Easiest Homemade Almond Milk Recipe
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This Homemade Almond Milk Recipe is going to rock your world–because it’s literally the easiest recipe out there. No fuss and no mess–just easy almond milk. You’ll see what I mean!
Making processed food substitutes can help you save a ton of money on your whole foods budget. And it doesn’t have to take a bunch of time either.
I’m all about easy.
I make my own Homemade Chocolate Chips, Cream of Rice Cereal, Pumpkin Spice Creamer, and Homemade Ketchup.
All of those taste great, and are very simple to make.
But today I’m sharing with you the Easiest Almond Milk Recipe Ever. Seriously.
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The Need for Easy Recipes
My “cooking philosophy” has evolved over the years. Health-wise, but also “simplicity-wise.”
Maybe you can relate.
I used to, pour-over cookbooks (especially the dessert section – cough-cough), dreaming about all of the amazing things that I could make. Then I’d try a fancy recipe like Stuffed Chicken Breasts or Candy Cane Shaped Cookies Dipped in Chocolate.
Well, it’s not that this busy momma doesn’t still like to play in the kitchen, but times have changed.
My life is busier than ever while we homeschool and I work on getting my family to be as healthy as possible.
So now, I’m more looking for recipes and tips that will get good yummy food on my table with as little effort and time as possible. (Cause I already am stressed out to the max way too busy :-).)
So….today’s recipe is an example of one way I’ve managed to save a ton of time in the kitchen, while still making something good.
Why Is Almond Milk Popular?
- Dairy allergies are on the increase.
- Lactose intolerance is on the increase.
- People living a vegan lifestyle want alternatives to dairy for cooking, baking and drinking.
Why Make Your Own Homemade Almond Milk?
- The obvious – save money.
- Save time and money by not running out the store because you’ve run out of milk (or a dairy-free alternative). (See the price of gas going up – oh, my heart be still. Every trip you can save is money in the bank!)
- Life a more sustainable lifestyle – less packaging and less waste. Even if they ever figure out a way to recycle those aseptic cartons, you can bet that it will be a super labor intensive.
Ever since my oldest was diagnosed with a life-threatening allergy to dairy (at 3 months of age), I’ve had to find ways to make allergy-free substitutes for drinking and for baking. But this method makes it super easy.
To be fair, this method won’t match the super-creamy store-bought, aseptic packed almond milk you are used to. But it gets the job done lickety split. And it’s pretty good.
Just yesterday both of my sons asked for some. They said it’s not quite as good as my Homemade Coconut Milk, but good nonetheless.
How Much Can You Save?
Just so you can feel super good about yourself and your new frugal tip to help with your budget, here are the real numbers: Of course, this all depends upon where you buy it and your cost for almonds.
Almond Milk bought in bulk, buying 4 32 oz containers at Amazon, costs $2.43 for 4 cups.
Homemade Almond Milk (using a price of $4 per pound for almonds) costs $1.27 for 4 cups (plus your water cost, of course.) Savings: 48% That’s not as amazing of a savings amount compared to my Homemade Coconut Milk, or Homemade Rice Milk, but saving almost 50% is nothing to sneeze at.
So there you have it – motivated to save time and money (and be environmentally conscious at the same time)? I hope so!
And just so you know, all this doesn’t mean that I’ve given up on that caramel recipe yet either :-).
How to Store
Store this homemade almond milk in the fridge. It should keep for up to 3 or 4 days.
You could alternatively freeze it in cubes to use in your beverages or for making frozen treats in a high speed blender.
What to Do With Leftover Pulp
If you do choose to strain your almond milk, why waste all of that solid almond pulp goodess?
Good thing is–you don’t have to!
You can dehydrate it in a dehydrator or an oven on low. Then pulse in food processor (or blender) to make into a finer powder.
The resulting almond meal can be tossed on cereals, put in smoothies or shakes, or used in most any recipe that calls for almond flour.
Recipes for Leftover Almond Pulp Turned to Almond Meal
Here are some great recipes to use your leftover pulp/meal in.
- Edible Cookie Dough – called “dangerously addictive” by a taste tester
- Healthy Green Bean Casserole – so much better than typical recipes
- Sugar-free Twix Bars – your childhood favorite made healthier
- Grain-free Meatballs – no bread or breadcrumbs needed!
