Quick and easy almond milk:
I know what you are thinking…duh you can buy Almond milk…right? Sure you can buy your own almond milk, but let me tell you once again that homemade is ALWAYS best. Besides, by the time you find your car keys to go to the store to purchase almond milk, you can have this recipe made and chilling in the refrigerator.
Of course, if you have whole almonds and would like to use them instead of flour, simply soak 1 cup whole almonds for 8-12 hours. After 12 hours drain the water off of the almonds and use in place of the almond flour.
To a high-speed blender, add 1 cup almond flour, 2 pitted dates (for sweetness), 1/2 vanilla bean or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and a healthy pinch of sea salt. I start with 4 cups of water so that I don’t blow the lid off of my blender. Using filtered water is always a good idea.
Allow the blender to run for 3-4 minutes. Making sure the dates and vanilla bean and ground down and mixed in well.
I’m adding the remaining cup of water with the blender on low speed.
My daughter suggested using a tightly woven dishcloth instead of cheesecloth because the cheesecloth allows for some of the grit to flow through besides I think my dishcloth works just great. Place the strainer over a large bow
Pour the milk into the lined strainer. The milk will flow through the cloth into the bowl.
Use a rubber spatula to stir the remaining almond meal to release more of the nut milk.
Gather up the cloth, twist and gently squeeze to release as much of the milk as possible.
Reserve the almond meal. I spread the meal out on a baking sheet and placed it in a 140F oven until it was dry. I will use it again for making cookies or something.
Homemade Almond Milk
Simple almond milk made with almond flour. Sweetened with dates and vanilla.
Ingredients
- 1 cup almond flour 230 gr or 1 cup whole almonds
- 2 Medjool dates pitted
- 1/2 vanilla bean or 1 teaspoon (5 mL) vanilla extract
- 5 cups water 960 mL
- generous pinch of sea salt
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients in a blender with a tight-fitting lid. Blend on high speed for 3-4 minutes. Pour liquid through a cloth-lined strainer placed over a large bowl. Strain almond milk through the strainer. Reserve almond meal for another use. Refrigerate to chill.
Recipe Notes
- Hazelnuts, pecans, cashews, hemp seed, etc. may be used in place of almond flour or almonds.
- soak hard nuts overnight or 8-12 hours.
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Wow, quick and SIMPLY so good is right!! I was a little skeptical of the dates at first, but I trust you… all of your recipes are amazing, so I had to try it! and it was phenomenal — as all of your recipes are! I will never buy store-bought almond milk ever again
Thank you so much. I’m glad you went for the dates. I love the sweetness they give the almond milk. Yum 😋
Thanks so much for your almond milk recipe. I never liked the store bought kind and don’t like Dairy milk. Sometimes afterwards I make chocolate almond milk by blending raw Cacoa powder in it with stevia or BIRCH bark sugar. Soaking the almonds just takes too much time.
Thank you so much, Donna. I love your chocolate almond milk idea. I’m going to try that. 😋
Thank you for posting this recipe. This is the only recipe I have ever used to make almond milk, and thanks to you, I make it regularly and it is so good! I purchased an organic cotton nut milk bag from Amazon. I spread the pulp on a cookie sheet in a 200F oven for about 40 minutes and then grind it back into flour and store it in a jar in the fridge. I use it in making homemade bread and muffins. I love that this recipe allows for little to no waste, and it’s so much quicker and easier than soaking almonds for hours ahead of time. I have shared your recipe with others who all shared the same sentiment regarding the use of almond flour: Why didn’t I think of that?!
Thank you so much, Karen. What a kind comment. Thank you for sharing. You just made my day. I love using almond flour instead of whole almonds because it’s not as rich. 🥰
Can you soak almond flour over night and then strain without having blended in a blender?
I have never tried soaking the almond flour overnight. If you have a hand emersion blender, that will work. From my research, I believe the almond flour or almonds DO need to be blended. A food processor or hand emersion blender will work if a blender is not available. You can try it and play with soaking almond flour. Please let me know if you do.
Reading some of the other comments reminded me of some ideas i’ve had that might apply here as well.
for example, YOU COULD PROBABLY COLD BREW THE ALMOND FLOUR IN THE WATER IN THE FRIDGE OVERNIGHT EITHER WITH IT IN A NUT MILK BAG OR LEFT IN THE BOTTLE TO DRINK OR STRAIN LATER.
another option could be to use a dedicated coffee bean grinder to coarse grind the almonds (being careful not to make butter), then blend it in the water. not sure if pre-soaking would still be necessary but if so, you shouldn’t have to soak them as long as you would with whole almonds.
great idea! although i have the tools at hand to strain (nut milk bag & flour sack cloths) i may just do the same. no need to worry, the bag and cloths still would be useful for other things. Thanks!
So glad to see this. Was thinking of making almond milk with almonds, but one of my local grocery stores sells almond flour, so i thought that it should be easier and quicker with that and did a search for some recipes which is how i wound up at this site. glad to see a recipe as otherwise i would have had to guess and experiment with it. thanks for posting this site!
