So, earlier this week after finishing off a half gallon carton of almond milk, I happened to glance at the ingredients label as I was tossing it the recycling bin. I had Almond Breeze, the kind you can find in any grocery store and this is what I found:
Ingredients: almondmilk (filtered water, almonds), calcium carbonate, tapioca starch, sea salt, potassium citrate, carrageenan, sunflower lecithin, natural flavor, vitamin a palmitate, vitamin d2 and d-alpha-tocopherol (natural vitamin e). source
Now, I don’t know what any of that crap is except for almonds, water and sea salt (by the way, what the HECK is “natural flavor”??) so I decided right then and there to make my own. I had some almonds in my pantry so I just got to soaking them right away. I had heard of making your own before, but for some reason it intimidated me, like it would be hard to do or something. I couldn’t have been more wrong. And I posted a picture on Instagram and a lot of you were interested so I thought I would walk you through exactly how easy it is.
A little side note: I’m not against dairy or dairy-free, but I do try to limit it in my diet for personal health preferences. I don’t need regular cow’s milk to get protein or calcium since I get it from other sources and I like that almond milk has fewer calories, is naturally low in fat and I don’t have to worry about hormones or antibiotics or about where the almond was raised, like with cow’s milk.
Not pictured here is a 1/2 teaspoon of salt, which you should add since it breaks down the phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors and cultures beneficial enzymes in the almonds. I don’t really know what that means, but a trusted source says to do it, so I figure it can’t hurt.
If it didn’t take so long to soak the almonds, you could call this a 5 minute ordeal when all is said and done. It’s just a matter of putting your soaked almonds in a blender with water, letting it blend for a minute or two and then straining – either with cheese cloth or a nut milk bag. I bought mine here and bonus: it came with a hand written note thanking me for my order. Here’s proof.
Also, one perk of making your own almond milk is that you can put it in adorable glass jars that maybe you’ve bought (one too many of…) and not known what to do with. Not like I would know. And this is better for the environment too so you can say you’re GOING GREEN! Mason jars work too.
Here’s the full recipe and how to, although it’s almost laughable at how easy it is that you won’t need a recipe after you make it one time.
Ingredients & Equipment
- 1 cup raw almonds
- 8-10 cups of water
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- nut milk bag or cheesecloth
- blender
- Optional: natural sweeteners like stevia, dates, honey, maple syrup, vanilla.
Instructions
- Soak almonds in 2-3 cups of water and salt for at least 12 hours.
- Give the almonds a good rinse and toss in a blender with 8 cups of water, or however much your blender will hold. You may need to do a couple of batches if you don’t have a big enough blender, but that’s okay.
- Let the blender run on high for a minute or two, until you can see it’s creamy and mixed well (the almonds should be teeny tiny little bits)
- Grab your cheese cloth or nut milk bag and pour your almond mixture through it. Squeeze thoroughly until no moisture comes through, but for the love of god DO NOT THROW AWAY THE ALMOND PULP!!! Because you can make almond flour with it, which is super expensive, is gluten free, is a tremendous alternative to wheat flours, is very nutritious and a great way to use up every last bit of those healthy almonds. Don’t throw it away. Just throw it in the fridge until you get the time to dry it out (I’ll explain that further below).
- If sweetening your milk, put it back in the blender (rinse it first) and add whatever natural sweetener you like. For me, I like to keep the whole batch plain and just sweeten a glass as I go if I feel like having it sweet.
Yields: about 2 quarts of milk
A few tips and tricks:
Your milk will separate after a little while in the fridge. This is totally normal, just give it a good shake.
Your almond milk will last about 5-7 days in the fridge.
To make coffee creamer, just use less water (maybe half) and add whatever sweeteners and spices you want. I’m thinking next fall I’ll make some with pumpkin spice, vanilla and stevia. Yum! I bet you
Someone asked me if this saves money and after really looking in to it, I can say that YES it definitely can if you make sure to use the almond pulp by making flour with it – then you save lots because that stuff is like $10/lb. Otherwise, you are probably paying about the same (maybe a little more), but you’re also cutting out any unnecessary additives, processing and preservatives for a much healthier alternative – how long do you think it took that almond milk to get from the factory to your refrigerator? I’m not some crazy DIY almond milk activist that is judging anyone if you don’t make your own – people are busy, especially moms so I get it. But if you want to make your own, know that it is easy and worthwhile.
