Our recipe for How To Make Rice Milk has met with such tremendous success here on Vegan Reader, that we’d like to talk about another wonderful non-dairy milk today. Readers have been requesting an Almond Milk Recipe and I’m delighted to share with you the one we make here on our family farm. If you’ve never made your own almond milk before, you won’t believe how quick and easy it is…about as snappy as whipping up a smoothie in the blender!
If you grew up drinking cow’s milk and are perhaps are looking for an Almond Milk Recipe right now because you or a loved one has been diagnosed with an allergy, or because you are building a more ecologically-sound and compassionate diet, you are going to love almond milk. We use rice milk for an every day milk. But almond milk is special. It is the cream of the non-dairy milks…incredibly rich with healthy fats and so sweet and good to taste.
Why Make Your Own Almond Milk
Almond milk is sold commercially, but it cannot compare in taste or freshness to homemade and because only a few nuts are needed to make a small recipe of almond milk, making your own almond milk will represent a financial savings for most families. Best of all, you will have the satisfaction of knowing you’ve achieved something really vital – the skills you need to do for yourself and your loved ones. That’s an accomplishment that no one can put a price tag on.
In making almond milk, please do use only organic almonds. In your quest for satisfying recipes that give you a chance to improve your self-sufficiency, you don’t want the deadly pesticides in your glass that are sprayed on conventional almond orchards. Nothing appetizing about that! By choosing to make organic almond milk, you will know that you are serving up health, and not sickness, to your loved ones.
The making of nut milks is neither new nor faddish. Nut milks have been beloved in Europe, Asia and the Americas for centuries, and I always think of a passage I once read in a history of New England in which some very thirsty travelers are given a glass of hickory nut milk by a woodsman. The author claims he had never tasted anything so delicious in his life and I can certainly believe him. So, just remember, though the National Dairy Council may have spent billions of dollars over the past century trying to convince Americans that the only milk on the planet comes from cows, history points at a much more diverse take on the tasty milks humans can enjoy and make themselves, right in their own kitchens.
My Almond Milk Recipe For The Creamiest Milk In The World!
It’s important that I preface this with a note that our family only makes almond milk on demand. Unlike rice milk, which we make a week’s supply of at a time, we make almond milk only when we want it, for special recipes. The following recipe makes 2 cups of milk, but if you’d like to make more, you can double or triple the recipe. If the milk isn’t to be consumed right away, you must refrigerate it. I wouldn’t advise keeping the milk for more than a week, but to be honest, because of the way we instantly consume every last drop of almond milk we make here on the farm, I do not know the exact amount of time a larger batch of almond milk would remain good-tasting in the fridge. You can experiment and see what works for your family.
Almond Milk Ingredients and Equipment
- 1/3 C. Raw Organic Almonds
- 2 C. Water
- A pot
- A blender
- A mesh strainer
And that’s it!
Step 1 – Blanching The Almonds
You can make almond milk without this step if you’re really in a rush, but the skins of the nuts will give a slightly bitter, strong taste to the finished almond milk that isn’t totally pleasing. Blanching only takes a couple of minutes, and the end result will be a very white milk with a pure, sweet taste.
Bring about 1 cup of water to a boil in your pot. Drop in your almonds. Let them boil for about 3 minutes and then pour everything through your metal mesh strainer so that the water pours out and you’re left with just the almonds. Pour the almonds out onto a plate and let them rest for a few minutes until they are cool enough to touch with your hands.
Once the almonds have cooled a bit, simply rub off their papery skins and discard the skins. That’s all there is to blanching and the end result is the lovely, creamy nut meats, ready to be turned into almond milk.
Step 2 – Making Almond Milk
Put the blanched nuts and 2 cups of fresh water into your electric blender. *Make sure you put the lid on. Blend them until you’ve crushed as many of the nuts as you can and the milk is creamy white and thick. You may have to stop and start the blender, picking it up off the base and shaking it from time to time, as the nuts can get stuck under the blades.
I want to note here that if you use more water/less water or more nuts/less nuts, you can control the exact creaminess of the milk. A higher proportion of water produces a thinner milk, and a higher proportion of nuts produces a thicker one. My proportions in this almond milk recipe results in a milk that I feel is just about right, but you can experiment. The truth is, I no longer measure the nuts and water when I make almond milk. I just make as much as I need at the moment.
