Making homemade nut milk is much easier than most people think. It is one of those simple kitchen tasks that feels really rewarding, and it is something I make at least twice most weeks. I love that it can be tailored to whatever nuts or seeds I have on hand—or whatever family members prefer: walnuts, cashews, pecans, sunflower seeds… even a little blend of a few. Once you’ve got the basic method down, you can easily turn it into a cozy chai-spiced version, a refined sugar-free chocolate milk, or even hot cocoa (my kids love this!). It’s fresh, versatile, and such a great staple to have in the fridge.
Step by step instructions for making homemade nut milk
Gather all ingredients: Nuts, filtered water and sea salt.
Add the nuts and a pinch of sea salt to a bowl, cover with water (this is separate from the filtered water used for blending), and let soak for 6–8 hours or overnight.
Once soaked, drain and rinse the nuts through a fine mesh sieve.
Add the nuts to a high speed blender, along with 4 cups of filtered water, the remaining pinch of fine sea salt and any desired add-ins. Blend on high for 45 seconds.
Place a nut milk bag over a medium-sized bowl and strain the milk through it.
Transfer the strained milk to a glass jar or bottle (use a funnel if needed) and store in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Homemade Nut Milk
Making homemade nut milk is easy and allows you to tailor your milk to your specific taste - or use it as a base for refined sugar-free chocolate* milk or chai-spiced** milk.
3.5
cups10
minutes6-8
hoursKeep the screen of your device on
Ingredients
1 cup nuts or seeds (almonds, walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, Brazil nuts, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds...)
4 cups filtered water (extra for soaking)
2 pinches fine sea salt, divided
- Optional add-ins
chai spice blend,** cacao powder*, cinnamon, vanilla extract, dates, maple syrup....
Directions
- Add 1 cup of nuts (I like to use a combination of walnuts along with some sunflower seeds and 2 Brazil nuts) and a pinch of salt to a medium bowl, cover with water (this is separate from the 4 cups of filtered water used for blending) and let soak at room temperature for 6-8 hours or overnight.***
- Once soaked, drain and rinse the nuts through a fine mesh sieve.
- Add the nuts to a high speed blender, along with 4 cups of filtered water, the remaining pinch of fine sea salt and any desired add-ins. Blend on high for 45 seconds.
- Place a nut milk bag over a medium-sized bowl and strain the milk through it.
- Transfer the strained milk to a glass jar or bottle and store in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Notes
- * To make chocolate milk, first follow the instructions to make your nut milk. Once strained, return it to the blender and add good-quality cacao powder along with 1–2 tablespoons of maple syrup (or to taste) or a couple of dates. Blend briefly until smooth.
- ** To make chai-spiced milk, simply add a couple of dates or about 1 tablespoon of maple syrup, along with 1 teaspoon of chai spice blend, directly to the blender with your soaked nuts and water before blending.
- ***Most nuts can be soaked at room temperature overnight. However, pecans, cashews, and macadamias are softer and do not benefit from longer soaking times. If soaking them for more than 4 hours, I recommend transferring them to the fridge.
