Golden Milk (Turmeric Milk)
Golden milk (turmeric milk) is at the top of the list for a healthy, healing drink. Golden milk is a mix of turmeric and dairy-free milk along with a pinch of pepper, cinnamon and maple syrup. It’s a tasty drink with potent anti-inflammatory benefits!
Golden Milk (Turmeric Milk)
When the temperatures get cold there’s nothing better than a healthy, healing and warming beverage – in the form of golden milk. If you’re from India, turmeric milk is nothing new and you likely grew up with your mom making it for you. But for us western folks, this may be a new beverage for you. And good news, it’s right up there with matcha tea in terms of its myriad health benefits.
The Health Benefits of Turmeric Golden Milk
So let’s jump into those health benefits. If you have an autoimmune condition (or several, like me) then you’ll love turmeric milk for it’s anti-inflammatory properties. Turmeric is one of Mother Nature’s top healing compounds and studies have shown that curcumin, the active ingredient in turmeric, can ameliorate certain autoimmune conditions by regulating inflammatory signals.
Turmeric is also a potent antioxidant, can fight free radicals (hello aging) and can even help stave off the common cold. All because it fights chronic inflammation that may otherwise be suppressing your immune system.
And here’s the good news. You don’t have to take turmeric pills to get those health benefits, just drink golden milk!
Ayurvedic and Chinese medicine have been prescribing golden turmeric milk for centuries. And warming golden milk is soothing and relaxing before bed, similar to a chamomile tea, so you may get an extra deep night’s sleep.
How to Make Golden Milk
For a step-by-step tutorial, make sure to watch the video below to see just how easy it is to make golden milk. Today, I’m using coconut milk, but you can also use almond milk, cashew milk, or oat milk. Here’s how you make it:
- Pour the milk into a small pot on medium heat.
- Add some ground turmeric, a pinch of black pepper (which helps your body absorb the curcumin), a sprinkle of cinnamon (another natural anti-inflammatory) and your sweetener of choice.
- Simmer for 10 minutes to let the flavors all meld, then enjoy!
Tips for the Best Golden Milk
Once you make your golden turmeric milk a time or two, feel free to get creative. Sometimes I’ll add ginger (another favorite herb) and if I’m using a nut milk, I’ll always add coconut oil. Coconut milk has quite a bit of fat, so I tend to skip the coconut oil when I’m using coconut milk, but fat is most definitely needed to help the absorption of all the healing compounds.
Another benefit of coconut oil (and come to think of it, maybe why you should add it either way), is that coconut oil helps the turmeric milk froth it up.
The moral of the story is turmeric is good for you, it’s loaded with health benefits and it’s popular for a reason. So whip up a batch and do like I did on these photos, sprinkle some extra cinnamon and a fresh vanilla bean on top.
Watch This Quick Video of my Golden Turmeric Milk Recipe
You can see how I make it step-by-step. Give it a watch!
More Healthy Drink Recipes
- Jamu Juice (Turmeric Ginger Drink)
- Turmeric Smoothie
- Golden Beet, Carrot and Turmeric Smoothie
- Turmeric Tea
- Elderberry Tea
- Ginger Shots
Golden Milk (Turmeric Milk)
Ingredients
- 2 cups coconut milk, almond milk or cashew milk
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- pinch black pepper
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1-2 tbsp maple syrup
Optional
- 1/2 tbsp coconut oil
- ginger
- cardamom
- peppercorns
- vanilla extract or vanilla bean
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a pot over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 10 minutes to let the flavors meld.
- Pour into a cup and enjoy.
Nutrition
Recipe originally posted December 2016, but updated to include new information.
Mum was a child of the raj born in Bombay in 1910. Her ayah made golden milk for her, mum made it for me. I’m seventy-seven years old and I still drink it every week. It’s the best thing when you feel a cold coming on..
Had to use whole milk but is delicious.
I tried this and wow it’s so soothing and tasty. I usually wake up around 3:45 am most of the nights and yesterday when I drank this , slept like a baby. Thank you for this recipe.
I can’t wait to try this recipe! It sounds much better than the one I use now. Just wanted to let you know that I have been using several different sites for recipes over the past year, and I started to notice a trend. So many of the recipes I loved were from downshiftology! So now when I need a recipe for anything, it’s the first place I go and the first recipe I will try. I love your site, thank you for your amazing work and passion! I am always so excited to try something new from downshiftology! Sandra Nelson
I’m so happy to hear you’ve found what you were looking for Sandra! Hope you enjoy this Turmeric Milk as well :)