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Wellness Mama » Blog » Recipes » Drink Recipes » How to Make Almond Milk (Recipe + Variations)

How to Make Almond Milk (Recipe + Variations)

September 12, 2017 (Updated: January 3, 2020)   —  by Katie Wells

Simple Homemade Almond Milk Recipe

Reading Time: 3 minThis post contains affiliate links. Click here to read my affiliate policy.

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  • Why Make Almond Milk?
  • How to Store Homemade Almond Milk
  • Homemade Almond Milk Recipe
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Almond milk is a healthy and inexpensive alternative to conventional dairy that you can easily make at home! Statistics show that many people are choosing dairy-free milks and other products due to allergies, concerns about sourcing, or just taste preference.

Why Make Almond Milk?

Like virtually every other food or drink, almond milk is both less expensive and healthier when you make it yourself. While there are decent store bought brands available now, many brands contain additives like carrageenan to remain shelf stable and a keep a consistent texture.

Almond milk is a low glycemic alternative to rice milk, and doesn’t cause problems with hormone levels like soy milk does. It can be used in place of regular milk in recipes and baking. It is easy to make and has a light taste.

We used almond milk when we were working on reversing our son’s dairy intolerance and I still often use it (or homemade coconut milk) in recipes, coffee, or to drink simply because it is so inexpensive and easy to make.

If you are dairy free, making your own almond milk is a great way to save money and avoid additives. As a bonus, you can use the leftover almond pulp to make almond flour for use in recipes! If you are nut free as well, coconut milk is another good alternative.

How to Store Homemade Almond Milk

This recipe lasts approximately 4 days in the refrigerator. Our family easily consumes this much almond milk in a few days, but if you won’t use this, it is best to reduce the recipe and make less to use as you need it.

Simple Homemade Almond Milk Recipe
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4.62 from 42 votes

Homemade Almond Milk Recipe

This almond milk recipe is super simple to make at home in just minutes! It is customizable so you can adjust the sweetness and even add flavor, plus it is naturally dairy free, paleo, vegan and all around delicious! 
Servings 4 cups
Calories 34kcal
Author Katie Wells
The ingredient links below are affiliate links. Click here to read my affiliate policy.

Ingredients

  • 1 cup raw almonds
  • 4 cups filtered water (plus more for soaking)
  • 1 pinch sea salt
  • ½ tsp vanilla extract (or ½ vanilla bean, scraped, optional)
  • sweetener (such as 2 dates, 2 TBSP maple syrup, or a few drops of stevia, optional)

Instructions

  • If desired, soak almonds for at least 12 hours in pure water with 1/2 tsp sea salt. This is an important step as it breaks down the phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors and cultures beneficial enzymes in the almonds. The longer the almonds soak, the creamier the finished milk will be. (Side note: soaking nuts should be done before eating them as well. Soak nuts in salt water for 12 hours, rinse them, and dry in oven on lowest heat. See tutorial here.)
  • Drain the soaking water and rinse the almonds well. Do not keep this water to re-use as it contains phytic acid and is best to discard it. 
  • In blender or Vitamix combine almonds and pure water along with vanilla, sweeteners, or any other optional ingredients. See the notes below for some flavor suggestions. 
  • Blend 2-3 minutes until smooth and creamy. Mixture will expand some, so make sure your blender is not full before starting it.
  • Strain mixture into a large bowl through a sprout bag, cheesecloth, or thin kitchen towel.
  • Pour into glass jar or pitcher and store in refrigerator for up to four days.

Notes

Reuse the Pulp: Save the pulp of the almonds, put on cookie sheet and dehydrate in oven on lowest heat until completely dry. Run through blender or food processor to make almond flour, which can be used in recipes in place of flour. Alternately, just store in the refrigerator for use in baking or smoothies.
Flavor Variations: Add ½ cup strawberries for strawberry almond milk, 1-2 TBSP cocoa powder for chocolate almond milk, or any other flavor you can imagine!
Imitation Store Bought Almond Milk: This recipe will produce a creamy almond milk that is much better than store bought almond milk (in my opinion). Most store bought milks only use 2% almonds so they are low calorie but you're essentially buying water in a box. If you prefer this type of almond milk, you can reduce the amount of almonds to ¼ or ½ cup and use the recipe above. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1/2 cup | Calories: 34kcal | Carbohydrates: 1.9g | Protein: 1.9g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 0.3g | Sodium: 6mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 0.4g

Like this recipe? Check out my new cookbook, or get all my recipes (over 500!) in a personalized weekly meal planner here!

