Almond-Brazil Nut Milk
Last week I mentioned that I made a pumpkin seed milk to use in smoothies, since my regular storebought cartons of almond milk contain evaporated cane juice, which I’m currently avoiding due to the 30 Day Sugar Cleanse. Making nondairy milk really couldn’t be easier! It takes all of five minutes to prepare, and the fresh taste cannot be beat. Having a high-speed blender like a VitaMix or a Blendtec is very helpful & will yield the smoothest milks, but it’s definitely not an absolute necessity. So don’t feel intimidated if you just have a regular ol’ blender! 
You’ll simply have to blend for longer.
Nut milk bag
To get started, all you need is a blender, a nut milk bag, and a container with a lid to store the milk in. I linked to a nut milk bag that can be purchased on Amazon, but I have also seen them for sale at co-ops, health food stores, and Whole Foods. Most people will probably be able to locate one in a store, but if not, thank goodness for the internet, right? 
Soaked almonds & Brazil nuts
The ratio of water to nuts/seeds is 4:1 (4 cups water for every 1 cup of nuts). Technically, you don’t need to soak cashews or seeds (like pumpkin or sunflower) because they’re already soft, but I usually do, anyway, just to make sure they’re soft enough to make the smoothest, creamiest milk possible.
So, to start, soak 1 cup of your raw nuts/seeds of choice in a few cups of water for at least a couple hours. I usually soak overnight so the milk can be made right away in the morning. After soaking, drain & rinse the nuts/seeds.
Blending
Next, put the nuts/seeds in the blender, and add 4 cups filtered water. Blend on high for at least a minute if using a high speed blender, and up to several minutes if using a regular blender. Add a pinch of sea salt (a little less than ¼ tsp.), and blend again to mix.
Straining
Put your nut milk bag into your storage container, and fit it around the lip if possible. My nut milk bag is a little too small to do this, so I just hold it with one hand while pouring the milk in & it works just fine. Start pouring the blended mixture into the nut milk bag, pausing as necessary to let it drain a little if the bag fills up too much. Pulp will start to collect in the bag, which will slow the straining process a little. Give it a good squeeze to force the milk out. Once the blender contents have been emptied, keep squeezing the bag until the pulp is as dry as possible. (Just a note: I don’t strain seed milk – like sunflower, hemp, and pumpkin – because it blends so well. But for best results with most nuts, straining is a good idea. Then again, some people like the pulp pieces in their milk & never strain at all, so don’t be afraid to experiment to find what you like!)
Pulp
Now you can either discard the pulp or keep it in an airtight container to use in recipes like vegan cheesecake, pie crusts (it’s great mixed with graham crackers), or raw cinnamon rolls. I usually freeze mine until I have a use for it.
Voila! Now you have delicious, creamy, and healthy homemade nondairy milk! And don’t forget that it’s much more environmentally-friendly than store-bought milk, since there are no containers to throw away when the milk is gone! Technically, each batch should keep for about 3-4 days in the fridge, but I’ve had mine last for up to a week. Like dairy milk, it starts to smell sour when it’s past its prime. Nut milks can be enjoyed by the glass, poured over cereal, used in baking & cooking, used as the base for nondairy ice cream, and they make a wonderful, rich creamer for coffee or tea. I love to experiment with different flavors & nut combos. As pictured in this tutorial, I sometimes
use whatever nuts I have on hand, and in this case, it was raw almonds & Brazil nuts. I also love cashew milk, pecan milk, walnut milk, macadamia nut milk, and of course, plain almond milk. Sometimes I add cocoa powder, vanilla extract & dates or agave nectar for sweetened chocolate milk, and other times I like to add cinnamon, clove & nutmeg for a delicious spice milk. The possibilities are endless!
Oh, and don’t forget to give your pitcher of milk a good shake each time before pouring; the contents tend to settle as they sit, but shaking mixes things up to a perfectly creamy consistency again. Cheers!
I’ve been wondering how to make nut milk. Great info! I can’t wait to try this with cashews!
Oh my goodness. I would never in a bajillion years think to do this. Still may be a bit too advanced for me, but you dear are simply a genius!
Thanks for sharing. I’ve seen recipes here and there, but have yet to try them out.
I’ve been wanting to try this! I have a big bag of almonds at home. Thanks for sharing.
I am bookmarking this! I want to try this soon!
Ooh, so informative!
I LOVE making my own almond milk, mostly because I love to play with the leftover pulp! It’s perfect for whipping up all kinds of cookies and pates.
I’ve always wanted to make my own nut milk and the leftover pulp gives me even more of a reason to try it!
I love the tutorial, so awesome. I make my own nut milks sometimes too and love homage paid to the process!
Great tutorial! I should make my own nut milk more often. Pumpkin seed milk sounds really great.
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Awesome! Thanks for this post!
I am gonna make nut milk yay thankyou for sharing!!!!
I’m so impressed by you making your own non dairy milk! I must try this!!! It almost is worth it to just get that yummy pulp!!
[...] milk instead of buying it packaged (check out my tutorial on how to make your own nondairy milk here). Not only are homemade foods much more economical than buying them prepared or packaged at the [...]
Oohhhh thank you!! I’ve been wanting to make my own almond milk but for some reason have always been intimidated by it. The step-by-step instructions help a lot!!! I’ve heard that you can use raw almond butter to make it (and skip the soaking/blending step) Have you ever tried that?
I haven’t tried it myself, but I’ve heard it works well! However, I believe you’d still want to use a blender in order to properly emulsify the almond butter & water. Please let me know if you try it!
Okay so I did try it, and it worked great! I blended it for just a little while to emulsify, per your suggestion, then strained with my nutmilk bag and it turned out very creamy! I used about 6 c. water to 3/4 c. almond butter because obviously ground nuts take up much less space than whole nuts. And even still it comes out very thick/creamy! Also I think this method may actually be cost effective. I buy the big jars of raw almond butter for $10 and could probably make 2 batches of almond milk out of it – but the batches are a lot bigger than the amount that comes in the cartons. And there’s no extra ingredients. (I don’t like that I can’t identify all of the ingredients on the carton for almond milk – and probably has some preservatives as well) So YAY for making it at home & using almond butter!
Try it out if you ever get a chance. You don’t have to soak them then, either!
Thanks so much for letting me know how it turned out! It sounds delicious. I’ll have to try this next time I need homemade milk extra-fast!
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