Homemade Hemp Milk

Ali Segersten Jan 03, 2012 59 comments

Making your own hemp milk is easier than buying it! Plus by making your own, you don't get any extra added ingredients, just pure creamy goodness. However, since there are no added flavorings, this milk tastes a lot like hemp seeds (as it should) so the flavor might be a tad stronger if you are accustomed to store-bought hemp milk. I buy Nutiva shelled hemp seeds in bulk through amazon.com. I like to store a jar of them in the refrigerator and the rest in the freezer to keep them fresh.

Use this milk for baking, in pancakes, as a dairy-free milk base for smoothies, poured over whole grain breakfast porridge, or just for drinking. It stores best in the refrigerator in a sealed glass jar or pitcher for 3 to 4 days. The small glass pitcher you see in these photos is from our local food co-op. I actually have two different sizes, both which have really nice lids that screw on. I store my homemade almond milk and cashew milk in these glass pitchers as well.

Homemade hemp milk is also suitable for anyone following an Elimination Diet. It can be used in all phases of the diet! Hemp seeds are high in easily digested protein, if fact, they contain all 20 known amino acids!

Posted In

About the Author

Ali Segersten

Alissa Segersten holds a Bachelor's of Science in Nutrition from Bastyr University and a Master’s of Science in Human Nutrition and Functional Medicine from the University of Western States. She is a Functional Nutritionist, the mother of five children, a whole foods cooking instructor, professional recipe developer, and cookbook author. She is passionate about helping others find a diet that will truly nourish them. Alissa is the author of two very popular gluten-free, whole foods cookbooks and guidebooks: The Whole Life Nutrition Cookbook and Nourishing Meals. She is also the co-author of The Elimination Diet book. Alissa is the founder and owner of Nourishing Meals®.

Nourishing Meals Newsletter

Email updates.

Add Comment

Comments

Calcium is a big concern for me...is hemp milk a good provider of calcium?

Would you recommend this for a toddler? I don't want to buy store bought hemp milk, but I am wondering if I need to fortify the homemade version.

I use nylon bags and they worked just fine for the job. Bought them form amazon

From what I understand, hemp seeds can be cross contaminated by gluten & there are not currently any certified gluten free brands.

I don't know if you can make yougurt, but you can certainly make kefir with hemp milk.

Brazil nuts are delicious and a wonderful source of selenium. However I would be concerned about anyone using strictly brazil nuts for their milk. I think it would be good to throw a few in every batch of hemp milk or other nut milk. They are so rich in selenium that if you made your milk out of strictly brazil nuts you may develop a toxicity. Two per day are enough to meet the daily recommended intake.

Hemp seeds are gluten free gluten is wheat.

I strain it in a metal strainer and what ever is left in the jar I shake it so I can have all the nutriments, I just don't know what to do with the left over pulps, any suggestions? ( I don't bake much)

Yes

You can also get these pitchers at Container Store.
http://www.containerstore.com/shop/kitchen/foodStorage/pitchers?productId=10007345&N=74105

Isn't this SUPER EXPENSIVE or am I missing something? 8oz (which is only ONE cup needed for the recipe) is $10!! So that means that is you're making a 6 cup batch, a bit over a quart, it's almost $10!!! I MUST be missing something...I hope

I use nylon paint strainer bags for nut milks. Amazon has them in packages - read the comments to find out which ones hold up well to repeated use. Easy to rinse and quick drying. Last a long time.

Thank you so much Tracy for all the time you put into this and for sharing it!

really, really looking forward to doing this. I notice Costco has hemp. Has anyone compared prices with Amazon?

You can also strain any nut milk/seed milk using knee high panty hose. the mesh is very fine, they cost about $0.99 at my local CVS and you get about 5 batches out of each one before they begin to break down. A very convenient alternative.

I made mine with vanilla too, because I don't have maple syrup, and now all I can think about is adding cinnamon and maybe some nutmeg, lol. I can easily drink this, so yummy.

I used a nutribullet, which left a lot of solids (definitely more than the tsp previous poster mentioned). Maybe it was the length of time blending, maybe the machine, not sure.

