Homemade almond milk with dates is incredibly easy to make. You only need almonds, dates, water and a little optional vanilla. Once the almonds have soaked, the actual process takes about five minutes.
I must warn you, once you start making your own plant-based milk, it really is hard to go back to the carton stuff. Homemade almond milk tastes so much fresher and more alive. You know exactly what has gone into it, and making your own also cuts down on cartons and unnecessary packaging. Big bonus.
The dates bring a gentle natural sweetness, while the optional vanilla makes it taste especially delicious. You will also need a blender and something to strain the milk through.
Making almond milk in the mountains of La Palma
I originally wrote this article in 2019, when I was living on the beautiful island of La Palma in the Canary Islands. I was staying in the mountains at about 850 metres above sea level, surrounded by pine trees and almond trees. Rather gorgeous, I must say!
It was late winter and the almond trees were just coming into blossom. While walking in my local neighbourhood, I spotted a few unharvested almonds left over from the previous year’s crop.
Ever the opportunist, I decided to forage some. And so I had my first wild almond experience…
I cracked them open with a rock. Oh my goodness, talk about vibrant! They had an incredible, intense almond flavour that is often missing from commercially produced varieties.
A little note on foraging almonds is important here. Wild bitter almonds are not safe to eat raw, so please only gather almonds if you are absolutely certain that they are an edible sweet variety. If in doubt, leave them for the wildlife and use ordinary shop-bought almonds for this recipe.
Do you need to soak almonds before making almond milk?
I soak my almonds overnight, or for at least a few hours, before making almond milk. The main reason for doing this is wonderfully practical. Soaking softens the almonds, which makes them much easier to blend and helps an ordinary blender create a smooth, creamy milk.
A high-powered blender may cope with almonds that have not been soaked, but I find that soaking works especially well for this recipe. I soak the almonds and dates together, then drain away the soaking water and give everything a thorough rinse in the morning.
How to make homemade almond milk with dates
Once the almonds and dates have soaked, pop them into a jug blender. You don’t need an expensive high-powered machine for this. I originally made this almond milk with an inexpensive jug blender and it worked perfectly well.
Add the fresh water and optional vanilla extract, then blend everything together for about 90 seconds. This gives the almonds and dates enough time to break down and transform into a beautiful, creamy white milk.
How to strain homemade almond milk
Once you have blended the ingredients, you will need to strain the almond milk through a nut milk bag. Nut milk bags are easy to find online.
Place a large bowl on your work surface and open the nut milk bag over it. Carefully pour the blended almond mixture through the bag and into the bowl.
Once you have poured everything through, gently squeeze the bag to extract as much of the almond milk as possible. This is rather satisfying and really good fun.
You will be left with almond pulp inside the bag. Some people save this for baking, crackers, porridge or other recipes. I do this occasionally, although I also like to return the pulp to Mother Earth through the compost, as a little thank you for sharing her beautiful bounty.
I pour the strained milk back into the blender jug because the pouring spout makes it much easier to transfer into a clean glass bottle. Attempting to pour it directly from a large bowl can result in quite a splash. Been there, done that, haha!
How long does homemade almond milk keep?
Pour your almond milk into a clean bottle or jar with a lid and refrigerate it straight away. I recommend using it within two or three days.
Homemade almond milk naturally separates as it stands because it does not contain the emulsifiers or stabilisers often found in commercial versions. This is completely normal. Simply give the bottle a good shake before pouring.
It tastes especially delicious after it has chilled, if you can wait that long. Enjoy it by itself, pour it over cereal or porridge, or add it to smoothies.
It also works beautifully in warming drinks such as my milky turmeric drink or my milky matcha.
Avoid vigorously boiling homemade almond milk because it may separate. Heat it gently until it reaches your preferred temperature, then use it straight away.
If you would like to try other varieties, I have also created a complete guide to making plant-based milk at home, including almond, cashew, hazelnut and hemp seed milk.
My original almond milk video from La Palma
This is my original video vlog from 2019, filmed while I was living on La Palma. I shot it during one of my daily walking adventures when I found the almonds, followed by a quick demonstration back in my little mountain cabin.
It was filmed before I started adding subtitles to my videos, so I have made sure that every part of the method is explained clearly in the written guide above and in the recipe card below. You don’t need the sound to follow the essential steps, but I am keeping the video here because it captures that moment in my life rather beautifully.
Easy Almond Milk at home - step by step
Homemade almond milk with dates - vegan, gluten-free and super easy.
Ingredients
- 100g almonds (1 cup)
- 5 pitted dates
- 800ml water (3 1/2 cups)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
Instructions
- Soak the almonds and dates overnight (or for at least a few hours).
- Next day, rinse and drain thoroughly.
- Put dates and almonds into a jug blender.
- Add the vanilla along with the water.
- Blend on high for about 90 seconds to give the nuts and dates time to breakdown nicely.
- Pour though a nut milk bag into a large bowl.
- Squeeze nut milk bag until you get as much liquid out as possible.
- Pour the milk back into the blender. This makes it then easier to pour into a clean glass bottle for storage.
- Refrigerate before serving for best taste.
- This keeps for a few days in the fridge.
- Enjoy and please do check out my video above.
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I have not tried making this yet, but I already have a question. After blending how long would you wait before squeezing. I would imagine blending and letting further soak with the increased surface area may yield a tiny more flavor. Perhaps you have already experimented with that and know the results.
Thank you for your howto for almond milk!
It’s completely up to you. I’ve never waited past the blending stage.
Made this almond milk for the first time and as I had peeled almonds I used those…… delicious but with the price of peeled almond here, it works out to be about $8 a litre. I’ll try with unpeeled almonds next time as per this recipe as they are half the price here in NZ.
Made about a cup of almond meal with the pulp !
Hi Lisa,
How lovely to hear from you from NZ.
I am not quite sure what $8 translates to in the currency I use, but if it is too expensive perhaps you could find something that is cheaper locally (such as the unpeeled as you suggest). Fortunately, almond milk works out reasonably priced for me here if I buy almonds, especially compared to the shop bought alternative.
What did you do with your leftover pulp? I am exploring things to do with it (like use to make cake) although I do more often than not just compost it.
x