What you end up with is the pulverized almonds at the bottom of the blender and the water having been turned into a rich milk. *You don’t have to throw the nuts out. We’ll return to this in a minute.
Step 3 – Straining The Almond Milk
Holding your metal mesh strainer over a receptacle – a jar, a bowl or wide-mouthed container of some kind, simply pour the milk through the strainer. Set the pulverized nuts aside. You can strain the milk twice if you want to be sure you’ve gotten out all of the little particles of nuts, but I only strain once. There are fancy bags and other devices for straining nut milks, but we don’t have these around our house and any fine-gauge mesh strainer seems to do the job just fine.
And that’s it. You now have homemade almond milk! It could hardly be easier to make.
What Is This Almond Milk Recipe Good For?
Almond milk is delicious in hot beverages like tea and makes an exceptionally rich cup of hot chocolate. It is wonderful over hot or cold cereals. Using almond milk in pudding and baked goods recipes results in really superior dishes and it adds a subtle, but certainly not overpowering, taste of nuttiness to any recipe in which it’s included. And, of course, almond milk is quite tasty plain, just as it is, but it’s because of its richness that I tend to use it as an ingredient in other recipes rather than as my typical daily beverage.
I know that many of our readers are very conscientious about waste. They will try this recipe and then find themselves with a lovely batch of almond milk…but also with the leftover chopped up nuts. What can be done with those wet, pulverized nuts? In order to answer that question, I’d like to share with you another simple recipe that is so exquisitely good, you’d think it came from some fancy, gourmet restaurant, to the tune of $15 a plate! I hope you’ll give this a try the next time you’re making almond milk and your family would like something sweet after supper.
Blackberry Almond Cobbler with Ginger Lime Almond Milk Ice Cream
I’m sorry I don’t have a photo of this elegant and super easy dessert to share. The blackberries are just finishing up in the back field and my family always gobbles this treat up before I think to photograph it. Just follow the instructions and it’s bound to turn out right. And it uses up both the milk and the nuts in the almond milk recipe, so this a no-waste dessert you can feel very good about. The following recipe is not only vegan, but it is also gluten-free. This serves 2. Increase the recipe for a larger family.
Ingredients
- A batch of the almond milk recipe above.
- 1 C. Organic Rice Flour
- 2 C. Blackberries (or blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, whatever you have)
- 1/3 C. Maple Syrup for the berry mixture
- 1/4 C. Maple Syrup for the ice cream
- Juice of 1 organic lime
- 1/2 T. dried ginger powder
- 1 T. Organic Sunflower Oil
- Shake of salt
- Ice
Step 1 – Making the Almond Milk Ice Cream
Take your finished almond milk and put it in the blender with the 1/4 Maple Syrup, the lime juice, ginger, a tiny sprinkle of salt and the organic sunflower oil. Add 4-5 ice cubes. Blend until the ice is crushed. Taste. If it’s not quite citrus-y enough you can add a little lemon juice for an even more refreshing taste. I like to do this, but it isn’t essential if you don’t have a lemon. If it’s not sweet enough, blend in a little more syrup. You don’t want it too sweet. It’s supposed to be light and snappy to contrast with the syrupy fruit.
Pour the blended mixture into a wide-mouthed, shallow container. I like to use a glass pie dish but you could use a wide shallow bowl or a rimmed platter. *Do not use a metal receptacle or it may react badly with the citrus juice. Glass or ceramic is best. Set it in the freezer.
While you are doing the other steps in this recipe, return to the freezer every 15 minutes or so to see if the ice cream has formed crystals. When it has, use a spoon and stir the mixture in a circular motion so that you keep it granular and so that it doesn’t simply harden into one big flat lump. The stirring also keeps the juice from separating from the milk. If you’ve ever eaten a granita, snow cone or shaved ice, you will know what the granular texture is that you’re looking for here. It’s not smooth like traditional ice cream. It’s much icier than that, and it is so good! Keep stirring the mixture from time to time while you make the rest of the dessert.
