Kitchen Tips How To How to Make Almond Milk: A DIY Guide for Absolute Beginners Who knew it was this easy? By Vanessa Greaves Vanessa Greaves Vanessa Greaves is a Senior Editor at Allrecipes with nearly two decades of experience helping home cooks gain confidence in the kitchen. A self-taught cook who grew up reading cookbooks for fun, Vanessa lives and breathes the challenges faced by busy everyday cooks to get dinner on the table. Allrecipes' editorial guidelines Updated on July 17, 2021 So, how do you milk an almond anyway? Turns out it's pretty easy. You just soak + blend + strain. Bonus: Making your own almond milk means no artificial anything added in, plus you get ground almond meal as a by-product. (I'll share recipes to use up the almond meal down below.) Read on to get my easy recipe for homemade almond milk, plus step-by-step instructions and helpful tips all along the way. Honestly, if I can do it, anyone can. How to Make Almond Milk Get the recipe for Homemade Vanilla Almond Milk Yield: 24-30 ounces Ingredients 1 cup organic raw almonds1 whole vanilla bean2 medjool dates, pittedpinch of sea salt32 ounces filtered water Equipment blendernut milk bag Directions 1. Soak Place almonds and vanilla bean in a medium bowl. Add enough water to cover almonds completely, cover, and soak at room temperature 8 to 12 hours. Soak dates in a separate bowl. Vanessa Greaves Drain and discard the soaking water from the almonds. Rinse thoroughly. Keep the date water to add to the almond milk, if desired. Vanessa Greaves 2. Blend Add soaked almonds, vanilla bean, dates, sea salt, and 3 cups filtered water to a blender. Blend on high for 1 minute. Turn off the blender and let the foam subside, then add another cup of water. You might not use all 32 ounces of water, depending on the capacity of your blender. Add the soaking water from the dates for a little extra sweetness, if desired. Blend again for 1 minute. 3. Strain Place nut milk bag in a quart-size measuring cup or large bowl. Pour blended almond milk into the bag, and lift to drain. Gently squeeze and twist the bag to extract as much liquid as possible. Save the almond meal to use in recipes (see below). Homemade almond milk will keep in the fridge for up to 5 days, or you could freeze it. Either way, give it a good shake before using, because there aren't any additives to keep it emulsified. Vanessa Greaves Notes This basic recipe works for any nut milk: almond, cashew, hazelnut, macadamia, etc. Soaking the almonds is a must to make them more nutritious and easier to digest. Adding the dates for sweetness is purely optional. You could also use agave syrup or honey, or leave out the sweetness altogether. You can purchase a reusable nut milk bag online or at a kitchen store. Straining the milk through a fine-mesh strainer or several layers of cheesecloth will also work, but the nut milk bag gives you a smoother finished product. Save and dry the almond meal for baking or adding to oatmeal. Spread it on a lined baking sheet and pop it in the oven at the lowest setting until it's dry. It might take 3 or 4 hours. Then whirl it through the blender or food processor until you like the texture. Guess what? You don't need a super-powerful blender to make almond milk. I used my ordinary unfancy blender, and got great results. Vanessa Greaves Recipes with Almond Milk Chocolate-y Iced Mocha Cherry Almond Oatmeal Black and Blueberry Smoothie Vegan Cupcakes Healthy Multigrain Chia Waffles Recipes with Almond Meal Chef John's Blackberry Buckle Homemade Apple Crumble Apricot Almond Galette Paleo Blueberry Lemon Muffins Whole Grain Banana Pancakes Related 6 Fun Ways to Flavor Homemade Non-Dairy Milks How to Make More Plant-Based Milks Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit