Cooking Light: Go Nuts with Homemade Almond Milk!

Almond milk is a staple in The Creative Kitchen. Its light, nutty flavor is great in smoothies, cereal, and any other recipes that call for dairy milk. For years, we’ve been purchasing store-bought almond milk – until we discovered how easy it is to make our own homemade version from our friends at Cooking Light! Homemade almond milk could not be any simpler. It contains only two ingredients – almonds and water! Now, you can have this creamy drink without the added hard-to-pronounce ingredients and with all the delicious, nutty flavor you love. View the recipe from Cooking Light below!

Homemade Almond Milk

Ingredients:

1 cup raw, unsalted almonds
2 cups water (plus more for soaking)
Optional: vanilla extract or honey for sweetening

Kitchen Tools:

Blender
Cheesecloth or nut bag

Yield: About 2 cups
Serving size: 1 cup

Step 1:

Place almonds in a medium-sized bowl. Pour in enough water to completely cover the almonds and let them soak overnight. (If you’re in a rush, use boiled water to help plump the almonds more quickly).

Step 2:

In the morning, your almonds should be almost doubled in size, lighter in color, and softer to the touch. Drain the almonds and rinse them under cold water. Place in a blender (I used a single-serve smoothie blender and it worked just fine) with 2 cups water and blend for 1-2 minutes, until a smooth, cream-colored liquid forms.

Step 3:

Using a cheesecloth placed over a fine mesh strainer (the strainer alone will leave you with too much pulp), strain the almond milk into a bowl or glass measuring cup. Take a sip and smile—you’ve just made almond milk! Try it with cereal, in a smoothie, or poured into your morning cup of coffee.

If you prefer sweetened or flavored almond milk, blend the almonds with half a vanilla bean or add a teaspoon or two of vanilla extract or honey to the finished product.

Try experimenting with different flavors! For strawberry almond milk, add strawberries with a bit more water to the blender. For a decadent chocolate almond milk, stir melted dark chocolate chips into the final product!