Step 2 – Baking the Cobbler Biscuits
Mix the wet, pulverized almonds (left over from making almond milk) with the cup of rice flour. Add a sprinkle of salt and gently stir the mixture together. Plop out onto a baking sheet in rough circles about 3 inches in diameter. Bake in the oven at 375 degrees until the bottoms are turning golden brown. The tops will still be pale. Remove from the oven and set aside.
Step 3 – Making the Berry Filling
While your cobbler biscuits are baking, wash your berries and put them in a pot with a couple of drops of water and the 1/3 C. maple syrup. If you are using strawberries, do slice them. But, any other berry can be cooked whole. Bring almost to a boil and then turn down to simmer. Stir frequently until the berries have disintegrated in the syrup and the mixture has thickened slightly. What you are doing is cooking off the excess water in the berries. This tends to take no more than about 10-15 minutes over low heat. Don’t forget to stir!
Assembling Your Dessert
Spoon the berry mixture equally into the bowls. Lay the biscuits on top of this. Is the ice cream all icy and ready? Put a big scoop on top of each dessert. For real gourmet flair, add a sprig of fresh spearmint to the top of each. Beautiful! Serve.
You will love the nutty pastry that is made with the leftover almonds from the milk, and the bright taste of the granita-like ice cream. This dessert provides a wonderful contrast to a meal that is heavy or starchy. It’s so light and fruity and fresh tasting. And, it’s truly a fine way to use up the almonds. This dessert contains no gluten, no animal products and no unhealthy fats. It’s simply natural goodness and one of the loveliest ways I know of to celebrate summer berries.
Reskilling Feels So Good
The Reskills section of Vegan Reader aims to help you reclaim the living skills that your people all had in previous generations. Whether you want to sew your own clothes, grow your own food or cook nutritionally superior meals from scratch, we absolutely believe that you can acquire the skills you need for a more able, powerful life. Something as simple as trying an Almond Milk Recipe can be your first act of taking pride in doing for yourself. It really feels good to know you can make your own delicious milk whenever you want it!
I hope you will give our Almond Milk Recipe a try and that it serves your family well as a healthy beverage and as an ingredient in inspired homemade dishes. Please let me know how it works for you!
61 users commented in " Almond Milk Recipe – The Creamiest Of Them All "
Follow-up comment rss or Leave a TrackbackYour cobbler sounds fabulous. I wanted to offer up my version of almond milk and the apple cobbler we make with the leftover almonds.
I soak I cup of almonds overnight in my 2-cup glass measure, filling it with water. Next morning I pour off the water and blend the almonds (with skins) with 4 cups water. I strain that milk into a saucepan, return almonds to blender and blend with 4 more cups water. I strain that into the same saucepan, then decant the milk into jars.
For the cobbler I slice up a few apples, mix the almonds with about 1-1/2 cups rolled oats, add a bit of Celtic Sea Salt (has 17% trace minerals in addition to the 83% sodium chloride mix) and add about a cup of the milk to moisten and mix it all. I press it over the apples and pour extra milk into the glass dish so that it comes up about 3/4 inch from the bottom, add some dabs of coconut oil (first pressing, mechanical) then bake at 375 for about 20 minutes. No sweetener needs be added as the almond milk is so very sweet naturally and it soaks into the apples from the bottom up and from the top, down. Yum! That is a favorite breakfast at our house.
Max
Greetings, Max!
That sounds like a fabulous apple treat, good enough for dessert but I can see how it would be good for breakfast, too. It’s neat to see someone else’s way of making almond milk, too. I appreciate you sharing that. Yum!
Mim
None of the other almond milk recipes I’ve seen feature blanching the almonds, but they do suggest soaking the almonds for at least six hours. With this method, is soaking completely unnecessary, and if not, when would be the time to soak them? Before blanching? Afterwards?
Hi Appleseed,
I am not sure why soaking would be necessary. We never do this. Could it be that the skins of the almonds fall off after soaking the almonds and this is the point? The only other reason I could imagine would be that the soaking is intended to soften the nuts somehow, but frankly, the blender does a fine job of pulverizing the nuts so I am just not clear on why soaking would be needed.
Blanching the nuts takes just a minute and can be done on the spur of the moment, whenever you want milk. The almond milk recipe we’ve shared enables you to have your milk almost as soon as you want it! We hope you’ll give it a try, and thanks for asking such an interesting question.
