I have been dairy-free for quite some time. As a little girl, I wouldn’t eat cheese or drink milk. I didn’t like the taste of them. To this day, if I don’t order a custom pizza for myself, I meticulously pick off all the toppings and then scrape the cheese off. I then rearrange all the toppings back on the pizza.

I used almond milk as my alternative to milk for a long time. I even tried oat milk. But cashew milk has become my favorite. It is so creamy, has more substance, and I don’t feel like I’m drinking skim milk. I love using it as my alternative in recipes that call for milk, heavy cream, or half and half.

Because I’ve been slowly tweaking our pantry and fridge for food that receives a great score on the Yuka app, I wanted to figure out how to make homemade cashew milk without all the nasty gums and additives they put in store-bought alternative milk. After researching and figuring out the basic ingredients and steps for making cashew milk, I made my first batch with no issues. It was that easy!

I made this cashew milk one day to see if it was worth my time and effort. I’m telling you, it is. The taste is beyond anything I would get at the store. It’s so yummy. I would drink it straight—and that’s saying a lot. The smell is so rich and fresh. It does well as an alternative to milk in homemade pancakes and waffles. I have also made homemade biscuits using this cashew milk.

Making this cashew milk requires little to no effort; it takes me as long as it would to make a smoothie, about five minutes or less. With this recipe, the yield is about 5 cups of cashew milk. That is less than what you would get at your local grocery store, but because it expires rather quickly, I find it’s okay that it doesn’t make a ton because a lot would go to waste. If you are finding you can’t get through the milk quickly enough, you can halve the recipe or freeze extra cashew milk in a silicone ice tray so you can pop them out to use however you like. Thawing it for your coffee or popping them in a blender for a smoothie. Or you can put the cubes in soup to add creaminess. I love that this cashew milk is, first of all, super fresh; second, it has no nasty additives; and third, it tastes better than store-bought!

The common recipe for cashew milk is 1 cup of cashews to 4 cups of water. Then, it’s up to the individual to add sweeteners or flavor. The rich, nutty smell after you pour it into the jar, gosh, it’s a chef’s kiss!

Homemade Cashew Milk

At The LoDown, we use five ingredients to make our cashew milk creamy and delicious. This five-ingredient cashew milk can be made in five minutes without straining. Blend all the ingredients, and voilà! You've got your very own cashew milk.

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Cook Time 5 minutes mins

Soaking Time 4 hours hrs

Total Time 4 hours hrs 5 minutes mins

Course Drinks

Equipment

• 1 High Power Blender You want a blender that will get those cashews blended without any chunks left over. I have found that a high-powered blender like Vitamix works best for this.
• 4 Measuring Cups You will need a teaspoon, a tablespoon, a 1 cup measuring cup, and a four-cup measuring cup for liquid.
• 1-2 Sealable Jars I just used Mason jars I had on hand, but any sort of sealable jar will work great.

Ingredients

  

• 1 cup cashews You want raw, unroasted, and unsalted.
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1-2 tbsp honey
• 2 pinches kosher salt

Instructions

 

• Soak your cashews in a bowl of water that covers the cashews. Cover and put in the fridge overnight, or for at least 4 hours.
  1 cup cashews
  
• Gather your ingredients, strain and rinse the cashews, and put in blender.
• Add the remaining ingredients to your blender – kosher salt, honey, vanilla extract and water.
  1 tsp vanilla extract, 1-2 tbsp honey, 2 pinches kosher salt
  
• Blend for at least 2 minutes. If the cashews are not completely blended down, continue blending until creamy. If they won't blend down you will need to strain.
  
• Pour your fresh cashew milk into a sealable jar and refridgerate.
  

Notes

• In place of honey, you may use Pure Maple Syrup.
• This cashew milk will last 3-5 days in the fridge.
• If your blender cannot break down the cashews, you must strain it using a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth.

Keyword dairy free, drinks, gluten free, naturally sweetened

After making my cashew milk, I poured some back into the blender to give my smoothie a creamy base. It adds so much flavor to my smoothies. I had been using a cashew milk alternative yogurt, but I couldn’t get through it quickly enough, and it was going to waste. After adding this homemade cashew milk to my morning smoothie, I can attest that it’s better than the alternative yogurt.