinnamon to the blender.
Dark Chocolate Almond Milk: For the inner kid in you, add ¼ cup dark cacao powder + 2 dates (pit removed) + 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract to the blender.
Not sure what to do with the leftover almond pulp? Turn it into almond flour! Spread the almond pulp on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake on the lowest heat setting for about 3 hours, or until completely dry. Put dry almond meal into a food processor and pulse until it becomes a fine powder. Store in an airtight container until ready for use!
Print
Homemade Almond Milk
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 3 cups 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Blended
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Have you tried homemade almond milk? Check out this step-by-step guide on how to make homemade almond milk that’s easy and insanely delicious!
Ingredients
- 1 cup of almonds
- 3 cups filtered water + more for soaking
- Cheesecloth or nut milk bag
Instructions
- Place the almonds in a bowl and cover with water. Cover bowl with a cloth and soak overnight.
- When ready to make almond milk, discard the soaking water and rinse the almonds thoroughly.
- Place 1/2 cup of the almonds in a blender at a time with 3 cups of filtered water.
- Blend on high for about 2 minutes or until the almonds are finely ground and the water resembles an opaque (milk-like) color.
- Line a bowl with cheesecloth or place nut milk bag in a bowl and slowly pour almond milk mixture into the strainer. Repeat with the rest of the almonds.
- Gather the cheesecloth or nut milk bag and twist to squeeze out as much almond milk as you can.
- Store in the refrigerator for 3-4 days in a sealed container.
- Enjoy!
Equipment
Buy Now →Nutrition
- Serving Size: 8 ounces
- Calories: 40
- Sugar: 0g
- Sodium: 0mg
- Fat: 2g
- Saturated Fat: 0g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 5g
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: 1g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
Keywords: nut milk, homemade nut milk, almond milk, tutorial
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67 Responses
i absolutely LOVE this! beautiful photos and great advice … i love almond milk {esp. in coffee} and can’t wait to try this soon! thank you {ps: love your blog! it’s so beautiful}
Thank you for the sweet compliments, Nelle! I have been putting this almond milk in my coffee and it is so yummy. Hope you enjoy and find the recipe easy to follow 🙂
Ah! This is something I’ve been wanting to do for a while now! I’ve just never made it a priority. Can’t wait to try it out, it looks way too easy! And you answered my question about the pulp just as I was continuing to read. Yay for ZERO WASTE <3
Yes… no waste!! I have yet to use the almond meal for anything from my last batch, but love that it has a little hint of vanilla and maple 🙂 It is much easier than I initially thought and really should make it more often than I do!
Quite a process. I’m sure it tastes amazing! 🙂
★★★★★
Hi Aishwarya – It’s really not that much work! However, I don’t make it all the time and really for when I want a special treat around 🙂
I make my own almond milk, and was hoping to be more efficient by soaking 3 lbs of almonds but using them a cup at a time to make fresh milk. I’m not sure what it caused, but the almonds had a gasoline smell to them after a couple of days. So now I make soak the almonds in small batches.
Oh, weird! Did you put them in the fridge? Somewhere I read that you can keep soaked almonds on hand in the fridge- maybe that would help? Good to know!
I didn’t realise how simple it was to make! I’ve been having almond milk on my breakfast every morning and using it a lot in baking to try and cut down on dairy lately. There’s a real difference brand to brand! Will give this a go. Love the flavour variations!
Yes, there is! One brand that I do like is Califia Farms. I do love making my own though, because I can make it exactly to how I like it 🙂
Definitely will be trying this! love almond milk but don’t fancy buying it after finding out about those additives! Great post 🙂 x
Thank you, Jazmin! I don’t believe all brands have the additive I mentioned above and the one plus to buying store bought almond milk is the added vitamins and minerals. However, I do like making my own from time to time because you can definitely tell a difference in taste and I like playing around with the flavors!
OMG! I am going to test this out. This Week. Adding almonds to shopping list.
Yay, Cynthia! Let me know how you like it 🙂 It really is pretty simple to make and tastes AMAZING!
Thanks for the great tutorial! I can’t wait to make my own almond milk now!
You’re welcome, Leah! Enjoy 🙂
I have been wanting to try to make my own almond milk! The cinnamon maple version sounds delicious!
It is so so good. I’ve been putting in my coffee every morning and it is delicious!!
This is amazing!!! I am super excited to do this.
Thanks, Brittany! It’s fun to make and so delicious!
I love cashew milk and how creamy it is. I am also a big fan of coconut almond milk. I have never tried to make my own and I am okay with that. Maybe one day, but for right now, I am okay buying it at the store. I do appreciate your great tutorial though! You go girl…XOXO
I have yet to try cashew milk! I do love the Califia Farms almond coconut milk… yum. I don’t make homemade almond all the time, but when I do, it’s a special treat! Thanks for visiting, Katie xo
I had no idea you could make almond milk. I never thought about it!
