Rich, creamy, dairy-free, easy to make and no straining! Homemade Cashew Milk is my go-to milk for every day. vegan + gluten free
How do you feel about nut milk?
I’ve been playing around with a few different nut milks, and so far, Homemade Cashew Milk has my attention. I tried almond milk, but could never figure out what to do with all the leftover pulp. Even trying to use the pulp in smoothies and brownies, it just didn’t work for me. And I can’t bear the thought of composting or throwing it out.
What I appreciate most about Cashew Milk is its rich, creamy texture and versatility. After all, I’ve made matcha chia pudding, ice cream, dressing, a whole foods, dreamy shake, thickened soup with variations of Cashew Milk and made dreamy mashed potatoes and a creamy stovetop mac and cheese with it. I also use a frothing wand on the espresso machine to whip up a dreamy homemade cappuccino – the cashew milk becomes light, and airy without separating!
It works beautifully in baking too. I use it in hazelnut chocolate cake, banana-oat pecan waffles, a tender pastry for this apple pie and a Dutch baby, among others.
Cashew Nut Milk Tips:
- A high-speed blender is a must for nut milk. To get the cashews perfectly smooth: I use Vitamix. You don’t have to strain the blended cashews, so all the fiber and nutrients are retained. Just soak the cashews for 15 minutes in very hot water or overnight room temperature water, then blend.
- I sweeten Cashew Milk with dates, but maple syrup, sweetener of choice or no sweetener at all, works. Play with it. After making Cashew Milk a few times, you’ll discover the combination of flavors and/or level of sweetness you prefer.
- Look for Cashews in the bulk bins, organic and fair trade if available. I’ve not tried this brand but they have good reviews.
- You’ll want to use this milk pretty quick, within 3 days or it starts to sour. A half batch can be made as well.
- After storing, you notice how the cashew milk separates. Give the cashew milk a good shake each time before using.
- If a thinner or thicker milk is preferred, adjust the amount of water used when blending by about 1/2 a cup either way. Adjust it to your needs. For baking and making lattes, I dilute it, adding an additional cup and a half of water. Or if using an amount as per a recipe, I dilute that amount with water by half. It has the consistency of about whole milk.
- If using cashew milk in a baked recipe, feel free to leave out the dates/sweetener/cinnamon/salt. I make it frequently without any additions and love it the same!
I’d love to hear your thoughts on nut milk. Leave a comment and a link to your favorite recipe below.
Homemade Cashew Milk
Ingredients
- 1 C Raw Cashews 160g
- 2 Medjool Dates pitted*
- 3 1/2 C Water** 798g
- 1/4 tsp Sea Salt
- 1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
- 1/4 tsp Cinnamon optional
Instructions
- Soak the cashews in very hot water for 15 minutes (cashews can be soaked in room temperature water for two hours or overnight as well - whatever works for your schedule). Drain and rinse. Add cashews to the blender (I use a VitaMix) along with dates, water, salt, extract and cinnamon. Blend starting on low speed and increasing to high until smooth and frothy, about 40 seconds.
- Store in a lidded container for up to three days.
Notes
**For thinner milk use 4 C (912g) water.
Nutrition is provided as an estimate and courtesy. If this information is important to you, please verify it independently.
I love it! This tastes like ice cream (without the cinnamon). I put it in my daughter’s cereal and she was in heaven! No more guar gum! Thank you for sharing a delicious and simple recipe!
Hooray! Thank you for your note and review, Becky! So happy to hear. Cashew milk is a delicious discovery!
Just made it and it’s amazing! Truly the best cashew milk I’ve had. No way I can go back to store bought but milks now.
So happy to hear Kristina! Thank you for your note. Agreed! Once you’ve made homemade, you just can’t go back!
Hi – Can you use this in smoothies or is it more made for small pours, like coffee creamer and in baked goods? I wanted to make it in stead of buying it at the store for my smoothies. Typically I use about 1.5 cups of the cashew milk
Hi Angela! Thank you for your note! You can use it in smoothies. If you’re used to store-bought, however, I’d dilute this a bit to taste (maybe by half!) before adding it to smoothies. It’ll be delicious!
Thank you for your feedback! When you say dilute, do you mean add another 3 cups of water (6 cups total water) to make it a lighter version (not so heavy) to use in smoothies? Sorry, I was unsure on the process. Just don’t want to get a tummy ache because the milk is too rich – is why I was wondering as many people talked about using it as a creamer. I wasn’t sure if it was made to drink for a smoothie, or for cereal, in that large amount.
It’s completely to taste how thick or thin you’d like it. If you’re unsure, pour 1/2 a cup and dilute it with 1/2 cup water and taste. You can dilute it more if you like.
It’s not actually milk. It’s literally just nut water. You won’t get a tummyache from it.
Yes it does, than you. I try to stay away from salt when possible. A lot of smoothies and flavored waters, also detox waters.
I appreciate your time.
Thank you aaz gain
Brenton
Is the salt needed in this to preserve or just for taste.
Hi Brenton… it’s simply for taste. I leave it out when using it in recipes where salt is added, like in baking for example. But I do like to add it for coffee creamer and/or for drinking, granola, etc. All the ingredients are to taste, really. I find simply blending the cashews alone too to be delicious! I hope this helps and you enjoy the recipe!
I’m not a sweet tooth so I made the Cashew milk without Vanilla and Dates. I still loved the taste. I make my sour creams etc with Cashews as well. Such a versatile Drupe… I don’t use a lot of Cashews either in my milk. I usually use about a good third of a cup of cashews which I think is nicer. It’s still nice and creamy as well….I’m not someone who likes an over creamy milk for my cuppa tea and coffee, so the lessor amount of Cashews used is better for my taste…
Thanks for a brilliant site…
Nuffy aka Nancye
Thank you so much Nuffy! That’s what I love about this recipe! It’s completely flexible to taste. My hubs and I make it too, just with cashews and at a creamy strength for coffee. When I bake with it, I dilute it by a bit more than half. I’m always tweaking it to fit the recipe! So happy you’re enjoying it. Thank you for your note!
FYI almond pulp makes delicious HUMMUS using the same seasonings as you would for regular garbanzo bean hummus. And the benefit for using almond pulp is that it is alkalizing and not acidic as are garbanzo beans
Hi, I’ve been experimenting a ton with hazelnut milk and I love it with lattes. I’m excited to try the cashew milk and perhaps a combination of the two.
Thanks for your recipe
Hi Christine! Ooooh, I like the idea of mixing hazelnut and cashew! I hope you enjoy the cashew milk… it’s in my latte every morning! :D