How to Make Cashew Milk
Cashew milk is my favorite dairy-free nut milk. Not only is it super creamy, it’s easy to make at home. And bonus, you don’t have to strain it like almond milk. Just soak your cashews overnight, drain, then blend with water. Voila, homemade cashew milk!
Cashew Milk
Up until a few years ago I drank dairy milk like it was going out of style. So much so, that my family historically referred to me as “the cow” because I was always drinking milk (which, I should clarify was said all in good family jesting and not in a derogatory way). I’m not joking when I say I drank a lot of milk…as in a gallon or so a week.
Fast forward 4 years, 4 autoimmune diagnoses, a health coaching certification and a healthy living blog and I’m happy to report that I’m far more educated on nutrition and what I put into my body.
Now to be clear, I’m not anti high-quality dairy (you guys know I like my goat cheese and homemade yogurt). And I sure try hard not to demonize foods.
But the simple fact is that 65% of the worlds population has a problem digesting lactose. And for others, particularly those with digestive autoimmune conditions, dairy can flare and exacerbate symptoms.
So what’s a dairy-free peep to do? Well, you could turn to coconut milk, oat milk, almond milk, hemp milk, banana milk or my favorite of the nut milks – cashew milk!
You Don’t Have to Strain Cashew Milk
Almond milk is the perennial favorite of nut milks, but I find cashew milk to be much creamier and more mild in flavor. I also love that you don’t have to strain it, like you do almond milk. There’s no pulp left when blended on high with a powerful blender.
How to Make Cashew Milk
You’ll see in the video below how quickly the cashew milk comes together. So really there’s no need to pay a premium and buy it at the store. The hardest part is just remembering to soak the cashews the night before. Here’s how you make it:
- Soak 1 cup of cashews overnight, then drain and rinse
- Add the cashews and 4 cups of water (plus any sweeteners) to a high-powered blender
- Blend on high for a minute
- Pour into a storage container and refrigerate
Drink the cashew milk straight up or use it in a recipe as you would any dairy milk.
How Long Does It Last?
Homemade cashew milk lasts 3-4 days in the fridge. Though I think it’s best consumed within the first 2-3 days. You can halve this recipe if you don’t think you’ll use it all up.
You can also make a full batch and pour any extra into a silicone ice cube tray and freeze for future use. I show how to do this with herbs on my Kitchen Gadgets video. Then, it’s as easy as popping a cube into your next mango smoothie or thawing for a cup of coffee. Brilliant, eh?
Cashew Milk Recipe Video
While it’s super easy to make cashew milk, it always helps to watch a quick tutorial video. You can also subscribe to my YouTube Channel for weekly cooking videos!
More Recipes Using This Cashew Milk
How to Make Cashew Milk
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw cashews, soaked overnight, drained and rinsed
- 4 cups water
Optional
- 1-2 tbsp maple syrup , (or honey)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- pinch of sea salt
Instructions
- After the cashews have soaked overnight, drain and rinse them.
- Place the cashews into a high-powered blender and add the remaining ingredients. Blend on high for 1-2 minutes or until the milk is smooth and creamy.
- Place the cashew milk in a storage container and refrigerate.
Lisa's Tips
- This is my favorite storage container for homemade cashew milk.
Nutrition
Recipe originally posted October 2016, but updated to include new information.
This is genius! So glad we found you! Being re-inspired to use Vitamix and other kitchen equipment :) TY for all you are doing.
Happy to hear I can bring some inspiration back into the kitchen :)
Hello! I have been buying plant based milks, and am so anxious to try this recipe – and also the Oat milk recipe. I do have a question – do you soak the cashews in the refrigerator overnight, or at room temperature? Thanks!
Hi Debbie – You can soak them either way!
Thanks! I just ordered the cashews (I am in a small western town with few options so had to order online to get raw). Can’t wait to try this – will send a rating asap!
Excited for you to try this Debbie!
