Ready to make homemade Brazil nut milk? In this post I share a quick and easy Brazil nut milk recipe for making this plant milk at home. I also include tips for making homemade plant milk and links to ingredients to purchase online.
I’ve been making my own brazil nut milk at home for over 20 years and have perfected my method over the years. It’s a great addition to the 7-Day Daniel Fast Meal Plan.
There is one ingredient that is a game changer for making thick and creamy brazil nut milk at home: sunflower lecithin powder. This one ingredient, when added, helps make homemade plant milk just like the ones found at the grocery store – but better (in my opinion). Learn more about this ingredient below.
What is Brazil nut milk?
Brazil nut milk is plant based milk made from brazil nuts. Brazil nuts make very creamy non-dairy milk. They are also a good source of Selenium which is why they are ideal for adding to a Daniel Fast.
How to use Brazil nut milk
This plant milk can be used in a variety of ways, including:
- Morning coffee or hot cacao drink
- As a beverage
- In recipes that call for milk
- In baking recipes
- In smoothies
Here’s the recipe:
Brazil nut milk recipe
Makes about 4 cups
Ingredients
- 4 cups filtered water
- 1 teaspoon sunflower lecithin
- 1/4-1/2 cups Brazil Nuts, soaked 1-2 hours or overnight
Directions
- Add brazil nuts into a blender with sunflower lecithin powder.
- Grind into a fine powder.
- Add water and blend until creamy.
- Pour through a mesh bag before storing to strain out the extra fiber (optional).
- Store in a glass container in the fridge for 2-4 days.
Other nuts and seeds you can use
Types of nuts and seeds I like to use to make plant milk
- Cashews
- Hemp seeds
- Almond butter (easiest way to make Almond milk and doesn’t require straining)
Using this plant milk:
- Baking
- Desserts
- Smoothies
- Soups
- Sauces
- Cereal
- …and more!
Ready to make your own plant milk at home? Here’s my tips for making homemade plant milk, including tips and tricks for making it taste great, how to streamline the process, and storing it in the fridge.
What is sunflower lecithin?
Sunflower lecithin has been available in the marketplace for decades. Some people believe it is helpful in losing weight. It’s also been praised for promoting brain health. However my main reason for adding it into my diet is because it helps make plant milk thick, creamy through emulsification and helps prevent separation.
This ingredient is fairly inexpensive and I purchase it in powdered form. NOW foods also offers sunflower liquid lecithin which I have not used yet. I purchase this product on Amazon.com in a one pound container which lasts quiet a long time in my kitchen. I choose this brand because it inexpensive, soy-free and Non-GMO.
NOW sunflower lecithin
The brand says their product “aids in emulsifying fats, enabling them to be dispersed in water” which is why I choose to add this to my homemade plant milks. It helps keep the milk from separating which is an undesirable thing. I’ve found that by adding it to my homemade plant milks they very rarely separate.
8 tips for making homemade plant milk
Here’s tips for making plant milk at home:
Grind nuts or seeds first, before adding water
One of the biggest tips I can share with you about making your own plant milk at home is to grind the nuts and seeds first in your blender before adding the water. This makes it easier to thoroughly blend the milk and avoid ending up with large chunks of nuts and seeds in your milk.
Additionally, if you do not have a high powered blender, before adding all of the water to the blender add just enough to cover the nuts or seeds. Blend this first, then add the remaining water. This helps make sure your milk is thoroughly blended as well.
Alternatively, instead of grinding the nuts or seeds yourself, simply use a nut or seed butter that is already ground up, such as almond butter or cashew butter. If using this, I use about 1 teaspoon nut or seed butter to 1 cup water. Or, use a nut meal or flour, such as almond flour or hazelnut flour. If using flour, use about 1 tablespoon per cup of water.
Add sunflower lecithin
This ingredient helps emulsify your plant milk, which means that it helps the fat and water in your milk combine to create a smooth consistency that doesn’t separate easily. I add about 1 teaspoon to four cups of plant milk.
NOW sunflower lecithin: My secret ingredient for making creamy plant milk at home
Get a nut milk bag
Some nuts have skins on them, such as almonds and brazil nuts. If using these to make your own plant milk I recommend straining the milk through a mesh bag as you are pouring it into your storage container. You can purchase an actual nut milk bag, or instead purchase a very inexpensive “paint straining bag” at your local hardware store (like I do).
These are often $1 or $2 and last a very long time with proper washing. If you end up with a lot of extra pulp (which often happens with almond milk), the pulp can be reused to make cookies or other baked goods.
Use a high-powered blender if possible
I use a Vitamix blender which I’ve found makes the best plant milk because it is very high powered.
Add plant milk to your meal prep routine
I make plant milk at home about 2-3x per week and store it in a large glass mason jar in the fridge. It is really easy to make, basically just combine nuts and/or seeds, sunflower lecithin and water into a blender and blend until creamy. To make it even easier, I avoid using nuts that need straining to save me an extra step. I’ve found the quickest and easiest type of plant milk to make is cashew milk.
Store your milk in a glass jar in the fridge
I prefer to store all of my food in glass instead of plastic because I’m wary of the chemicals that are found in plastic containers. I’ve also found that it is very easy and space efficient to use glass mason jars to store my plant milk in the fridge.
Make a nut milk mix
If you really want to streamline your plant milk making process you can make an easy-to-use mix by combining ground nuts and/or seeds with sunflower lecithin in a container. When you’re ready to make milk simply scoop the mix into a blender, add water, and blend. Homemade plant milk generally lasts about 2-4 days before going bad in my refrigerator.
Make your milk unsweetened for versatility
When I’m making my homemade plant milk I generally will make it plain and unsweetened. This allows me versatility for using the milk in both sweet and savory dishes. I’ll never forget the time I tried to make a savory vegan garlic Alfredo sauce with sweetened vanilla plant milk because it turned out to be a very inedible dish. If you have plain milk in the fridge you can always blend up the milk with your favorite sweetener and flavorings anytime.
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