How to Make Nut and Seed Milk
Whether it’s almond milk, cashew milk, or any other fun variation, alternative plant milks have been taking over our fridge shelves for years now. Nut milks and seed milks are a great alternative to dairy milk, and as a bonus, the recipe is super easy to make at home. It’s wildly delicious, fast, and super economical. While you could buy alternative milk at the grocery store, it tends to be more expensive, wasteful with packaging, and loaded with added ingredients such as preservatives and artificial sweeteners.
We asked certified holistic nutritionist Sarah Britton to show us an easy nut milk and seed milk recipe that you can make at home. You can use this milk anywhere you would use dairy milk — in baking, cooking, soups and stews, coffee and tea, smoothies, and cereal. For ideas on which nuts and seeds to use, check out the tips section below the recipe.
Easy Nut and Seed Milk Recipe
Ingredients:
Makes 4 cups
1 cup nuts or 3/4 cup seeds (raw, organic, not heated)
4 cups / 1 liter natural spring or filtered water
Sea salt
Sweetener of choice, such as 2 medjool dates, drizzle of honey, or maple syrup (optional)
Directions:
Place nuts or seeds in a glass or ceramic container (or your blender) and cover with plenty of water. Add salt:
For pecans, walnuts, or cashews, add 1 tsp. sea salt.
For almonds or hazelnuts, add 1 1/2 tsp. sea salt.
For seeds, add 1 Tbsp. sea salt.
Soak overnight. Drain and rinse well.
Blend nuts or seeds and sweetener in a blender on high for 30 seconds until most of the large chunks have been broken up.
Strain through a nut milk bag into a large bowl or other container. (Save the nut pulp to use in our vegan, no-bake Orange Vanilla Energy Bars recipe!)
Funnel the milk into a sealable bottle and store in the refrigerator for up to 3-5 days.
Tips:
Try any of these (or a combination of a few) to make your healthy nut and seed milk recipe:
Pumpkin seeds - These make a nice pale green milk.
Sesame seeds - These are a wonderful dairy alternative, especially if you’re concerned about calcium. Sesame seeds are one of the highest sources of calcium in nature, and they have higher amounts of the absorbable kind of calcium compared to dairy milk from a cow.
Sunflower seeds - Sunflower seeds are a delicious option packed with Vitamin E, magnesium, and selenium.
Brazil nuts - Brazil nuts have a high amount of selenium, which is a micro mineral that we really need but don’t often get much of.
Cashews - Cashews make a delicious, creamy milk. If you’re looking for a cream alternative, you can use cashews by reducing the amount of water when you’re blending the nuts — perfect for coffee creamer!
Hazelnut milk - The consistency is smooth and creamy.
Pecans - For some cool autumn vibes, add a pinch of cinnamon and maple syrup in the blending process.
Almond milk - Can’t go wrong with a classic!
Don’t be afraid to combine nuts and seeds. Some winning combinations: Brazil nuts and sunflower seeds. Sesame and pecan. If you don’t have an entire cup of nuts at home, feel free to mix and match according to your taste.
Make sure you get raw nuts and seeds that haven’t been toasted, salted, or combined with other flavorings.
Nuts, seeds, and grains all have phytic acid. Phytic acid binds to minerals in our digestive tract, and makes us unable to digest and absorb all the minerals in food. Soaking the nuts will help break down the phytic acid so we can absorb the minerals properly.
The ratio for the recipe is 1 part nut to 3 to 4 parts water. So if you have 1 cup of nuts, you’d use 4 cups of water. If you want a thicker or creamier milk, reduce the amount to 3 cups.
Some things you can use are dates (to add B vitamins), honey, maple syrup, a little vanilla extract, or half a vanilla bean.
Don’t have a nut milk bag? A clean T-shirt or clean pair of pantyhose works fine.
The nut pulp you get after straining is a powerful and wonderful food that doesn’t need to go to waste. You can use them in our vegan, no-bake Orange Vanilla Energy Bars recipe! Save the nut pulp in the fridge to use in a couple of days, or add it to the freezer in a tightly sealed plastic bag.
The nut and seed milk will last for 3-5 days in the fridge. Not sure about it? The smell will tell you when it’s off.
RECIPE COURTESY OF SARAH BRITTON:
Sarah Britton (BFA, CNP) is a Holistic Nutritionist and Certified Nutritional Practitioner based in Copenhagen, Denmark. Sarah is the creative force behind My New Roots, the award-winning food blog which features original recipes that taste great, look beautiful, and boast incredible health benefits. Following her philosophy of “making healthy choices every day”, she has been creating recipes for her readers all over the world since 2007.
Winner of the 2014 Saveur “Best Food Blog – Special Diets Blog” Awards, Sarah currently teaches cooking classes, runs workshops on detoxification and cleansing, food as medicine, and nutrition fundamentals. She creates exclusive menu plans and recipes for various media and gives lectures and speaks in public forums such as TEDx.