Yes! And it is pretty simple to make. I love playing around with the flavor variations!
I’ve been dairy free for over a year now and I’ve never made my own nut milk. Pretty sure my blender would blow up if I attempted it lol. One day though!
It might not! You should give it a try. It’s more of a special treat in our household vs. a regular in our refrigerator 🙂
Okay…This is awesome, I love Almond milk and I eat raw almonds as a snack…I think I can make this! definitely pinning!
You can definitely make this, Jessica! You go girl. It’s delicious!! 🙂
Huh, I never would have thought to use the remaining pulp as almond meal. I tend to stick with store bought almond milk because of the additional nutrients that won’t be found in homemade. But I’d be willing to give it a try.
Hi Jenn! The added nutrients is definitely a to buying store bought almond milk. I like to make homemade almond milk from time to time because it does taste different and it’s a special treat!
Thank you so much for sharing this! I’ve been thinking about making my own almond milk and this was super helpful. I’ll try this out this week and let you know how it goes!
You’re welcome! Yes, please come back and let me know what you thought. I’m excited to hear!
Making homemade almond milk is on my bucket list of things to try! Awesome instruction and gorgeous pictures. Pinned for later! 🙂
Thanks, Annmarie! It really isn’t too difficult to make and tastes so good, you’ll be addicted! Thanks for the pin love 🙂
This look so delicious and pretty, Carly! Loving your photographs for this post. I’ve never made almond milk at home before, but looks easy enough 😉
Thanks Jess! It is definitely easy enough and can be a fun way to switch things up in the kitchen! Hope you had a great weekend xo
Such pretty pictures! I love the idea of home made almond milk. No added ingredients, and you know exactly what went into it.
Thank you Danielle! I totally agree. While I don’t have the time (really, the patience!) to always make it from scratch, I do love it when I do!
Love making my own almond, cashew and brazil nut milk. Those flavours are awesome. And the Vitamix rules because I find there is very minimal pulp after it pulverizes the life out of it!
Yes, I love my Vitamix! I haven’t tried cashew or brazil nut yet… next on my list!
I want to try this! I am lactose intolerant so almond milk is all I drink. I am for sure going to attempt this now!
Yay! Let me know how you like it. I find it tastes much better than store-bought almond milk!
I wanna try and make coconut milk one day! I break out in hives if I have nuts, so coconut milk it is! But hot damn, this is interesting!
★★★★★
Coconut milk would be so fun! You should try it and let me know how it goes 😉
This looks so good! You make it look so easy. I have to give it a try, too. Love your photography!
That’s because it is easy! Hope you love it as much as I do!
I love the idea of using dates as the sweetener! I have such a hard time finding a creamer for my morning coffee that I am comfortable using. Store bought almond milk just seems to have mystery stuff in it and the vanilla flavors seem to have too much sweetener in them.
Cant wait to try this at home,
Stephanie from thetangerinedesert.com
I agree – I don’t ever buy the sweetened kind. This homemade version is delicious and can be used as creamer, too!
Almond milk is great..never thought to make my own! Thanks for sharing!
http://www.HometownQueenBee.blogspot.com
★★★★★
You’re welcome! It’s a fun thing to try out in the kitchen 🙂
Yummmmm I really like almond milk
Brilliant. So simple but so necessary to see how it is done right! Thankyou for this great post!
Thanks, Heather! It really couldn’t be much easier. The amazing taste is definitely worth the little bit of work involved. 🙂
I need to try this…I LOVE almond milk and this sounds awesome
★★★★★
You must! Let me know what you think. I am obsessed with it.
Hey Carly!
I am LOVING this recipe! I have been meaning to try making my own almond milk so I will have to give this a try. I especially like the flavor variations 🙂
xo
Jenn
Thanks, Jenn! Let me know what you think. Hope you love it as much as I do!
I have always wanted to know how to make almond milk. Now I know. Thank you for the inspo. I can’t wait to try it.
Rosie
http://www.theroseodgblog.me
You’re welcome! Let me know what you think after you try it out for the first time. I find it’s actually kind of fun to make 🙂
wow! I would have never thought to make my own milk. I just got into almond milk since I’ve never been a fan of cows milk. This was surprisingly simple too!
xoxo. | cymone.
http://theblockishaute.com
You should definitely try homemade! I don’t make it all the time, but I love having it around for a special treat when I do.
I’ve always wanted to try DIY almond milk but haven’t taken the time. Yet. You’ve inspired me to try!
It is heavenly. Let me know what you think after you try it out! It really is super easy and delicious 🙂
I’m a fan of store bought almond milk, but apparently I didn’t know there was a better option. Gonna have to try this. Thanks!
Some brands taste better than others in my opinion, but nothing tastes as good as homemade!
I am not sure if you saw but I loved your post X so much I featured it in my monthly Blog Love Round-Up last month.
http://www.raisingfairiesandknights.com/blog-love-round-up-1/
Thank you so much for including me! Have you made the almond milk yet?