Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Homemade Almond Milk (vanilla, chocolate, and coconut)

almond milk

Almond milk is the absolute easiest thing you are currently not making. For the past few weeks I have been making batches and keeping them in mason jars in the refrigerator. My favorite thing to do is combine a cup of the chocolate almond milk, which can be a bit strong, with some coconut milk for a nighttime treat. It's creamy, delicious, and the coconut milk is just sweet enough to make that chocolate sing. My kids think it's chocolate milk. Shhhh, don't tell them.

I started to make my own almond milk after a friend (hi, Susan!) asked me about carageenan, a controversial ingredient in most store bought plant milks. After lots of research and talks with my husband, we decided we didn't drink enough store bought almond milk to really harm us in a big way, but still, I hate knowing an ingredient in something I buy is anything less than good for me. I'm no expert but there are rumors abound that carageenan can help cause cancer. Not true from what we understand. It can help promote tumor growth if you already have one, but not cause one to start. Like I said, I'm no expert and I encourage you to do your own research if this is something you are interested in. Still, I started to make my own milk. We still buy store bought almond milk because we need the fortified vitamins and minerals like iron, vitamin A, calcium, riboflavin, magnesium, copper and zinc, but now I supplement some with homemade. Homemade is still super nutritious for you boasting calcium, phosperous, protein, good fat, and fiber.

So, how do you make it? First you must soak your almonds in a mason jar or other container overnight (this is only so the almonds can get soft so they will be easier to blend). When morning comes, drain your soaking water out because it will be cloudy with almond residue and slightly bitter.

almond milk

Next, blend your almonds with fresh water thoroughly and voila! You have almond milk!

almond milk

Now, all thats left to do is strain the almond meal out using a fine mesh sieve or cheesecloth or even a coffee strainer in a pinch, and then add your flavorings. Make the almond milk as sweet as you would like. Store almond milk in the refrigerator until ready to use. Don't throw away that almond meal! It can be used in smoothies or muffins and pancake batters!

almond milk

Easy peisy, right? And so many options. Make the almond milk, choose your flavorings (included here are recipes for chocolate, coconut, vanilla, and cinnamon). Savor and enjoy.

Homemade Vanilla Almond Milk - And Three Variations
makes 4-5 cups almond milk

1 1/2 cups raw almonds, soaked overnight in water and rinsed off
4-5 cups fresh water ( I prefer 4 c. but some people like theirs watery)
1-1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons agave nectar or honey, or 1/2 packet of stevia
a pinch of sea salt (you must use salt, it brings out the flavor)

Blend almonds and fresh water together until well blended. Strain out almond milk with a fine mesh sieve, cheesecloth or coffee filter into a clean container. Pack up leftover almond meal for another use. Pour almond milk back into the blender and add the vanilla, sweetener and seas salt. Blend to combine and pour back into clean container. Store in the refrigerator for 1 week, or longer. If the almond milk smells sour, it's time to go.

For Chocolate Almond Milk: Add 4 tablespoons of good quality cocoa powder and increase the agave nectar or honey to 4 tablespoons total (or stevia to 1 1/2 packets-about 2 teaspoons), and increase the vanilla by a 1/2 teaspoon.

For Coconut Almond Milk: Add 1/2 cup unsweetened dried shredded coconut to the almonds and fresh water at the beginning of blending and blend together. Strain as directed and add in the same flavorings as you would for vanilla almond milk. You could also use sweetened coconut for this since most people sweeten their milk anyway. Just taste first before adding more sweetener to it.

For Cinnamon Almond Milk: Add 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon to vanilla almond milk, and more to taste.

For Unsweetened Almond Milk: Leave out the sweeteners.

22 comments:

  1. Um, thank you so much for posting this. I drink almond milk all the time and I've always wondered how to do it myself! GREAT post!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I had no idea it was that easy! Thank you for posting this

    ReplyDelete
  3. wow, this is awesome! I may have to try this! You are amazing, you and all your recipes! you deserve a cooking show!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thank you for posting this! I love almond milk and have been wondering how you make your own!

    ReplyDelete
  5. wow i didn't know almond milk was that easy to make thanks for posting this krysta. love this and want to try it!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I love almond milk! I drink it almost every day, so I'll definitely have to give this recipe a try:)

    ReplyDelete
  7. This is such a doable recipe. Love it!!

    ReplyDelete
  8. This is such a doable recipe. Love it!!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I'm so glad you posted this! Awhile ago, I switched to soy milk (after discovering I was lactose intolerant), then I recently found out soy milk is usually highly processed, and has some other questionable health benefits. But I LOOOVE soy milk in my chai tea in the morning. (I have a milk steamer, and it is oh so yummy!) And just the other day I was reading that almond milk is just as yummy in tea, and that it will also froth up in a milk steamer. And I was thinking, "I should make my own almond milk in my Vitamix, and try this out." And then, here comes your post! Thanks, Krysta!

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thanks for posting this! I have a couple of questions though... Do I need to rinse the almonds after the soak? For the coconut recipe, should I use sweetened or unsweetened?

    ReplyDelete
  11. Thanks, Krysta - I'm super excited to try this out! And I absolutely agree with Ashley above - you deserve a cooking show! I know I would watch it religiously!

    ReplyDelete
  12. I seriously cannot even believe that making almond milk is so easy! I would have guessed you needed a science lab in your kitchen to pull this off. Also good to know about carageenan - I wasn't aware of that and now I'll look out for it. Thanks!!

    ReplyDelete
  13. My friend just told me she made her own almond milk a couple weeks ago.. so easy. I can't believe what I'm hearing about carageenan - no wonder the cancer rate keeps going up in the United States, because I'm sure there are many other harmful ingredients in our daily food. Thanks for writing about it. Really like your blog.

    ReplyDelete
  14. thanks so much!!! this is awesome. im making hazelnut milk today and doing cinnamon, cacao powder and stevia. almond milk is stupid expensive here in australia, about $8-$10 per litre and have only seen sweetened ones, so i haven't had it since i moved five months ago. SO excited :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. I didn't realize it is so easy to make almond milk at home. Based on your experience, do you think it is more cost effective to make it yourself or buy it prepared? Thanks for sharing the recipe, can't wait to try it out myself!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Thank you for sharing this. I've been wondering about the carageenan myself. I am wondering if you have any tips on where to buy almond in bulk? They seem to be getting so expensive in the grocery store!

    ReplyDelete
  17. Hi Jenny, these people sell them in bulk -http://www.newurbanfarms.com. Maybe that helps?

    ReplyDelete
  18. Could I make this in a regular blender or a food processor?

    ReplyDelete
  19. yikes...i have just made my umpteenth batch but this one has come out brown instead of milky. (It smells very much like how i remember milk arrowroot biscuits tasted!) it's also very watery. Yes i did soak the almonds overnight and rinsed them well. I had eaten some of them yesterday and they tasted fine.
    Has this happened to anyone else?

    ReplyDelete