Thank you for all of your comments and ideas. So helpful and useful for all almond milk lovers.
Do we need to soak the almond flour for sometimes before BLENDING it ?
No need to soak the almond flour. That’s why this is a quick version.
I make almond milk like this regularly. It tastes so much better than store bought and is so easy. I never strain it (too lazy), and I never even notice the pulp, even when i drink it straight up,I just give it a good shake and know that all the nutrition is in there.
Thank you for posting this!
I really like leaving in the almond pulp for the nutrition. Completely makes sense. I’ll start doing that. Thank you so much for bringing that to my attention. Homemade is so much better than the thick stuff from a carton.
great idea! although i have the tools at hand to strain (nut milk bag & flour sack cloths) i may just do the same. no need to worry, the bag and cloths still would be useful for other things. Thanks!
Also, do you think you could use other nut flours?
Sure, why not? I used a combo of hazelnut meal and almonds flour to mix it up or a unsweetened coconut milk in the blend.
Do you think it would freeze well? I buy a cartoon a week of nutmilk for chia pudding and smoothies- so it would not be drunk on its own but blended into something else. Thoughts?
I have actually never frozen nut milks before. The shelf life refrigerated is only about 5-7 days. Freezing it is surely worth a try.
This was really great, thanks!
You are so welcome. I'm so glad you liked it. Thanks for the comment.
This was the best recipe I have came across, considering I didn't have any whole almonds but instead bags of almond flour. It tastes so much better than store bought, and is obviously a lot cheaper and less packaging waste.
It tastes delicious and sweet without all the unhealthy cooked preservatives.
Thank you! (The only problem was finding a container to fit it in – maybe I'll keep the plant milk containers and fill them)
This made 1L for me and was very quick ( 5 minutes)
I'm with you, Stephanie. I hate purchased almond milk because of the thickeners and preservatives. The plant based milks are way to thick for my liking. I'm glad you like it. I use old glass milk bottles to store my almond milk. I'm switching to using glass more and more. Thanks for your comment and sharing your success.
I found this wonderful recipe first and have made it a bunch of times. I once read another blog that didn't bother straining out the almond meal, she called it rustic. I am going to try that now. I just made a jar of overnight oats using this recipe but I didn't strain it. Since I always incorporate the milk into a recipe, instead of a beverage by itself, I imagine I won't taste/feel the grit and maybe it will be more nutritious. Will let you know the results tomorrow. Thanks!
I'm anxious to hear about your results. I would think it would be great on soaked oats and add more nutrition. Yum.
I recommend reserving one cup of water from the recipe. I blend that with the damp meal for a few seconds and strain.
It is a very effective way to achieve maximum extraction.
This tip is probably more helpful for those who use whole almonds, but it should be helpful when using almond flour as well.
Fabulous tip! Thank you so much.
I just made almond milk literally 6 minutes ago! After I was done, I thought to myself "why not almond flour, instead". Praise Google! Yours was one of the first relevant search results. Thank you.
I am also looking into making the almond flour myself.
I know! It's faster than running to the store to purchase almond milk and so much better. Thanks for your comment. Making almond flour is a great idea. I'll start researching.
What is the purpose of the dates? Can it be made without?
The purpose of the dates is just for sweetness. It can be made without.
When Im pressed for time I use two tablespoons of almond butter that I buy at my local supermarket in the healthfood section. Its a quick, no mess, no straining method which tastes great. I
FABULOUS idea. Thanks for sharing this quick tip. I'll definitely give it a try.
Thank you so much for your almond flour to make almond milk, You are the only one that has posted this recipe all the ones that I have seen are made of raw almonds not flour. My daughter has bags of blanched almond flour and would like to try making milk out of it…..Thank you
You are so welcome. The almond flour makes making milk a snap. I hope you love it.
I've used a recipe in the past where you place the blended almond and water in a pan and heat it up to 180 and hold it there for at least a minute, before cooling/chilling it.
Don't know about the 'necessity' of that…. seemed like a way to help it hold in the fridge for a touch longer (by inhibiting bacterial growth) than it would otherwise, since it doesn't have any preservatives?
That's interesting. I have not come across a recipe that heats the milk, but completely understand the reasoning behind it. I like making my own almond milk because it is raw without being cooked or processed. It will eventually go sour just like milk after about 10 days. I just make a quart at a time. I hope this helps.
Wondering if you've ever tried using the leftover almond meal to make almond butter?
I haven't that's worth trying and a great idea. Hmmm I wonder if I should dry the meal out first or leave it wet. What are your thoughts?
I would like to know how long the almond milk can keep in the fridge?
The longest I have been able to keep it is 1 week. It will go sour just like regular milk. Good thing it only takes a few minutes to whip up.
Hi there,
I have online bought blanched almond flour (fine and microfine) – is cold water used or hot water to make the milk?
Is it safe to use cold water? I am wanting to make almond yoghurt.
Thanks
I use cold water all the time. Works great.
This is basically the recipe I use for my almond milk (but I soak and dehydrate almonds regularly so always use those). I love that you have such a great variety of recipes. You are truly my foodie hero!