This article was originally posted on my old blog, Foodscape, after running out of cheese cloth and milk at the same time. Luckily, there are many nut milk bag substitutes that can be used. In fact, after learning how to make almond milk without nut bag options, I’ve come to prefer it. Once you learn how To Make Almond Milk (and other milks) without cheesecloth, you might find you prefer the sturdier options too.
In my experience, most people either don’t know how to make nut milk or think it’s too much trouble to make. For those that live busy lives, I totally understand that it can seem time consuming. A while back I would’ve even agreed. That is, until the taste test from store bought to homemade plant based milk.
I used to use my amazing juicer for nut milk, however, this is probably the worst way I can think of making nut milk. Why? It’s really messy, you have to do it in batches because the juicing containers don’t hold that much, and you still have to strain it anyway. Not worth it. Now I make nut milk (after soaking the nuts) in about 5 minutes with my Vitamix.
Any high speed blender will do. But before we begin, let’s talk about why it’s worth the trouble making your own nut milk. Homemade doesn’t have any chemical preservatives, it’s fresh, and customizable to any flavor you want.
My favorite nut milks are: vanilla, lavender and plain. I will walk you through all of these!
Making nut milk can be broken down into 3 easy steps: soaking, blending, straining. Any other steps are really about how you want your nut milk to taste.
Macadamia milk
I really only like macadamia nut milk when it’s in my coffee. Therefore, I turn it into a coffee creamer and reduce the amount of water to create a thick cream (typically from 1:3 to 2:3), then sweeten it with maple syrup. It is extremely buttery and delicious, but I still prefer my next two for most of my dairy free milk endeavours.
Cashew milk
One of my favorite “I’m in a hurry” milks because you don’t need to soak overnight, they only need a minimum of 2 hours of soaking. They also don’t need to be strained after blending. There is no skin! So, a high-speed blender or Vitamix can easily pulverize cashews without small pieces being left behind.
Almond milk
Wins the flavor contest for me. Almonds also win because of nutrition. They have a really high vitamin E content!
If I’m running out of nuts, I may make a thinner milk by adding an extra cup of water. It’s really up to you. Some people prefer to blanch the almonds so the almond flavor isn’t so strong, but that’s the reason this is my favorite milk choice–I love amaretto! ♥
Oat milk
Not my favorite, but it’s probably the most cost-effective choice. I don’t like that it’s slimy when you strain it (it helps to strain it twice)…that weirds me out. But once you flavor it, it’s pretty tasty. Worth trying at least once to see if you like it. *Update: I’ve recently learned NOT soaking the Oat milk at all will cut the slime. Still need to try that but I’ve updated this tip into the chart below.
Rice Milk
I LOVE rice milk, but I prefer to make almond milk and cashew milk on a regular basis. Rice milk is there to change it up. One thing to note is rice has a fair amount of arsenic in it, in fact, rice milk exceeds the arsenic limit allowed in our water. Best to make this at home if you like it, but make sure you soak in water and dump at least 2x for minimal arsenic, and use Thai jasmine, rice from California, or basmati rice. I’ve learned to avoid rice grown in Texas because the fields there have too much arsenic in the ground from pesticides and the like (I believe from cotton fields).
Coconut Milk
Ratio is 1:2
You can use shredded coconut or fresh coconut meat. You can boil or not boil. It’s all preference.
I made a chart for you guys on some of my favorite milks and how to make them. Don’t be afraid to try something new and change it up! I am a fan of moderation, so changing it up gives you a variety of nutrients, flavor and experiences. You’ll also find that you like different milks for different things.
I put no soaking for hemp milk because it doesn’t contain a lot of phytic acid. If it becomes your favorite milk and you make it every week, then soak it for a 1/2 hour like oats.
- 1 cup almonds soaked overnight
- 3 cups water
- 4 dates
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 pinch salt I like himalayan pink salt or sea salt
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How to make nut milk: Instructions with pictures 🙂
- Grab a cup of almonds...
- Soak overnight in water
- Take your soaked almonds and rinse them off. DO NOT reuse this soaking water since it contains enzyme inhibitors, phytic acid, etc. Also, generally floating almonds at this stage mean they are rancid. Toss those.
If you’re in a hurry, you can use blanched almonds instead of soaking them overnight, but the flavor will alter slightly since the almonds will no longer be raw--it will taste less like amaretto and more mild. Blanching is done by boiling water, then adding the almonds to the pot for about 5 minutes, then draining, then following the rest of the steps.
- Fill your Vitamix/high-speed blender with 3 cups of fresh water and the rinsed almonds. If you want to sweeten with dates, I like to add them here so they get strained after. I add 4 dates.
In the summertime I also will add lavender before I blend so they get strained out too. Lavender makes the most amazing leftover almond pulp too! It smells soooo good! 1 tablespoon of lavender flower buds is typically all I need.
- Strain the almonds through a nut milk bag, fine cheesecloth, or a thin cloth. My favorite nut milk bag alternative is my handkerchief. It's a super fine weave but it will still let you strain liquid through it. My handkerchief is really old so I'm not really concerned about dyes and stuff, but probably best to choose a fabric with little dye.
- Pour the liquid into a bowl with your cheesecloth, fine mesh, or strainer of choice.
- Make sure you gather all the ends up so the liquid is forced through the bottom.
- Squeeze!
- That's all folks! You have made your own homemade almond milk. After it's been strained I add a pinch of salt and whatever flavors I want (cacao, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, strawberries). Salt acts as a preservative and also gives it a little extra sweetness.
