How Do You Make Delicious Nut Milk at Home?

Non-dairy milk is becoming more popular, and for good reason — it’s satisfying, creamy and delicious, making it the ideal dairy substitute for dairy milk in just about every recipe. This is a huge success for the plant-based community because it is also widely accessible in most supermarket stores.

But, hold on! How would you feel about the possibility that homemade nut milk is as cheap as store-bought and at least twice as good? This blog post details how to make nut milk at home.

How Can I Make Homemade Non-Dairy Milk?

The process is simple. Simply mix water, nuts, and seeds in a powerful blender until the mixture becomes creamy and smooth. You may also add a pinch of salt, your preferred sweetener, and any additional flavorings or spices your heart desires. Since homemade nut milk is simple and fresh, it tastes better. Store-bought nut milk frequently includes additional thickeners, chemicals, or gums with flash-pasteurized to lengthen its shelf life. Unfortunately, this method also significantly reduces the flavor of the nut milk, giving it a harsh almost soap-like flavor.

Equipment You’ll Need 

You will need the following equipment to produce homemade nut milk:

• A high-powered blender or nut milk maker 
• A fine mesh bag for straining the nut milk
• A mason jar funnel and glass jars for storing the nut milk (optional but recommended)

Bullet-style blenders can also be used for some types of nuts and seeds in case a high-speed blender isn’t available. These blenders work better than upright blenders because of their design. You may also prepare your own milk by mixing two cups of filtered water and three to five teaspoons of nuts in a normal blender for 60 seconds. This approach is fairly pricey, but it does the job in a pinch.

Soaking Nuts and Seeds

Soaking grains, nuts and seeds can boost the bioavailability of some vitamins and aid in the breakdown of difficult-to-digest substances. High-speed blenders can also remove the necessity of soaking nuts and seeds.

If you choose to soak your nuts, simply set them in a glass jar or dish, fill them with twice as much water and let them rest in the refrigerator for four to twelve hours. Some nuts will emit a “powdery” material that will obscure the water. Remember to thoroughly rinse the nuts before putting them in the blender to create nut milk.

Straining 

You can achieve the silky, store-bought consistency of nut milk at home by straining your nuts through fine-mesh nut milk bags or cheesecloth. Any nut with a hard outer “skin,” such as almonds, pistachios, hazelnuts, brazil nuts and walnuts, should be strained. Straining becomes less necessary if the nut has a soft exterior (such as pecans, macadamia and peanuts). The milk you get is thicker because of the fine “pulp” that these nuts leave behind as a powder. 

You do not have to strain pumpkin seeds, hemp hearts and cashews because these components have an extremely soft texture and dissolve completely in the nut milk. Before serving, it is usually recommended to shake any homemade nut milk that has separated in the refrigerator. Unstrained nut milk is more likely to separate than its strained counterparts.

The Creaminess Scale

You will need to add more nuts to your homemade nut milk to achieve the same creaminess as store-bought milk. Your own nut milk can be as creamy (or not) as you like; for reference, here is a scale:

• One-fourth cup nuts: (to four cups water) In terms of macronutrients, this ratio is closest to store-bought milk; nonetheless, it has a light consistency and a faintly watery flavor.
• Half cup nuts: (to four cups water). If you’re looking for a creamy texture, this is the best ratio for you. You may use it in tea, coffee and any other recipe that asks for non-dairy milk without it being too heavy.
• Two cups nuts: (to four cups water). This makes milk that thick and creamy, making it a great replacement for coffee creamer or heavy cream. It is advisable, however, to cut the base recipe in half (one cup of nuts to two cups of water); otherwise, you will likely have leftovers that could spill.

Shelf Life

In general, homemade nondairy milk can be stored in the refrigerator for at least four to five days if the nuts are soaked for 12 hours or less and the entire blending time does not exceed two minutes.

The Bottom Line!

Now that you’ve prepared it yourself, you can use your homemade nut milk in any recipe that calls for a commercial nut or dairy milk, such as cereal, coffee, milkshakes and pancake batter. Homemade nut milk has a distinct flavor and texture that store-bought nut milk doesn’t have because you made it yourself.