This homemade vegan nut milk can be made with your favorite nut. Super simple and delicious and entirely free of preservatives. Vegan, gluten-free, grain-free, preservative-free, sugar-free, dairy-free.
I have gradually been cutting back on my dairy consumption over the years for ethical reasons. After completing my Whole30 back in January, I became aware that my body does not like cow’s milk very much, although I seem to be fine with cheese and butter.
Since then, I have experimented quite a bit with various milk alternatives, mainly nut milks and coconut milk. There are so many options out there in terms of homemade nut milk, but I find that so many of them contain preservatives as well as the dreaded carrageenan.
If you are not aware of what carrageenan is, here is a quick run down. Carrageenan is a thickener derived from seaweed that is often added to store-bought nut milks, yogurt, ice cream, heavy cream, pre-packaged deli meats and much more. You would think that something derived from seaweed would be pretty harmless right? That’s what I thought!
However, after doing a bit of research, I learned that carrageenan is highly inflammatory and can cause digestive issues, rashes, and other health concerns. Chronic inflammation in the body can lead to so many of the major health-related diseases that plague this country including heart disease, Alzheimers, cancer and so much more.
I would much prefer to spend a little extra time investing in my future health now, rather than suffering from a potentially devastating and life-changing health crisis later.
Luckily, there are a lot of options out there without carrageenan and other additives. Many brands have started to remove these ingredients from their products. They are sometimes a bit more expensive, so for those on a tight budget, I am here to present you with another alternative.
You can make your own nut milk at home with just a few minutes of work! It’s pretty darn simple to make too. Start by soaking one cup of nuts in water overnight, or for roughly 8 hours. If you leave them to soak for more than that, this is just fine too. Drain the water, and add the nuts into your blender and fill with fresh water.
I used four and a half cups of water because my blender has a five cup capacity, but I think it would have been fine with five or six cups of water. Blend until the consistency is a milky white and begins to get frothy. Next, you’ll want to use a coffee filter, nut milk bag or a clean kitchen towel to filter out the leftover nuts from the liquid.
Simply place your filter over a jar and pour the liquid over it to catch the ground nuts. Pro tip: A wide-mouth jar works best, but for those with only a narrow-mouth jar available, a large funnel works really well with a coffee filter placed inside.
But wait, don’t throw away the leftover ground nuts! I recommend drying them out for several hours at the lowest temperature your oven can go. Then put the nut meal in an air-tight container in your fridge or freezer.
There is SO much you can do with it. You can use it for any recipe that calls for almond flour. After it has dried, you can return it to your blender to grind it to a finer powder. Stay tuned for a follow-up recipe where I use mine for baking!
A few things to note:
1. After some time, the nut particles do tend to settle to the bottom of the jar in the refrigerator. Just shake before you pour, and you’re good to go!
2. There are no preservatives in this milk, so be sure to use it up within 4-5 days. It does not stay good as long as the store-bought stuff.
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Homemade Nut Milk
Ingredients
- 1 cup nuts of your choice I used almonds
- 4-6 cups water (My blender only has a 5 cup capacity, but if yours is larger, add more water!)
Instructions
- Soak nuts of your choice in water overnight.
- When ready to make nut milk, drain water and add almonds and fresh water to a blender.
- Blend until smooth and frothy. Drain pulp using a nut milk bag, clean towel or coffee filter.
- Set aside the pulp and use liquid immediately, or place in the fridge for up to 4 days.