Mim
wow, thanks for the recipe. i was looking around for almond milk recipes and found this to be particularly helpful. through the advice in another cookbook i soaked my almonds in water overnight first, but the next morning found this post and saw your recommendation for blanching the almonds. i was going to go ahead and do that to my soaked almonds, but when i strained off the soaking water i noticed that the skins were very easy to slip off. so, in answer to appleseed’s question, i suspect that one can either soak or blanch the almonds and the result will be the same. i think next time when i don’t plan ahead i’ll try blanching them instead.
and i can’t wait to try your cobbler recipe… sounds delicious!
You are very welcome, Ara Jane,
Thank you for letting me know that the skins come off when you soak the nuts overnight. I’d been wondering about this, and something to consider is that soaking instead of blanching would make this milk suitable not just for vegans, but also for those who enjoy raw foods!
So glad you’re trying this out.
Mim
Hey thanks for the recipe, I can’t wait to make my own almond milk. I’ve only just tried almond milk this week (a commercial product) and I love it, but I’m excited to make my own preservative/chemical free milk at home!
I wanted to mention to be cautious on what kind of almonds are used in the milk. Apparently bitter almonds contain a chemical when combined with the water will make cyanide. Sweet almonds don’t have this problem (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almond_milk). I’ve seen it mentioned on a couple other places before I found your recipe.
I’ve never paid attention to the type of almonds available when I buy them at the store…I mean I didn’t realize there was such a thing as sweet or bitter almonds. So I can’t remember…are almonds labeled as “sweet” when you buy them?
Welcome, Karateckie,
If you live in the U.S., chances are, you would have to go out of your way to find bitter almonds. They tend to be used in small amounts in ethnic recipes in Italian cooking and other cultural dishes. The almonds you will find in most U.S. grocery stores will simply be called ‘almonds’ and they will be the sweet, edible kind. I imagine you’d have to go to a specialty store to find bitter almonds. Hope this information helps! Good luck with the recipe and I hope you really enjoy making your own delicious, rich, fresh almond milk. There’s just nothing else quite like it!
Mim
Thanks that makes sense as to why I’ve never seen them distinguished between sweet or bitter almonds. That does help!
Kara
I went looking to see if I could make my own almond milk so I wouldn’t have to buy it, and found this. Sounds fantastic and I can’t wait to add this to my paleo diet line up. I’m not vegan but I definitely try to eat as healthy as possible.
That sounds so good, I need to run out and get some raw almonds :3
Greetings Jeff B & Slugbunny,
So glad this almond milk recipe sounds like a hit with you. May it provide you with many joyful drinks and meals. Thank you, both, for taking the time to leave such nice comments.
Mim
I am about to make my first batch of Almond Milk so I was scouring the net looking for recipes and found your blog. I have Dr Youngs “The PH Miracle” and there is a recipe in that for almond milk that says to soak the almonds for 12 hours. I am going to try both methods as I like your method of being able to make up a batch of almond milk at the spur of the moment rather than waiting half a hour to do it.
Sorry, I meant ‘half a day’ not ‘half an hour’….doh!
Greetings, Paula!
That’s super that you are experimenting with 2 different almond milk recipes. I’d love to hear the results and what you find are the benefits of both. I know that I find it really super that the recipe I’ve given here requires no planning ahead, and I do think it produces the best almond milk I’ve ever had, but I’ve never had the long soak variety and would love to hear if you think there is a difference. Hope you’ll comment again!
Mim
Making Almond milk at home is so incredibly liberating. You never have to buy mammal milk again. … And combined with Mexican chocolate or cacao you can make the most awesome hot chocolate with no phlegm/mucus left in your throat. That being said, I like to soak my dried nuts overnight in order to re-activate the enzymes. I don’t know if blanching does the same or destroys them.
This sounds wonderful – I just tried almond milk for the first time this weekend (the commercial kind) and absolutely loved it! My only question is how long does your homemade almond milk keep? Does it last longer in an air-tight container in the fridge?
Hi Lisa,
I find that as long as it’s in an airtight container in the fridge, almond milk will keep for at least 3 days. Fresher is always better with food but if you don’t use all you make right away, it’ll keep for awhile. It should also freeze well but ours is always gone before we’d have a reason to be freezing it so I’ve never tried that. If anyone does, I’d love to hear about the consistency once it was defrosted.
When I’m not going to be using the leftover almonds soon after grinding for milk, I freeze those and defrost them when I’m ready to make our apple cobbler dish. They freeze and defrost well.
Max
Hi Lisa,
We keep ours in lidded mason jars in the fridge and it stays good-tasting for 5 days or so…normally we drink it faster than this, but it has lasted well that long. I’m so glad you were impressed with your first taste of almond milk. I think homemade almond milk is even better than packaged…it tastes so much fresher! Good luck with making your own almond milk!
Mim
Max-
It’s wonderful to see you here. Thanks for weighing in with your experience on this. I’ve been thinking about you!
Mim
[...] made, it has none of the unnecessary ingredients they put into the commercial versions. We used this recipe although we didn’t blanch them first, we just peeled them after they soaked. Not sure [...]
can almond milk be frozen
Welcome, Doreen,
Technically, I know that almond milk can be frozen, because I make ice cream with it…but whether it would taste very fresh if it were frozen and then thawed, I’m not as sure.
My feeling is this: if you need to freeze and thaw almond milk, be sure to consume all of it right away after it thaws. Just like any frozen food, it should be eaten immediately upon thawing. Don’t save it for later or refreeze it once it thaws. Bacteria can form if you’re not careful with this. All in all, my preference is to prepare this drink whenever you need it and enjoy it fresh!
Mim
I used to like almond milk while in USA. I have been missing it since after I returned India. You have really done a great job for me by providing the almond milk recipe.
Thanks.
Prashant
Do you know the recipe to make almond butter?
Greetings, Prashant!
I hope this recipe will enable you to have rice milk no matter where you are. Maybe you can start a new tradition in India!
As to making almond butter…basically it is made out of almonds. But, the trick is, you have to have a nut grinder (like the kind used to make peanut butter in the USA) to go from plain nuts to a creamy butter. These machines can be hard to find and expensive. Alternatively, if you can find a little coffee bean grinder, you can grind almonds into a flour in it and then add a little oil to turn it into a butter. I like to use sunflower oil. Just a little oil added into the almond flour will do the trick. I haven’t been able to find/afford a real nut grinder, so I use a very small, inexpensive coffee bean grinder to make nut butters. It works for me, but someday I would love to be able to afford a real nut butter grinder.
Good luck!
Mim
I’m happy to access ideas from sources here and there. Thank you for sharing your tasty ideas and joy for preparing good food!
I have a question, maybe an obvious one at that; but would you know if pesticides get to the nut itself while covered by the shell? I realize it could be absorbed into the nut, but I’d be curious to know for sure. And then, if still applicable, I wonder if soaking the nuts removes the pesticides with the skins when drained off? I haven’t heard much on this subject and hope my inquiry is not overly conspicious.
Thank you!
mixde
Welcome, Mixde!
Unfortunately, I do not have any scientific data for you regarding the amount of pesticide that would be in the actual kernel of the nut as opposed to its green husk and shell. Conventional fields and orchards tend to be sprayed with toxins at all stages of the life cycle – so, you have to imagine the trunk, branches, blossoms leaves and developing nuts being exposed to pesticides. I’m afraid I do not hold with the belief that has been popularized by fruit/vegetable soap manufacturers that you can wash pesticides off. My understanding is that pesticides are absorbed throughout the whole growing organism (root, stem, flower and seed) so I’m afraid there is no way to be safe eating non-organic nuts or any other kind of food.
It’s also important to remember that purchasing conventional foods means that all wildlife, farm workers and neighbors of conventional growing operations are being exposed to carcinogenic and endocrine disrupting toxins. So, it’s not just the purchase of conventional foods who is being sickened – it everything and everyone in the environment.
When I think of this, I find away to squeeze a few more dollars into my food budget to buy organics. We are a low-income family, but food comes first for us. It’s good that you are asking questions about this, and while I’m sorry I cannot give you a scientific answer, I hope I’ve at least given you some useful information.
Wishing you well!
Mim
I agree with Tom above making Almond milk at home is so incredibly liberating. To be honest I’ve never made it hence looking on the website to find how to do it. I’m looking forward to giving this a go. Thanks Mim for posting
Welcome, Elaine!
