How to Make Cashew Milk (3 ways!)

The quickest and creamiest dairy-free nut milk you can make from scratch. We show you how to save time on soaking, blending, and straining to enjoy your homemade cashew milk as quickly as possible, even in 10 minutes! Here is everything you need to know about how to make cashew milk at home even if you don’t have a Vitamix. (Jump around by using the table of contents below this picture for the info you need.)

There are so many different store-bought plant-based milk alternatives that are available like oat milk, various kinds of nut milk (like almond milk, hazelnut, peanut, etc.), soy milk, rice milk, and so on. Buying them can be costly especially if you use them a lot as we do. We use dairy-free milk to cook this Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal or this Blueberry Millet Porridge for breakfast. We also use it to make pancakes, waffles, crepes, donuts. We add milk to Vegan Mashed potato, to Vegan Alfredo Sauce, to Vegan Bechamel White Sauce, and many more. So we decided to make our own. Have you?

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Ingredients of a homemade cashew milk

Actually, you only need cashews and water. I mean you can make it fancier by adding flavoring, or sweeteners, or other texture-enhancing things, but at the end of the day, homemade cashew milk is ONLY two ingredients: cashew nuts and water.

What is the ideal cashew – water ratio?

Can I just say that it depends on your preference? 🙂 But it really is. It depends on how nutty flavor, and how creamy texture you want. We have been making cashew milk for a long time now. It is our go-to nut milk for drinking, cooking, and baking. After many testing, we found that the ideal ratio for cashew vs water should be between ½-1 cup cashews and 4 cups of fresh water.

• The FRUGAL approach would be to use ½ cup of cashew nuts and 4 cups of fresh water. You get thin, smooth, creamy cashew milk with a mild nut taste. This is the minimum amount of cashews you need. We use this ratio all the time. Our girls even prefer this version as they like it thinner and less nutty for drinking.
• The CLASSIC approach is 1 cup of cashew nuts and 4 cups of fresh water. This version gives you a distinct – I dare to say – classic cashew nut taste, while the milk remains smooth and creamy. I love the creaminess and the nutty flavor in this version, it is perfect for my morning coffee.

Less than ½ cup of cashew nuts and you don’t have milk, but rather flavored water. More than 1 cup of cashew nuts you will have a real nutty taste as well as the creamiest and thickest texture. Anything above 1+½ cups of cashew nuts will give you extremely dense milk that is closer to cashew cream than to nut milk. We don’t really recommend going above it.

Minor disclaimer: if you are looking for a milk alternative that is the closest in taste and texture to dairy milk, cashew milk might not be the one. You can’t really make the nut taste completely disappear whatever ratio you choose. Even if you add vanilla extract, it will not be a type of milk that would fool anyone to be dairy.

Can you add flavoring?

It is easy to add flavoring later, so we never add any while making cashew milk. Especially that I know if I will use it for cooking and baking. Imagine if you have already added vanilla but you would like to use the milk to make Vegan Mashed Potatoes or Vegan Bechamel. We love to add the following flavors before drinking a cup though:

• vanilla extract
• cocoa powder
• coffee
• caramel
• chai spice mix

Our go-to version is vanilla-flavored cashew milk. It is also the favorite of our daughters, especially with added hot chocolate powder. It is irresistible!

Do you need any sweetener?

We prefer not to add any sweetener when we use cashew milk for baking and cooking. If a recipe calls for any type of sugar we can add it without stressing on whether the outcome will be too sweet or not. I would want unsweetened milk to make savory recipes. However, for drinking, we like to use the following sweeteners:

• dates
• maple or agave syrup
• cane sugar or coconut sugar

We like to use maple syrup, but it is really up to your taste. If you choose to add dates and have a Vitamix blender, you can add it to the blender pitted without soaking.

Do you need any other ingredients?

If you take a closer look at any kind of store-bought cashew milk, you will typically see some type of oil or lecithin and some type of thickening agents like gellan gum or guar gum to get the consistency closer to dairy.