- Eggnog Cookies – so tasty, they’re absolutely not just for the Holidays
More “Quick and Easy” Pantry Staples
If you like saving money and easy recipes, you will love these other options.
– Powdered Sugar – works with any type of sweetener
– Powdered Egg Replacer – works in almost any recipe
– Homemade Vegetable Broth – doubles as an amazing all-purpose seasoning
– Homemade Coconut Butter – great for so many recipes and saves tons of money
Recipe Notes
1. Appearance: This recipe uses whole almonds. If you want your almond milk to be more uniform in appearance, you can use blanched almonds. Otherwise, you will have specks of the almond skins in the resulting milk.
2. Stir and Serve: If you don’t strain the milk (the way I typically don’t), you can either stir the solids into the mix as you wish or use the solids for another purpose.
3. Soak First: Some people make almond milk from soaked almonds, but I don’t do that. I know it might sound counter-intuitive to dry the almonds before making milk, but I soak and dry a lot of nuts at a time. Then I store them and keep them on hand for snacking, making almond butter, or making this almond milk, or almond meal…you get the picture. This way I always have soaked nuts at the ready for making milk instead of having to time my soaking and milk making together.
4. If you are doing a food plan like Trim Healthy Mama, a more acceptable proportion is 1/2 cup almonds per 4 cups of water. You can thicken the resultant milk with glucomannan if desired. This recipe is an “S” for THM.
5. Notes on Stevia / other sweeteners. Stevia is very very sweet. You can read here for more information on how to use it. You can omit the sweetener or use another one as desired.
6. Other Milks: You can use this method for making other nut-based milk as well – I personally haven’t made these (mainly since my son is allergic to all nuts except almond and macadamia – and those macadamias are super pricey!) but you could definitely try:
- walnut milk
- pecan milk
- hazelnut milk
- cashew milk
7. Sweetener Options: You can substitute any other healthy sweetener for stevia. If using stevia, see How to Use Stevia.
8. Flavoring Options: For flavorings, chocolate or carob, as well as cinnamon, are great options, but the sky’s the limit!
Easiest Homemade Almond Milk Recipe
Ingredients
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in a blender.
- Blend ’til smooth. In my Vitamix, I blend for approximately 2-3 minutes. This machine it totally worth it!
- Strain milk through a nut milk bag or cheesecloth, if desired. I don’t bother – I’m just too busy :-)!
- Pour and enjoy.
Notes
- Appearance: This recipe uses whole almonds. If you want your almond milk to be more uniform in appearance, you can use blanched almonds. Otherwise, you will have specks of the almond skins in the resulting milk.
- Stir and Serve: If you don’t strain the milk (the way I typically don’t), you can either stir the solids into the mix as you wish or use the solids for another purpose.
- Soak First: Some people make almond milk from soaked almonds, but I don’t do that. I know it might sound counter-intuitive to dry the almonds before making milk, but I soak and dry a lot of nuts at a time. Then I store them and keep them on hand for snacking, making almond butter, or making this almond milk, or almond meal…you get the picture. This way I always have soaked nuts at the ready for making milk instead of having to time my soaking and milk making together.
- If you are doing a food plan like Trim Healthy Mama, a more acceptable proportion is 1/2 cup almonds per 4 cups of water. You can thicken the resultant milk with glucomannan if desired. This recipe is an “S” for THM.
- Sweeteners. Stevia is very very sweet but you can omit the sweetener or use another one as desired.
- Other Milks: You can use this method for making walnut, pecan, hazelnut, or cashew milk.
- Sweetener Options: You can substitute any other healthy sweetener for stevia. If using stevia, see How to Use Stevia.
- Flavoring Options: For flavorings, chocolate or carob, as well as cinnamon, are great options, but the sky’s the limit!
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is merely an approximation. Optional ingredients are not included and when there is an alternative, the primary ingredient is typically used. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site. Erythritol carbs are not included in carb counts since they have been shown not to impact blood sugar. Net carbs are the total carbs minus fiber.
What’s your favorite way to use almond milk?
I love almond milk! I switched from soy last year! This recipe definitely looks very easy and thank you for introducing us to Green PolkaDot box! I’ve been browsing and it seems like something me and my daughter could really benefit from!
