Homemade Maple Vanilla Almond Milk
Learn how to make homemade vanilla almond milk, lightly sweetened with pure maple syrup, with these easy-to-follow tutorial.
There is nothing quite like discovering how to make a simple pantry staple, such as homemade almond butter, or in this case, homemade maple vanilla almond milk from scratch. Particularly if it helps you save money or trips to the grocery store.
Though I prefer dairy milk for baking, drinking, and cooking, I do enjoy a good nut milk every now and then, particularly in cooked oatmeal (or broken farro!), homemade smoothies, or various baked goods.
Most store-bought almond milk contains added sugar, lecithins, or thickeners, which is why I love to make it from scratch whenever possible. Believe it or not, homemade almond milk is very easy to make!
This version is flavored with pure vanilla extract and a touch of pure maple syrup for sweetness. Feel free to adjust or adapt the recipe to suit your taste preferences!
Here’s What You’ll Need:
- basic or high-powered blender
- raw almonds (or any raw nut of your choosing such as cashews, soy nuts, etc.)
- water
- nut milk bag or fine-meshed sieve with cheesecloth
How to Make Homemade Vanilla Almond Milk:
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Place the almonds in a blender container or measuring cup and cover with cold water. Let sit overnight for at least 8 hours or as long as 24 hours to soften.
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After allowing the almonds to soak, strain and transfer back to the blender. Add 5 cups of cold water, the maple syrup, vanilla extract, and salt. Cover tightly with lid and blend until very smooth and creamy. The milk will be white and the almond should be finely blended.
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Set a nut milk bag (or cheesecloth lined fine meshed sieve) over a large container of your choosing (make sure it is at least one quart in size). Pour the almond milk slowly into the nut milk bag, allowing the milk to drip into the container, separating the almond pulp.
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Press down the nut pulp with a spatula to drain any additional milk. Chill and store the almond milk in the refrigerator. Best used within 2 to 3 days, shake well before using.
What To Do with Leftover Almond Pulp?
After straining, you can either compost, discard, or save the almond pulp. If you have a dehydrator, you can dehydrate nut pulp and use it in various almond pulp baked goods.
Homemade Maple Vanilla Almond Milk
Ingredients
- 1 cup (140g) raw whole almonds
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup optional
- 1½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract optional
- pinch kosher salt
Instructions
- Place the almonds in a blender container or measuring cup and cover with cold water. Let sit overnight for at least 8 hours or as long as 24 hours to soften.
- After allowing the almonds to soak, strain and transfer back to the blender. Add 4-5 cups of cold water (total amount will adjust creaminess), the maple syrup, vanilla extract, and salt. Cover tightly with lid and blend until very smooth and creamy. The milk will be white and the almond should be finely blended.
- Set a nut milk bag (or cheesecloth lined fine meshed sieve) over a large container of your choosing (make sure it is at least one quart in size). Pour the almond milk slowly into the nut milk bag, allowing the milk to drip into the container, separating the almond pulp.
- Press down the nut pulp with a spatula to drain any additional milk. Chill and store the almond milk in the refrigerator. Best used within 2 to 3 days, shake well before using.
- Discard (compost) the almond pulp or dehydrate and use it for various baked goods.
12 Comments on “Homemade Maple Vanilla Almond Milk”
I have made cinnamon/maple almond butter and I loved it, but more on a spoon than as a spread. It definitely helps though! Thanks for the tip 🙂
Thanks for the tip! I think I’ll even strain it next time. Just to see what it’s supposed to be like.
Try flavored almond butter if you haven’t already! I think plain almond butter is disgusting, but add some cinnamon and maple and I’m super happy.
I’m not a huge fan of raw almonds just to munch on, but I’m using them more and more in baking and loving them. I still can’t choose almond butter over PB 🙂
So glad you made this and it worked out. Great! Always shake almond milk before you drink it, it comes together and makes it more creamy. Thanks for visiting!
Laura
Thank you so much! It was 🙂
I made this! I try to eat almonds although I dislike them, so I didn’t separate the pulp. I guess that’s kind of weird, but thanks for making almonds more edible. 🙂 And after a few hours, the nut mix separated from the almond milk part and the almond milk part was really yummy. Thanks again!
your almond milk looks so creamy! <333
Thank you so much! I’m not a big fan of drinking almond milk plain, but I love the flavor it adds to cooked oatmeal, especially. What a great idea for the pulp! Must try that next time…
~Laura
I was so surprised and excited to learn how easy it is to make at home! You could always make a different nut milk too–or a 50/50 nut milk (for ex: cashew & almond) if you want something really different.
Thanks for stopping by!
Your almond milk looks amazing! I tried making it once and it was too watery and not very good. I’ll have to give it another try!
I saved the pulp and made homemade “Larabars” with it- but I love your tip about dehydrating it!
I just discovered how good almond milk is earlier this year, but I’ve never thought about making my own. I can’t wait to try this. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
I was a bit bummed after I threw it out once I discovered all of its uses! Oh well 🙂 Thank you so much! Hoping I can do a trip update at some point
I’ve made almond milk before but I’ve never thought to save the pulp for anything, what a great idea! Love your blog, you take such beautiful photographs. Hope you have a safe trip to San Francisco!