Cashew Milk
Cashew milk is my new favorite. I use it in smoothies and tea or splashed over a bowl full of granola.
Smooth, creamy and naturally sweet, this milk offers a much needed respite from the ubiquitous almond, which reigns supreme in my kitchen --unlike my almond milk recipe, this cashew milk does not require any straining. It is a cinch to make. Quick and easy, I like to have a quart of cashew milk ready in the fridge at all times.
On another note, I've been receiving many recipe requests of late. Katie asked for a barbecue sauce that does not contain agave. I'm working on it --one with tomato sauce, smoked paprika, ground mustard seed and orange juice. Katie, let me know if juice is going to work for your California barbecues or if you are looking for something free of even a small amount of fruit sugars. If that is the case we will go in a spicy mustard-vinegar type direction.
I broke out my grill yesterday (the first of May) to experiment with the aforementioned barbecue sauce recipe; of course it snowed! The day before that was 80 degrees. Go figure. That's just the wacky Colorado spring for you. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the baby tomato plants in my teeny backyard survive. In the meantime, here's that creamy cashew milk recipe.
1 cup (raw) cashews, soaked overnight
4 cups water
1 tablespoon agave nectar
pinch celtic sea salt
- Discard soaking water and rinse cashews thoroughly until water runs clear
- Place cashews, (4 cups fresh) water, agave and salt in blender
- Process on high speed 20-30 seconds
- Store in glass mason jar in refrigerator
This cashew milk has the viscosity of regular whole milk; if you want to make milk with the consistency of 2% cow milk, add another cup of water. For half and half (great for coffee and tea), use only 2 cups water in the above recipe.
Cashew milk is very foamy when first removed from the blender; it settles nicely after sitting in the fridge overnight. Often a layer of cream forms on top of the milk, though don't be thrown, underneath is pure, delicious white stuff.
I sure am looking forward to some warm weather and drinking a creamy Thai ice tea made with this rich and silky cashew milk!
PS. Don't forget about the cookies!
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Subscribe by Email to elanaspantry.com:Posted on May 2, 2008 in beverages by Elana
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Please note: I am not able to field substitution questions, it just isn't humanly possible because there are so many variations on every recipe. I do encourage you to experiment on your own and share your results in a comment.
For information regarding recipe ingredients, products, common substitutions or other related items, please visit my FAQ's or my forums.
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What all can you use the cream stuff for? Or do you just discard it? Mix it in?
I made the cashew milk, my milk turned out very grainy even when we finished it we had a lot of stuff on the bottom of the jar. Is this normal or is my blender not blending it properly?
Thanks,
Sara
even though I usually prefer buying my milk alternatives from the store where they are enriched in much-needed calcium, I think I'll throw caution to the wind and make your beautiful version!
Hmm, I've never had cashew milk. Sounds really good. Thanks for the recipe, I'll defiantly be trying this!
Hi Elana,
I have to say I love your website. My husband is on the Specific Carb Diet and needless to say it has been challenging to cook for him. He is Italian and has a real passion for food in general. Thanks to you, I now have 2 cases of Papadini pasta I can get creative with and satisfy his cravings.
I have a question about the cashew milk. You didn't specify, but I'm assuming you use raw cashews in the recipe? I've never tried "nut milk", but I'd like to give it a shot.
thanks,
Bon
Elana, I had my first "frappocino" in four years yesterday. thank you. I've tried to make them with almond milk but dislike the taste of almond milk. I can't believe I didn't think to try cashew nuts before this. I look forward to trying to make Thai tea with the cashew milk. Is the soaking absolutely necessary?
Shez
Beautiful, I was just about to make some cashew milk today! Thank you for the great recipe.
I'm quite interested in the barbeque sauce recipe! I can't do agave or fruit sweeteners, so I'm quite interested to see the spicy mustard-vinegar one if you end up making it!
Freedom -I use the cream stuff on top for tea, or I simply mix it in.
Celine -Thanks for your kind words.
Tarah -You are so welcome.
Bonnie -I am a HUGE fan of the SCD. I would recommend raw cashews for this recipe, have not ever made it with roasted, don't think it would be the same thing. I will add "raw" to the instructions on the post above; thanks much for pointing this out!
