Pecan Milk
Learn how to make pecan milk with this easy recipe! I love pecan milk because it's delicious, nutritious and doesn't require straining like other nut milks.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on July 9, 2024
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Here’s one of those recipes that’s so stupid-simple, I almost feel silly sharing it. And yet, it’s so tasty that I can’t keep it to myself. Pecan milk, where have you been all my life?!
Pecans make an incredible nut milk. It’s nutty and tastes like, well, pecans—even more so if you use freshly roasted pecans instead of raw. I prefer mine with a touch of maple syrup and a dash of vanilla. Sip it chilled for an all-natural treat.
Unlike almond milk, which requires straining and leaves gritty almond pulp behind, pecan milk doesn’t require any straining at all. The pecans blend into super-creamy oblivion, which makes this a no-waste nut milk that contains all of the nutrients and fiber you would get from a handful of pecans.
I absolutely love homemade pecan butter and homemade cashew milk, so I’m not sure why I didn’t think to make pecan milk until now. I finally tried making some a few weeks ago, after buying Malk’s pecan milk at Whole Foods (highly recommend, if you don’t want to make your own). So far, I’ve enjoyed pecan milk on its own, with granola, and in my coffee, and loved it every which way.
The only downside to pecan milk is that pecans are not the cheapest of nuts. But, I know from my pecan butter recipe that some of you lucky ducks have a pecan surplus. For those who don’t (hi)—I still think it’s worth the cost. You can cut the pecans with other nuts, if you’d like. Cashews also blend into creamy nothingness, which makes cashew milk my other favorite nut milk.
Pecan milk has a more nut-forward flavor, while cashew milk is neutral. Oat milk tastes like, well, oats. All of them are better-tasting than standard store-bought almond milk. Once you start, you’ll never go back!
Pecan Milk
Learn how to make pecan milk with this easy recipe! I love pecan milk because it’s creamy, delicious and nutritious. Plus, it doesn’t require straining like other nut milks. Recipe yields about 4 glasses of pecan milk (a total of 4 ½ cups or 36 ounces).
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw or freshly roasted pecans (see notes!)
- 4 cups water, divided
- 1 to 2 tablespoons maple syrup, to taste
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Sea salt
Instructions
- If you have soaked your pecans, rinse them in a fine-mesh sieve under running water. Place the pecans in your blender and add 2 cups of the water. Blend until the mixture is creamy and completely smooth, about 1 minute.
- Add the remaining 2 cups water, 1 tablespoon maple syrup, the vanilla and a couple dashes of salt (salt just amplifies the other flavors). Blend again to combine. Taste, and add additional maple syrup if you’d like sweeter milk.
- Serve immediately (I prefer my pecan milk chilled, so I add a few ice cubes to my glass) or refrigerate it, covered, for up to 5 days. Pecan milk will separate over time, so just whisk it back together before serving.
Notes
On soaking: Most nut milk recipes will tell you to soak your nuts for 4 hours before blending to make your nut milks more nutritious and easier to blend. Feel free to do so. I have no patience for soaking and my Vitamix can easily blend pecans into oblivion without pre-soaking. Pecans are so soft that I suspect less expensive blenders could also make do with un-soaked nuts, but that will really depend on your blender.
Raw vs. roasted pecans: Raw pecans make a lovely milk with a more subtle pecan flavor. For more intense pecan flavor, you can roast raw pecans on a small, rimmed baking sheet for 5 to 8 minutes, stirring halfway, in a 350 degree-Fahrenheit oven. Don’t attempt to make pecan milk with pre-roasted, store-bought nuts; those nuts are often coated in oil and have gone rancid already.
Change it up: You can add a pinch of cinnamon to this milk for some spice, although I prefer it without. You could also sweeten the milk with a couple of plump, juicy Medjool dates (be sure to pit them first). For chocolate pecan milk, blend in cocoa powder, to taste (you really need to blend it in the blender—it’s impossible to incorporate by hand!).
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Love the recipe!
I use it to make a smoothie instead of putting the 2nd Half of water add Some ice, and some extra maple syrup for flavor, and you’ll have an amazing tasting pecan smoothie!
This is amazing! Just made it the way the recipe calls for, which was deliciou, then my little girl came in with her sneaky eyes and said “We should put some cocoa in it!” It’s not hard to talk me into chocolate, it was sooo good. Then we had the idea to mix in some of the cherry juice from our maraschino cherries and top it with a cherry! Next level! Thank you so much for the foundation to what will probably be our new favorite treat!