Hi Kenda. Let me know what you think about GPDB. I just ordered my 3rd order. I am really pleased! I’d be happy to answer any questions.
Hi Adrienne, good share on the almond milk.I know how to make this, but I’m interested in the almonds to purchase…you said about $5.00 per lb? is that raw, unpasteurized? also, I’d like to know if there would be any VitaMix’s used, for sale? blessings, Lady
Hello! – Yes, they are raw and unpasteurized. I would try Vitamix on Ebay. I sold my used one there years ago. Vitamix does have refurbished ones. I am not sure how that works with the free shipping advertised on my blog, but you can call the number under the Vitamix banner and ask. They’d be happy to help!
Yes, please keep me posted on purchasing those almonds! I’d love a few pounds. I will look on ebay for the vitamix thank you so much!
I should have more info on almonds in the future. Stay tuned! And if you’d like to be on my email list for the fall you can do that as well. Not sure if I’ll be changing things up this year or not. Sorry I didn’t reply earlier. Somehow I missed your comment in the flurry here.
Thank you for sharing on Your Green Resource! I pinned and shared it on my site today.
Andrea – you are so kind! Thanks much! I’m glad that I’ve found your site!
I love how you break down the price Adrienne. I love making my own nut milks. Just made some walnut milk tonight!
Thank you for sharing this week on AFW! Be sure to check back next week for reader favorites and hostess picks. 🙂
Be Well,
–AFW Hostesses
You’re so welcome, Amber. Take care!
Okay, we use Almond milk a lot at my house because of milk allergies but never thought to make my own! This is so going on my to-try list. Thank you for the fast and furious version.
You’re welcome! Enjoy the speed :-)!
Tried it tonight ~ soooo easy & soooo yummy! Thank you Adrienne!
Yea! Thanks for taking the time to come back and share!
Hi Adrienne,
Thanks for replying to my comment. I think if you’re family is doing okay with where they’re at now, then they probably don’t need to go grain-free for a time. That’s just my humble opinion 🙂 🙂 I started eating a gluten free diet for weight-loss. It wasn’t till much later that I took a blood panel. Long story, short, while not being officially tested, all the signs point toward Celiac disease. so at least for now I’m going gluten-free…and for a time, grain free.
I haven’t tried making my own almond flower yet. I just have a basic mixer. Although, I need to try it out and see what it does. It’s gREAT at chopping ice really fine. I still buy my almond flour at the store and it’s spendy!!!
Love and hugs from the ocean shores of California, Heather 😉
:-). Let me know how it goes. I’d like to make my own flour w/ soaked and dried nuts for better digestion. Maybe I need to look into that grinder more….
I found your blog via the Weekend Whatever link-up. I’m following the GAPS diet for health reasons, and that means EVERYTHING gluten-free. Needless to say, almond flour is a huge staple in my home right now. Pretty soon, I’ll be trying to make my own almond milk at home 🙂 🙂 Love and hugs from the ocean shores of California, Heather 🙂
Go Heather! I’m grain free now too. Family not yet but we’re considering it. Are you making your own almond flour? I’m considering a machine that will grind it better than my Vitamix.
P.S. Welcome!
Adrienne, this would be delicious and very easy! Thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday. Hope you have a great week end and come back soon!
Miz Helen
I cannot wait to try this milk out. I am also going to try out the coconut milk recipe on your blog. My son has a milk allergy so this will be a great way to save money.
Yea! It sure will save you a ton. Really necessary w/ $5 gas around the corner…..:(.
Thank you so much for this deliciously easy recipe – but, I have to ask: where do you get almonds for $4/pound?? The best price I’ve found is more than double that!
Hi Zane. We purchase raw almonds direct from a farmer in the fall. You are welcome to join in if you like. I hope to do it again this year. If you look at the comments there is another supplier who has them slightly steamed that you might be interested in in the meantime. Our price fluctuates annually but they should be around $5 per pound I am thinking. I’ll hopefully be doing a Q&A this coming week on the blog that will address this issue a bit more so stay tuned :-).
Just curious…never made any…how much milk do you get from a lb?
Looks like 1 pound of almonds = about 3 1/2 cups shelled from what I am reading.