Well, we decided to make homemade cashew milk partly because we’d like to control what ingredients we consume, and partly because we would like to minimalize plastic waste. So we feel it really doesn’t need anything else. Cashew milk is perfect as it is.

Do you need to soak cashews?

Yes and no. The advantages of soaking are to break down the phytic acid and to enhance nutrient absorption for better digestion. Second, it is easier to blend if you don’t have a high-power blender like Vitamix* or Blendtec. If you want to learn more about phytic acid and soaking, this is a great article.

• What is the quickest method to soak cashews? -> Boil water in a kettle. Take a heat-resistant bowl. Add cashews and pour the piping hot water on them until all nuts are covered. This way the cashews will be soft in 5 minutes!
• Don’t have a kettle? -> Boil water in a pot on your stove-top and “cook” cashews for 5 minutes!
• Can you soak overnight? -> Of course, you can. The good old overnight soaking method works just fine. If you have time, I mean.
• Can you skip soaking all together? -> Yes!!!! If you have a high-power blender you can skip soaking all together. If you have a regular blender, use 2 Tbsp of cashew butter and 4 cups of fresh water. It will give you perfect homemade cashew milk without soaking and straining.

How to make cashew milk with Vitamix?

I have a Vitamix* which makes my life so much easier. If you want to save time and end up with the creamiest, smoothest cashew milk ever without straining then you might want to look around for a refurbished or discounted Vitamix or Blendtec blender.

So how do you make cashew milk with a high-power blender? After I soak the cashews for 5 minutes in piping hot water (although Vitamix can blend them smoothly without soaking as well!!!), I drain and add them to my blender with 2 cups of fresh water and blend them for 2 minutes. Then I add the remaining 2 cups, blend them a bit and my homemade cashew milk is ready. I can add it to my coffee right away. No straining or waiting! It is amazing and smooth and silky. No bits and pieces. The best part is that the milk is ready in less than 10 minutes!

Making cashew milk in 2 minutes with a regular blender

The classic way to make cashew milk with a regular blender is after soaking the cashews for 5 minutes in piping hot water, drain and add them to any regular blender with 1 cup of fresh water and blend them as smooth as you can. Then add the remaining 3 cups, blend them a bit and you are ready.

Now you need straining to avoid feeling like drinking milk with sand. How to do that we explain later, but first let me show you an alternative way to make cashew milk in less than 5 minutes with a regular blender.

• Use nut butter -> Did you know that you can make nut milk from nut butter? 2 Tbsp nut butter and 4 cups of fresh water will give you perfect nut milk. So if you can buy cashew butter then you can make an endless amount of cashew milk with a regular blender as well. No straining and no soaking! Awesome right?
• Do you have a food processor? -> If you have a food processor then you can make your own cashew butter from cashews. No soaking is required. Actually it is explicitly forbidden to soak them otherwise you will fail. I made a quick video on how to make Homemade Peanut Butter from scratch and peanut milk in one go within 5 minutes! It is also applicable to all nuts including cashews.

Cashew milk in 10 minutes with a slow juicer

Who would have thought right that you can make homemade cashew milk with a slow juicer? The cold press slow juicer, not the fast centrifugal one. I have a very similar one to this Aeitto Slow Masticating Juicer*), which has a 2-cup (4dl) container. Here is how to do it:

1. Boil water in a kettle. Take a heat-resistant bowl. Add cashews and pour the piping hot water on them until all nuts are covered. This way the cashews will be soft in 5 minutes! Finally, drain them.
2. Close the anti-drip plug on the slow juicer!!! It is the most important step. It will not work if you leave it open.
3. Turn it on and add ½ cup soaked cashews and ½ cup fresh water. Wait for a minute until the juicer is trying to squeeze as much as possible out of your cashews.
4. Add another ½ cup soaked cashews and another ½ cup fresh water. Wait again.
5. Now stop the machine and open the anti-drip plug. Let the cashew milk flow to the juice cup.
6. Scrape the cashew pulp collected by the pulp cup. Close the plug again and add the pulp back to the juicer with another ½ cup of fresh water. Turn it on and wait for the milk to be collected in the container.
7. Now stop the machine again and open the anti-drip plug. Let the cashew milk flow to the juice cup.
8. And in the end you will have to end up with creamy, smooth nut milk and a bit of pulp. You probably don’t even need to strain it if you have a quality juicer as the pulp is separated from milk effectively.

