I have a little competitive streak inside of me. It doesn’t make me want to climb mountains or run marathons but what it does do is make me want to make things at home that I could easily buy – my husband lovingly teases. I love the satisfaction of creating my own yogurt, almond butter, homemade marshmallows, or chai tea concentrate. But, by far, the easiest and maybe most satisfying of these is fresh almond milk. I mean, have you ever looked at the nutrition panel on a carton of Almond Milk?! There are so many ingredients its crazy! This is what prompted me to learn how to make it myself.

You do need a few tools. A high speed blender and a nut milk bag are essential. The blender pulverizes the almonds into a pulp, and the nut milk bag helps to strain the pulp from the milk.

Lets first get past all of the jokes regarding the “nut milk bag.” Its hilarious, I agree. For those of you who share the same juvenile sense of humor, go ahead and get the giggles out about “squeezing nuts” or “milking nuts” (Why do I always imagine the scene from Meet The Parents – is it just me?)

Okay, moving on. The hardest part of this whole process is remembering to soak the almonds the night before. They need several hours to soak and soften. This process also helps to remove the phytates and aid in digestion. For those who don’t digest nuts well, the soaking process helps to ease this.

Fresh Almond milk works as a great replacement for cows milk in just about any application. The milk even foams beautifully, making for a wonderful latte, my favorite use. It will keep in the fridge for 3-5 days. You may need to agitate it a bit as it doesn’t have artificial stabilizers in it. You will be able to clearly tell if it has turned because it will take on a yellowish tinge and a funny smell. This is why I chose to make it in smaller batches.

You can adjust for the creaminess of the final product by playing with the amount of water that you add. I’ve landed on a 1:4 ratio. You can also adjust for sweetness. I sweeten it with 2 dates. It adds a hint of sweetness without adding processed sugar. Feel free to add more dates, or even honey or maple syrup if you prefer.

I hope you will enjoy the same sense of accomplishment that I get when making a better-than-store-bought version.

Fresh Squeezed Almond Milk

Prep time 5-10min.
Inactive time 6-12 hours
Makes 1 quart

Special Equipment: High Speed Blender & Nut Milk Bag

Ingredients

1 cup Raw Almonds

4 cups Filtered Water + more for soaking

2 Medjool Dates (can sub your favorite sweetner to taste)

Thats it!

Instructions

Soak your almonds in water 6 hours or over night. (I often set them up to soak before headed to bed so they are ready to go in the morning)
Drain and rinse the almonds well.
Place Almonds, 4 cups of clean, filtered water and dates (pits removed) into your high speed blender.
Blend on high speed for 2 minutes.
Pour into nut milk bag set out over a bowl or large measuring cup (8 cups).
Squeeze the pulp allowing your fresh almond milk to strain into the bowl. You have to put a little muscle into it to get the most out of the almonds.
Put into airtight pitcher and keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

Notes

Use of a “nut milk bag” is essential for this process. They are inexpensive and last a very long time. And you can amuse your friends just by putting those three words together.
Feel free to add flavor with vanilla extract
You can save the almond pulp – some people use it to add protein to smoothies, I feed it to my chickens as a special treat.