Cashew Milk (Step-By-Step Recipe + Tips!) - Real + Vibrant (2024)

Cashew milk is one of the easiest and creamiest dairy-free nut milks to make in your kitchen, requiring only 3 ingredients and a blender! It has a rich, velvety, creamy texture and tastes delicious. Use it in smoothies, dressings, pancakes, baked goods, soups, and lattes.

With an increasing number of individuals cutting down or altogether eliminating dairy from their diets, dairy-free nut milk options have become increasingly popular these days. For this reason, you can find almond milk, for example, in almost any grocery store. However, almond milk is just a start! Another delicious dairy-free option to consider is cashew milk.

Over the past few years, I've used cashew milk in just about everything, including my morning green smoothie, overnight oats, chia pudding, in my soups, and baked goods, like my edible cookie dough or almond flour chocolate chip cookies. It tastes great in coffee, turmeric lattes and matcha lattes (including the iced version)!

The consistency of the milk is creamy and somewhat similar to whole milk, however, it depends on how much water you add and how well your blender processes the mixture.

How to Make Cashew Milk

To get started, you'll need the following ingredients:

• raw cashews
• filtered water
• a pinch of sea salt

Step 1: In a medium-sized bowl, add the raw cashews.

Step 2: Soak your cashews in water. See below for more details on how to soak cashews if you've never done it before.

Step 3: Drain and rinse the cashews in cold water. Add them to your high-speed blender.

Step 4: Add 3-4 cups of filtered water and a pinch of sea salt. The amount of water you use will have an effect on the consistency of the milk. In this recipe, I use 4 cups of water as I find that to have the creamiest texture without getting thick. However, I recommend adjusting it by ½ cup increments (½ cup more for a thinner consistency, ½ cup less for a thicker consistency), based on your personal preference.

Step 5: Blend the ingredients until a smooth and creamy beverage forms, about a minute. While I prefer to make the milk without sweetener if you prefer to sweeten your milk, do so now at this time.

Step 6: And that's it! Your milk is ready to be enjoyed or stored for later.

How to Soak Cashews

Add cashews to a medium-sized bowl. Pour with clean filtered water. The cashews will swell during the soaking process, so be sure to add enough water to keep them covered in water while soaking.

Ideally, you want to soak them for 2-3 hours to reduce the phytic acid found within them and to make it easier to blend them and create a creamier milk texture.

Drain the water and rinse the cashews with cool water. Drain again and use as needed.

No Straining Needed!

One of the things I love about cashew milk is that you don't need to worry about leftover pulp. Yep, you heard that right! After you blend the cashews and water together, no need to strain the milk using a nut milk bag or worry about how to use the leftover pulp.

While it's not necessary to use a high-speed blender to make cashew milk, I find that the end product is creamier and highly recommend it if you have one. However, if you don't own a high-speed blender, don't worry! You can still make it as described in the recipe. Just be sure to blend it longer and consider using a nut milk bag (or fine sieve) to make it smoother, if needed.

How long does Homemade Cashew milk last?

Assuming it's stored in an air-tight container in the refrigerator, it will usually last 3 days. Nut milk can have a tendency to separate after sitting for hours in the fridge so be sure to shake well before using it to bring it back to the creamy texture.

Since homemade milk doesn't contain any preservatives, always be sure to take a whiff of the milk before using it. You'll notice if the milk is turning bad when it smells pungent, appears to have curdled a little or no longer appears smooth. It may even taste sour or you may notice a change color as it may appear more yellow.

If you don't think you'll use the full amount in 3 days, just make a smaller batch!

What Does it Taste Like?

Since cashews don't have a really strong flavor on their own, the milk has a mild flavor profile which you can taste. So if you're not a fan of cashews, this may or may not be the milk for you. However, I've learned that rinsing the cashews well before blending makes the taste a lot more subtle.

Naturally Flavored Cashew Milk

I also recommend making your own flavored milk! Here are some of my favorite ways to take things up a notch:

• Blend in a pitted Medjool date to add sweetness or sweeten with maple syrup.
• Add vanilla extract, vanilla powder, or vanilla bean.
• Make it kid-friendly by blending it with cocoa powder to create chocolate milk or strawberries to make strawberry milk.
• Add fruit! During the summer, I love blending a few blueberries to make blueberry-flavored milk or a blueberry smoothie.
• Add coconut! Blend it with coconut chips to make coconut-flavored milk.
• Add dry spices, such as cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, or ground cloves.

For More Dairy-Free Milk Recipes, Check Out:

• Homemade Oat Milk
• Almond Milk

I hope you love this cashew recipe as much as I do!Sign up for email updatesto receive new recipes delivered to your inbox or check out my new cookbookPlant Power Bowls.