Easy step by step guide to making the creamiest dreamiest homemade cashew milk. Wonderful in tea and coffee or over cereal or just to drink as is.
Making your own homemade nut milks is a valuable life skill. Even though buying non-dairy milks is super easy these days (and thank goodness for that), there’s something very satisfying about making your own.
You can just sort of sit there smiling smugly to yourself, knowing that you can make your own. Anytime you want.
And while the stuff you buy at the store is pretty darn fabulous, there is something a little extra special about the homemade variety.
And then….cashew milk in particular? Well…it’s one of the best tasting plant milks ever.
I remember the days of drinking cows milk and then contemplating switching to plant milks and trying out soy milk for the first time. I remember thinking ‘oh geez now this is going to be an acquired taste’.
I definitely DID acquire the taste and now I love it, but if someone is new to non dairy milks or you just want to try them on a plant milk then cashew milk, especially the homemade variety, is just so darn tasty it’s probably the easiest one to transition to.
It’s also closest to dairy milk in the way that it tastes in tea and coffee. It is also very white so it lightens tea and coffee in the same way that dairy milk does, so that’s another familiar thing for someone who is trying out plant milks for the first time.
The best thing about making your own cashew milk is you get to make it as creamy as you want. And this cashew milk is super creamy. You’re going to be looking for ways to use it up so you don’t waste a drop.
And if you love making homemade milks then you’ll also love our oat milk and almond milk recipes.
How To Make Cashew Milk
You will find full instructions and measurements in the recipe card at the bottom of the post. This is a summary of the process to go along with the process photos.
The main thing to remember is to put the raw cashews on to soak for an hour before you can start making this. So put the cashews in a bowl, pour boiling water from the kettle over them until they’re completely covered and then just leave them for an hour.
After an hour, drain them, add them to the blender with some fresh water, maple syrup, vanilla extract and salt.
Blend super well until it’s creamy frothy smooth cashew milk.
How To Use Cashew Milk
It replaces dairy milk perfectly in tea and coffee. While we had a batch of this in the fridge I must confess to drinking much more coffee than usual! It’s very creamy and most closely matches dairy milk when used in coffee in terms of taste and color. It’s like a full cream milk in that respect.
It’s also delicious in hot chocolate and divine with cereal too. It’s also really good tasting to just drink as is.
Recipe Tips
It thickens when heated. It can be added to hot drinks without any problem, but it does thicken when heated. I tried it with our recipe for vegan hot chocolate and while heating on the stove it thickened up quite a bit. So it is best to add it to a hot drink, don’t heat it up with the hot drink.
We use cashews for thickening all the time, in recipes like our vegan korma and our vegan scalloped potatoes and vegan mushroom stroganoff.
Thin it out before using it in baking. Because of the thickening effect mentioned above, it would be best to thin it out before using it in baking. I would thin it out by half. So if the recipe calls for a cup of non-dairy milk, then I would use ½ cup cashew milk mixed with ½ cup water.
If you’re using a store-bought variety of cashew milk then this won’t apply, as the store-bought varieties are usually quite thinned out already.
Cashew Milk Q&A
What does cashew milk taste like? It tastes wonderfully creamy with a very neutral flavor profile. It’s closest to a full cream milk or dairy cream in taste and texture of all the plant milks I’ve tasted.
What is the difference between homemade cashew milk and store-bought? Store-bought varieties tend to be much thinner and less creamy. When it comes to real deliciousness, you can’t beat homemade.
What is the difference between cashew milk and cashew cream? While this milk is seriously creamy, when I make cashew cream I make it much thicker. Check out our recipe for cashew cream. And when I make a cashew base for use in vegan ice cream, I also make it seriously thick, check out our cashew ice cream recipe.
Storing and Freezing
It keeps for around 3-5 days in the fridge. I have had it last only 3 days and then also had it last 5 days! Not sure what the difference was. But ideally you want to drink it within 3 days for the best taste results.
It does separate in the fridge and this is totally normal, just shake it up and carry on.
It also freezes well. You can freeze it in ice cube trays for an easy way to pop them out and use in your coffee, or freeze it any way you usually like to freeze milk.
More Delicious Cashew Recipes
Did you make this recipe? Be sure to leave a comment and rating below!
Cashew Milk
Ingredients
- 1 cup Raw Cashews (150g) soaked for 1 hour in hot water
- 3 cups Fresh Water (720ml)
- 1 Tablespoon Maple Syrup
- ½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
Instructions
- Add the soaked cashew nuts to the blender with the 3 cups of water, maple syrup, vanilla and salt.
- Blend very well until completely smooth. You don’t need to strain this milk as it blends completely smooth. If it is still a little gritty then just blend it for longer.