For the leftover meal, I usually use it as a body and face scrub/moisturizer in the shower. But…it’s a little messy and clogging if you don’t have good plumbing. Use sparingly.
You can bake it into almond flour, add it to your shakes, etc. Sometimes I’ll bake muffins right after and use the meal for a gluten free flour option.
There you have it! From here, most people store their milk in a mason jar. I like to use the old glass milk jars from the store.
Hello! I’m at work browsing your blog from my new iphone! Just wanted to say I love reading through your blog
and look forward to all your posts! Carry on the excellent work!
So sweet of you. 🙂
You have a good chart here. Thanks for the help in mastering nut milk.
YW!
I emailed this website post page to all my
friends. Great info.
So sweet of you. Thank you!
Thanks for making such an easy to follow guide.
You’re so welcome. I use it regularly too. 😉
Write more, thats all I have to say.
What a compliment! TYVM.
This is actually a nice and helpful piece of info. Thank you for sharing this useful info with us.
Oh good! I’m so glad you found it helpful. Ty.
Great delivery. Solid instructions. Keep up the good work.
Thank you so much! I’m glad the instructions were easy to follow.
At this moment I am ready to do my breakfast and this is exactly what I needed!
Yum! Can’t wait to hear what you make.
GREAT idea!!! I ran out of cheesecloth. I don’t think I’ll be buying cheesecloth again this worked sooooooo good.
Right!? I don’t buy cheesecloth anymore. It’s just not a fine enough weave for me. My handkerchief is perfect.
BRILLIANT. Im never buying cheesecloth again.
Putting cheesecloth outta business one nut milk at a time. 😉
Why not just leave the pulp in
You can, but the texture is not always desirable. Whenever I’ve left in pulp when it shouldn’t be, it’s pretty chalky.
Make sure you check out my chart for each nut/grain. I have a column for straining. Some nuts you can get away with not straining.
I’m about to make homemade almond milk for the first time, and I’m so glad I came across your page today! Very helpful!
So happy to know it helped. Thanks for the comment. 🙂
I just came across your blog.
Thanks so much for the info regarding making your own Almond Milk.
I now feel confident to try it.
Bless you abundantly xx
I’m so happy to know it helped. Let us know how it goes. 🙂
And to think I just gave away all my handkerchiefs because I had no use for them lol.
Thanks for the tips
You’re so welcome! Yes, an old handkerchief is THE. BEST. cheesecloth replacement. It’s so sturdy. Sorry to hear you gave yours away. Perhaps you have an old linen dishcloth? This works well for me too since it has a similar weave. Let me know if you try this method!
Hi Michaell, Question? The picture you show of the almonds in the water look like they are floating to the top, which from what u said shows they are no good and should be thrown out. Am I misreading this picture, or did u purposely show this so we could see what rancid almonds look like floating to the top. ?? Also, I have a 1500 watt ninja mega system blender that i have never used. Do u know if this is a powerful enough blender to make your almond milk? Thanks
Hi Audrey,
Supposedly if the almonds float, that means they’re rancid–I’ve always just tossed them immediately. Now, if all of them float and you are using brand new sealed bag of nuts, perhaps it’s a myth (let me know!). If it were me, I would taste a tiny bit of the almond to see if it tastes bitter (and spit!). If it tastes or smells altered in any way, it’s better to toss it.
‘Bitter almond’ is actually poison and not worth the risk. Here’s two articles I think are helpful:
https://www.canitgobad.net/can-almonds-go-bad/
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/are-almonds-poisonous#varieties
As for your Ninja…I’m not sure actually since I don’t have one, but I would experiment with cashew cream since it doesn’t have any skins. Let us know what you try!
So easy and adaptable. Thanks for the great chart too!
I’m so glad! Thanks 🙂
For the oat milk, I find soaking the oats actually makes them slimy. Always use dry oats with ice cold water and don’t squeeze it too hard while straining. .
That explains so much. I’m going to have to try that! Thanks for sharing such an awesome tip Julie.
Thank you so much for the wonderful explanations. And the incredible bit true info on arsenic. I was blown away and researched with reliable govt and scientific sites. Triple rinsing, California not Texas matter.
I write also to state I make a oats almond cashew milk and add the vanilla and art sweetener I use to the vitamix and the pulp is great with paleo pancake batter 50/50 for delicious healthy pancakes also I use a aquarium net for my milk bag .
That’s an amazing idea! I love paleo pancakes. Yum. Thanks for commenting. I’m glad this info was helpful.
Great article! Thank you. How long would this almond milk typically last in the fridge? I like to batch prep but sometimes overdo it, and I don’t want the milk to go to waste!
Hi Elaine,
I totally understand that! I do too! Besides the obvious of putting your milk in ice cube trays (I’m currently loving these silicone W&P freezer cubes), I would make sure you “preserve” your milk immediately. The easiest way to do this is to add a little sugar and salt. I like to add maple syrup or dates for my sugar and both work pretty well for up to a week–especially if I add a little vanilla paste since it has a little sugar and alcohol in that as well.
Thank you for your very clear instructions,
As an octogenarian my hands are not that strong for squeezing the pulp, do you have any ideas of something I can use to do the job? I’ve taken to not squeezing the pulp but the milk is a bit too thick for my liking
Hmmmm I’m not sure. Perhaps smashing it with a potato masher? If you try this I would try putting the cheesecloth inside a colander and then using the pressure of the masher. Alternatively, maybe bypassing the process altogether and trying a Nut Milk Maker Machine? Hope that helps!
This is probably a crazy question but could this be done with almond flour?
That’s an amazing question! I have no idea but I would bet not since the flour is likely dried.