How to Make Non-Dairy Milks at Home

By: Sabrina Katz

If you're looking to reduce your waste or you love simple DIYs, this recipe is for you. Making non-dairy milk at home is great because it's totally customizable, it doesn't contain any nasty chemicals, and it costs less than the pre-made version. (That being said, for anyone who doesn't have the time to make it themselves, the Co-op has some healthy options like Elmhurst plant-based milks!)

For this recipe, you can use any number of nuts, seeds or grains. My favorites are sunflower seed and cashew, but you can also use oats, rice, almonds, pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds and so many more. These are all items you can easily find in the bulk section at the Co-op, so no need to schlep off to any specialty stores to find ingredients.

Ingredients
1 cup of seeds, nuts or grain of choice
3.5 cups of filtered water
Optional: maple syrup, vanilla, cocoa powder

Method
1. If you are using nuts or seeds, I recommend soaking them overnight, or in boiling water for 30 minutes to make them easier to blend. Then add it all to a blender for a few minutes, until smooth.
2. Depending on what base you used, feel free to drink as is OR you could strain it with a nut milk bag or any other mesh bag to remove the excess pulp. Add the milk to a jar in the fridge; should last up to a week.

Tip for the leftover pulp: if using nuts or sunflower seeds, I recommend adding soy sauce, nutritional yeast and lemon juice to create a vegan cheese spread, which is great on bread or in pasta. If not, add to smoothies, or spread thinly on a baking tray and add to an oven at low heat (around 200) for a few hours, or until dehydrated. Use the remains as flour for crackers, cookies, etc.

Let us know what your favorite plant-based milk is below!

Sabrina is the blog team leader at BFC and lives a low impact, or "zero waste" lifestyle. If you catch her in the shop, you'll see her carrying tons of bags and (tared) jars, and deciding whether or not to go for the bulk dates or energy bites. Follow her through her blog or on Instagram @sustainablesabs.