- Place into a glass container with a lid and keep refrigerated where it will keep for around 3-5 days.
- Use in smoothies, over cereal, in tea and coffee, and just drink it as is.
Video
Notes
- To soak the cashews, add them to a bowl and then pour over boiling water from the kettle. Leave them to soak for 1 hour and then drain and add to the blender.
- Prep time includes the time spent soaking the cashews.
- This recipe makes around 3 ½ cups of cashew milk.
We love the taste of home made Cashew milk, but we’re have a bit of a problem with it curdling when the tea is added. Do you have any suggestions as to how this can be prevented, thanks.
Hi Peter, the best way to avoid this is to add the milk to your cup first and then very slowly add in the tea or coffee. This helps to bring the milk up to the temperature of the tea/coffee more slowly and prevents it from curdling.
Hi Alison,
Thank you for another yummy looking recipe.
I’ve ordered cashews and will definitely be experimenting this.
Although you have a distinct recipe for cashew cream, would you say the thickening this milk suffers when heated is good to use as cream substitute in recipes? Like stroganoff, etc.?
Hi Joana, yes it works well for that purpose! The thickening effect is pretty great if it’s added to sauces/stews etc.
Will cashew milk curdle for buttermilk?
Hi Carla, I don’t think so! Cashews are often the base for things like cheesecakes that are then blended up with lemon juice and it doesn’t curdle when used that way, so I don’t think it will curdle at all.
I never have to soak the cashews when I use my Vitamix.
Today I’m making
I’ve been playing around with different cashew milk/creamer recipes the last couple days. By far this one has worked the best in terms of smooth non grainy texture. I love the final product, so creamy! I did substitute the blending water with coconut milk and almond milk, so I guess its a hybrid. But this is best soaking technique I’ve found and the best ratio of liquid added to get a creamy milk consistency. I can’t wait to try this in my coffee later, this morning’s coffee had a grainy surprise at the bottom.
So glad to hear it worked out great! Thanks so much for sharing and the wonderful review. 🙂
Super easy. Super duper tasty. Way better than milk in coffee, tea, hot cocoa. I really really enjoy my coffee much better and it even gives a little foam cream on the top without extra whipping.
Awesome! Thanks Miriam! I agree, this is the best thing in coffee. 🙂
Do I have to have a particularly strong blender like a vitamin? I have a regular kenwood blender. Thanks
Hi Charlotte, no you’ll be fine with a less powerful blender. Just be patient and let it blend until really smooth. If you have any graininess then put it through a strainer. But I don’t think you will. All the best! 🙂
Amazing recipe!! Creamy, tasty and the closest consistency to dairy I have ever tried!
Thanks!!
Fantastic! Thanks so much Leandro! 🙂
My favorite plant milk – so creamy and divine!
Hi, can I substitute Maple Syrup for Honey?
Thanks!
Sure!
Hi there, I am curious why the soaking water is always thrown away after soaking cashew (and other) nuts, before then adding fresh water etc. Surely this soaking water contains lots of good stuff, which is then being ditched? Why not just blend with the water used for soaking? Just curious… and wondered what your take was on this. Thanks so much, love all your ideas!
Hi TJ, I don’t think it really does contain good stuff, because the cashews absorb the water, rather than the water absorbing anything from the cashews, though this is my very unscientific opinion. I think you could use the water that it soaked in, with more added of course, as a lot of it has been soaked up by the nuts. I prefer to use fresh as I don’t think the water has any specific benefit, what’s left is almost like rinse water. 🙂
Yes, thanks, that all makes perfect (non-scientific) sense 🙂 Have fun!
My understanding is that soaking actually makes the nuts release their anti nutrients. Hence it’s better to discard that water.
I there a particular reason why the soaking water is drained prior to processing in the blender? Thank you.
Hi Lisa, see my reply to TJ above, I think you could use it if you wanted to, but to me it doesn’t have any particular benefit (totally unscientific opinion), it’s more like rinse water.
Delicious. Never buying it premade again and so easy.
Yay! Totally agree!!!
Why so many calories per serving?! The cashew milk found in supermarkets has around 35 cals/cup. It’s about unsweetened cashew milk, that’s true, but still… I like to make my own nut milk, but it’s very difficult for me to know the quantities 🙁
For example, I use 50 grams of almonds for 2 cups (500 ml) of water. I also use stevia to sweeten the nut milk and save some calories.
What quantity of cashews should I use when I make the milk so that it has like 35-40 calories / serving?
Hi Laura! This is a particularly creamy version of cashew milk, it is definitely richer and creamier than the unsweetened store versions and you can add more water to thin it out more and lower the calorie count if you prefer. I have no idea of the exact quantities you would need to use to get it to end up as low in calories as 35-40 per cup.