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Almond Milk is a staple in our house. It gets used in curries, sauces, baking, breads, chai and more. It is creamy enough for most uses and works beautifully as a dairy milk substitute.
I use blanched almonds for a less prominent almond flavor in the milk, which works beautifully in Masala Chai, Coffee, Lattes, smoothies, curries and vegan almond milk based cheeses. Blanched almond milk can be strained through a regular strainer. Much easier to clean too. just scoop the pulp using a spoon, rinse the strainer and done. I don’t often make almond milk at home, because of the shelf life and because of easy availability of packaged milk, but when I do, this is how I make mine. Ha! The process works pretty much exactly with raw unpeeled almonds as well.
Almond milk from blanched almonds works so much better in chai (Spiced milk tea/chai latte) or coffee. The blanched almonds give a less intense almond flavor to the milk. If you use the almond milk often for heated concoctions or in curries. add 2 raw cashews per 1/2 cup almonds while soaking. This creamier almond milk works great for a whole milk sub for chai tea and vegan almond milk based cheeses.
The problem I have with homemade almond milk is the strong almond-y taste which can become even more prominent in a beverage such as boiled chai tea or almond milk based smoothies and milk shakes. In the pursuit of the favorite and perfect morning chai (which is a a morning must for many Indians), I decided to try blanched almonds to make the almond milk. And believe you me, it makes a world of difference. Thankfully, I do not necessarily have to blanch the almonds and peel each by hand as Blanched Almonds
I make creamier milk with less water to use in my chai or coffee and to make almond milk yogurt (from my book). Add more or less water to preferred consistency.
Steps:
Soak the almonds. Both blanched and raw pictured.
Drain completely. Then pour boiling water on the almonds and let sit for 5 minutes. This helps soften up the almonds even more for blending. Drain and wash and transfer to a blender.
Blend with 1 to 1.5 cups of water.
Strain through a regular strainer or cheesecloth lined sieve or nut milk bag for milk made with blanched almonds. Much easier to clean too. just scoop the pulp using a spoon, rinse the strainer and done.
Drain through a nut milk bag or cheesecloth lined sieve for milk made with unpeeled almonds.
Save the pulp for Cherry almond thumbprint cookies. or add to curries.
Pulp from 1/2 cup blanched almonds and 1/2 cup raw unpeeled almonds.
Drink up or store for 4 to 5 days.
How to make Almond Milk at home
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup blanched almonds , or raw almonds
- 1.5 to 2 cups water
- a tiny pinch of salt
- sweetener to taste
Instructions
- Soak the almonds in enough water overnight. I keep them on the counter for a few hours and then refrigerate.
- Drain and wash the almonds. Add boiling water to the bowl and let sit for 5 minutes.
- Drain, wash, add the almonds to the blender. Add 1 cup water.
- Blend for a few minutes for 2-3 cycles. Add 1/2 to 1 cup more water + salt + sweetener. Blend blend. I usually add 1/2 cup to make a creamy almond milk to use in chai or coffee. Add more water to preferred consistency.
- If using blanched almonds, you can strain the almond milk through a strainer or cheesecloth lined sieve or nut milk bag. Use a spoon to press when the strainer is full, remove pulp from the strainer and strain the remaining milk.
- If using unpeeled almonds, strain through a nut milk bag or cheesecloth lined sieve. Squeeze to remove as much milk as possible.
- Use the pulp to add creaminess to any of the Indian curries, soups or Dals. Or make almond pulp cookies,
- Store in the refrigerator for 4 to 5 days. If you don't use up the milk within 4 or 5 days, freeze into ice cubes to use to add to smoothies, curries etc, or make almond milk yogurt from my cookbook.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
How do stop your almond milk from separating when you add it to chai? I haven’t found any solution to this… And the morning chai is a struggle 😞
2 things. 1. sometimes the water temperature is too high, so add a tbsp of water to the boiling tea+water to reduce the boil, then add the almond milk. And heat it to just about starting to boil. hope this helps. 2 add a few (4-5) raw cashews to the soaked almonds and blend. This will help to thicken it slightly when boiling for tea.
Hope this helps!
This is brilliant. The blanched almond milk flavor is so much better. Made my life easier!!
I did a search in Google for homemade Almond Milk and yours was one of the first recipe I clicked on. ????I love the step by step photos and how to do it. I had never heard of a nut bag before. Do you have this recipe/post setup to be emailed by some chance?
yes, use the email icon on the social share bar.
LoveLove this technique using blanched peeled almonds. What do you do with the skins? I tried dehydrating them thinking they would get very crispy butbut they did not. I suspect thethe skinsskins are veryvery nutritious
hmm, i bet they are nutritious. they currently provide their nutrition to the microbes in my compost bin :). my pom also doesnt eat just the skins, he loves the pulp. maybe blend in smoothies?. or coat in melted chocolate 🙂
Beautiful photos! almond milk looks creamy and delicious!
on another note, how do you keep fleas off your little pomeranian? we don’t use any pesticides on our dog and our home so we try everything natural but was wondering if you have any “magical” potion or routine for keeping fleas off your dog and home.
thanks
Hi Jane,
I am not sure if there is anything magical. I use Miss Sarah’s Botanicals flea and tick repellent. i sometimes make my own spray with peppermint oil and citronella. we also use a Neem shampoo and bathe him often.
Thanks for the recipe! I’m a bit confused, do you have to peel the almonds after you blanch them?
you dont have to. if you want, you can peel them to make blanched almond milk.
What beautiful photos! I love making my own almond milk at home..it’s a lot cheaper and isn’t filled with a bunch of random ingredients! Thanks for sharing!!
I know right.all those gums and other things. none in homemade almond milk!
When I buy my own apartment, I’m thinking of making my own almond milk!
🙂
I very much like your cashew tip, because I used to make almond milk myself almost daily, but I stopped because I found the milk to be too runny and not creamy enough. Chai lattes would become way too diluted with my recipe, and I didn’t like that (but who does like watery chai lattes anyway?). So, I will definately give your tip a try. Thanks!
Awesome!