Edited: I've seen many links
lately for using this recipe as an infant formula. Please, please,
please find a holistic health care provider to work with before you
decide to either A) supplement your breast milk or B) give nut milk to
your infant. All the best to you and yours.
Commercial almond milk can not compete with homemade. Store bought almond milk, with its overly sweet and overly processed attributes, is nothing like what can come out of an ordinary blender. Skeptical? Read the ingredients on a box of store-bought almond milk. I promise there are ingredients in there you would never put in your blender.
Homemade almond milk takes just minutes to make and is far more nutritious than anything that can be stored in an aseptic cardboard box. And you can use the leftover pulp for all kind of delicious recipes, so no waste.
Real, live, whole food.
Ready?
Homemade Almond Milk Recipe
1 C soaked raw almonds (I soak and then dry all of my nuts to make them more digestible, but you can use soaked and still wet or even unsoaked/straight from the store almonds.)
1/2 C raw unsweetened coconut flakes (optional but encouraged)
5 C water
Pinch of salt
2 tsp vanilla
1 Tb honey (optional – I don't usually add this but if you are accustom to sweet almond milk this will ease your transition.)
Process:
Heat your water to just below a simmer.
In your blender jar, combine almonds, coconut, hot water, and salt. Allow to soak. (If you are in a hurry skip the soaking. It will turn out beautifully. I promise.) Wait 15 minutes or more – you can soak all day if you wish.
Add honey and vanilla. Blend on high for 2-3 minutes in an ordinary blender or for a shorter time in a fancy-pants blender. Strain out pulp in a fine mesh strainer. (To speed the straining I first pour it through a wider mesh strainer, then strain it a second time through a very fine strainer.)
Uses for your Almond Pulp:
Make More Milk: You can make a second batch of (thinner) milk by returning the pulp to your blender and adding 3 C water and following above procedure for blending and straining. I don't love the second batch but it works well as a skim-type milk, while the first batch is very creamy. Or mix them together and call it 2%.
Make Almond/Coconut Flour: Oil cookie sheet with coconut oil. Spread the leftover pulp onto the sheet and dehydrate in a low heat oven. The flour will be in big chunks that you will need to grind up in your food processor, but it crumbles easily. Use as a gluten-free flour for making muffins, crackers, or waffles. You can even skip the drying and portion onto a cookie sheet with an ice cream scoop, then bag. This way you can add a few to every batch of baked goods you make, gluten-free or not.
Variations:
Homemade Coconut Milk Recipe: Proceed as above but omit nuts and add 1 C coconut flakes.
Any Nut Milk Recipe: Substitute other nuts or seeds for the almonds and/or the coconut flakes. The options are endless!
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
July 2011 Note: I've seen many links lately for using this recipe as an infant formula. Please, please, please find a holistic health care provider to work with before you decide to either A) supplement your breast milk or B) give nut milk to your infant. All the best to you and yours.
Postscript: How sweet you have all been since the comments box came back up. Yes, I missed you! Many of you are revisiting older posts to finally leave your comments there, and plenty of you are leaving unrelated questions on current posts. I'll get back to each of you soon if you had a question for me. I promise! Thank you for sharing your voice. It is one of my favorite things about writing here.
I tried making almond milk once a long time ago, on my old blog (with terrible photos!) http://munchingmadness.blogspot.com/search/label/almond%20milk
I loved it, thanks for posting and reminding me!
You could not have posted this at a better time for me! Would not have thought of making coconut milk (and flour!!) this way. Thank you thank you!
Thanks for sharing, Jackie. Yes, blanching is very time consuming… and unnecessary! Try this simple method next go round. You might enjoy!
Peace,
Rachel
Teryn,
Glad the timing was spot on. Experiment with quantities of coconut until you achieve the richness you desire.