When and how to strain cashew milk?

• NO NEED TO STRAIN – If you have a high-power blender, you will enjoy homemade cashew milk without straining.
• NEED TO STRAIN – If you have a regular blender and did not use any of my “Blending tips” from before, you need to strain your milk. Otherwise, it feels like drinking milk with sand. You get the best smooth cashew milk quality if you strain.

Well, we bought the cheapest ever nylon nut milk bag from Ali Express (similar to this one on Amazon*). I know… not very zero waste from me. But it works perfectly. Within two seconds you can squeeze out the milk. You can see how it works in our video attached to the recipe card or in the step-by-step photos below. You can use other alternatives like cheesecloth*, fine mesh strainer*, or pitcher with nut milk strainer*.

So how to do it?

1. Take a large bowl and place the empty and open nut milk bag in it.
2. Pour the milk from the blender right into the bag.
3. Close the nut milk bag and raise it slightly so it doesn’t touch the bottom of the bowl.
4. Now, starting at the top. Squeeze your hand as close as you can and slide it down to the bottom. Always from top to bottom.
5. You need to do it only a handful of times and it is ready.
6. You can transfer your milk to any container you prefer. We have a lovely glass milk jar from IKEA (similar to this one*) that fits perfectly in the door of the fridge.

You can use the cashew pulp to make cookies, muffins, banana bread, and so on. I prefer to add it to my oatmeal. It will be absolutely delicious and rich with it.

Homemade cashew milk nutrition facts

Here is one more reason to make your own cashew milk:

• 1 cup of homemade cashew milk, you get to have around 3-9 g protein. Compared to that of commercial brands, where the protein content of one serving is 0 – 1 g.

According to Cronometer cashews are high in protein (1 cup raw cashews have more than 23 g), but also rich in so many other things like copper, iron, manganese, magnesium, phosphorus, and zinc. So is homemade cashew healthy? For me, yes-yes.

They are high in fat, but the good kind of fat (Omega-6 :)) and low in fiber. If you are interested in their nutritional benefits in detail, read Healthline’s extensive article on them.

FAQ and substitutions

Can you use roasted and/or salted cashews?

Yes and yes. Roasted cashew tastes awesome, but they are a bit nuttier than raw cashews. If you have only salted cashews on hand, no worries wash the salt off with a sieve and strainer.

Can it be frothed?

Not really. You get a nice froth within the blender when you make it. I love using that and adding to my coffee. But I had no luck using a milk frother with a homemade cashew milk.

How do you know if it is bad?

Homemade cashew milk separates into liquid and fine cashew sand which goes to the bottom. That is perfectly natural. Just shake it well before using. However, cashew milk goes bad if it changes either color (goes into yellow) or odor (smells funky, not nutty) or texture (became slimy).

How long does it last in the fridge?

First of all, we store it in the fridge right after it is ready in a lovely glass milk jar we got from IKEA (similar to this one). 1 liter (approx. a quart) usually lasts 1-2 days, but I wouldn’t drink the milk, which is older than 5 days.

Can you freeze it?

Yes, you can. After thawing, if the cashew milk separates, you can shake it well or blend it again. In any event, if you don’t feel like drinking it, you can still use it in baking.

Can it be heated?

If you heat it up, it may curdle or separate.

This Cashew Milk recipe is gluten-free and vegan so dairy-free and egg-free. It is only WFPB-friendly if you don’t add any oil for texture.

Recipes using cashew milk

You can browse our vegan and gluten-free breakfast recipe gallery where we use dairy-free milk for pancakes, waffles, crepes, donuts, and more or check out

• Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal
• Blueberry Millet Porridge
• Green Smoothie
• Vegan Cashew Alfredo Sauce
• Vegan Breakfast Casserole
• Vegan Frittata