Fortunately, I was able to handily strain with my mesh grocery produce bag from Earthwise. Love those! It worked really well. Just throw them in the laundry and they're clean for next time :-)

here is a link i found for using the leftovers from plant based milks :) http://yumuniverse.com/plant-powerful-dairy-free-milk/

BIG question - regarding nut and seed milks. I've made several different 'milks', my current favorite is pumpkin seed - but what to do with the left over solids? Do you have any recipes or recommendations of what can be done with this stuff?

Tamara

I just saw my allergist today (I have eosinophilic esophagitis) and he said hemp milk could be a problem for me, anyway, as many with my condition react to it in the same way as wheat. I don't know if that's common with other inflammatory conditions, though, but I thought I'd mention it here since you say it's good for an elimination diet.

Gretchen- Yes, just to simplify. It makes the blending go faster. You can use either. We definitely still consume dates! :)

I just started making Hemp milk. I have both of your cookbooks (which I recommend to everyone I know). I noticed that the recipes for nut/see milks in your first cookbook says to use either Dates or Maple Syrup. But your 2nd book (and this blog post) only mentions Maple Syrup. I'm wondering if you've made a conscious decision to move away from dates in your milks and if so, why? Or was this change just a way to simplify the recipes?
thanks!

Never give up on treating your cancer for there is a cure and my wife was once a cancer patient, am Joe living in the us. Two years ago my wife suffered from kidney cancer and the doctor told us that nothing could be done, I was so frustrated and the thought of loosing my wife was so unbearable that I lost all hope.

One faithful day my daughter told me that she had found a cure for cancer and she found it on the internet, she ask me to watch Rick Simpson's video with her. Although i didn't believe her I watched it anyway just to please her and after watching it I discovered that it brought my hope back and i wanted to give it a try.

I and my daughter started searching for legitimate source that could provide the Rick Simpson's hemp oil that would cure my wife. We read a lot of testimonies online of how a lot of doctors has helped a lot of patients cured their cancer with hemp oil and it was on one of this sites we found Dr. George, we contacted him Via his Email contacthospital_eastern.george@yahoo.com which we found in the testimony we read about him.

Dr. George's hemp oil is the best ever, I followed his instruction and now my wife is healthy and I am so excited.

Thanks to Dr George for helping my wife cure her cancer with his hemp oil and for also making life worth living once again.

I make hemp and nut milk using a very old ordinary blender..works great!

Has anybody tried making hemp milk using hemp butter? Thanks ;)

Lynda, you need a new nutritionist. If you are buying from a reputable company like Nutiva, out of Canada, they have strict rules as to how much THC can be in their products. Unless you are smoking weed in conjuncture, there's no way a person consuming a normal amount of powder, oil, milk, or otherwise could test positive. Even a large amount would not be a problem. Any reputable nutritionist would know that.
And thank you Tracy for the breakdown. Very helpful!

Costco carries a 28 Oz bag of Manitoba Harvest shelled hemp seeds for under 20.00.

Be aware that when you make food items or drinks using hemp protein powder, hemp seeds etc. you do have the possibility of testing positive for drugs. My nutritionist cautioned me on this.

This was great. I have previously tried to make homemade almond milk but failed. This is so easy and my no-so-powerful blender worked just fine. We are just starting to venture into clean eating so it is saying a lot that even my son liked it. I guess it is never too late to start :) Now if I can just get the hubby on board!

A few things I've figured out so far (and a few things I haven't):

YIELD
-- I'm getting 1.3 liters of strained hemp milk from 1.4 liters water. So, 5.5 cups of milk from 6 cups of water. So, 92%. (I'm doubling this recipe and using a flour sack towel to strain.)
-- 1 cup of seeds weighs 4.8 ounces.
-- That's 13 liters / 55 cups of milk from a 3-lb bag (10 cups) of seeds, or 21.7 liters / 92 cups from a 5-lb bag (16.67 cups) of seeds.

COST OF HOMEMADE HEMP MILK
per cup:
-- Nutiva homemade: $0.63
-- Manitoba Harvest homemade: $0.44
-- Pacific original: $1.44
-- