How To Make Almond Milk With Just 3 Ingredients

Erika Wassall, the Jersey Farm Scribe here, with a cash-saving, health-pumping, pure-tasting recipe for homemade almond milk.  Lots of people don’t know that DIY almond milk is even possible, but it is!  My mother used to make it for me when I was little.  Here is how to make almond milk and believe me, homemade almond milk tastes so much better than store bought!

Homemade Almond Milk Recipe

Yeah. You heard me right. HOMEMADE! So many people don’t know you can make almond milk at home! But you can and homemade almond milk tastes way better than store bought!

Before I share the recipe, I’d like to clear up something that confuses some people.

Is almond milk actually milk? Or is almond milk vegan?

Almond “milk” is absolutely NOT MILK. Milk, by definition, comes from a mammary glands. 

Milk: a fluid secreted by the mammary glands of females for the nourishment of their young  – Merriam-Webster

So let’s just be clear on that. Almond milk is NOT milk. You could probably more accurately call it almond juice.  I suppose it is called almond milk since lots of vegans use it as a milk substitute and it does have a rich, creamy texture like milk.

Reasons To Make Homemade Almond Milk:

1- You can adjust how thick or creamy you want it to be.

2- You can add your own natural sweetener like honey, vanilla, maple syrup, chocolate, strawberry jam or other preserve.

3- You control the ingredients and you won’t use any fillers, preservatives, or additives (like carrageenan) in your ingredients. Check out the ingredient list on almond milk you buy at the store. Then look at this ingredient list. Crazy, right?

4- You can make as much as you need!   I can never use a whole half-gallon before it goes bad. This way, nothing goes to waste.

How To Make Almond Milk At Home:

Put pre-soaked almonds, sweetener, and water in blender. Blend. Strain.

Yeah. Um… that’s it.

Nope. I’m not kidding. I think my brain exploded a little when I realized how simple this is. But I’ll go through it a bit more.

Soaking almonds:

I use roasted almonds, because I like the flavor. However you can also use raw almonds and the resulting almond milk will have a creamier texture. Put them in a bowl for 12 hours covered in water. It makes them easier to blend and helps release some of the almond’s healthy goodness too.

Add water:

How much? Depends on how thick you want the final product. The balance I’ve come to like is one cup of almonds mixed with 3 cups of room temperature water. (I always use up the water they were soaking in, but I’ve accidentally thrown that away and never really noticed a difference.)

Add sweetener:

For one cup of almonds and 3 cups of water, I find that 2 TBS of maple syrup gives a mild sweetness that I enjoy. But play as you will!

Blend:

Stick it all in a high powered blender, like a Ninja. Let it run for a while. Maybe 5-6 minutes total. I do this in stages. 2 minutes. Wait a minute. Two minutes, wait a minute. Two more minutes. This way my blender doesn’t overheat.

Strain:

You DO need cheesecloth here. A regular strainer will not work, too many little bits will get by and it will be grainy. You can get cheesecloth in the baking aisle in any store. I bought one large sheet and have used it for five different batches. (I cut it in pieces, I didn’t use the same piece multiple times.) Pour blended almond mixture through the cheese cloth slowly allowing it to drain. Then squeeze out, every last precious, delicious drop of homemade almond milk. This is the most time consuming part and takes all of about two whole minutes.

After straining, pour into a glass and enjoy.

Yup. No joke. That’s it. It’s sort of like magic.

There is all kinds of stuff you can do with the leftover almond meal. Add it to smoothies, make these almond pulp macaroons.

This homemade almond juice is a new STANDARD in my kitchen now. I struggle with dairy. It doesn’t sit well with me. I am not a fan of soy products personally, and even Lactaid (the lactose-free milk) bothers me. Almond milk from the store is ok, but it’s PRICEY and it does not taste nearly as yummy!

Plus, this stuff is better. Fresher. Cleaner. I can’t even describe it. All I can say is, take the 10 minutes, and try it making it yourself!

Printable Almond Milk Recipe:

How long does homemade almond milk last?

Store for up to one week in fridge. Stir or shake before each use.

Does almond milk go bad?

Yes, it sure does. And fresh almond milk made at home does not stay good for as long as store bought since it does not have preservatives.

How to tell if almond milk is bad?

If it has been stored in the refrigerator for under a week it should be fine. If it has been stored in the refrigerator for over a week it should be tossed out. When in doubt, smell the almond milk. It will smell a bit sour if it is going off.

I hope you enjoy this easy homemade almond milk recipe.  Let me know if you try it out!

Related Recipes:

Homemade Almond Butter

Homemade Cashew Milk Recipe

Iced Mocha Oatmilk Recipe