Hi, we’ve been making cashew cream for years for our coffee.. We make it 1 pt. nuts to 2 pt, water and it’s like half n half.. I want to try your recipe and I think I’m going to stay with the richer version we do. Is there a reason not? Thanks for all you do. Also, I frees my final concoction into bars that fit into my old Champion juicer. I feed it through with the “blank” on so theres no straining/filtering ( I hope this is making sense) and it come out the other end just like soft serve! So Yum!
If you like it thicker, then your way is just fine! But to keep it as more of a thinner milk consistency, 4 cups of water is ideal.
Looking forward to making my first batch of almond milk. Quick question- is it 1 cup or 2 cups of almonds? The recipe instructions call for 1 cup but in your video, it looks like you have 2 cups. Thanks!
It’s one cup cashews (soaked)!
Lisa, thank you for your amazing recipes and great videos to make things easy to follow! I was wondering if you have any suggestions/links on where to buy good quality cashews?
Hi Sheree- I normally just buy cashews from Whole Foods, Sprouts, or Trader Joes!
Absolutely gorgeous ☺☺☺
Thanks so much Paul!
Can I use dates as my sweetener?
Hi there – yes you can!
I love this recipe! I have made it so many times. It’s super easy and yummy.
So glad to hear that Celia! :)
This is the only cashew milk recipe I make! I’d never made any but milks before but knew I wouldn’t be lead astray by Lisa and Downshiftology! 10/10. It’s creamy. Smooth. And bright white – unlike the weird greige cashew milk you buy in store
Homemade nut milks are the best :) Glad you love this one Shannon!
My favorite way to make cashew milk!!
So easy and delicious to make right at home :)
Have you tried using the soaked water? i think the soaked water is sweet, all the natural sweetness from cashews. Just curious why we need to drain it. Thanks.
You need to drain it as it leeches all the anti-nutrients from the nuts while they’re soaking. It’s best not to drink that.
How many cups of milk does this yield?
Hi Heather – this should make about 4 cups of cashew milk!
I just made your cashew milk for the first time, it was great. I just want to remind everyone to be sure to buy ethically sourced cashews and look for the fair trade stamp. Cashews are harvested and prepared in such a way that leaves permanent damage to the harvesters hands and fingers. By ensuring that you buy cashews that contain the fair trade stamp you are helping to protect the workers.
Thanks for the tip Robin!
So I am on my 4th batch of Almond milk in less than 2 weeks, tonight I am trying your cashew milk recipe and I have no doubt it will be amazing. The almond milk blew my mind it was soo soo good, I can’t believe I haven’t made it sooner and I will never buy almond milk or almond butter again! So glad I found you!
Hi Mechelle- So glad you’re enjoying all these homemade nut milks so far! Can’t wait for you to try the cashew milk or oat milk next :)
Hi again,
I tried the cashew milk and I LOVE LOVE LOVE, like you I like it better than almond milk(Although I love it too), I read ALL the reviews and I decreased the water by a cup but think next time I will do the recipe as it wasn’t watery at all and I use it in my Nespresso frothier and it was delicious. I’m a little obsessed! Thanks again.
Mechelle
Amazing! Glad you found a new nut milk you love :)
What in the sorcery is this?! It’s amazing! Let me start by saying that I hate milk – I gag from the sight & smell of cows milk (wish I was joking but I’m not). I also dislike the taste and texture of every single plant based milk I’ve ever tried. I accidentally bought raw, instead of roasted cashews, then I came across this recipe on YT. WOW. It’s so decadent 🤤. I felt so cool eating a full bowl cereal with milk for the first time in my life…I’ve always ate cereal dry like it’s popcorn or something. I also warmed it up and added instant espresso for a luxurious mid-day pick me up. I drank it cold, from a glass and felt some sort of ridiculous excitement (like the first time I had an alcoholic beverage). I highly recommend this recipe. And if you like a thicker vs thinner texture, adjust your water content and call it a day!
Wonderful! So glad you love this one as this is also one of my favorite non-dairy milks to make :)
I made this yesterday. The tast is great but it is not creamy. it is just watery. Did I do something wrong? I followed the recipe exactly. Is there a certain brand of cashews that work better? I used raw cashews from Sprouts.
