Store-bought plant-based milks can have so many questionable ingredients that aren’t healthy or beneficial to your health like carrageenan, artificial colors and flavors, xanthan gum, soy lecithin, and vegetable oils. The best way to avoid these extra ingredients is to make your own! It’s actually a lot of fun and doesn’t take more than about 20 minutes once everything is prepped.
What you need (I’ve linked some of my favorites):
- Oats, almonds, cashews, or other nut of choice
- Vanilla extract
- Himalayan salt
- A blender
- A wooden spoon or spatula
- Pitted dates
- A large and small mesh strainer
- Cheesecloth bags
- A large pot
- Glass jars (we reuse pasta jars)
- A glass container with a lid
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Filtered water
NOTE: To reduce toxic chemical exposure, try to buy organic whenever possible. Non-organic oats, for example, are one of the heaviest glyphosate sprayed crops in America.
How to make it:
- Put 2 cups of oats or nuts in a glass container and add enough filtered water to cover. Soak overnight.
- Strain the soaked oats or nuts and set aside.
- Fill up the blender with 6 cups of filtered water, add the oats or nuts and the dates. Blend on high speed for 1 minute or until the almonds are finely ground.
- While blending, place the large mesh strainer inside the cheesecloth bag and set on top of the large pot. It’s helpful if your pot is deep enough so that the cheesecloth won’t “hang” into the milk as it’s straining the milk. I like this method because it offers three levels of filtering that doesn’t leave behind any sediment.
- Pour the milk into the cheesecloth. I usually stir the milk around while it strains.
- Once all liquid has strained into the pot, you will be left with a ball of pulp that looks like dough (pulp) Set aside the pulp if repurposing or discard.
- Pour the strained milk into storage jars. Use a small mesh strainer to filter any additional pulp.
- Add 1/4 tsp salt and 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract per 48 oz (more to taste).
- Stir, refrigerate, and enjoy! We find that this lasts in the fridge for ~4-5 days, but we quickly use it with granola, oats, or mixed in with supplement powders.
Whether you’re lactose intolerant, vegan, vegetarian, trying to reduce your carbon footprint, like making your own food, or just enjoy the sweeter taste of plant-based milk, you can’t go wrong with this simple recipe that only contains ingredients that you want to add – nothing more.