Shez -Yes, isn't cashew milk the greatest? I think the soaking is necessary as when I have reduced soaking time for this recipe (in a rush), the milk was not quite as creamy. If you experiment and come up with a different end result, please let us know. BTW, what's in your frappucino recipe? Sounds delicious!
Alisa -I hope you are well! Everyone who needs dairy-free recipes, make sure to stop by Alisa's Site, godairyfree.com
Abigail -I will add your bbq sauce request to my list, as the one I came up with for Katie has some OJ in it.
I blended a cup of the cashew milk with an extra handful of cashews (unsoaked). When it was smooth, I added a shot of espresso, some agave nectar and around 10 ice cubes. Blended until the ice was smooth. It's really good.
Shez -That sounds AMAZING; I'm going to the kitchen right now to make some with my organic decaf coffee. Yum! Thanks for sharing your recipe with us.
I'm back, just made the frapuccino --it is very similar to my coffee ice cream recipe, except it is instant! No waiting for the ice cream maker to get going! Thanks.
I have been wanting to make nut milks. Yours looks creamy. Thank you for the recipe.
This sounds amazing! I'd love to try it. How long will this keep for in the fridge?
Elana--bless you, bless you, bless you for cooking and eating this way. I found your blog through Elise at simplyrecipes.com. She had linked to your chicken piccata and I LOVED your recipe.
I've suspected for a while that I have a wheat sensitivity and I've really been trying hard to remake my life as gluten-free. What I found though is that was not the core of the problem. I also have metabolic syndrome and am very carb sensitive and the last month, I've been working on editing all carbs (potatoes, rice, corn, and all grains) from my diet. It has been more difficult than I imagined. I started to believe that I would never be able to bake again in my life and that I must be the only person on the planet who can't eat dairy, grains, potatoes or corn. Thank you for making me aware that I'm not the only one.
I'm already a fan and I only discovered your site yesterday! I can't wait to try out the recipes.
Elana,
I made the cashew milk two days ago. It was so easy! Zack, my big 16 year old who is really trying to stay away from dairy to clear up his face loved it as did my husband. They made smoothies with it. Zack said that it tasted like the milk at the bottom of the cereal bowl when you are done with the cereal. I have to make more tonight.
Thank you for all your good work in this area.
Love,
Mary Beth
Maya -You are very welcome.
Amy -Mine keeps for about 5 days, if it lasts that long.
Eden -Yes, this is such an odd little eating plan that you and I (and I suspect more people than we know) are on, that it really defies description to some degree. There is so much that we CAN eat though, isn't there?! For that I am most grateful.
Mary Beth -So great to see you here. I am glad that you, your husband and Zack enjoyed the cashew milk. My boys are STILL talking about his amazing performance in the school play! xo E.
Eden-
I am right here with you... no potatoes, rice, corn, wheat... You are in for a REAL treat. I made Elana's Thai Chicken soup the other night for dinner and I was able to enjoy it with all of my guest. Blueberry muffins, chocolate cake, fish sticks... It's all here! Up next I am going to make Elana's Chipotle Orange Chicken and Lemon Chicken Piccata. ENTICING!
Elana-
Coffee ice cream? That has been my favorite flavor of ice cream since being a little girl. I cannot wait to try Shez's frappucino! I would like to serve up your version of the peanut butter bars on Mother's Day. Have you got your "taste-testers" approval with your latest version? If your recipe still needs some work, let me know your suggestion for a memorable Mother's day treat (you have probably already posted). I am having my Mother-in-law over for a Mothers Day Dinner and i will be the head chef!
Courtney- Yes, Shez's frap is amazing! I have been partaking daily since she posted her recipe here in the comments section of cashew milk. I will post the Kelly recipe for you Friday if possible; however, I don't want you to be disappointed, I use almond butter instead of peanut since I avoid peanuts to some extent. I hope you will still like it though --my hub loves it and my little league team devoured it when I brought it as snack for our last game! xo Elana
question how/where do you put in the Agave nectar and salt, as you left that out of the instructions. I'm assuming you put it in with the Water when you blend the Cashews?
I actually prefer almond butter so this will suit me well. Thanks Elanna.
What a great recipe, Elana! This sounds delicious.
