Cashew Milk
Cashew milk is my absolute favourite vegan milk—and it’s also the easiest to make! It’s incredibly creamy, delicious, and you don’t need any special equipment to make it.
The first time I made cashew milk at home I realised that I had been missing out—homemade cashew nut milk tastes extraordinary! It’s fresher, you can flavour it exactly how you want, and it’s more economical than store-bought options. Similar to making your own tomato sauce, nut butters, and homemade bread, making your own cashew milk at home is satisfying and totally worth it.
Why You’ll Love This Cashew Milk Recipe
- Quick and easy. Making cashew milk is very simple. Soak the cashews, blend them with water and that’s it—you’ve made cashew milk!
- No straining needed. One of my favourite things about homemade cashew nut milk is that you don’t have to strain the nuts since they blend smoothly into the liquid, unlike almond milk, for example. This means that you don’t need to buy a nut milk bag.
- Highly customisable. Sweeten this cashew milk however you like, add flavourings, or adjust the thickness. You can tweak this recipe and make it your own!
Notes on Ingredients
Scroll down to the recipe card to find the ingredient quantities and recipe instructions.
- Raw cashews – Soak overnight; this helps you achieve the smoothest, creamiest cashew milk.
- Cold water – I recommend using filtered water for the best flavour.
- Sea salt – Just a bit to enhance the overall flavor.
- Sweetener – Maple syrup, agave nectar, or soaked pitted dates.
- Vanilla extract – You can leave this out, but if I’m making cashew milk for drinking, smoothies, or oatmeal, I love adding some vanilla.
How to Make Cashew Milk
- Combine. Add all of the ingredients to a high speed blender.
- Puree. Blend on high until the liquid is completely smooth, with no bits of cashew at all.
- Use or store. Transfer the cashew milk to jars or bottles and use right away or refrigerate.
Tips for Success
- Leave out the sweetener if needed. You can adjust the amount of sweetener, or leave it out altogether if you’ll be using this milk for a savory recipe.
- Forgot to soak the cashews? No problem! You can soak them in boiling water for an hour instead if needed.
- Change the consistency. As written, this recipe is fairly thick, but you can add less water to make it even thicker, or add more water for a thinner consistency.
- Make sure it’s fully blended. It can be hard to tell sometimes while the cashew milk is still in the blender, so I usually take out a spoonful or two and then pour them back into the blender to see if there’s any grit in the liquid. If there is, just keep blending.
Cashew Nut Milk Add-Ins
In addition to vanilla extract, try adding any of these, or come up with your own variation!
- Cocoa powder
- Vanilla bean paste (for flecks of vanilla!)
- Cinnamon
- Apple pie spice
- Pumpkin spice
- Cardamom
How to Use Cashew Milk
Truly, you could use this cashew nut milk in any of my recipes that call for a vegan milk. Because it’s so creamy and subtle in flavour, I especially love it in:
- Coffee or tea (like Iced Matcha Latte)
- Cereal or oatmeal (like Apple Pie Overnight Oats)
- Vegan Baked Mac and Cheese
- Vegan Eggnog
- Vegan Cornbread
- Naan
How to Store
This homemade cashew milk recipe will last up to 5 days in the refrigerator, but I find it’s best within the first 3 to 4 days. Shake or stir it before using.
Can I Freeze This Recipe?
You can freeze this cashew milk for up to 3 months. I recommend freezing it into ice cubes to store it easily and conveniently. You can then thaw it afterwards, or add it straight to smoothies.
More Homemade Vegan Staples
- Homemade Oat Milk Creamer
- How To Make Date Syrup
- How to Make Vegan Parmesan Cheese
- Homemade Vegan Yogurt (Cultured and Creamy)
- Vegan Ice Cream
Enjoy friends! If you make this cashew milk recipe, please snap a photo and tag #jessicainthekitchen on Instagram! We’d also love it if you would leave a comment below, and give the recipe a rating! Thanks so much!
Cashew Milk
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw cashews, soaked overnight, drained and rinsed
- 3.5-4 cups filtered cold water
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup, or agave nectar or 3 soaked pitted dates
- ½ tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- In a high speed blender, add the soaked cashews, filtered cold water, sweetener, sea salt and vanilla extract. Blend on high for about 2 minutes or until the cashews are completely blended out and the nut milk is smooth and creamy.
- Pour into air tight jars or a milk jar and store in your fridge. Use for any recipe you prefer and enjoy!
Notes
- For neutral flavored milk, you can leave out the sweetener.
- To speed soak the cashews, soak them in just boiled water for 1 hour.
- For thinner milk, add more water to taste.
- Calories are for 1/2 cup.
How to Store Cashew Milk
Disclaimer: Although jessicainthekitchen.com attempts to provide accurate nutritional information, kindly note that these are only estimates. Nutritional information may be affected based on the product type, the brand that was purchased, and in other unforeseeable ways. Jessicainthekitchen.com will not be held liable for any loss or damage resulting for your reliance on nutritional information. If you need to follow a specific caloric regimen, please consult your doctor first.
HOW CAN IT BE ANY EASIER? IT IS A HECK OF A LOT LESS EXPENSIVE AND DOESN’T COME WITH THAT PACKAGING THAT I FEEL GUILTY ABOUT TOSSING IN THE GARBAGE. THANK YOU, JESSICA. I WILL MAKE SOME AS SOON AS I AM OUT OF THE SEPTIC PACK OF “MILK” IN THE FRIDGE NOW. THE IDEA OF FRESHER TASTE HAS ME SALIVATING! I’LL PUT THE STARS IN AFTER I MAKE IT!
Somehow I read this and became even more excited about this review. Thank you so much Randy!
Cashew milk is excellent, especially homemade. What bothers me a bit with all the vegan recipes, it’s that they often call for cashews and they’re actually quite pricey over here.
Thank you so much for reading! We worked out that if you buy them in bulk It turns out to be massively more cost-effective than buying them from the store!
Been craving oat milk but it’s just too expensive to buy often. I’m glad I found this recipe and even happier that it tastes. So. Good!
Even better that it’s not an excessive process so I’ll definitely be making this over and over!
When buying cartons of plant-based milk my preference has been for oat milk. As it’s still a processed product I tried to make my own but whatever I tried making, it didn’t measure up. Then I saw Jessica’s recipe for Cashew Milk. I tried it once but felt I hadn’t processed it sufficiently so tried again and am delighted with the result and highly recommend it.
SO happy you enjoyed Linda!