It certainly is liberating…and delicious! I hope you will have fun trying out this almond milk recipe. We’d love to hear how you like it and hope it will help you to save money and eat incredibly well. Thank you for taking the time to leave a comment!
Mim
[...] went with a really simple recipe from Vegan Reader for my first go at it. It’s just almonds and water… doesn’t get much easier [...]
just wanted to go back to the sweet vs bitter almond flavors. Different varieties of nuts have subtle flavorings and are better suited for various uses. I plan on using the nonpareil almond for almond milk. These nuts have a creamier sweeter essence. Can’t wait to make this when I get home.
Also on almond butters, just put your almonds in your blender and grind them, you don’t have to add anything- especially oils- almonds have their own natural oil. Depending on the type of almond you use.. organic roasted with or without salt, provide a wonderful flavor with no added ingredients. The roasted almonds I use are gently slow roasted (no oil) and the roasted/salted version is salted with a sea salt. When blending, you do need to stir the contents as you go and it tends to be a little messy but well worth the effort.
Greetings, Almond Queen!
Thank you for sharing your tips about almonds and almond butter. Now, do you have a really high quality blender? We have had trouble trying to do things like butters in our blender. It heats up and complains and seems only to be able to make a powder instead of a butter. I have read that you must roast the almonds or dry them in order to make the butter, so maybe this is the secret step we’ve been missing. I’d love to hear more from you about this, and thank you for taking the time to comment!
Mim
The butter stage comes right after the powder stage. My blender is a “Kitchen Aid” not high end. I do use the Roasted Almonds and the Roasted Salted. The trick is not to overload the blender. I Key is to stir often. Let me know how you do? I will be making my “almond milk in the next day or so. I did the overnight soaking of the almonds in water and was amazed at how easy the skins came off. This will please those consumers that don’t want to heat “cook” their almonds in the water to Blanch them. I will report back on the process. ** Also looking into the “bitter” almond it means its rancid/spoiled. I recommend checking on the expiration date of the product you are buying. If the date is close to the current date I would avoid that package because although the date on the bag shows some room for freshness you have to remember your dealing with tree nuts and the nuts are from previous harvests and most commercial products will give you two year+ old nuts, thus the close expiration date.
Hi Again Almond Queen!
Thanks so much for coming back and explaining your process further. Next time I want to have almond butter, I will roast my nuts first and see if our blender is up to the job. I really appreciate your tips.
Bitter almonds are actually a variety of almond most frequently used in Italian cooking. They show the connection between the sweet almonds we eat and the pits of stone fruits like apricots which look like almonds but are high in cyanide. My mother never trusted bitter almonds, but cooks in other lands use them in small amounts to flavor foods. I wouldn’t recommend eating a lot of them.
What you are talking about is another case: rancid nuts which are bitter and which would certainly be bad for people to eat! Absolutely!
Thank you so much for sharing your professional expertise here with us and it’s great to be getting this straight about how to make almond butter. If our shot at it works out well, maybe we can add an article specifically about this to VeganReader! Good luck with the almond milk recipe and happy sipping.
Mim
Wanted to send you some organic almonds from our family farm – but privately -not posted on your site. you have my email address if you would like to contact me. Val
Thanks for the tip on blanching the almonds. I started making my own almond milk two weeks ago because I was appalled at how little protein was in the store bought almond milk. My daughter doesn’t drink cow’s milk, but drinks a LOT of nut and rice milks, and I wanted something more nutritious for her. I tried peeling the skins off almonds that I’d soaked, but that was an exercise in tedium if there ever was one! I’m about to go to try the blanching method right now. I’ve found that when I remove the skins off the almond, then put them and the water in my vitamix blender I don’t even have to strain it. The skin makes up the majority of the pulp.
I tried the blanching – I swear I heard angels singing! Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Welcome Hsofia!
Well, we must confess, you’ve given us a little chuckle here with the picture of you peeling almonds one by one. No wonder you are hearing those angels singing today! We’re glad this worked out for you, and that’s very interesting that the Vitamix works in this neat way for you regarding the straining. That’s a good tip.
Thank you so much for sharing your funny and triumphant story here!
