Have you ever wanted to make something or for that matter do something and you just never seem to get around to it? You put it off and push it back and when you finally do it, it is so much easier than you thought that you wonder what took you so long? I have. I have wanted to make almond milk for years but just kept putting it off. After reading an article about the dangers of the food additive carrageenan I finally got off my duff and did it! Carrageenan is a thickener used in many dairy and non dairy items and seems to be somewhat controversial. And let’s face it…homemade is always better and healthier anyway! Making almond milk is a simple 4 step process… Complete printable recipe below.
(This post contains affiliate links. I may make a commission from sales but your price remains the same.)
How to Make Almond Milk: Step 1:
Simply soak raw almonds overnight in a bowl or jar with filtered water. Cover the nuts with enough water that there is at least an inch or two of water above the nuts.
Step 2~Strain and Blend:
Strain and rinse nuts in a colander. Discard soaking water. Place rinsed nuts into blender with filtered water and blend.
Step 3: The Nut Milk Bag
Pour blended nuts into the nut milk bag (affiliate link) and squeeze milk into a bowl. That is it! That is how easy it is to make almond milk. Literally it takes minutes.
Don’t waste that pulp!
I give instructions in the recipe below for making almond meal from the pulp left in the nut milk bag. Almond meal can be used in a variety of recipes as a gluten free flour substitute. I use mine to make this Lemon Ricotta Cheesecake or Orange Upside Down Almond Cake.
Step Four: Flavorings!
Almond milk is naturally slightly sweet but If you want to sweeten it up a little more you can add some honey, maple, stevia drops, or put almond milk back in the blender with a few pitted dates and blend until smooth. My favorite way to flavor almond milk is to add 2-3 dates and some vanilla paste! (affiliate links) I prefer dates over having my almond milk taste like honey or syrup. But that is just my personal preference!

So What About Chocolate Almond Milk?
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention that chocolate almond milk is a real treat! Simply add your choice of sweetener, vanilla and some unsweetened cocoa powder to your almond milk and you have a rich, creamy chocolate drink!
Storage!
The recipe below makes 4 cups of almond milk. Fresh almond milks lasts about four days in the fridge. Now that my husband and I are empty nesters we can’t use that much in four days, but we definitely don’t want to go back to store bought…it’s just not the same! So this is what we do, we keep half of our almond milk in the fridge and pour the other half into covered ice cube trays. Then I can take out one or two cubes for my morning Crio Bru as I need it and he can use the fresh in his smoothies, no spoilage, no waste!
The Recipe: Creamy Homemade Almond Milk
Please note that because homemade nut milks have no thickening agents they will separate, so shake well before use. You will need: a nut milk bag and a good quality blender. I use a Blendtec and love it. If you have always wanted a Blentec but it wasn’t in the budget, you may wish to consider Blendtec Total Blender Certified Refurbished. If storing in the freezer to avoid waste click to buy covered ice cube trays.

- 2 cups raw almonds soaked in water
- 4 cups filtered water
- 1 pinch sea salt
- Vanilla paste or extract if making vanilla almond milk
- stevia drops honey, maple syrup or 2-3 dates for sweetening (optional)
- unsweetened cocoa powder if making the chocolate version
-
Place raw almonds and a pinch of sea salt in a bowl or large jar, cover with filtered water (enough so that water is at least 2-3 inches above nuts) cover and soak over night.
-
Discard soaking water and rinse almonds in colander.
-
Place soaked nuts in a blender add 4 cups filtered water. Blend until smooth.
-
Pour through a milk nut bag in 3rds and squeeze almond milk into a bowl.
-
Leave plain or add some vanilla paste to taste. Or sweeten with 3 liquid stevia drops, or a teaspoon or two of honey or maple syrup. I prefer using three dates to sweeten my almond milk. To use dates, add milk back to blender with 2-3 soft, pitted dates and blend until smooth. Always double check pits are removed before blending.
-
Add desired amount of fresh sweetened vanilla almond milk back into blender and 1 tablespoon of cocoa powder per cup of almond milk.
