We’ve been using almond milk for years now. It’s always been in the back of my mind to make it myself because the kind you buy at the store is not only expensive, but has a lot of added ingredients I’d rather not have.
I just never tried it. It seemed like it would be difficult, tedious, or time-consuming. I imagined it wouldn’t taste the same or there would be texture issues. I was so wrong.
The whole process takes about five minutes (not counting soaking time). I can handle five minutes. Taste and texture are not compromised.
I don’t expect you to believe me by just reading this, though. I’d read about homemade almond milk before, but I still envisioned something that wasn’t doable for me. It would just be another thing to do, and not worth the effort.
Since I had to do it to believe it, I thought showing you the process would help you see just how easy it is. I have to warn you, the video is very real. You’ll appreciate it if you have kids around when you’re trying to get things done. That’s life, right? For those of you who don’t like (or have time) to click and watch videos, I’ve included the written directions below.
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How to make homemade almond milk {video}
- Total Time: 370 minutes
- Yield: 40 fl ounces 1x
Description
Almond milk can be expensive, but it’s so easy to make at home! You can save money and control the ingredients. This post has a quick video showing just how easy it is! Pin down to watch later!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup almonds (I use raw, unsalted) soaked in water overnight or all day
- 32–50 ounces filtered water
Instructions
- Cover your almonds with filtered water in a small bowl and leave overnight or all day.
- Drain and rinse the almonds.
- Put the almonds in your blender and add desired amount of filtered water (we use 32 ounces) to the blender. Blend until smooth (there will be bits of almonds that will need to be strained).
- Strain the milk through a fine-mesh sieve covered with cheese cloth.
- Transfer the milk to an air-tight container and keep refrigerated.
Notes
Milk will keep in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.
We like our almond milk unsweetened, but if you prefer you can add sweeteners such as dates or honey. It can also be flavored with vanilla extract if you prefer. Enjoy!
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 360 minutes
- Category: Drinks
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: whole recipe
- Calories: 414
- Sugar: 3g
- Sodium: 4mg
- Fat: 36g
- Carbohydrates: 15g
- Protein: 15g
Question: Do you drink almond milk? Have you ever made your own?
I just made my first batch of almond milk. I think I used too much water (30 some ounces). It tastes like almond water. I also didn’tmake sure I had a big enough sive. That was time consuming. My husband thinks we should just keep buying commercial almond milk. I try to tell him that there’s stuff added to the store bought and making it at home is much cheaper. We don’t even drink that much but our 2 year old does. He will be the true test. Not sure if there’s any way to save the batch I just made. I’ll try a few more times to get it right but if the hubby and kid won’t drink it, do know what else to do. Thanks for the esay tutorial!!
It is definitely cheaper to make it at home, but there are commercial brands that I feel comfortable buying. The one additive we really try to avoid is carrageenan. Silk does not have that in their unsweetened almond milk, so when I buy it that’s the brand I go with. (I sometimes buy it, sometimes make my own.) If you wanted it creamier, you can add less water. Also, depending on your flavor preferences, you can add vanilla and/or some sweetener to flavor it. We like ours plain, but I know not everyone does. Also, we don’t drink ours, per say, but use it in oatmeal, granola, cooking, etc, so we probably don’t notice the lack of flavor as much.
I’ve always wondered about making my own almond milk. We now have a blender that should be able to handle it. My husband and I don’t drink it very often but our son can go through a half gallon in a few days. Is it possible to make larger batches and freeze? Also, thank you for the video.
I haven’t tried freezing it! I imagine it would work well, though.
Making almond milk is actually an incredibly old process. We learned about it in culinary school as part of our training in Classic French cuisine, but it was made and used long before the French transformed it into delicate blancmanges.,:`-
Because almonds are naturally very nutritious, almond milk doesn’t need to be fortified. You can make almond milk yourself at home, and it will have the same nutritional value as the almond milk available commercially.
This is great – something I’ve been wanting to do, but just like you – always thought it was the time consuming thing. Seeing it on video – how stinkin’ easy it is has me excited to try it myself!
…and I LOVE it even more with the kids in the background – that’s life as a Mama!
Absolutely love your blog!
Thanks, Lori! I’m glad this helped you see how truly easy it is to make your own almond milk. Totally worth the small effort. 🙂
Maryea,
I LOVED this video; it was FUN and informative. 🙂 I would love for you to do more. It’s so nice to see REAL people, squeezing in things where they can.
PS You’re adorable and your “guns” are a-MAZING; is that just from lifting babies or do you pump iron, too? You look like you could curls 20s!