Thanks for the simple recipe. I’m right there with you on the busy.
Yep – I just can do perfect that often. Though I did “give in” and make a new homemade ketchup and a nice Chinese chicken for dinner. Way out of character for what I’ve been doing most of the time around here recently. 🙂
Thanks for this recipe. I just made coconut milk for the first time today, so maybe I’ll try almond milk next. We don’t use dairy, soy or rice products, so coconut and almond milks are the only milks we use.
So glad to have helped! I hope you like it! I’ll follow up with seed milks hopefully in the near future.
That would be great! I haven’t tried a seed milk yet.
Thanks Adrienne. When we make the move we’ll do it through you.
It sounds great. I need to get me a VitaMix!
Agreed :-). If you decide, I have free shipping through my site – and I’d be happy to help you in any way I can. I’ve owned one for about 10 years now, I think :-).
Hi. Since almond milk doesn’t have the calcium of regular milk, how do you supplement that? Thanks!
Eileen – I personally am doing a personalized program called Nutritional Balancing that is working on balancing my minerals – so I find it hard to recommend someone supplement Ca blindly. That being said, I have also heard that most Americans get plenty of Ca but are deficient in Mg. I do think that if you get Ca that you need to take it with other things like D3, Mg and possibly K to make sure it is assimilated correctly. I am sorry that I can’t give you a more pointed answer – maybe my readers can. I did a lot of research into this for a long time before I decided to do what I am doing now.
Vitamix is on my list of things to buy right before the norwalk juicer……:)
Hi! You know, I really prefer the Vitamix juice to “juicer juice” since it has all the ingredients in it (pulp, etc.). Maybe you should consider saving you money :-)…..
Thanks again Adrienne for another great recipe. I can’t wait to try this one. I also loved the info on the “Is their jet fuel on your almonds”. I never, ever would have thought about something awful like that. We are tryint to go more and more organic as we can in our household. Hopefully it will help my step sons PTSD. We also just recently watched Forks over Knives. Holy Cow! (punn intended) I had no idea how bad dairy and animal protien can be. Really opened our eyes. It will be hard to not eat animal protien but we are going to try to wean ourselves off it.
Hi Sheila – I so appreciate your kind words! I couldn’t believe the almonds either. Ugh. I would offer you one caution, however. Forks over Knives is based on the China Study and it was a very limited group of people. I was vegetarian (almost vegan) for a good deal of my life. And while I felt great for a long time, I have learned that it can be a quite unhealthy way to live and can lead easily to copper toxicity. I will be posting more on this hopefully. Just get good protein. I don’t eat TONS, but a lot more than I used to. Take care!
Adrienne ~ How does not eating meat cause copper toxicity? Does eating eggs help? Thanks, Cheeryshirley
Hi Shirley! Zinc and copper are natural antagonists. If you take zinc, it can tend to drive copper down. Eating anything high in zinc will help w/ copper toxicity. Animal products are high in zinc. Pumpkin seeds are too. Eggs are great and cheese is good as well. I just really think vegetarian lifestyles are not wise in the long term, especially with our stressful lifestyles. 🙂
Can’t wait to try this as my boy has recently tried it and likes it. Yippee! Another alternative! Thanks!
You’re welcome! Hope he likes it!
We exclusively use almond milk. I have thought about making my own but just never have. I always figured it would be more expensive. I am so excited to try it. (I totally agree with you about the Vitamix. Next to good knives and cast iron skillet, it is my most useful kitchen item.). And by the way, I am so excited to click through to your homemade coconut milk post!!!
Hi Sarah! I haven’t gotten the hang of cast iron skillets – but the knives are crucial! I hope you like the almond and coconut milks!
I had always been scared of cast iron. It seemed so much harder to try something new. But when I got pregnant last time my iron was so low I didn’t know what else to do. I was desperate. Now it is all I cool in. You have got to give it a go. They are so much easier to use then anything else. Good luck!!
Hi Sarah. I really had a tough time w/ it and I’ve read some conflicting info about its safety. Sounds like something that needs a revisit and/or a post. Meanwhile I have a brand new cast iron pizza pan. Maybe I should put it on Craigslist or something :-). Want it?
If only you lived a little closer:-)