How to Make Almond Flour (also called almond meal)
When you strain all the liquid out with your cheese cloth, you’ll have the pulp left over, pictured above. This has lots of nutrition left and can be made in to flour that you can use in baked goods to make healthier, clean versions of your favorite foods. Or make french macarons (and then send them to me).
Again, this is super easy, but just takes a little bit of time. If you don’t have time right then to make the flour, just put it in an airtight container in the fridge for a few days or even freeze it if you know it will be a while before you can dry it out. Or send it to me because I won’t let it go to waste. Either way, it would be sad to throw it out so don’t.
Instructions
- Spread the almond mixture out on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper and place in the oven at the lowest setting (for me, it was 170 degrees) for a few hours. You can leave the oven door open just a crack to release any moisture and help it dry out faster. Mine was done after 3 hours.
- Once it’s dry, let it cool and pop it in a food processor or blender to get a finer texture.
So that’s it! Nothing complicated or sophisticated about it, just takes waiting for the almonds to soak and then bake. I put my almond meal in the oven in the morning, then went to the gym and ran a few errands and by the time I was home it was ready (my husband was home, just in case something happened).
So are you going to make your own almond milk and flour too? I hope so! If you have any questions, let me know in the comments and I’ll do my best to answer!
I am totally trying this!! Can’t wait to add some yummy almond milk to my coffee!
Yay! Let me know how it turns out :)
Wonderful! Thanks! I’m gonna give it a try.
Oh yay, I hope you do! It really is so easy, you’ll wonder why you didn’t do it sooner :)
My daughter & I have Celiac disease and I’ve wanted to try both the almond milk and the flour but felt it was both expensive and full of preservatives. Also, I was intimidated to try the DIY. Thanks for the easy to follow directions and the inspiration! By the way, the photos are beautiful. Great job!
Go for it! It really is so simple, you won’t believe it. Now I just start soaking my almonds when I’m about halfway through a batch, that way I’m never without. Good luck! :) (and thanks for the compliment on the photos – xoxo!)
I think you’re my food soul mate. I’ve been making my own almond milk and almond flour like this for a while now, but I never thought to make CREAMER! You pretty much just blew my mind. This is another one of those post-trying-your-recipe comments to tell you how wonderful my coffee tastes right now with the honey cinnamon almond milk creamer I just made :)
Oh Yay! I’m so glad, Kelsey! Isn’t it the most amazing feeling to stick it to the man and make your own instead of buying something you can’t live without? That’s how I feel about making my own almond milk/flour/creamer :)
I s it possible to get the recipes for almond milk and almond flour emailed to me? Also where do you buy raw almonds? all the almonds I can find have been roasted. Thanks! GBY!
Hi Henry! Sure, I’ll email a copy of the post right over. Raw almonds can be bought at most grocery stores – Blue Diamond sells raw, also check out the produce and health food sections as sometimes they hide the good stuff there. Also, I’ve ordered from amazon before but if you have a membership to Sams Club or Costco I’ve heard you can get a much cheaper price, though they probably won’t be organic.
I will be trying this tomorrow. Can’t wait to try this, I have to bags of raw almonds and didn’t know what else I could do with them. Thanks for the recipes!!!!
Hey Pat, thanks for the comment! I’m so glad you’ll be able to put those almond to good use. Also – the milk freezes well if you make a big batch and won’t be able to drink all of it within a week or so.
If you have any ethnic grocery sites near you, I purchase about four pounds of almonds for $12 at an Indian-Pakistani store near me. :)
Ah, good point! Thanks Carry :)
Can you use to make ice cream?
Hi Peggy! I have made ice cream with almond milk before, but it wasn’t very successful. BUT I am not giving up, I think I just need to tweek a few things. Definitely will be experimenting when the weather gets warmer and blog about my findings.
coconut milk is great for ice-cream.
great fudgesicle recipe is as easy as coconut milk, coco powder, ripe banana, a touch of raw honey, or other sweetener, and a small pinch of salt – and presto- awesome fudgesicles.
for soft-scoop ice-cream add more banana and freeze.