TC -Thanks for catching that omission in the instructions, if you look at the recipe you will find it is corrected!
Courtney -That's great; looking forward to meeting you.
Tiffany -Thanks much. It is one of my favorites.
Hi Elana, have just spent the last 24 hours reading through just about everything on your site. Love your photos and am keen to try your recipes. Question about the cashew milk - I heard cashews are poisonous unless treated (and thats why they are so expensive) - do you know anything about that? My husband came home with salted roasted cashews and said that was all that was available. Also how essential is the agave? I generally use stevia, and have never used agave,but am hesitant to substitute stevia because of the after taste. Any ideas?
Thanks
Hi Merideth,
I think truly raw cashews may be poisonous until they are treated. So when we buy "raw" cashews, they aren't really "raw," they've been processed, though I'm not exactly sure how. I don't think this recipe would work with roasted, salted cashews, though if you find it does, please let me know as a few others have asked about this as well.
Per your agave question, I think it will taste fine with out adding the small bit of agave the recipe calls for. I myself often make mine sans agave and it's delicious (to me). Hope this helps to answer your questions and thanks so much for stopping by.
Elana
The cashew milk reminds me of a gravy that I used to make with cashews.You simply make the milk without the soaking and add your favorite spices or blend of spices,I used powdered garlic powdered onion and some salt,heat until it thickens(without a thickener) and viola cashew gravy.
feedumryder -that sounds delicious; thanks for sharing!
Thank you for this wonderful recipe. I have been craving a chai tea "latte" and this was just the right recipe to use. I just subbed 4 cups strong chai tea for the water. YUM!!!
Amanda,
Sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing.
Elana
I am a very sensitive celiac. I can't tolerate dairy. Do you have any suggestions for a good source of calcium- natural or supplement?
Thanks
Greg
Greg,
Here are a couple of suggestions:
I did a google search for "vegetables with calcium" and found the following link which looks very helpful.
You could also try my forums, there are lots of super helpful folks over there who may be in the same boat as you.
Hope this helps.
Elana
Elana - any chance you could please work on a cashew milk custard recipe?
Since reading this recipe and posting a while back, cashew milk is now our regular milk and I've found it works great in coffee, in baking and so forth, but when I come to making custard it's just not so good. Previously I was using soy milk, egg, vanilla and stevia and I could make wonderful custard, better tasting than in commercially produced custard tarts. I'm wanting to get away from the processing of the soy milk though, (and have lactose intolerance in the family so milk is a no go). Happy to use eggs though - any help you can give would be great - the family is missing custard!!
Meredith -I do use the cashews with some success (I think) in this Pumpkin Custard recipe. I will be experimenting in the future with panna cottas and more custards, so stay tuned and thanks so much for your comment.
Elana, you had me at poisonous....now the thought of trying cashew milk for my 2 1/2 yr old son has flown out the window. Actually "raw" cashews are steamed, but my son's sensitivities concern me since he's having such a rough time with most foods (especially high phenol as of late among many others). He hates almond milk..double ouch and OY!
THANK YOU! I have used half-and-half in my coffee for 20 years now. It is the last dairy item I felt I couldn't live without. I have tried so many substitutes without finding one I could enjoy-even a little. This morning I made organic cashew milk; steamed it, mixed it with my organic, swiss water processed decaf coffee-and it was delicious! I can finally say good-bye to the fat-laden half-and-half and go completely dairy free. I can't wait to try the chai and some fresh fruit smoothies with this! Elana, your fantastic, gluten-free, nutritious recipes have truly been a God-send for me.
Hi Elana! I am trying gluten-free, vegan when possible recipes, and I am slowly being introduced to this world...I just have one question about the cashews...I soaked mine for about 2 hrs and they were soft but kind of greyish...Is this normal??? I don't think its mold, but wanted to ask...Congratulations on your website! My nephews are going to love your recipes!
Alsooo, have you tried replacing the eggs in your recipes with egg replacer??? I am going to try that just to have them low cholesterol for my father...
Thanx!
Ana, mine usually turn a whitish grey after a couple of hours of soaking too, I don't think this is really abnormal, just a sign that they are starting to degrade (as in come apart and break down). See my FAQ for more info on substitutions such as eggs. Thanks for stopping by!