Cashew Milk
Learn how to make cashew milk and what to do with it, as well as its health properties. Cashew milk is the creamiest and most delicious of dairy-free milks!
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on October 5, 2024
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Let’s talk milk. Do you like milk? Milk and I have a tumultuous past. As a kid, I boycotted milk for a solid ten years, during which time my mother fretted about my calcium intake and swore I’d turn into a decrepit, brittle old lady. May the record show that I have not once broken a bone.
These days, I’m still not much of a milk drinker. I like a splash of it in my coffee, but I accidentally stopped drinking coffee two months ago. I can’t say I’m a fan of store-bought milk alternatives, either. Soy milk, rice milk and almond milk all have a funky aftertaste that I can’t abide. Homemade almond milk is pretty good, but straining the pulp from the liquid mixture is more trouble than it’s worth.
Homemade cashew milk, however, is a different story. It’s my one exception. It’s easy to make and it’s absolutely delicious. Cashew milk is the creamiest of homemade nut milks and the most refreshing, in my opinion.
Since the nuts blend entirely into the water, no nuts go to waste in the process. That also means that the cashew milk retains all of the fiber and nutrients present in the cashews. Did I mention that you don’t have to strain the mixture? I’m a fan.
Cashew milk is full of redeeming nutrients, like magnesium, phosphorus, iron, potassium and zinc. The fat in cashews is mostly unsaturated and they are a good source of protein (source).
I’ve made this cashew milk recipe in my old blender and my new fancy pants blender (courtesy of Blendtec). Both blenders produced creamy milk that didn’t require straining, so don’t worry if you don’t have a fancy pants blender. Soaking the cashews first helps them break down in the blender, too. Generally, soaking nuts before consuming them helps release beneficial enzymes. I’m not sure that’s true for cashew milk, though, because even “raw” cashews have already been through two roasting processes to remove their inner and outer shells. “Raw” cashew milk/cream/cheese may be a misnomer.
A cold glass of cashew milk is super refreshing on a hot day. Add cinnamon and it reminds me of horchata. Mix some into Assam or black tea with spices for a riff on Chai tea. It would be great with muesli or cereal for breakfast. Apparently you can even make ice cream with cashew milk, though I admit I’m skeptical. Have you tried it?
Watch How to Make Cashew Milk
Please let me know how your cashew milk turns out in the comments! If you’re looking for more homemade milk alternatives, check don’t miss my pecan milk and oat milk.
Cashew Milk
Cashew milk is creamy and refreshing, nutritious and easy to make. You shouldn’t need to strain the mixture after blending if you have a decent blender. That means less hassle and less waste! Recipe yields about 5 cups cashew milk.
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw cashews
- 4 cups water, divided*
- 1 to 2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey or agave nectar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Dash of sea salt
- Pinch of cinnamon (optional)
Instructions
- Soak the cashews in water at least 4 hours, or overnight in the refrigerator. Drain the cashews and rinse until the water runs clear. Add the cashews and two cups water to a blender. Start on a low setting and increase the speed until the cashews are totally pulverized. This could take 2 minutes in a high-powered blender or longer in a regular blender.
- Blend in 2 cups more water*, your sweetener of choice, vanilla extract, sea salt and cinnamon (optional). If your blender can’t totally break down the cashews, strain the milk through a fine mesh strainer or cheese cloth. Store the milk in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days—stir before using.
Notes
*Water ratio: The ratio of water to cashews (4 to 1) in this recipe yields milk that is somewhere between 2% and whole milk in terms of creaminess. I think it’s just right as-is, but you can use less water for even creamier results.
Make it vegan: Use maple syrup or agave nectar, not honey.
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.
Wow. I was buying Silk Cashew milk but after following this recipe, I will never buy it ever again. This is so rich and creamy and gives me all the dairy feels I yearn for. An absolute game changer!!
hi Kate!
which sweetener have you used and prefer personally ?:)
Maple syrup is a great option.
Really good. Thank you for the simple recipe!! Soooo much easier than almond milk :)
Great to hear, Nikki!
Hi. Tastes fantastic. Can I freeze it?
I haven’t tried it. Sorry!
I just made this. I used 1 T of monkfruit sweetener and added a bit of nutmeg along with the cinnamon. It’s quite good. I’m making a pot of coffee and I’ll be trying it in that next.
Can you share the nutrition content ? I would love to make this
Hi Whitney, The nutritional information is below the notes section of the blog.
Hello ! Do you use regular vanilla (with alcohol) or powder?
Regular liquid vanilla.
I made it, but didn’t have time to soak, and didn’t have agave, maple, or honey.. so used raw sugar. It tastes great. Next time I’ll soak the cashews.
Thank you for sharing, Elle!
