Making your own almond milk requires a bit of planning, but it's surprisingly simple (no actual cooking required), and it requires very little actual work.

Homemade almond milk is much less expensive than store-bought, it doesn't have the unnecessary chemicals (search the Web for carrageenan), and it just tastes better.

So let's talk about how to make almond milk already. This recipe will make 2 cups of almond milk, which will keep for about 2 – 3 days. As a byproduct, you'll also get 1 cup of almond meal.



Creating almond milk is a two-stage process. Overall, you'll need:

  • Almonds (1 cup)
  • Filtered water (3 – 4 cups)

Appliances & tools

  • A blender, food processor, or hand blender (my hand blender on Amazon)
  • Cheesecloth or a nut milk bag (my nut milk bag on Amazon)

1.  Soak the almonds

The first step is to soak the almonds:

  1. Put the almonds (1 cup) in an airtight container, and cover them with water(about 1 – 2 cups, but the exact amount really doesn't matter).
  2. Now, store everything in your fridge overnight. I recommend at least 12 – 48 hours. The longer you soak the almonds, the smoother your milk will be.

2.  Milk the almonds

After you've soaked the almonds overnight, you're ready to milk them:

  1. First, drain the almonds with a colander. You'll use fresh water to make the almond milk.
  2. Add the drained almonds and 2 cups of filtered water to a blender, food processor, or mixing cup (such as the one pictured here—if you prefer to use a hand blender).
  3. Blend the almonds and water for about 3 minutes, until it looks smooth and frothy.
  4. Now filter the mixture through cheesecloth or (nut milk bag), and squeeze the cheesecloth to get out all the milk. A lot of the milk is actually trapped in the almond pulp, so really squeeze the cheesecloth to get every last drop.
Note  You'll know you've squeezed out all the liquid once you have 2 cups of almond milk. 

Refrigerate your almond milk and it'll keep for 2 – 3 days (which is why I only make 2 cups). Also, since it doesn't have the added chemicals, shake well before using it.

3.  Almond meal

What you have left in the cheesecloth is almond meal (AKA almond flour). If you like, keep it for baking (breading fish etc.) by dehydrating it:

  1. Smooth it into a thin layer on a sheet pan.
  2. Bake it in a 200-degree oven for at least 1 hour, stirring every 30 minutes to break up the chunks. You should now have about 1 cup of almond meal. 
  3. To store the almond meal, keep it in the freezer in an airtight container.

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