Homemade Almond Milk (& Almond Flour Crackers)
Welcome to my newest obsession: homemade almond milk!
Because why pay $3.99 for a carton of pre-made, store-bought almond milk when you spend $7.99 on a pound of almonds and make your own at home in a mere 4-6 hours, amiright?! …wait, no? Just me?
Sounds about right.
Okay, okay… I KNOW that it’s a bajillion times easier to just pick up some almond milk during your weekly grocery shopping (Califia Farms is my current fav, in case you’re curious), but it truly isn’t all that difficult to make your own. Bonus: you’ll definitely be able to pronounce all the ingredients AND know for sure that there aren’t any weird, hidden additives (I’m looking at you, carrageenan).
Oh, and it’s a good conversation starter. I mean, how many people do you know who make their own almond milk?
That said, this process doesn’t involve a lot of time — just a little bit of pre-planning, since you have to soak your almonds before blending them into milk. I usually prep my almonds (i.e., dump into a bowl with some water) before I leave for work, so that I can make the milk when I get home. Or if I forgot to set out the almonds for three days in a row before work, I’ll just do it before I go to bed. There’s no harm in letting the almonds soak for longer than the prescribed 4-6 hours — in fact, the longer you soak the almonds, the creamier your milk will be!
Homemade almond milk is also a great excuse to buy yourself a super cute glass bottle, like this one I purchased from Ikea. It also makes me feel kind of nostalgic, like I’ve been transported back to the 1950s and the milkman just delivered our weekly supply of fresh milk.
Weird? Probably a little.
That’s fine. Just go make yourself some damn almond milk, mmk? Then we can chat about my weird housewife fantasies (or not).
- 1 cup raw almonds
- 6 cups filtered water
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste (optional)
- Soak almonds for 4 to 6 hours or overnight.
- Rinse almonds and add to your Vitamix or other high-powered blender, along with the filtered water and vanilla (if desired).
- Blend on medium-high for 1 to 2 minutes and strain through cheesecloth or nut bag (my favorite is Ellie's Best)
- Enjoy with cereal, in baked goods, mixed into your smoothie or even on its own! Store in fridge and use within 5-7 days. Shake well before drinking, as the milk tends to separate.
Recipe from: Twist of Lemons | Homemade Almond Milk 4 Ways + Almond Flour Crackers
After straining your blended milk through cheesecloth or a nut milk bag, you really want to make sure to extract as much milk as possible (use those muscles!). This will leave you with a decent amount of leftover almond pulp. What the heck are you supposed to do with all that, you ask?! Never fear, my friends! I come armed with suggestions (shocking, I know) and even a BONUS RECIPE! Gosh, it must be your lucky day!
(or something)
One option is to store the wet almond meal in your fridge for a couple of days, throwing it into your smoothies or mixing with yogurt or oatmeal.
Another option is to dry it out completely, so that it will last longer and store more easily. To do so, spread the pulp onto a parchment-lined cookie sheet and bake at 200 degrees F for a couple of hours until completely dry. and voila! You’ve just created your own almond meal, which you can store at room temperature for a few weeks or in the freezer for up to three months. Use it in baked goods, as a crust for chicken, pork or fish or – my personal favorite – make your own rosemary almond flour crackers!
Checkity check out the recipe below ↓
- 1 batch of leftover almond pulp (about 1 cup)
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
- desired spices (I use salt, pepper, garlic powder, rosemary)
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F; line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
- Combine almond pulp, melted coconut oil and spices in a bowl and mix until crumbly.
- Transfer onto the cookie sheet and roll out to roughly ¼ inch thick Use whatever you have available - rolling pin, spoon, your hands. Make sure the edges are even all around, to prevent uneven cooking and/or burning.
- While the dough is wet, slice into squares (I find that using a pizza wheel or large knife works best). Bake for 15 minutes.
- Flip (carefully!) and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes. I like my crackers crispy, so I tend to bake a little longer than necessary.
In less than an hour’s time each week, I can make a fresh batch of vanilla almond milk and some rosemary crackers to snack on throughout the week. Not too shabby! I also highly recommend experimenting with different flavors of almond milk (like chocolate or strawberry!) and changing up your spice combinations in the crackers.
I’d love to know what you guys try :)
Happy blending, my friends!
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