Peace,
Rachel
yum yum yum! love making my own too, although have been lazy on that front in the past few months. love the new blender! 🙂
Densie,
On GAPS you can not have milk, raw or otherwise. We just cut dairy so Almond and coconut milk it is. And we cant eat the storebought, so it keeps us on our game. Its homemade or drinking black tea. So we make a batch a day!
xo
Rachel
Love almond milk — and I have 5 lbs of almonds at my disposal right now. Seems I should really try this out, huh? 🙂
Almond meal can be pricey, and I really love the nuttiness it gives to baked goods.
Love this post, and your blog! Just found you through simple homeschool. I am right across the border in Iowa! It’s a small world. Looking forward to exploring your blog.
Ok, the universe is clearly telling me I need to make this! Almond milk has popped up multiple times (in various ways) in recent days. Here I go to get some almonds…
(Hi, by the way! I’ve read your blog for a while…LOVE IT…but haven’t posted before today.) 🙂
I have been saying I am going to make coconut milk and I never have. This post is just what I needed to move me into action. I have been doing without any milk since I did read the ingredients on a store carton. Have a fabulous weekend.
Hi Amy,
Welcome to my little space. Glad you found your way, from almost in the neighborhood!
~ Rachel
Hooray for comments, Lindsey! Thanks for saying hello. Happy milking of the almonds. 🙂
Rachel
Tracey,
I forgot to mention – if you are making straight coconut milk try warm water.
Peace,
Rachel
I love that you post all these recipes. I have never had one of your recipes fail. Please keep posting them! Do you have any other versions of your kale chips?
Hi there, KC. Glad you have had such good results with the recipes! I only post my favorites. I am giving Kale Chips another shot now that corn and potatoes are off the plate. Ill share when I find a perfect method!
Peace,
Rachel
I have a favorite kale chip recipe.
1/2 cup sunflower seed butter (unsweetened) or grind your own
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 1/2 tsp salt
lemon juice (1 small lemon)
mix all ingredients then add enough water to make into a thick sauce rather than a paste (this makes it easier to spread onto kale). Combine with kale and massage with your hands. Dehydrate. You could use a nut or seed butter of your choice.
I hope you like it. They are a big hit at my house. They go straight from the dehydrator to the mouth. I’m dying to try the key lime pie recipe you posted about. Would you mind sharing? I will have to get my hands on Internal Bliss eventually.
Thank you for sharing your knowledge and skills with us on your blog. It is a regular source of inspiration.
– Bianca
Almonds soaking, thanks for the kick in the butt 🙂
I like your fancy pants blender Miss Rachel…
Thanks. I’m going to try this out! I bought some Kale chips at the store just to test them out and my 16 month old loves them. So I want to make them at home.
Bianca,
That sounds fabulous! Well try that one first. Thank you for sharing.
Peace,
Rachel
Kick. Kick.
🙂
Me, too, mama. It rules.
xo
R
YAY! I am super excited to learn how to turn the rest into almond flour, thanks! now if we could only get Tony to join in all the fun….
Well this is just spectacular! Can’t wait to make some. Two ingredients I love in beautiful marriage 🙂
Thanks for this tutorial!
P.S. Love your blog, so I’ve added you to my blogroll. I’ll be checking in frequently.
Thank you Justine! I hope you love the milk as much as the blog. 🙂
Rachel
Nettie,
Hooray! I thought of you guys when I wrote this and my guerrilla-almond milk training at your place. Um, and A.s face upon her first tasting! Love you! Hugs to all.
~ Rachel
Yum! I don’t drink regular milk so I’d love to try this one out. Thanks for the recipe Rachel 🙂
just made a batch today! slightly aggravating as my blender couldn’t hold all the water at one time… i’m gonna try it tomorrow morning in my coffee! what is the shelf life on this, by the way?????
Andrea,
The milk will settle in the fridge, so shake it a bit before you use it. And sometimes really hot or really acidic coffee/tea will cause it to separate in a weird way. It often separates in Petes tea (he steeps realllllly long) and never in mine (I steep for 5 minutes tops). Shelf life – at least a few days. Enjoy!
