Almond milk is simple and delicious with this four ingredient recipe that can be a favorite in your home too.
From Scratch
Making everything from scratch takes time. It also means lots of dishes. Some items are worth buying and others are worth making your own.
This almond milk can be made in about 5 minutes. I really love the taste of it and to me the 5 minutes are worth it.
Do I always make this every time we need almond milk? No, but I do try to make it more often than I buy it.
Truly Raw Almonds
Raw almonds are the best choice for this milk. A raw nut just means it hasn’t been exposed to high heat and high heat – like when being roasted – kills some of the nutrients, antioxidants, as well as natural enzymes that nuts naturally carry.
Truly raw almonds are a little bit expensive and a little harder to come by in the US. As of 2007, all almonds were required to be pasteurized – either steamed, irradiated, roasted, blanched or treated with propylene oxide.
The problem is, there is no rule requiring a farmer to label what form of pasteurization they use. Typically, going organic does limit what products are used on the nut. Organic almonds are typically steamed – better than chemicals, in my opinion.
I often buy truly raw almonds from Azure Standard. You can also find them online at other retailers. Sprouts, Whole Foods and Trader Joes carry Organic Almonds. Do what works best for you, your health and your wallet.
Soaked for Better Digestion
The nuts in this recipe can be soaked to help with digestion. Soaking them requires a little forethought. I place my 1 1/2 cup of almonds in a clean jar, add clean water and a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar, if desired. Let them sit for 8-12 hours. Drain the water before following the recipe.
Soaking them will help them blend smoother but the recipe can also be made without the soaking time. It still works just as well.
You need a good blender, a nut bag (I’ve used the same one for 10 years), almonds, water, maple syrup, vanilla, if you like and salt for this quick recipe. If you have that, you are ready to go.
My Favorite Simple Almond Milk
6 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups raw almonds
2-3 tablespoons maple syrup – optional
2 – 3 teaspoons vanilla – optional
1/2 teaspoon salt
Directions
In the bowl of a blender, add 4 cups of water and the almonds. Blend for 30-60 seconds until the mixture looks frothy and creamy.
With the nut bag sitting inside a medium sized bowl, pour the almond mixture into the bag. Close the top of the bag and squeeze carefully so that you get all the valuable milk into the bowl and not all over your face :). Continue to squeeze the bag until no more milk comes out. Set the bag with the nut meal aside.
To the milk, add the additional 2 1/2 cups of water, maple syrup, vanilla, and salt. Stir well. Store the milk in a jar in the fridge. It will last about 4 days.
You can use the nut meal in recipes as well. I often throw a 1/4 cup into muffin or cookie recipes without any change to the rest of the recipe. I love to use it in granola. This recipe calls for almond flour and I use the almond meal in place of that. If i’m not quite ready to use it, I keep a bag of it in the freezer until I am.
