Homemade almond, oat, or rice milk

Looking for an inexpensive, easy, tasty, and nutritious alternative to cow milk? You’ll love this foolproof recipe for making your own dairy-free milk substitute at home. This formula works for transforming nearly any nut or grain into a creamy, delicious replacement for dairy. Why make your own “milk”? Well, homemade milk is fresher and less expensive, can be made with things you already have in the pantry, adapts to fit your family’s unique dietary needs, reduces waste, and tastes amazing. Also, most of the milk alternatives sold in the store have nasty additives such as sugar and carrageenan, a thickener which some researchers believe causes systemic inflammation. You don’t need any of that!

The basic formula is this: one cup of something to three cups of water. Soak, blend, strain, enjoy. It’s that easy. I’ve used this formula with almonds, oats, and rice, but it works for cashews, quinoa, coconut, and more. Use your imagination and whatever you have on hand. The recipes below include tips for specific ingredients, but feel free to adapt to meet your needs.

Almond milk

Soak 1 cup of raw almonds in water overnight. Make sure there is enough water to keep the almonds submerged when they begin to swell. Drain and rinse the soaked almonds and place them in a blender with 3 cups of water*. Blend for several minutes, until the liquid looks white and creamy. Strain the blended contents through a fine mesh sieve set over a bowl; reserve the resulting almond pulp for another purpose**. Pour the almond milk into a quart jar. Refrigerate and use within 3 days.

*If desired, you can flavor your almond milk at this point with a dash of cinnamon, a pinch of salt, a teaspoon of vanilla, and a few dates. Blend these ingredients along with the almonds for a sweet treat.

**The first time I made almond milk, I tried using the leftover pulp to make almond butter. The result was a completely unpalatable mealy paste. The best use I’ve found so far is to add the almond pulp to your other ingredients when making homemade granola, such as this recipe from Minimalist Baker. 

Oat milk

Soak 1 cup of oats in 3 cups of water overnight. Do not drain the oats; add the oats with their soaking water to the blender and blend for several minutes, until the liquid looks white and creamy. Strain the blended contents through a fine mesh sieve set over a bowl; reserve the blended oat solids for a delicious breakfast porridge (just microwave to warm, then add toppings). Pour the oat milk into a quart jar. Refrigerate and use within 3 days.

Rice milk

Soak 1 cup of rice in 3 cups of water overnight. Do not drain the rice; add the rice with its soaking water to the blender and blend for several minutes, until the liquid looks white and creamy. Strain the blended contents through a fine mesh sieve set over a bowl; reserve the blended rice solids to make a hot breakfast cereal. Pour the rice milk into a quart jar. Refrigerate and use within 3 days.