How to Make Almond Milk (Super Creamy)
Here’s a step-by-step tutorial for making homemade almond milk that is super creamy. This recipe is vegan and dairy-free, and perfect for a dairy substitute.
Homemade almond milk is one of the small luxuries in life. It’s so much creamier and delicious when you make it at home, without any unnecessary fillers or gums.
Almond milk can be used for all types of recipes, including smoothies, with granola, in your coffee, or for savory recipes like dairy-free mac and cheese. Read about the reasons for going dairy-free.
You can also customize your homemade almond milk recipe to your liking, making it thicker or thinner, or sweeter using dates. Adding vanilla bean seeds is also a great way to transform ordinary almond milk into a decadent-tasting dairy-free drink.
Recipe Steps
Step One
To start making homemade almond milk, you’ll need to buy almonds. I try to find raw, organic versions, and they should be unsalted as well.
Step Two
The next step is to soak one cup of the almond in near-boiling water to help loosen the skins. The almonds need to sit in the hot water for at least 15 minutes before you touch them.
After the almonds have soaked, give them a quick rinse and then start using your hands to manually remove the skin from each almond. It takes a little time, but removing the skin is the key to having the creamiest almond milk you’ve ever tasted.
Removing the skins also removes most of the lectins in the almonds which can be irritating for some people.
Step Three
The next step is to blend the almonds with water, and then strain the milk in a nut milk bag.
If you don’t want to buy an expensive nut milk bag, then you can use a clean 1-gallon paint strainer bag. This material is nylon, but it is re-usable as long as you rinse it well. Feel free to use a nut milk bag, but the paint strainer bag works just as well for so much less money.
Blend the almonds with 4 cups of filtered water in a high-speed blender like a Blendtec or a Vitamix for about 30 seconds.
Step Four
After blending, you pour the mixture through the opening of the strainer bag and then squeeze from the top down to force the liquid out of the bag into the bowl.
Step Five
Lastly, just pour your mixture into your storage container:
There you have it…homemade almond milk with no sweeteners or preservatives.
You can use almond milk for just about anything, including baking. It will stay fresh in the fridge for up to 5 days.
FAQs
Yes, almond milk is vegan, dairy-free, paleo, and Whole30-friendly.
Yes, you can heat almond milk. You can also use almond milk in baking in place of dairy milk.
Other Vegan Beverages You Might Like
Don’t miss my entire index of healthy beverages, all vegan and dairy-free! I also have a round-up post of the best dairy-free milk recipes.
I hope you make this recipe! If you do, please leave a comment and a starred review below.
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PrintHow to Make Homemade Almond Milk
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Here’s a step-by-step tutorial for making homemade almond milk that is super creamy. This recipe is vegan and dairy-free, and perfect for a dairy substitute.
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw almonds, soaked in hot water for at least 15 minutes
- 4 cups filtered water
Instructions
- To easily remove the skins from the almonds, soak them in almost-boiling water for at least 15 minutes. Being careful to not burn your fingers, drain the hot water and then use your fingers to remove and discard the skin from each almond.*
- Place the almonds in a high-speed blender and add the water.
- Blend on high for 30 seconds or up to 1 minute.
- Pour the mixture into a nut milk bag over a larger bowl. Use your hands to squeeze the liquid into the bowl. Discard the pulp or save it for another use.
- Use immediately or store the almond milk in the refrigerator.
Notes
- *You don’t have to remove the skins from the almonds, but this will help reduce the lectins in the almond milk.
- Homemade almond milk will keep in the refrigerator in a tightly-sealed container for at least 5 days. If the milk starts to separate, just give the jar a quick shake before using it.
- To make a sweeter version, add 2 pitted Medjool dates to the almonds and water. You can also add the seeds of one vanilla bean pod or 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract to make a vanilla version.
- Category: Beverages
- Method: High-Speed Blender
- Cuisine: Healthy
Keywords: almond milk with no skins, vitamix almond milk, almond beverage
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One of my favorite easy recipes!
★★★★★
I never realized how watered down store bought almond milk was until I made this recipe. Super creamy and a perfect base for a ton of recipes. Worked great for the vegan Alfredo I made with it.
Thanks Carrie for the great recipe!
★★★★★
Ohhhhh, I’m so happy to hear that, Juliana! Thanks for sharing your results!
Hi
I am trying to use things on hand-can you use sliced almonds instead of whole? And cheesecloth instead of a bag?
Thank you
Hi Lorraine, great question! Yes, you can use sliced almonds. I think most people use whole almonds because they are cheaper than sliced. And, yes, you can absolutely use a cheesecloth to strain it. Enjoy!!!