(Almonds ready to be put into the blender for fresh almond milk!)
For the sake of making inexpensive, delicious, and healthy smoothies (and because I splurged and bought a bag of almonds – making room in our grocery budget of course 
), I decided to dive into making my own almond milk.
When my brother developed a milk allergy (with me following suit a few years later) my family discovered this exquisite creamy beverage called vanilla almond milk. It is so good. I’m a huge fan of the Blue Diamond brand. However, I recently picked up Silk’s version of vanilla almond milk (on sale and with a coupon of course), and I can highly recommend that one as well.
My only problem with these healthier milk alternatives is – bet you can guess – the price. $3/1 quart just isn’t practical for our $35-$40/week grocery budget, so in the past I’ve gone without unless I find it on super sale or markdown.
Well, I’ve never tried plain almond milk, but at the rate I’ve been going through smoothies I decided to try making my own and see how practical it was for all these smoothies I’ve been making.
I know. Who has time to make homemade milk?
Call me crazy, but I think if you can periodically find the chance to whip up a batch of homemade brownies you can find the chance to whip up a batch of almond milk. They take about the same amount of time, if not less for the almond milk. However, the almond milk might not satisfy your sweet craving like the brownies do – until you use it in one of my smoothies.
Those of you with younger kids who like to help in the kitchen might be able to make it even faster. My 7 year-old neighbor who likes to come over to my house popped in for a visit just as I was getting to the second stage of making this milk. She enjoyed peeling the almonds with me.
(Helping me peel the almonds – only took us a few minutes of peeling and chatting to finish all of them!)
I got this recipe for almond milk from a fabulous whole foods resource called The New Whole Foods Encyclopedia By Rebecca Wood (check out her website here).
(The finished product should be white, frothy, and taste like… almonds. Go figure.)
Almond Milk
Makes about 2 cups of almond milk
INGREDIENTS
- 3 T. Almonds (Rebecca recommends organic. I used Kroger brand)
- 2 C. Water
- 1 T. Honey
DIRECTIONS
- Combine all ingredients in small bowl and soak over night
- The next morning, pour contents of bowl into a strainer, discarding water
- Rub almonds between hands to remove skins (This method of removing the skins didn’t work for me, so I simply peeled the skins off. After soaking them, it was really easy to do)
- Discard skins
- Place peeled almonds in blender
- Add water and sweetener to the almonds in the blender (Rebecca didn’t specify how much water and sweetener for this stage, so I used the same amount of water – 2 cups – and left out the sweetener since I wasn’t planning to drink it straight)
- Blend on high speed until smooth
- Store in a tupperware container in the refrigerator and use within a few days
- Optional: pour almond milk through a strainer for smoother consistency
(Combining the almonds, water, and honey for an overnight soak.)
After making the almond milk, I used it in a strawberry nut smoothie, leaving out the nuts of course, since they were already in the milk.
It was fantastic.
Since I’m all about cooking inexpensively using healthy fresh ingredients, let’s compare the costs and quality.
A 1 quart “box” of almond milk usually costs just under $3. I bought 1 lb. of almonds for $4.49, which, loosely calculated, equals about 32 T. Using the recipe above, I can make 1 quart of almond milk for about $1 (if not less than that), and it takes about as much time as throwing together a batch of homemade brownies – less if my little neighborhood friend is helping me.
Obviously, this fresh almond milk hasn’t been hyper-pasteurized like the non-refrigerated boxes of almond milk you can buy at the store. I’m not a health expert, but I’d like to think that making your own has some added health benefits.
So yeah, to me, it’s worth it.
I liked it in the smoothies so much I didn’t try to use it in any baked goods. However, it should work just as well…. Now I have a goal for the next time I splurge on almonds .
What about you – have you ever made your own dairy-free milk alternative? I know I can go crazy with making everything from scratch, and to me it’s worth it. However, do you think it’s worth your time? Why or why not?
Speak up! I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Steph
5 comments
1 ping
Dawn
07/20/2010 at 6:46 PM (UTC -6)
We love almond milk! We use Maple Syrup (added after soaking, while blending) and a tiny smidgen of sea salt can really enhance the flavor as well.
Almond milk is a perfect dairy alternative in all of my cooking and baking needs so far, but it’s so fabulous fresh, we rarely have enough left for our baking!
Thanks for sharing!!
Steph
07/21/2010 at 11:55 AM (UTC -6)
Yum, sounds fantastic! So glad to know that it works for cooking too. Now I don’t need to be concerned about possibly ruining a whole batch of pancakes
Erin
01/16/2012 at 8:45 PM (UTC -6)
I’ll have to try this sometime. Maybe after we actually invest in a blender.
You were writing about adding it to baked goods and I wanted to make a recommendation because after Nathan and I tried it we loved it. We made our whole wheat pancakes with almond milk! It was so delicious! It gave the pancakes an even richer nut flavor. We loved it.
Steph
01/16/2012 at 10:16 PM (UTC -6)
Yes! Since going df this time I’ve been adding it to waffles and pancakes, and you’re right. It totally works. I also discovered I could make a quart at a time and freeze it in smaller jars (like 1 1/2 cups), then thaw them when I needed to use milk. Works so well, and I think it’s saving money even compared to buying regular milk. Score.
Poonam
01/26/2012 at 10:10 AM (UTC -6)
we got almonds @ 3.99 per lbs from sprouts this weekend & tried this awesome recipie . it same out awesome without any sweetener. Thanks
Vegetables for Breakfast: Slow Cooker Sweet Potatoes » The Cheapskate Cook
02/07/2012 at 10:31 PM (UTC -6)
[...] {stirred in leftover almond meal from making almond milk} [...]