15min
15min
equipment: Large-mouth container , Nut-milk bag , Vitamix
Who knew you could milk an almond, ha! But really, making your own almond milk is the best way to ensure that your dairy-free nut milk isn’t laden with fillers, gum, synthetic vitamins, etc. Some reports show that commercial almond milks may contain less than 50% almonds, and in 2015 there was a false-advertising lawsuit filed against Blue Diamond for their nut milk only containing 2% almond milk (1)! Other lawsuits have been filed for synthetic vitamins ingredients in almond milk (2).
The good news is it’s relatively easy to make nut milk with the right equipment, and you can control every little ounce of what’s in your milk. In fact you can try other nuts, not just almonds!
Cost Analysis
Is it more expensive? Potentially. I did a cost analysis on store-bought vs. homemade, and it is a bit more expensive but not outrageous:
- Whole Foods Organic Unsweetened Almond Milk = 64oz at $3.49 (~6 cents an oz)
- Homemade Organic Almond Milk, using a 10oz bag of almonds from WF = 80 oz at $7.99 (~10 cents an oz).
But that extra cost yields more “goods.” With homemade almond milk, you get all the extra almond meal (pulp) for making things like GF pancakes and baked goods, mmmm…. so, to me, I think you’re actually saving money if you like buying/using almond meal.
Directions
This process should take just 10-15 minutes, not including soaking the nuts.
- Soak almonds overnight in water in large glass bowl; drain and rinse in morning.
- Add 1 cup almonds + 3 cups filtered water to Vitamix and blend well (this can be doubled to 2c almond, 6c water).
- Place nut-milk bag over a bowl or large-mouth container, and pour milk from Vitamix slowlyyy into the bag so it separates the milk from pulp (milk transfers into the container). Use your hands to squeeze out ALL the milk, while the almond pulp remains in bag (save that pulp!).
- Add milk to airtight containers and store in fridge.
- Store almond pulp in airtight container in fridge as well and use within several days.
Please note, that homemade almond milk and almond pulp have a more limited lifespan stored in the fridge—use each within 4-7 days. Or freeze for longer storage.
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