Oh yum!! that sounds amazing! Thanks so much for sharing, Mercy! :)
Hi Peggy:
Just a quick question or two…Why would you want to rinse the almonds, after soaking them. Seems to me you may be rinsing away some of the nutrients, so why not add that to the other up to 7 cups of water for more bang for your almonds? Also, I tried this last night, but ground the almonds first, by mistake. It still made about 1/2 gallon and still tasted great. I then re-read the directions, to try it the way you said. That is still in the process…Thanks
Hey Randy! You’ll notice the water is pretty gnarly after the almonds have been soaking for a while, and there’s not much nutrition in it. The nutrition is mainly still in the almond itself. The water also has salt in it (remember, the salt helps break down some of the phytic acid,etc etc) so you don’t want that salt to end up in your milk – it’s just to help the almonds in the pre-process. So, I would definitely recommend to give them a good rinse and add new water – don’t worry, you’re still getting plenty of wonderful nutrition!
Sorry, that last question was for Katy, not Peggy, but what the hey?..
OMG!!!! Thank you so much! The almond flour is so expensive. My husband was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes a year ago, and he loves snicker doodles. With regular flour, he cannot have them because of the carbs, but with the almond flour, he can because they are only about 4 grams of carbs, so he can indulge a little. This is amazing, and I cannot tell you how thankful I am that you posted this!!!! Thank u
Aw, Chrystal I am so happy you found the post then :) You just made my day with your sweet comment. I have so much almond flour in my kitchen now because I find I use up the milk more than I use up the flour so it’s great. And I have had so much success using it in place of other flours, or mixing it with other flours (I like a 50/50 blend of almond and oat flour) for a healthier alternative.
If you are making vanilla-flavored almond milk, DO NOT use vanilla extract, which can be over 1/3 alcohol. Tried it once using liquid vanilla and the next day upon opening the milk jar, all you got was the overwhelming odor of the alcohol. Use powdered vanilla instead.
Interesting – thanks for the head’s up, though I have used vanilla extract before and I didn’t notice the odor of the alcohol. You could also just use the vanilla bean paste that comes from the inside of the vanilla bean. Just scrape some off, put in the milk and blend in the blender.
Anyone have ideas on how to make chocolate almond milk? I know that I bought someone’s version of milk chocolate almond milk a while back and it was a big hit at our house but the dark chocolate version seems to fall short. Open for any suggestions or ideas.
Thanks for all the almond flour too!
Hm…I hadn’t thought of how to make chocolate almond milk. I’ve seen some chocolate flavored liquid stevia in the store before (like this: http://www.amazon.com/SweetLeaf-Chocolate-Liquid-Stevia-Bottles/dp/B000HK9IKG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1366741006&sr=8-1&keywords=chocolate+liquid+stevia)…I’ve never tried it, but I wonder if that would give you the sweet, chocolate-y flavor you’re looking for. Maybe add some unsweetened cocoa powder too for the thickness and blend it in the blender to get it well incorporated. I’ve never done this though, so those are just my ideas! Let me know if you try something that works! :)
Ok, so here’s what we tried. 4 tps of unsweetened cocoa powder and 5 tps of sugar to 2 cups of milk. I say we but I really mean my husband who has the LARGEST SWEET TOOTH EVER! I have to admit I didn’t try it since I think milk from anything is only for cooking not for drinking, but nutritionally speaking I think honey would have been better…..but he’s a slow convert.
(I have more almonds soaking btw, and my flour is fresh out of the oven!!)
This month I got myself a Vitamix (FINALLY) so I can make good almond milk. I’ve yet to strain it, just used in cooking and smoothies. Have you ever used a flour sack towel to strain? I keep reading the many people who blow through nutbags (literally) and they are expensive. Also when you process the nutmeal pulp into almond flour is it difficult to get it super fine consistency? Most of the recipes I have require super fine almond flour. Im glad to find this because my husband was wanting a dairy/soy alternative for his coffee. Presto I found your post here! Also do you bake at low temp for such a long time to preserve the freshness or so they don’t burn? I’ve heard of higher temps 300 degrees for 2 hours but I think that sounds to high. Just wondering. I’m new at all this.
