Pumpkin Seed Milk

by Carrie Forrest, MPH in Nutrition | Nov 9, 2021

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This Homemade Pumpkin Seed Milk is such a delicious and easy dairy-free recipe. Serve it with granola or cereal, or use it as the base of a smoothie! This vegan and nut-free recipe can be made in less than 10 minutes.

Pumpkin seed milk is one of the creamiest and most delicious of the dairy-free plant-based milk alternatives you can make. I almost always have a jar of homemade pumpkin seed milk in my refrigerator.

You can use it for smoothies, cereals, coffee, chia puddings, or even for baking.

Contents hide

1 Why You Need This Recipe

2 Key Ingredients

3 Recipe Steps

4 Recipe Tips & Substitutions

5 FAQs

6 Other Dairy-Free Milk Recipes You Might Like

7 Pumpkin Seed Milk

Why You Need This Recipe

Because pumpkin seeds are naturally high in magnesium, zinc and healthy fats, this homemade Pumpkin Seed Milk is also very nutritious. It is vegan and nut-free so it works for a variety of diets including Whole30, paleo, and for people who have nut allergies. Learn more about the health reasons to consider going dairy-free.
The benefits of making homemade pumpkin seed milk includes: saving money, reducing waste, and replacing dairy milk with a non-dairy alternative.

Key Ingredients

Pumpkin seeds are affordable, easy-to-find, and have a neutral flavor when blended into milk. They are also really nutritious and are high in fiber, zinc, and antioxidants. Be sure to look for hulled pumpkin seeds for making milk; you can use roasted hulled seeds or raw hulled pumpkin seeds.

Dates add a touch of sweetness and extra nutrition like potassium, fiber, and magnesium.

Vanilla extract and sea salt bring out the natural flavors of the pumpkin seeds. If your pumpkin seeds are salted, then leave out any additional salt.

Filtered water is necessary to blend all the ingredients together. Use filtered water as opposed to tap water to avoid any chlorine taste.

photo with labeled ingredients for pumpkin seed milk

Recipe Steps

Step One

To make homemade pumpkin seed milk that is sweetened with dates, you just need to combine the pumpkin seeds, 3 cups of water, dates, sea salt, and vanilla extract in the pitcher of a high-speed blender, like a a Blendtec or a Vitamix.

Step Two

Blend the ingredients until creamy, about 20-30 seconds. You may notice that the pumpkin seed milk has a slight green tinge to it, but that is completely normal.

Step Three

Use your homemade pumpkin seed milk as you would normal dairy milk. You can serve it with granola or cereal, or as the base of a smoothie. This neutral-flavored dairy-free milk can also be used as a coffee creamer.

Store any leftovers in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator, and use your pumpkin seed milk within 5 days for the best results. Just give the jar a shake before you use it, if you find the the milk starts to separate.

As always, please do see the recipe card at the end of this post for the exact ingredients and measurements.

Recipe Tips & Substitutions

Pumpkin seed milk is not actually a nut milk; it’s technically a seed milk. You can use sunflower seeds instead of pumpkin seeds in this recipe.
Leave out the dates if you are on a low-sugar diet or you want to use the milk in a savory recipe.
You can use raw pumpkin seeds or roasted pumpkin seeds. Each will impart a slightly different taste to your final product.
Store your pumpkin milk in a covered jar or airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Be sure to look for hulled pumpkin seeds for making milk; you can use roasted hulled seeds or raw hulled pumpkin seeds. If your seeds are salted, then leave out any additional salt when making the pumpkin milk.

FAQs

Why is pumpkin seed milk better than almond milk?

One is not necessarily better than the other, it really just depends on personal preference. Pumpkin seed milk is easier to make than almond milk because you don’t have to strain it.

Don’t you have to strain pumpkin seed milk?

Nope! Pumpkin seeds do not have a skin, so the milk is very creamy when blended, and does not require straining through a nut milk bag or nylon bag.

I don’t have sprouted pumpkin seeds, I just have regular pumpkin seeds. Is this okay?

Yes, you can use regular or sprouted pumpkin seeds for this recipe.

Do I need to soak the pumpkin seeds before blending them?

You don’t need to soak the pumpkin seeds as long as you are using a high-speed blender to make the milk. If you just have a regular blender, you should soak the seeds to soften them and make them easier to blend.

Other Dairy-Free Milk Recipes You Might Like

Or, if you’re looking for inspiration on how to use your dairy-free milk, be sure to check out my index of Dairy-Free Smoothies!

I hope you make this recipe! If you do, please leave a comment and a starred review below.

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