I always strive to make as much from scratch as I can. Homemade Almond Cashew Milk tastes so much better than store-bought. But the thing I do like about store-bought is how thick and creamy it is. Of course, sometimes that thickness is from additives that you might be avoiding.
I wanted to create a simple DIY vegan milk that got it’s thickness from something I’d want to have every day. Ground chia seeds were the answer.
No matter if you grind your chia seeds yourself or you buy it pre-ground, there will be a stray whole seed or two. Also, if you drink it right away, the chia comes to the top like in the photos here. But once you let it sit in the fridge and shake it up well it distributes pretty well.
Thick Homemade Almond Cashew Milk
You can make this using any nuts you have on hand. Just make sure to soak almonds, hazelnuts or similar nuts for at least 6 hours to soften them up. Soft nuts like pecans may not need any soaking at all!
Ingredients
- 4 cups water
- 1/4 cup whole raw almonds
- 1/4 cup raw cashew pieces
- 1 teaspoon ground chia seeds
Flavoring (optional):
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Add the water and nuts to your blender and soak overnight, or at least 6 hours.
- Blend until smooth and strain through a nut milk bag or fine strainer. Discard the pulp.
- Rinse your blender with water, then pour the strained milk back in. Add the ground chia seeds and any flavoring you want to add and blend again.
- The chia seeds will help thicken the milk as it chills in the fridge. It feels more like store-bought without any weird additives!
Nutrition Information
Amount Per Serving Calories 138Saturated Fat 1gSodium 12mgCarbohydrates 7gFiber 2gSugar 1gProtein 5g
Paige Lewis says
Hi! I’m wanting to try this recipe for making lattes at home. When you say the milk is thick, will it be too thick to froth? If I leave the ground chia seeds out, do you know what the milk’s consistency is like? Just wondering before I play with the recipe to get something that works for what I’m trying to do. 🙂 Thanks!
Kathy Hester says
I don’t have a frother so I’m not sure.
Chris says
Taste is very watery. I’ve had this in the fridge for two days now and only the bottom has “thickened” where the chia seeds are. Kind of disappointed. It is not thick and when I do get the “thickened” part it’s more like jelly from the chia seeds. Not really the feeling of milk. I went abroad and did the creamer recipe and that seems more like milk to me. I would play around with the almond to cashew ratio but I think that the creamer recipe is much thicker and more milk like. This is more like a watery almond flavor of milk – if you like that then this recipe is for you.
Kathryn says
Can I use whole chia seeds and blend in a Vitamix or do I need to buy ground seeds?
Kathy Hester says
I actually grind whole seeds in my spice grinder to make them as close to powder as possible. So if you want to try them in your Vitamix, blend the whole chia seeds BEFORE trying to make the milk.
Ashley says
There are far too few nuts for this to be thick. At least one cup of nuts to 4 cups of water would be closer, a cup and a half would probably be a good milk.