Hey Rebecca! So excited for you that you got a new Vitamix (and totally jealous!). I’ve never used a flour sack towel before – I’ve used my nut milk bag a ton and have had no problems with it. I seriously love it and it was only $8. If it gets a hole, I have no problem buying a new one since I know how well it holds up (I link to the place I bought mine in the post). You could certainly try a flour sack towel though! Yes, it is difficult to get a super fine consistency with the almond flour…but it still works great. In fact I used some tonight for a healthy cake recipe and it worked just fine – the graininess bakes out. And I have read to bake it slow and long at low temps to sufficiently dry it out, rather than bake it. Hope this helps!
thanks for the recipe. i just couldn’t bring myself to buy a $10 bag of flour. i made almond butter blending almonds and wondered how to get it to flour instead of a paste. dont really like almond milk but my wife may go for coffee creamer to get the double use out of a bag of almonds.
Smart! I haven’t made almond butter, but that’s next on my list since that too is so expensive. Thanks!
Thanks so much for this awesome tutorial! I have made two batches this week and they have turned out perfectly. I just made the almond flour with the leftover grounds this morning. I live near a Sam’s club, so while not organic, I can get a hug bag of almonds for like $10.
This past week I have just started having a jar full of soaking almonds in the fridge at all times. Then, when I want to make almond milk I can right away, or I add the soaked almonds to smoothies or whatever else! It’s worked great.
Thanks again!
So glad this worked so well for you, Katie! I love to hear that :)
I’m excited to try this. How much much almond mill did the 1 cup of raw almonds yield?
Hey Goldie! Thanks for the comment – it’s a good question that I don’t know the exact answer to! Usually I do 2 cups at a time and get just under 2 cups of almond flour. So you only lose a little bit in the process. Hope this helps! :)
And if you don’t want to make almond flour from the pulp, you can use the pulp as “cereal” for breakfast: add whatever fruit – fresh or dried – and flavour you like – nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, etc – for a gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free treat.
What a fantastic idea, Isabella! I hadn’t thought of that, but I love the idea! I might try that with my next batch. Thanks for the head’s up!
Hi Katy!
I loved your post. I love almond milk and have found that Blue Diamond is the brand that has the least amount of ingredients, but I would love to try and make my own. I have also been wanting to make almond flour as well, so win win. I was wondering though if you thought a juicer would work after having blended it in order to get the pulp out instead of the nut milk bag?
Hey Jessica! Good question! I don’t own a juicer and have never used one so I don’t actually know the answer. I suspect though that the pulp would still have quite a bit of moisture in it going through a juicer and that you would need to squeeze it out anyway. The pulp needs to have as little moisture as possible before drying it out. But again, I don’t know much about juicing so I’m just guessing. Give it a shot and let me know how it goes! :)
I just made my own almond milk and came on to Google what to do with the leftover almond meal, so thank you so much for including that bit in your blog. I will definitely be drying it now. And I have a good recipe to use it up with – check out
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=518415001552601&set=a.492731314120970.1073741828.475470682513700&type=1&theater
L.
That recipe for Almond Jam Drops looks so good, Lynn! Thanks so much for sharing, I will have to try it out next time we are craving sweets. Thanks for the sweet comment, so glad you liked the post :)
How much vanilla should I put in for the milk. My husband is diabetic so I buy unsweetened vanilla. Thanks, will make the coffee creamer
Hey Ann! Another reader commented that adding vanilla extract made her milk taste off after storing for a few days because vanilla extract is mostly alcohol. So, I would either add vanilla stevia to the whole batch (adds sweetness too!) or add a couple of drops of vanilla extract in each serving as you use it.
The almond milk was so delicious – and easy! Do you think I could use my dehydrator to make the flour?
Yes! Definitely! I don’t have a dehydrator so I just use the oven, but a dehydrator will work great.
Jessica,
I soaked the almonds, rinsed, added the water and put it all through my juicer. It worked great! I actually put the pulp through the juicer twice after the initial nut juicing to get more flavor and nutrients from the batch. THEN I put the juice in my Vitamix and blended, with a little vanilla. It was sooo delicious.
Oh, I’m so glad you answered this question for the previous commenter, Carol. Thanks so much! Glad you were able to make something you love!
Hi,I was wondering if this will work with sliced almonds?
Hey Leona! Yes, sliced almonds should work. I haven’t tried that, but I don’t see any reason that you should have trouble. Good luck!