 

Do you eat almonds? Ever used almond or coconut milk in place of regular milk? Tell me below!

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Category: Drink Recipes, Recipes

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About Katie Wells

Katie Wells, CTNC, MCHC, Founder and CEO of Wellness Mama and Co-Founder of Wellnesse, has a background in research, journalism, and nutrition. As a wife and mom of six, she turned to research and took health into her own hands to find answers to her health problems. WellnessMama.com is the culmination of her thousands of hours of research and all posts are medically reviewed and verified by the Wellness Mama research team. Katie is also the author of the bestselling books The Wellness Mama Cookbook and The Wellness Mama 5-Step Lifestyle Detox.

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Reader Interactions

Discussion (271 Comments)

  1. Carmen

    March 23, 2014 at 11:37 PM

    I agree with Bernadette. Any ideas how to fortify it with calcium, protein, or fats? My daughter (20 months old, gets constipated with dairy). I’ve been looking for an alternative, but haven’t found one that compares.

    Any suggestions? Possibly getting these nutrients from additional food sources?

    Katie, any insights? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Susie

      July 1, 2014 at 10:11 PM

      My granddaughter has the same issue. Vanilla Flax Seed Milk is working for her! She can even have bananas now….her all time favorite. 🙂

      Reply
      • hana

        August 1, 2014 at 8:30 PM

        How do you make flaxseed milk? 🙂

        Reply
        • sparrow

          May 26, 2016 at 1:16 PM

          it’s super simple, similar to this recipe. i use 1/3 c of flaxseeds to 4 c water. blend the mixture, strain out the pulp, and sweeten/flavor if you like (i use 2-3 dates and 2 tsp vanilla). it’s really yummy.

          Reply
  2. Jennifer

    March 23, 2014 at 7:17 PM

    Hi Katie, thanks for all your information. I have been making almond milk for a while and love it but I have a friend who says if the almonds aren’t peeled they can be bad for you. I have never peeled them before but I notice in your picture they are peeled. Would like your thoughts please.

    Reply
    • Katie - Wellness Mama

      March 23, 2014 at 8:56 PM

      I usually used peeled and soaked to reduce the phytates

      Reply
      • Anna

        February 24, 2015 at 7:31 AM

        I’ve just made my first batch of almond milk today! May I just ask you if you ever blanch the almonds first to get the skin off? Do they come off just as easily after a 12hr soak? And is there an easier way to take the skins off than having to squeeze each one individually? Many thanks.

        Reply
  3. Bernadette

    March 23, 2014 at 1:19 PM

    There isn’t a substantial calcium content in this homemade version. The commercial almond milks all have added calcium in them to qualify as a milk substitute. I don’t know if anyone has tried fortifying this, but it sounds like it might be a good idea.

    Reply
    • Terry

      December 10, 2014 at 12:33 PM

      5 stars
      Calcium supplements are not necessarily good. There is controversy on this subject. You may want to Google “calcium supplements good?”

      Reply
  4. Jen

    March 23, 2014 at 8:19 AM

    Would this be a good alternative for a baby who is no longer nursing? I would be concerned about the high omega-6, so would walnut milk be a better option? Or maybe alternating between several? My first two weaned to store bought milk, my next two weaned to raw milk, this one I’ve nursed the longest but she’s kind of self weaning and I’m having a hard time figuring out the best option. Right now I just try to give her yogurt every day.

    Reply
    • Linda

      September 16, 2014 at 11:31 PM

      Coconut milk is amazing. It has a very healthy profile. However, have you thought about pumping your own milk for a while? You can freeze it, and then begin to mix it with coconut milk as a transitional drink.

      Reply
  5. Roberta

    March 20, 2014 at 9:00 PM

    Hi,

    Great recipe Katie.

    This article has some really good information on nuts in general and phytic acids for those who are concerned. Mercola is a much trusted website for health.
    https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/05/11/eating-nuts.aspx

    Chris Kresser’s article seems a bit too harsh and to start counting mg of phytic acids just seems a but too much.