I just loved your pecan milk recipe. I added it to my coffee this morning and it was perfection! My question is while I make my own almond milk and frothe it for my coffee daily, the pecan milk didn’t really frothe. Do you know why? It was so delicious in my coffee, however! I’ll definitely make the pecan milk again. I plan to try cashew milk as well!
That sounds like a delicious combination, Lynda! Thank you for your review.
I have THREE pecan trees and I’m looking for new things to do with all my pecans!! This is great!
Usually with pecans I need to dry them before doing anything (obviously), but I was wondering if this is something I could do straight from the tree? What do you think?
Thanks!
Hi Betsy, that sounds fun! I’m not sure. I would suggest looking into harvesting and using your pecans. Let me know what you do!
Can pecan milk be subbed in for dairy in the making of custard and caramel? I ask because my family makes a pecan creme pie and I want to develop an extreme version for Thanksgiving.
Hi, I colitis and looking for gut healing foods. I’ve read all the comments but want to know if I can use honey to sweeten it and if so, how much? It’s the only sweetener I’m allowed. Also, the comments seem to point to soaking for better digestion and you cannot toast soaked pecans )want to toast for the flavor… hope I’m not too late to get an answer!
Hi, You can try it. Let me know what you think, Laura!
This is the best tasting, easiest to make diary free milk that I have ever made.
Oh my gosh Kate. This is the best alternative milk ever. I liked your cashew milk, but nothing like this one. It is so delicious. Thanks for another great recipe! I hope Cookie is well.
Great to hear, Lisa! Thank you for your review.
What do you do with the nut stuff that separates? Just compost it? Put it in granola or bake cookies?
I don’t have a specific recipe for it, sorry!
Thank you Kate for sharing this recipe. I have celiac and have run out of milk options. I’ve tried all and reacted badly to them. But, I haven’t tried this one yet. So, Im hopeful! Can you recommend a gluten free brand of pecans?
Thank you.
Diane
Hi Diane, Pecans are gluten free. I hope you try this!
Thank you! I love Pecans and will use this for my daily coffee. It’s very hard to locate the one brand of Southern Pecan creamer that I use. I can’t wait to try this.
I live on pecan milk, the only milk I can tolerate, and am headed into a long camping trip with no blender. Do you think I could make it with pecan butter? What proportion might work? I might have access to a small battery operated hand blender.
Nice I added dates because I didn’t have maple syrup, and it was amazing.
Great to hear, Elizabeth! Thank you for your review.
Picking pounds on pounds paper shell Pecans ,Free tons here in Texas hill country will try this never heard of it before
So we have a giant pecan tree that produces a couple bushels of nuts yearly. I often toss them in the trash as I can’t use them all and most folks don’t wanna bother cracking them and we are overrun with squirrels! I use them daily, grind for flour, eat them roasted, etc and buy almond milk lol. Never again! Finally broke down and made this; was worried as I don’t have a vitamix but my smoothie maker worked great. Soaked overnight. After a day of sitting I didn’t even have to shake it again. Added a pinch of salt. Gorgeous stuff. Thank you for inspiring me!
You’re welcome! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
By the way, the following day it was even creamier, no chalkiness, and from that day on I didn’t even need to shake it; it stayed emulsified! Makes great coffee creamer, cook my oatmeal in it, etc. I’m hooked. Thanks again!
Personally, I’ve found using half raw half roasted pecans to have the best flavor. Using raw pecans doesn’t have enough flavor, and using roasted pecans is too strong, so using half and half is the best of both worlds.
I have a pecan tree. I never saw pecan milk before I thought it wasn’t possible so excited to make problem is shelling a cup full.
Thank you so much for this recipe! I combined your pecan milk recipe with the cashew one for my first try. It turned out so very creamy, tasted delicious and was super easy to make. So much better than any milk alternatives you can buy from the shops.
You’re welcome, Roxana! I appreciate your review.
I’ve seen several pecan milk recipes that call for soaking the nuts. In every recipe I’ve seen, they recommend draining the water used for soaking prior to blending the pecans (with more water).
I’m curious, why not just blend in the water that was used for soaking? I would think draining that water off would potentially lose some of the flavor – and in any case, blending without soaking with a Vitamix (or other high quality blender) doesn’t require pre-washing of the nuts.
Thanks!
Hi Samuel, I found best flavor and end result this way. If you try something different, please let me know what you think!
Just tried this and looking forward to the results–I happened to have a pecan surplus and can’t wait to try this in my oatmeal. I just wanted a clarification because I suspect I will be making this again. Do you use the water that the pecans soaked in or that you rinse with? Is there any reason not to use the water they soaked in? I used the tap water that I rinsed them with, but didn’t have the full 4 cups so ended up using maybe a cup of just regular tap water.
I find the flavor best as written. I hope you try it!