Thanks for the tutorial. It has been far too long since I’ve made my own & I’m extremely excited to try it with coconut, sounds very yummy!
I do have a question, after you soak your almonds how do you dry them? A dehydrator, oven, or just sitting them out? I love the idea of having them presoaked.
I love your blog, I just stumbled across it a few weeks ago and have been enjoying reading all of your posts (and can’t wait for my soaps to get here to try! 🙂
Hi Cassie,
Sometimes yes, sometimes no. If I am soaking almonds just for milk I simply rinse and drain them and store them in the freezer. If they are also for snacking and date balls then I dry them in a dehydrator or oven on low heat. Blessings!
Rachel
We did it and it was great!!!!
Thank you.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nahuatlv/5559066698/
Wonderful! And with the pulp you can make these: http://www.elanaspantry.com/vegan-almond-pulp-crackers/ Almond pulp crackers! Blessings,
Rachel
They sound delicious, I think I may make them right now, although, I have heard that flax seed is not good for kids, what’s your opinion on that?
I had not heard anything regarding flax and kids. I do know that it is not a good source for balanced omegas and is not a replacement for fish oil supplements but that was all that I had heard. We do quite a bit of flax as a binder for other seeds and nuts.
Blessings,
Rachel
What I have heard is that the don’t let the kids fix some nutrients to their bodies, and that that is the reason is recommended to adults to loose weight.
Do the cookies you recommend are really 20 hours cook or just 2.
Thank you very much for your kind attention, and for writing your blog and share.
Thanks for sharing that, Nahuatl. I will look into into it. And yes, 20 hours!
Peace,
Rachel
Thanks so much I have tried soo many many times to make almond milk just this way and it never really worked out to be tasty and now it is.
thanks for all the sharing
Hooray! Glad it is working for you.
Rachel
I tried homemade almond milk once and wasn’t crazy about it – it seemed too lumpy and didn’t incorporate well into beverages (I like it in my coffee). Maybe I just didn’t blend or strain it enough? Yours looks pretty good, though; I’ll have to try it.
Karla,
Try soaking it all in hot water (almost boiling) for 10 – 20 minutes first. Then blend for a long time and strain through a fine mesh strainer. We love it!
I don’t strain my almond milk because I use it on my cereal and I like the tiny bits of almond in there. I also use it in baked brown rice pudding and in baked oatmeal, and the bits of almond also are fine in that. I sweeten my almond milk slightly with a couple of diced dates before blending (I really don’t like it sweet anyway), along with adding the vanilla and a pinch of sea salt. My water-to-almonds ratio is different, too — I use 1/2 cup almonds to every 3 cups of filtered water.
Great idea! Thanks for sharing. And yes, there are countless varieties. I sometimes add a date or two, but I often use the dehydrated leftover pulp to make crackers and dont want the sweetness in with the almonds and coconut. But as far as flavor goes its superb!
I made this recipe yesterday and really like the flavor – it will be great for cooking and baking and drinking straight. It still doesn’t combine well in coffee, but oh well! It separates into two distinct layers in the fridge, but I’m guessing that’s normal?
Yes, separation is normal. Just give it a little shake and youre ready to go. I find it mixed better with tea or coffee that isnt steaming hot and also if I add a little more. It really depends on the batch!
The recipe calls for 1c soaked raw almonds….how long do you soak them initially? Do you just use filtered water & then pitch the water? Do you think this is cheaper & healthier than buying unsweetened almond milk in the refrigerated section of the grocery store (usually around $3/64oz container).
just finished making this amazing almond milk! seriously, one of the best almond milks i’ve ever tasted. i’ll definitely be making this regularly 🙂
thanks!
Wonderful! Thanks for commenting and enjoy! Hugs, Rachel
Made this today. Yum. Just yum! Thank you for sharing your recipe!
Easy, healthy, and wonderful.