How to Make All Your Favourite Plant Based Milks

While we’re certainly fans of several supermarket plant based milks, making your own means you can strictly control what is going into your drink while avoiding any unwanted additives (watch out for maltose in particular, a fructose alternative that still adds up to a whole lot of sugar at the end of it) and saving some pennies too.

The following recipes are really the bare bones of what you need to make your favourite plant based milks. The three main stages are the soaking, either hours or the night before, followed by a blitz in the blender and then the strain (you’ll need a nut milk bag for this).

Some of you may want to add a fourth stage to the mix, and sweeten your blend before you strain. Dates, stevia, syrups, agave, honey and coconut sugar are all handy here. Add them in incrementally while you taste, so that you can get your plant milk just the way you like it. Also don’t be scared of really mixing things up. Chocoholics might want to add a couple of teaspoons of cocoa powder to liven up proceedings for example.

From then you can use your home-made plant based milk with anything: drink it neat, splash some into your morning coffee, lather it over your breakfast muesli or even shake it up with your ‘favourite’ (*wink, wink) vegan protein powder.

How To Make Almond Milk

Ingredients:

• 150g whole almonds

Method:

1. Put the almonds in a large bowl and cover with water and another bowl before leaving to soak overnight or for at least 4 hours.
2. The next day, drain and rinse the almonds, then tip them into a blender with 750ml cold water. Whizz until smooth. Pour the mixture into a muslin-lined sieve over a jug and allow it to drip through (you can also use a nut milk bag). Stir the mixture gently with a spoon to speed up the process.
3. When most of the liquid has gone through into the jug, gather the sides of the muslin together and squeeze tightly with both hands to extract the last of the milk. Then store in a airtight container, and keep in the fridge.

How To Make Coconut Milk

Ingredients:

• 8 ounces of unsweetened shredded coconut

Method:

1. Combine the coconut with four cups of hot water in a blender.
2. Let the coconut and hot water sit in the blender for a few minutes to give the coconut time to soften before continuing onto the next step.
3. Blend the mixture on high until the coconut is puréed and the mixture looks milky.
4. Open the nut bag and arrange it inside a medium bowl. Pour the coconut mixture from the blender into the nut milk bag.
5. Squeeze and wring out your bag until you’ve extracted as much of the milk as possible. Bottle the coconut milk.

How To Make Oat Milk

Ingredients:

• 100g of oats

Method:

1. Soak the oats in water for at least 30 minutes (or overnight).
2. Drain the oats and rinse them. Discard the soaking water.
3. Add the oats, 750ml of filtered water and all the remaining ingredients to a blender and blitz until smooth. Add more or less water depending on how thick you like your oat milk.
4. Strain the milk using a nut milk bag and store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to five days.

How To Make Rice Milk

Ingredients:

• 100g of cooked rice (you can use brown or white depending on your preference)

Method:

1. Cook the rice according to the instructions on the pack. Drain and let it cool down.
2. Add the rice and 500ml of water into a blender and blitz until smooth.
3. Strain the mixture using a nut milk bag, cheesecloth, napkin, or a strainer. You might not have to do this step depending on how well the rice has blitzed.
4. Use immediately or keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to days.

How To Make Soy Milk

Ingredients:

• 80g of soybeans

Method:

1. Soak soybeans in three cups of water overnight.
2. Discard water and rinse soybeans. Remove skins as best you can.
3. Add soybeans and 4 cups water to blender. Blend until smooth.
4. Strain the blended mixture using a nut milk bag.
5. Heat the strained milk in a heavy-bottom pan. Hold the temperature for 20 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent sticking.
6. Let the milk cool down before storing.