Hi Renee – you can always alter the ratio of water to cashews to make it more or less creamy.
Hello! I used one cup of cashews to one and a half cups of water and it was SUPER creamy! I found this recipe after the fact when I was researching if I had to strain or not :) but definitely a 1:2 ration is probably going to give more creamy while this recipe’s ration seems to make lots more milk :D ! It really depends probably what you’re making it for. Mine was for my morning coffee, so much smaller batch.
Thanks again Lisa for a simple & fuss-free recipe. I had never tried or made cashew milk before and I’m so happy that I gave your recipe a go. I frothed it For my coffee this morning and despite all naysayers on other websites who claim cashew milk won’t froth, mine did and without adding thickeners or preheating. Very tasty too!
Hi Danica- So glad I could introduce you to this new dairy-free milk! It’s my favorite one to make all the time :) And good to know that this froths up for your coffee!
Thank you again Lisa for another simple and fuss-free recipe. I had never tried or made cashew milk before and I’m very happy I gave your recipe a go. I frothed it using my Nespresso machine and it worked a treat without adding any thickener or preheating. Tastes great too!
Hi Danica- Wonderful! Glad this made for a great frothed milk for your coffee :)
Very easy to follow, simple everyday ingredients too. I just had a taste from my own batch and it is simply delicious! I hate the taste of almond milk on its own- it doesn’t remind me of milk at all but this cashew milk does!!! So so creamy, has that dairy milk texture and it tastes nice. Now I will get to enjoy eating cereal again (because I won’t have to use almond milk).
Hi Kirsty- So glad you loved this cashew milk! It’s one of my favorite nut milks to make :)
Very easy to make and delicious. Thank you
I love the cashew milk recipe, I use it for chia pudding and it is to die for. Lisa’s recipes are so well put together, very understandable and easy
Hi Patricia- This is the perfect option for chia pudding :) So happy to hear my recipes are easy to follow along as well :)
Hi Lisa! I just made this for the first time today and it’s DELICIOUS! What’s the shelf life?
Hi Leigh- This will last for about 2-3 days in the fridge!
do you have to add a sweetener to it if you are doing the whole 30? Could I add dates like I noticed you did for your almond milk?
You can add dates instead if you’d like!
Made this for the first time today. So impressed! I used to make almond milk ages ago. I did not care for the straining and resulting mess. Not having to strain was a dream! It turned out so white, like dairy milk. Looks so nice in my glass bottle.
This also is one of my favorite nut milks to make! Glad you loved this recipe.
Hi Lisa, I really love the cashew milk! I am going to make hemp milk next :)
I have a question though, why does a cup (200ml) of homemade unsweetened cashew milk has higher calories than a cup of Silk unsweetened cashew milk? Thank you so much!
Hi Jo – it’s usually because the store bought versions are pretty watered down, but then they’re thickened up with emulsifiers and fillers. Homemade is definitely fresher!
wow! I didn’t think of that! Seems unhealthy if you think about it. Thank you for sharing! I think I’ll opt to make my own from now on :)
Hi Lisa, so excited to try this, already have my cashews soaking for tomorrow! Just a quick question about the nutrition – it says 89 cal for 8 serves, how big of a serve is it? I know you put a litre of water in the blender, so is it a half-cup per serve? Thanks so much!
Hi Chynna- Yes! It is about half a cup per serving :)
This cashew milk is AMAZING!! I make it every single week, and due to our current world situation some ingredients have been more difficult to find, not sure why raw cashews were out of stock, but I decided to give this a whirl using roasted (and salted….) and I usually don’t need to soak because I usually use raw, but a soak/rinse with the roasted and salted helped reduce the salt. Also, guess what?!?!? it still turned out every bit as delicious!
Hi Jessica – That’s great to hear this milk still turned out great with salted cashews! I’ll keep that in mind if anyone else asks :) Thanks!
Love, love, love this cashew milk. I like the suggestion to add cacao powder, must try that. I add three or four dates for the sweetener. My husband really loves it also, so that’s awesome. No more bought almond milk for us, this is too good. Thanks for this.
