how to make vanilla cashew milk

Two weeks ago, it was almond milk. This week, it’s all about the cashews. It’s the battle of the nut milks!

I love both, although in some ways, cashew milk is preferable and in others, almond milk is. Here’s my breakdown of why:

Why is cashew milk better?
Less leftover pulp, or none, if you have a Vitamix or a very high-powered blender.
Less pulp = more milk.
Raw cashews are cheaper and easier to find than blanched almonds.

Why is almond milk better?
I prefer the taste of almond milk. So much so that I had to keep myself from drinking it straight from the jar!

Don’t get me wrong. I love the taste of cashew milk too. It’s mildly nutty—just like the cashew itself—subtly sweet and creamy. Perfect in coffee, tea, smoothies or cereal. With cashews being the more economical, easy-to-find nut, I’ll definitely be making this more often.

Vanilla Cashew Milk (adapted from Cookie and Kate)
makes about 4-5 cups

1 cup of raw unsalted cashews
1 teaspoon of good quality vanilla extract
3-4 cups of filtered water
1 nut milk bag, for straining of you need it (I use this one)

Soak the cashews in water (enough to submerge) for at least five hours to overnight. You won’t need to soak any longer than that, since the cashews soften easily.
Rinse the cashews well with running water in a strainer.
Place the nuts in a blender or food processor with 2 cups of water and blend until completely pulverized.
Add vanilla and 1-2 more cups of water and blend. I added 1 1/2 cups and the consistency was to my liking.
If any graininess remains in the milk, strain through a nut milk bag into a large bowl (I’d do it anyway, just to achieve the most smoothness in the milk). Store the pulp in an airtight container in the freezer.
Keep milk in a closed jar in the refrigerator. Use within a week.

If you do happen to have nut pulp left, consider using it in this hummus or in any of these.