How to Make Your Favorite Plant-based Mylks at Home

Almond mylk, oat mylk, hemp mylk, cashew mylk, coconut mylk… the non-dairy options are endless and I love them all. What’s your fave? I’m a firm believer in making your own homemade mylks rather than opting for the mass produced boxed options. Most store bought alternative mylks have additives in it to thicken the consistency and increase the shelf life. While yes, they are tasty and convenient, they’re not all that great for our health. In addition to the not so natural additive, store bought nut mylks are about 2% real nuts…. Let that sink in.

The good news is that making homemade mylks is very easy and so delicious that once you switch to homemade you won’t want to go back. All you need is a high speed blender, a nut mylk bag or cheese cloth and your nut/seed of choice. Pro tip: reuse your empty OWL Venice mason jars to store your homemade nut mylks. Read on for recipes!

Almond Mylk

• 1 cup almonds (preferably soaked overnight)
• 3 cups water or coconut water (coconut adds sweetness!)
• 1 date (more for sweeter mylk)
• Pinch of himalayan pink salt

Add all of the ingredients to a high speed blender and blend for 1-2 minutes. Strain the liquid into a big jar through a nut mylk bag or cheesecloth to separate the pulp from the mylk. Almonds create a lot of pulp so I recommend squeezing (err… mylking?) the bag a few times to get all of the juice out of the nuts. Cover and refrigerate. (Tip: don’t throw the almond pulp away! This can be used in baked goods or smoothies.)

Cashew Mylk

• 1 cup cashews (preferably soaked overnight)
• 4 cups water
• 1 date (more for sweeter mylk)
• Pinch of himalayan sea salt

Add all of the ingredients to a high speed blender and blend for 1-2 minutes. No need to strain the cashew mylk, once it’s blended it’s ready to drink! 

Hemp Mylk

• 1/2 cup hemp hearts (hemp seeds only need to be soaked for 30 minutes)
• 3 cups water
• 1 date (more for sweeter mylk)
• Pinch of himalayan sea salt

Add all of the ingredients to a high speed blender and blend for 45 seconds to one minute. The hemp mylk doesn’t need to be strained, chill and enjoy! 

Oat Mylk

• 1 cup rolled oats (no need to soak oats)
• 4 cups water
• 1 date (more for sweeter mylk)
• Pinch of himalayan pink salt

Add all of the ingredients to a high speed blender and blend for 30-45 seconds (any longer and it could ruin the consistency of the mylk). Using a fine mesh sieve strain the pulp from the mylk (a nut mylk bag will let too much pulp through for this one). Chill and enjoy!

Optional add-ins

Once you’re comfortable with the basic versions of these mylks you can play around with the flavor with different add ins. I recommend having fun and getting creative in the kitchen, but here’s a few of my favorites:

• 1 tsp of raw cacao powder
• ½ tsp cinnamon powder
• ½ tsp cardamom powder
• ½ cup strawberries
• 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

A FEW THINGS TO NOTE...

Separation is totally natural. These mylks don’t have the binders or gums that most store bought mylks do, so they may look a little different. If you see the pulp separate from the mylk - no fret, just give it a good shake before serving.

Shelf life may vary. Without the preservatives in store bought alternative mylks you’ll find that the shelf life in the homemade variations is much shorter. I find that most homemade mylks stay good for about 3-4 days, so when you make it be ready to drink it! As you near the end of the shelf life make sure to do the ol’ sniff test before pouring it into your coffee or smoothie.

Less is more. Homemade mylks are much more nutrient dense than store bought varieties. You may find that your normal nut mylk serving can be cut in half when using your homemade varieties.