Mim
I have been making both almond and peanut butter at home for several years, using a small blender, like the ‘bullet’ you may have seen sold on tv, definately not high end. I found the trick for me is to actually fill the container as much as possible, to keep pressure on the nuts so they continue to blend past the powder stage. I have tried smaller amounts, and the ground nuts just jump around at a point, so I just use a smaller container when needing less. Also, bitter almonds are actually illegal to sell in the U.S, hence most almonds available never specify sweet or bitter, so no worries on which one purchases. Bitter almond oil is available if you search, though almonds are usually heated prior to extraction of oil, and poisonous acid unlikely remains in the finished oil. Lovely almond milk recipe! My husband is allergic to all things almond, so it never made sense to purchase almond milk, I am soooooo pleased to now be able to make small batches for myself
thank you!
A good reason to soak the almonds is that they contain high levels of phytic acid, which binds to minerals such that one can’t absorb them. It also slows digestion, can cause fermentation in the gut, and produce gas. These digestive effects are particularly pronounced in people who don’t have great digestion in the first place. There are also some healthful properties of phytic acid. Soaking the nuts will not remove all of p.a., but enough to stop the harmful effects–you’ll still get the good stuff. Soaking the almonds (or any nuts) for a minimum of 8 hours is recommended by many health mavens. Be sure to throw out the soaking water…
this is my first time making almond milk, and your recipe really helped. im making apple- carrot muffins. yum yum yum!
I’ve been making your almond milk for many weeks! I’ve blanched and soaked them overnight—both methods work fine. If I’m in a real pinch, I’ve microwaved the almonds in water. I tried your ice cream (more like grenita) dessert this morning; easy to make and another way of using up the pulp. It’s not my absolute fav dessert yet… Maybe I should add oats to biscuits or something. The grenita is definitely refreshing though. I’m interested in more ways of using up the almond pulp.
Greetings, Ash!
Thank you for your tip about the bullet. We don’t have TV here, so we’d not heard of it, but it seems well-worth researching for any family who wants to make their own nut butters. Super advice. Thanks for the information about bitter almonds and for the kind praise as well. Much appreciated!
Mim
Welcome, Kathleen,
Thank you for sharing what you’ve learned about phytic acid. That’s very interesting. We appreciate you taking the time to comment on this.
Bats -
Good luck with the almond milk recipe. May it serve you well!
Hello, Anonymous,
Just to make sure…you’re putting the almond pulp in the biscuits, right? Not in the ice cream? From your comment, it sounded like you were putting the pulp in the ice cream and I wouldn’t recommend that. It’s wonderful to know you’ve been making this almond milk recipe for weeks. That’s a success! Thank you for stopping by.
Mim
I wonder what Pistachio Milk would taste like.
Welcome Ben,
It would be interesting to experiment with that. To me, pistachios have kind of a smoky taste, so I’m not sure what the resultant milk would be like. It might be good for cooking smoky-type dishes with, but I don’t know about straight drinking. Hazelnuts (filberts), on the other hand, make a very creamy and good milk. I’m all for experimentation…who knows, maybe you’ll hit on something really great!
Thanks for stopping by.
Mim
I’ve never tried almond milk before & decided to make my own when I saw how expensive the commercial brands were (not to mention all the additives). Anyway, I’ve just made your recipe & had a sip. Sorry, but I’m quite disappointed…it doesn’t have much flavour at all. So I’m wondering will the taste improve after it’s been refigerated for a while, or can I sweeten it a little with maybe honey or some other sweetener?
Welcome Suelou!
If your first batch of homemade almond milk was also your first experience tasting it, you may not have known what flavor to expect. Almond milk, if made from good almonds, should have a slightly sweet, bland creamy flavor…not a strong flavor of its own. You can use it in all kinds of recipes, and you can certainly sweeten it. Sometimes I like to have some with a little maple syrup mixed in and that’s quite tasty, but I do also like it plain. Additionally, almond milk makes about the most delicious chocolate milk or cocoa imaginable.
Take a little fair trade organic cocoa (I recommend Dagoba) and mix it into a tiny bit of hot water to dissolve the cocoa. Add a little maple syrup and then ice cold almond milk. I’ve never tasted better chocolate milk than this! I like it over ice, in fact.