Hi Linda – Happy to hear both you and your husband enjoyed this cashew milk! This is also one of my favorites to make right at home.
Hi Lisa,
Soaked my cashews for tomorrow to make a milk with your recipe, it will be my first time trying it. :)
Do you think it’s ok for 8 year old kid to drink it too?
Thanks,
Nina.
Hi Nina – yes, cashew milk is fine for children (as long as they don’t have nut allergies). Enjoy!
My husbands and I use but milks in all of our shakes. Right now when we don’t want to visit the grocery store if we don’t have to, making our own but milk has been amazing. We ordered a large bag of cashews on Amazon and know we’ll be able to make our shakes without having to leave the house right now. Seems silly, but having a constant makes us feel normal when things are far from normal. Thanks for posting this recipe!!
Hi Elyse – I’m happy to hear you and your husband were able to figure out an alternative to make right at home! Things are definitely difficult right now, but now’s a good time to get back to the basics, especially learning how to cook more at home with simple, wholesome ingredients :)
Hi Lisa, I understand that this is your favourite milk. I’m not vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free or anything else, but I like to try new and healthy recipes. I’ve already tried some of your recipes, but this milk is the best. It’s the first nut milk I’ve tried but it’s definitely not the last. I’m so happy I found your website, you are amazing.
Hi Martina – Glad to hear you’re loving all my recipes so far, even though you don’t have any autoimmune diseases or food sensitivities! And yes, cashew milk is one of my favorites to make and one I use in a lot of my recipes :)
Just tried this recipe today, it’s so creamy and delicious! Thank you for sharing the recipe!❤️
Hi Ann – Amazing! Glad you enjoyed one of my favorite nut milks to make :)
I have been making this cashew milk for a while now for my smoothies and it’s so good !! What would you add to make a chocolate cashew milk? Cacao powder? If so, how much? Thanks :)
Hi Martine – I haven’t tried making a chocolate version, but I would add about 1/4 cup cacao powder :) Let me know how it turns out!
Ok, I tried this for the first time tonight and…..just WOW. It is delicious and so creamy!! The texture is addictive!! I admit, I was skeptical as I am not a real fan of cashews, but I am more than pleasantly surprised! It’s in the fridge tonight and I can’t wait to try it on my cereal in the morning!
Thank you for all your recipes and hints and life hacks for being healthier and just more kind to our bodies and our spirits. 💜
Hi Becky – So glad this milk changed your mind about cashews :) This will be great to put in your cereal in the morning.
Thank you for this recipe! This makes a creamy milk and better than the store bought milk!!
Hi Christina – Cashew milk is definitely one of my favorites to make :) Glad you enjoy it as well!
I made the cashew milk with my Ninja Blender on high speed for about 4 mins. total. I followed Lisa’s recipe using the maple syrup and it turned out creamy and delicious!
Hi Jane – Wonderful! This is my favorite non-dairy milk to make as well :)
This cashew milk is so creamy and delicious. Another wonderful recipe. I’m not gluten free, but feel so blessed to have found your community and your healthy recipes. I’m looking forward to trying more.
Hi Ellen – I’m so glad to hear that as we are happy to have you as part of this community :)
Thank you for this amazing recipe Lisa! This is by far my favorite non-dairy milk!!! I was graciously gifted a Vitamix for Christmas and I’ve been making cashew milk every other day since then. Thank you again for all that you share. I’ve really been enjoying poking around your website and Instagram for amazing recipes to try.
Hi Sasha – Congrats on your new Vitamix! I’m so glad you loved this cashew milk as this is also one of my favorites to make :) Thanks again for all your support and I hope you continue to enjoy my recipes and tips into the new year!
I was so inspired to try this when you said it didnt have to strained. It is delicious and 123 simple to make. I had been ignoring my beautiful high speed blender..but now it will be the star appliance next to my instapot. So glad I found your videos. Demonstrates such great easy ways to modify ones lifestyle. Just what I needed.
Hi Kristen- You should definitely use your blender more often! Plus, I have tons of Vitamix recipes you can reference on my website :)