    Macadamia nuts seem to be the best option and don’t need to be soaked and I’m sure the almond milk is fine too because it the almonds are soaked.

    Cheers!
    Roberta

    Reply
  6. Chaylin

    March 20, 2014 at 4:47 PM

    I have a question….any way to make this chocolate almond milk? I introduced my 3 year old to almond milk and she prefers it over cows milk. She’ll drink the vanilla I buy but she would rather have the chocolate and the store doesn’t always have it…..

    Reply
    • Katie - Wellness Mama

      March 20, 2014 at 9:45 PM

      You should be able to add cocoa powder or dark chocolate to the blender when you blend and then strain as usual.

      Reply
      • Chaylin

        March 21, 2014 at 11:45 AM

        Awesome! Thanks.

        Reply
  7. Mackenzie Anderson

    February 18, 2014 at 4:20 PM

    I am so confused about dairy! Some people say drink raw milk, some say it’s very dangerous. Some say drink almond or coconut milk. I am trying to take one step at a time towards a more natural lifestyle. What kind of milk does your family drink? Thank you!

    Reply
    • Katie - Wellness Mama

      February 18, 2014 at 10:10 PM

      We don’t, but in the past we have consumed raw milk and raw dairy cheeses. Right now, I’m working on reversing a thyroid problem so we are off all dairy

      Reply
      • Cori

        March 27, 2014 at 6:24 PM

        I have also been told that almonds are goitrogenic foods are foods that interfere with iodine absorption and therefore are not great for restoring Thyroid health? Do you know anything about that?

        Reply
      • Cory

        December 1, 2014 at 10:09 AM

        I started having thyroid issues and realized it was a candida problem. Maybe check that out if you havent (im sure there a good chance you know your issue well) Just mentioning in case. My assumptions of having a candida problem were confirmed when I started a candida diet I got the die off reactions before that I learned I had almost all symptoms of systemic candida(the list is long) many of them are the same symptoms of hypothyroidism

        Reply
        • Jen

          February 2, 2016 at 12:23 PM

          Hi Cory,
          Would you mind sending the link or info about the candida program that you chose? Thank you.

          Reply
  8. Tiffany

    February 13, 2014 at 1:03 AM

    Hi Katie
    I love your website and refer to it often. I am getting a lot of mixed information about drinking almond milk. Some say (on Paleohacks q and a) not to drink it because it is high in Omega 6s. Others (Chris Kresser) talk about the phytic acid levels in nuts. I am concerned because my daughter cannot drink a lot of dairy with out skin irritations so we drink almond milk. I can not find information on how much phytic acid is in 1 glass of almond milk. Any ideas? If 3 oz of almonds = 1200-1400mg of phytic acid then 1 cup of almonds = 8 oz = 3600+mg phytic acid…So would 1/2 cup serving of almond milk have 450mg of phytic acid? Chris Kresser recommends 100-400mg/day of phytic acid or less is tolerable. Any thoughts?

    Reply
    • Janet

      June 6, 2014 at 8:12 AM

      soaking the almonds before processing reduces the phytic acid.

      Reply
  9. Nina

    February 9, 2014 at 1:41 PM

    I accidentally used the same water that I soaked the almonds with to blend. Is this okay?

    Reply
    • Katie - Wellness Mama

      February 9, 2014 at 10:57 PM

      Yes.

      Reply
    • Theresa

      May 26, 2015 at 9:05 PM

      Soaking them is to help remove the digestive enzyme inhibitors so if you used the same water you just put the same inhibitor back into what you consumed. In the future replace with different water.

      Reply
  10. Alexandra

    January 12, 2014 at 1:50 PM

    Hi Katie, Do you remove the skins after soaking? Is this where remaining phytic acid will be found in the almonds after soaking? I just did this and the almond milk became much smoother and sweeter than when I keep the skin. Thanks for any insight you might have on this. Best!

    Reply
    • Linda

      September 16, 2014 at 11:26 PM

      I pop the skins off before I blend the almonds. The milk is then a bit less grainy, and a brighter white. However, keeping skins on hurts nothing at all!

      Reply
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