I never thought I’d be a nut milk person, because I’m definitely not a milk milk person. But when my husband I did our first Whole30 two years ago, we were drinking nut milk like crazy. It was a pricey habit/necessity, so we decided to start making our own. And let’s be honest, in the sea of nut milk options, most store-bought nut milk tastes like wallpaper paste. I don’t like drinking wallpaper paste, do you?

It turns out that homemade nut milk is super easy to make, leaps and bounds better than anything you can buy at the grocery store, and a hell of a lot cheaper to make yourself. Cashew has been our nut of choice for its high fat content and buttery flavor, which lends itself to the creamiest, dreamiest milk. I like to lightly sweeten the milk with date syrup or whole dates and I always add a pinch of salt to enhance the sweetness of the dates.

This recipe makes a big batch, approximately 6-7 cups, and will last approximately 1 week in the refrigerator. Give this recipe a try as is, or swap out the cashews for your favorite nut. You’d be nuts not to try it! (Sorry I just could nut resist!)

Cashew Milk

Ingredients:

2 C raw cashews

6 C hot water

pinch kosher salt

2 Tbsp date syrup (4 pitted medjool dates will also work if you can’t find date syrup, or add your favorite sweetener to taste)

Place cashews in a large bowl and cover with water at least 2” above the cashews. Let sit overnight. The longer the cashews soak the easier they will be to blend, and the creamier the milk will be. Drain the cashews and put into a blender. Add hot water, salt and date syrup. Blend on high for about 2-3 minutes until the cashews have liquified and the mixture is completely smooth. If you have a small blender you may want to do this in two batches to prevent your blender from overflowing.

Strain the milk through a fine mesh sieve to remove the cashew pulp. I like to strain my milk 2 or 3 times to remove as much as possible, but if your blender obliterates the nuts like mine does, leaving the pulp in will yield a slightly thicker, debatably creamier, milk. It’s really up to you as to how creamy you want your milk to be. If you like it thinner just add more water until it is to the consistency of your liking.

Season to taste with more sweetener if needed. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week. Be sure to shake your milk vigorously before each use, as the cashew pulp will settle at the bottom over time.