Know it’s been a while but I just found the recipe and made a batch . Very tasty . Will try using with beverage and cereal later . Thanks for sharing.
You can do this with almonds too! To get the gross mold off, which is on many nuts, I first soak briefly in boiling water, then peel off the skin. Then I make creamer by adding 2 parts water to 1 part almonds. Cheaper than cashews, no straining.
If you haven’t seen the mold, just soak almonds for 12 hours on the counter in plain water. You’ll see a gross soot, which is mold from the almonds not being dried perfectly.
I do that with almonds too. After popping off the skins I put in coffee grinder. Then I place in the blender with half the amount of hot water, blend. Then add cold filtered with any other ingredients and blend second time. I have a hand held fine mess strainer
I put over my big measuring cup to strain. Use the pulp on salads, cereal, in vegan meals etc.
Hello!
I just made this but forgot to rinse the cashews after they soaked until the water runs clear. I just blended it with the other ingredients. Does this impact the milk? I would hate to waste it so I’m just curious as what is the purpose of this step.
Thank you!
I find the taste is better when rinsed. I hope you were able to enjoy it!
Question- do you know if you can cook with this? I’m just wondering if it would curdle or separate.
I’m looking forward to making this!!!
Hi Gerry, You should be able to use this in most recipes.
Made this recipe and love the result. Used my Vitamix and the result was smooth and creamy. Thank you for the awesome recipe.
This milk is ah-mazing! I’ll never go back to drinking anything else.
That’s great to hear, Krista! I appreciate your review.
I do that with almonds too. After popping off the skins I put in coffee grinder. Then I place in the blender with half the amount of hot water, blend. Then add cold filtered with any other ingredients and blend second time. I have a hand held fine mess strainer
I put over my big measuring cup to strain. Use the pulp on salads, cereal, in vegan meals etc.
Hoe long can this be stored in the fridge?
Store the milk in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days—stir before using.
I used roasted cashews, and about a teaspoon of monkfruit sugar since I was a teaspoon short of 2 Tablespoons of maple syrup. It was good!
Made this today, and may never buy cow’s milk again. Immediately sent the link to all of my friends. Really delicious and easy!
Happy to hear you enjoyed it, CC!
Delicious recipe! Thank you for sharing this with us! Even my 17yo son and his girlfriend liked it.
That’s great to hear, Lisa!
Soaked nuts overnight. Used filtered water. Using for potato soup so didn’t add vanilla. Is faster minus soaking than the way I make almond milk. I used Himalayan salt and less real maple syrup. I did strain it in fine mess stainer with handle over big measuring cup. I saved the nutmeat in freezer to use instead of tufo in probably vegan meatballs or something later. Tastes great! Thanks for the recipe. Wasn’t sure of ratio of nuts to water.
Thank you for sharing, Leah!
I made it! I really like it. However question- is it possible to over mix it? I love that it is so creamy, but I always have this like smoothie type of cream on the top. Am I over mixing it?
Hi Amanda, are you straining it?
Gorgeous recipe. Given that cows milk contains a percentage of blood and pus from infected over milked sore udders (the dairy ind, don’t want you to know this), and the fact that the cattle industry is the most inefficient use of land on the planet, cashew milk is a win win for the environment, your health and the health of cows globally!
I love this recipe. I made it with 1 cup water and then added more until it was the consistency that I want- I use it in my coffee and to make my smoothies. I am one to experiment with all recipes and wondered if you have ever tried roasting the cashews before soaking. I am thinking that it might might the flavor even richer.
Can I freeze it? I made too much!
Oh no! I don’t know how well this will freeze. What did you decide to do?
I made the cashew milk for the first time as I couldn’t find any in the local stores, and it turned out great. I used our Vitamix blender so no need to strain anything.
I used the 4 cups of water and the consistency was nice. I also used a dash of cinnamon, not overpowering but nice as a background flavour.
Thank you!
Did I understand that it’s a total of 4 cups of final cashew milk?
Recipe yields about 5 cups cashew milk.
Thank you for posting this recipe. I use the 2:1 ratio recommendation for creamer and it will last me four days. It’s helpful and cost effective as the options are limited in my area.
It definitely needs to be filtered! Idk who wants gritty milk. I made it and literally couldn’t drink it until I filtered it.
Hi Angela, I’m sorry to hear that. Did you pre soak your cashews? What type of blender did you use?
Hi Kate,
Do you think a nutrabullet will pulverize the soaked cashews enough?
You could try it. I don’t have experience with them so I can’t say for sure. Sorry!
I make 1.5 litres cashew nut milk from 80ml, or 42g cashew nuts. It’s great!
Such a great recipe! Perfect! Enjoying a green smoothie now using the cashew milk as the base! Delicious and creamy!!
Great to hear, Karen! I appreciate your review.