This Sweetened Vanilla Almond Milk recipe is smooth, creamy, and naturally sweetened! It's an easy, homemade recipe that's a healthy alternative to the store bought stuff. It's SCD, paleo, whole30, gluten free, grain free, dairy free, and refined sugar free.
Have you ever had store-bought almond milk? Have you ever glanced at the ingredients in that store-bought almond milk? It's not pretty!
The rule of thumb I try to follow is that if I can't pronounce the ingredient and/or it's not something I would typically find in my kitchen, I don't eat it.
This homemade almond milk recipe tastes better, uses less than a handful of ingredients that you can actually pronounce and is super easy to make!
Ingredients
- raw, unsalted almonds
- vanilla extract
- date
- filtered water
Together, the date and vanilla add just a touch of sweetness but feel free to omit them for a plain almond milk.
How to make sweetened vanilla almond milk
Begin by soaking the almonds in fresh water for 12 hours before draining, rinsing, then draining agan.
About 5 minutes before you plan on making your homemade vanilla almond milk, place a pitted date in a cup of warm water to help it soften.
Place the prepared almonds, softened date, and vanilla extract in a blender along with fresh water. Do not use the same water the almonds were soaking in!
Blend on high speed until smooth, you may still see little pieces of the date.
Place a nut bag
or cheesecloth
in a large measuring cup or bowl and pour in the blended almond milk.
Now it's time to use your muscles and squeeze as much of the milk out as you can!
Then squeeze again! Try to get out as much of that delicious milk as possible!
How to store the almond milk
Homemade almond milk can be kept in a sealed jar and stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
If you don't think you'll be able to finish all the milk within the 5 day timespan, I suggest pouring leftovers into an ice cube tray and freezing!
This makes it so easy to pop some out to add to smoothies or make sure you have some on hand for recipes that call for it!
More homemade basics for cooking!
- Homemade Mild Taco Seasoning
- Homemade BBQ Sauce
- Sweet and Sour Sauce
- Homemade Coconut Butter
- Honey Italian Meringue
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NOTE: If following the SCD diet, I suggest contacting the company to verify ingredients before using any prepackaged products.
Recipe
Sweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
Equipment
- 1 nut bag or cheesecloth
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted, raw almonds
- 8 cups water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract optional
- 1 date optional
Instructions
- Place almonds in a bowl with 4 cups of water. Cover and allow to soak for at least 12 hours but no more than 24 hours.
- When you're ready to make your almond milk, carefully cut open a date and discard the pit. Place the date in a warm cup of water for about 5 minutes. This will help it soften so it's easier to blend.
- Use a colander to drain and rinse the almonds.
- Place the prepared almonds, vanilla extract, and softened date in a high speed blender along with 4 cups of filtered water and blend until the almonds have turned into a fine grain texture.
- Place a nut bag or cheesecloth into a large measuring cup or bowl and pour the almond milk into it.
- Lift the nut bag and squeeze from the top down, multiple times until you can't squeeze anymore milk out.
- Transfer the almond milk to a covered bottle or jar and store in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days.
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