Congratulations on trying your first from-scratch almond milk. While sitting it in the fridge won’t improve the taste (I actually think it tastes the most fabulous the day it’s made), you can start trying all kinds of different ways of enjoying it, whether with an added sweetener, blended up with fruit and ice for a great smoothie, in puddings, ice creams and a ton of other great things. Good luck!
Mim
Hi Mim, thanks for all your suggestions. I’ll give them a try. I sweetened my almond milk with a little xylitol & it did improve the taste, however it is quite watery….made my Weet Bix go really soggy this morning. Will keep persevering though, thinking next time I might use more almonds or less water (or both). Thanks again
Hi,
I only had roasted, salted almonds on hand so I used them. I blanched them first, peeled them, then blended them. I think I added too much water, since the milk was watery. But it might have been because I used the roasted almonds, and more nuts are needed when they are roasted. I added sugar free cocoa mix and blended in two bananas to get the sweetness and consistancy I wanted.
I also added some margarine to the almond pulp and made a nut butter. When added with jam on bread, it tasted good.
Thanks!
Would the leftover almond stuff be a good stir in for oatmeal?
Hi Suelou!
Thanks for trying the almond milk recipe. I hope you can experiment until you get a milk that is just right for you.
Greetings, Nancy,
Well, that was creative of you to try it with roasted, salted almonds, but that would definitely result in a very different end product. Toasted nuts have such a different taste, but it sounds like you ended up with something really creative anyway. Good for you! Next time you have plain, raw almonds, I hope you’ll give this almond milk recipe another try. It’s really yummy.
Greetings, Shannon,
I don’t see what would be wrong with trying that. It could be tasty, though maybe a little gritty. You’ll have to see. I think it’s nice that so many readers want to think of a way to use the leftover almond pulp. On our farm, we don’t consider the leftovers a waste, because they all go into the compost pile and help us grow our crops, but if you don’t have a compost pile, finding creative uses for the leftover almond pulp is both thrifty and smart. Thanks for stopping by.
Mim
Thank you BUT I just bought a pound of almond flour. How do you use that for almond milk?
Hi Allergy Lady,
I wish I had a simple answer for you. If the almond flour you have is from blanched almonds (skins removed) then you could likely blend it with water, strain it and come up with some milk. However, if it’s whole almond flour (skins included) the milk might be bitter, because the skins can make the milk bitter. I make whole almond flour for baked goods, and you might want to you use yours for that. If it’s got the skins ground into it, you will likely see a brownish color to the flour. If not, it’s likely to be cream colored. Without seeing your flour, I can’t be sure, but if it were me, I’d probably save the flour to make cookies with and buy some whole almonds for making the milk according to this almond milk recipe, just to be sure. Thanks for stopping by.
Mim
I just tried your recipe of almond milk twice. The second time I used 1 cup almonds and 1 cup water in blender, started blending, from that point I slowly added more water just enough at a time to keep the mixture from stopping. The remainder of water was added after about two minutes. What this method did is leave almost nothing in the strainer compaired to the first try with all water added at once. I feel that less pulp made more milk because the blender blades were able to attack more of the solids in a thick solution.
Mim –
Sounds delicious to me! I’ve been wanting to make almond milk for some time and even had a failed experiment recently. I’m anxious to try your recipe. I was interested in the query about enzymes. I didn’t hear you address it. I had heard the same thing, that soaking releases the enzymes but cooking kills them. Do you have any further information on that topic? Do you ever add vanilla bean to your almond milk, or does it just not need it?
Hi Jerry -
Great experiment. So glad to see you trying your own ideas with this. Thanks for the interesting comment!
Mim
Welcome Linda!
Thank you for taking the time to comment. As for raw vs. cooked, I’m really not qualified to answer this. A nutritionist might know, but from what I have seen, there is considerable controversy surrounding enzymes in cooked/non-cooked forms. Some people claim that cooking kills foods. Others state that cooking makes certain elements in foods more digestible and available. When it comes down to almonds, I’m not sure what the experts would say, but I have a feeling they wouldn’t agree with one another
Because we treat nut and grain milks as supplemental to our main foods sources, I am not overly concerned with their chemical makeups (enzymes, proteins, etc.) However, for anyone who is concerned about this, extra research would be a smart thing. If you find out anything else about this that you’d like to share, Linda, we’d love to have you come comment again.
Good luck with the almond milk recipe!
Mim
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