-
* If you would like to make almond meal from left over pulp:
-
place pulp on a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper and bake in oven at 170 degrees for about 2 hours (depends on where you live). When meal feels dry to touch remove from oven. Allow to cool, place in blender for a quick pulse to break up chunks.
MAY I PLEASE ASK A FAVOR?
We small bloggers need all the help we can get. Subscribing and sharing on social media is very appreciated!
View The Organic Kitchen’s Privacy Policy.
I can’t wait to try this! By the way, I know you have several children, who is your favorite? There must be one you like far more than the others.
Definitely the good looking one:)
Hi,
We’ve recently launched the website Mytaste.com. It’s a search engine that gathers all the best recipes from US websites and blogs in one place. Mytaste.com is part of the world’s second largest family of recipe sites, with sites in 37 countries and hundreds of thousands of visitors every week. We’ve noticed that you have a lot of great looking recipes on your blog that we would love to feature on our site. To read more about how it all works and to sign up with your blog, please visit: https://mytaste.com or send us an email on [email protected]. We look forward to hearing from you!
Kind regards,
Stella
Site Manager
Thanks! I would love to participate and promote:)
Hi,
Please can you tell me where I canfind a milk nut bag?
I Jiji. I actually provided a link right in the post. If you click on the link it will take you straight to it:)
Hi Linda, is it possible to use doubled cheese cloth as a substitute until my nut milk bag arrives?
You could, just be careful because it has a tendency to burst open. You could also use a screen colander, not nearly as convenient and won’t yield as much milk but works!
Thanks for the very detailed instruction. I love this delicious recipe!
Thank you so much for this. Please post more delicious recipes. 🙂
A friend mentioned making coffee mate using almond milk. Is this possible? Wouldn’t I just pour almond milk into my coffee?
Maybe the ‘almond coffee creamer’ is just thinker almond milk, more like cream? meaning they just use less water…although mine is pretty thick!
My NutriBullet works fine for blending nut milks. Also, I prefer mine flavored with just a bit of vanilla, nothing else.
Hi Linda…
Thanks for your recipe..I come from west Africa, Nigeria to be precise and we do have lots of coconuts here… Of truth, this has served as my own regular milk over time…for smoothies, popsicles, leisure and healthy drinks. Would you be kind enough to post the cheese cloth link? Thankyou very much…. God bless you real good, Linda!…mwaahh!..
Renée
Hi renee, I don’t use cheese cloth as it doesn’t do as good a job as the nut milk bag and is pretty messy. I provided a link in the post for a nut milk bag.
All your recipes are fantastic!! And so very helpful for making the meals. Can you tell me where you got the glasses with the straws out of them those are so cool? Thank you so much for all the time and energy you spend to help us, it’s very much appreciated
You are so welcome!I got the little bottles on Amazon!
Thanks you for the wonderful recipes.
You are welcome!
Hi Linda… thanks for the recipe!
For the sweetened version, you mention 2-3 dates. *I prefer stevia. Would you please advise me on how much liquid stevia per cup to sweeten it?
*Also, to make chocolate almond milk, how much stevia would I add per cup?
*Lastly, if I wanted to add vanilla extract, how much would you suggest per cup?
Best,
D
Hi Dynice, I prefer stevia lately myself! I usually add 2-3 drops, but of course that can vary per person as some prefer sweeter and some prefer it less so. So I would recommend adding a couple drops and tasting, then add more if needed. As for the extract, I would say 1/4 tsp per cup. Hope that helps.
Can I put in stevia sugar substitute in stead of honey or dates? And if so how much?
Hi Amanda. Yes, that is actually included in the recipe as an option. I usually add a few drops but you can add to taste. Thanks!
I have been making almond milk for several months with different recipes and it was eh, blah.
Used this recipe (soaked almonds 24 hrs, used 2 dates) & it was thicker creamier & so delicious I drank half of it before it hit the fridge;) Can’t wait to use my nut bag.
Love this!
I am so happy you love it! I must say, store bought just doesn’t compare:)