how make nut milk + what to do with leftover nut pulp
Fun fact 1: My mom used to make soy milk and almond milk at home, and add ground up calcium pills for a DIY dairy free milk.
Fun fact 2: I refused to drink said milk.
Fun fact 3: I staunchly believed that it was too difficult to make your own milk as a college student.
Fun fact 4: I now appreciate fun fact 1, regret fun fact 2, and was very, very wrong about fun fact 3.
As a crazy busy college student, I didn't try making my own nut milk until Ellie's Best sent me a couple of nut milk bags to try. I read their instructions and was a little skeptical of how easy it was. Like, I just had to soak some nuts, blend them up, strain them through the bag, and I'd have my own nut milk?
Joke's on me. Of course it was that easy.
I kicked myself for not realizing it sooner and making my own nut milk sooner. It's creamy, pure, and doesn't contain any of the gums, lecithins, or carrageenan that store-bought milks have.
Below are two recipes — one for making your own almond milk, one for crackers you can make with the pulp, and a bunch of links from fellow bloggers on other things you can make with nut milk pulp!
Enjoy, and happy nut-milking ;)
If you want to try making your own, you can use my code nancy10 for 10% off your purchase on Ellie's Best bags!
Easy Homemade Almond Milk
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw almonds
- Ellie's Best BIGGER Better Nut Milk Bag (use nancy10 at checkout for 10% off!), cheesecloth, or other nut milk bag
- Mason jar
- Blender (I use the Ninja Mega Kitchen System)
- Filtered water
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Pink Himalayan sea salt, to taste
- Optional: 1-2 pitted dates (soaked) or honey, cinnamon
Directions
- Soak 1 cup of raw almonds in a mason jar — fill jar up to the top with water — for 8-12 hours. I like doing this in the morning and then making the nut milk when I come back home, or doing it before bed and making the nut milk in the morning.
- Drain the almonds and place in blender. Add 4 1/2 cups filtered water, vanilla extract, and sea salt, and blend on high for 1-2 minutes (depending on how powerful the blender is).
- In a large bowl, slowly pour the nut milk into the nut milk bag, making sure to squeeze occasionally to get the excess liquid out.
- Store in an airtight container (I like the large mason jars) and enjoy!
Recipe adapted from Ellie's Best Nut Milk Recipes book — you can get your free PDF copy here!
Simple Almond Pulp Crackers
Ingredients
- Leftover almond pulp from making 4 cups of almond milk (about 1 cup)
- 2 tbsp flaxseed meal
- Salt, to taste
- Enough water to bind it together
- Optional: nutritional yeast, cayenne, and pepper for savory crackers
Directions
- Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl. Add enough water enough it forms a dough-like consistency.
- On a flat baking pan with parchment paper on top, spread out the dough until it's very thin (about 1/4 inch).
- Bake at 350 degrees F until golden brown (about 25 minutes). After 15 minutes, check every 5 minutes to make sure the crackers aren't burning.
Other amazing nut milk and nut pulp recipes:
Disclaimer: I received the nut milk bags for free from Ellie's Best in return for reviews on their product.