Awww–thank you! Adding videos more regularly is something I’ve thought a lot about. It just may happen in the future. 🙂
P.S. I do lift weights a few times a week. I definitely don’t curl 20s though!!
Thanks for much for the tutorial! I can’t even stand store bought almond milk anymore – homemade is so much better. I was wondering if you leave the skins on your almonds? I’ve heard that the skins will make the milk bitter, so I blanch mine. If you leave yours on and don’t notice anything, I’ll probably skip the trouble next time.
We do leave the skins on and it hasn’t been a problem.
Hi Maryea! Thanks for the tutorial. It does look easy and quick and I am definitely not a fan of the “extras” found in commercial almond milk so I think I will try it, although I’m not sure if my blender is up to the task. What blender do you have?
I have a vita-mix, so it’s a powerful one. I’m not sure how it would do in a standard blender, but if you give it a try let me know how it turns out.
OM gosh Maryea, you are so cute! This was a fun departure from your regular posts.
I haven’t had the best luck using my blender to make almond milk, but one day when I have a VitaMix, I shall… One day!!!
Who knew it was so easy?! I was just talking to my sister the other day about all the unfavorable additions to most store-bought almond milk. Now, I will be making my own! Thank you for the demo.
Alicia said, “She is adorable!! I miss her.”
Sabrina said, “I love almond milk! I’m going to make that this weekend!”
Victoria said,” Why is that baby crying?”
I think you are AMAZING!
Aw, thank you! Tell Alicia I miss her, too. 🙂
I am like you. I have read about making almond milk but I thought way too hard and time consuming. You have convinced me to try it. Hey, maybe this weekend. I am curious how my blender will do…only one way to find out. The video helped a great deal. The kids are great. Like you said -real life-. It doesn’t get any better than that! Thank you!!!
I have heard that regular blenders work fine. You’re straining it anyway, so I think it would. Let me know how it turns out!
Great video! Love the kid noises in the beginning, haha. Sounds like our house! I’ve wanted to make almond milk for ages now, but all I have is a magic bullet. Hopefully I can get a better blender soon so I can try it out for myself 🙂
I haven’t tried it, but I did read online that a regular blender works fine for making almond milk. You strain it anyway, so I think it would work. You’d just have to do small batches with the magic bullet.
🙂 Your house sounds like mine!!! And I guess I now have no excuse for putting off trying to make homemade almond milk 🙂
Dooooo it! 🙂
Loved your video and loved seeing the kids, too! A couple of things to add: 1) make sure you are using raw almonds, steam-pasturized if possible and 2) invest in an expensive nut milk bag – much easier than cheesecloth and the nut milk bags can simply be washed for the next use!
I have been using raw almonds, but not sure about steam-pasteurized. I’ll have to look into that–thanks for the heads up. I am going to try to convince my husband that I *need* a nut milk bag, but we’ll see. There are a lot of kitchen things I think I *need* that he doesn’t agree with. 😉
LOL, I just saw a typo in my post – I meant to say ‘an INexpensive nut milk bag’!!! I got mine on etsy – I think I paid about $8 for it.
How funny! I’d never priced nut milk bags so I just assumed they must be expensive. 🙂 I think I can swing $8.
I love your video! I’ve been wanting to try making almond milk for awhile, this was just the kickstart I needed. It looks sooooo good when you’re pouring it into the jar!
Love your video. So real when you have kids. I might just have to try this. where to you buy ‘cheese cloth’ and is it reusable? thanks.
I get the cheesecloth at the grocery store. Most well-stocked grocery stores carry it (I think). Most people toss it after each use, but it is reusable. It’s just a real pain to clean.
I love your video and Luke is adorable!
I’ve been making both my own almond and oat milk for about half a year now and just like you said – it’s sooo easy. And cheap! With the nut pulp I usually make sugar-free nut & date cookies or home-made granola.
Oooh oat milk sounds delicious! I may have to try that next. And good call on using the nut pulp for cookies. Love it!
Great job,Maryea! You are a natural on camera. I loved how wveryone kept cool during the distractions . The demonstration really did make it look easy but of course to me the best part was seeing Luke and Meghan they added a lot to it P.S. good filming Tim.
It is SO easy, Fran…I’ll make it with you one day if you want! I’m “the friend”.
Nicole
Thanks again, Nicole, for the nudge we needed to try this. I can’t believe how easy it really is. Do you use a nut milk bag?
I actually use a paint straining bag. You can get them really cheap at Home Depot. They work super well!
Aw, thank you. 🙂 Meghan is missing her Nana and Poppy, that’s for sure. She told us last night she’s ready for you to come visit her. 🙂