I’m not a huge fan of almond flavor. Do you think you could do the same with other nuts? Say walnuts or hazelnuts ? Hazelnut in coffee would be yummy I would think if it worked. Any ideas ?
Hey Vikki! Yes! Any nut will work. Good luck!
Did it…worked great. And I got to finally use a Bormioli glass pitcher I bought years ago! My pulp is in the oven now. My purpose is to ultimately get the flour, to use for an almond pound cake recipe that I used to make when I did Atkins. However, I need more protein in my diet so I’m going to put the almond milk to good use, too. Thanks!
Hey Lisa! Yay, so happy you had success! Good luck on that pound cake recipe!
Do I have to drain the almonds? I just made the milk and used the same water they soaked in :s
You probably should just because that water they soak in gets pretty nasty, plus if you followed the recipe, it has salt in it. Soaking not only helps soften them, but pulls out some of the enzymes and it can make the almond milk taste a little sour. It won’t hurt you, but next time you may like the almond milk better if you rinse the almonds first and use fresh water. I’m glad you tried it though! Let me know how it works out :)
Thank you so much for sharing, plan to buy the almonds tomorrow and get going! How much flour does the pulp yield?
Hey Susan! I’m excited for you to try it! I can’t remember exactly how much flour this recipe yields (since I usually make bigger batches) but I think around 1 or 1 1/2 cups. Good luck!
Hello,
I recently started making my own almond milk too and we love it! Having a hard time getting all of the almonds blended up though as I have a cheap blender. I also add a bit of honey when I make the milk so when I make the almond meal it’s sweetened as well! Also, I wanted to ask where you bought the milk jug! Thanks
What a great idea with the honey! Sounds like youre making it work for you despite the blender. I got the milk jug at IKEA! They always have it in stock and super cheap – maybe $4? It’s great for storing almond milk!
I got a hand written note when I ordered my nut milk bag too! I add raw sweetened caco nibs to my cashew and almond milk with a vanilla bean…yum!
Oh yum! That sounds awesome! And I love that company – so thoughtful with the notes :)
I found your website through Pinterest. I just completed the last step tonight. I soaked the almonds overnight, but I forgot to add the salt. I did remember to change out the water and rinse the almonds before blending. It turned out wonderfully and smells oh so good! I had to do two batches and got about 1/2 a gallon of almond milk total. I dont have a nut bag or cheesecloth, so I just used a strainer and a silicon spatula to push the liquid through. I got good results with that, but I had to strain each batch through twice. From start to finish, it only took me about 25-30 minutes. I plan on making the almond flour tomorrow. Thanks so much for posting this.
Yay, Allison! That’s so awesome! I’m really glad it worked for you – definitely invest in a nut milk bag though so you can speed through the process. You’ll be happy you spent the $7, I promise :)
Couple things: I make a LOT of almond milk. Recently I discovered that all almonds from California, by law, have to be pasteurized before they can be sold to consumers. They are pasteurized by either the steamed method or the chemical method. If you aren’t using organic almonds, please make sure the almonds you use have been steamed. (You can Google ‘PPO in almonds’ to find the frightening details of the chemical method.) Also, I use paint strainers (new, clean ones, of course) to drain the pulp. You can get a bag of 2 at your local hardware store for about $4. I haven’t found a better deal than that.
Interesting! Thanks so much for sharing what you’ve learned, Jamie!
Hey! i just made my first batch of almond milk, it was so fun! Just wanted to let people know if you cannot find a nut milk bag, use a jelly strainer bag- works great! I bought mine at Ace hardware for like $5!
Ooooh, great tip! Thanks Kate! So glad you liked making your own almond milk :)
I am super excited to try this!!! I wonder if you added roasted cocoa beans to the water with the almonds?
MMM, interesting!! I have never thought of adding roasted cocoa beans – if you try it, will you please let me know how it goes? That is such a great idea! :)
And..once you’ve made the almond milk, you can make a “Wendy’s” frosty smoothie… 3/4 cup Almond Milk
about 15 ice cubes
1/2 tsp Vanilla
1-2 Tbsp unsweetened Cocoa powder
1/3 of a Banana
All in the blender until smooth…enjoy!
Ooooh man that sounds so good! I will definitely be making this! Thanks SO much for the recipe! :)
How much almond flour does this recipe yield? Also, how can I make almond flour without making almond milk?