:: Homemade Vanilla Almond Milk ::
Mmmm! Creamy cold, almond milk! Do you drink it at your house? If not… it’s definitely worth a taste! Even better, try making it from scratch! The task always seemed daunting, in my opinion… which is why I never made it in the past. However, we go through cartons and cartons of almond milk each week… so I thought it was worth a try to make a batch of it homemade. Everything is better fresh, right?!!
About five years ago… maybe even longer, we stopped buying traditional dairy milk in our house. We started using almond milk in its place {since everyone is lactose intolerant in our family}. When my youngest little guy, Finn, stopped nursing at 14 months old, I started giving him almond milk, as well. Did you know that one serving of almond milk has 50% more calcium than regular milk? Amazing! Well, my little guy is now three… and still LOVES his daily cups of almond milk!
The key to making this smooth, creamy milk is soaking the raw almonds in water! Simply place the almonds in a bowl, and cover with about an inch of water. {They will plump as they absorb water.} Let stand overnight, or up to 2 days.
Once your almonds have been adequately soaked, make sure you rinse them with fresh water, and drain, so they are ready to use. Put your almonds into a blender with 3.5 cups of water {less water, will equal a stronger flavor, overall}.
Add in your chopped vanilla bean. {This may be strange… but you are literally going to chop the entire bean with its pod. It will give the almond milk an intensely rich vanilla flavor! YUM!!} Blend the almonds, water, and vanilla bean for a couple minutes on high, until well combined.
Before you start drinking your tasty concoction… {which is totally tempting with the way it smells!}, make sure you first remove the almond pulp! You can do this in one of two ways:
A Nut Milk Bag: Place a nut milk bag over a large bowl and slowly pour the almond milk mixture into the bag. Gently squeeze the bottom of the bag to release the milk.
Cheesecloth Over a Mesh Strainer {see photo below}: Place a large bowl underneath your strainer. Place several layers of cheesecloth over the strainer {with overhanging edges}. Carefully pour the almond milk onto the cheesecloth. Once it stops straining on its own, gather the cloth at the top {fully containing the inner almond pulp}, and gently squeeze out the excess liquid with your other hand.
You should get approximately 3 cups of strained almond milk.
Side Note: Do not get rid of the leftover almond pulp! There are so many great uses! You can refrigerate what is left and use it {as is} in smoothies, oatmeal, or in baked goods {such as muffins}. Or, you can spread it out on a baking sheet and bake it in a low oven, until completely dry {approximately 2-3 hours}. Dry almond meal can be kept frozen for several months and used in baked goods. To make it more fine… simply grind up the dry almond meal in a food processor.
Okay… back to the deliciously creamy almond milk! Rinse out your blender. Pour the strained almond milk back into it. Now add in any sweetener {to taste}, pinch of sea salt, and cinnamon. Blend on low until well combined. Now go ahead… take a little sip before pouring the rich almond milk into a sealed container in the refrigerator! You know you want to!
Serve the rich, homemade, vanilla bean almond milk chilled! You won’t believe the flavor! Enjoy!
Homemade Vanilla Almond Milk
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw almonds soaked in water overnight
- 3.5 cups filtered water
- 1 whole vanilla bean chopped
- 2-4 pitted dates raw honey, agave syrup, or pure maple syrup, to taste {optional}
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- small pinch of fine grain sea salt
Instructions
- Place the almonds in a bowl and cover with about an inch of water. Let stand, uncovered, overnight or up to 2 days.
- Drain the almonds from their soaking water and rinse them thoroughly under cool running water.
- Combine the almonds, 3.5 cups of filtered water, and chopped vanilla bean in a blender. Blend at the highest speed for 1-2 minutes.
- Place a nut milk bag {or cheesecloth over a mesh strainer} over a large bowl and slowly pour the almond milk mixture into the bag {or over the cheesecloth}. Gently squeeze the bottom of the bag {or cheesecloth} to release the milk. You should get approximately 3 cups of strained almond milk.
- Rinse out the blender and pour the milk back in. Add in any sweetener {to taste}, cinnamon, and pinch of sea salt. Blend on low to combine.
- Refrigerate almond milk. Store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to two days. Serve chilled. Enjoy!
- Using the Leftover Almond Meal: The leftover almond meal can be added to oatmeal, smoothies, and muffins as it is. You can also spread it out on a baking sheet and bake it in a low oven until completely dry {approximately 2-3 hours}. Dry almond meal can be kept frozen for several months and used in baked goods.
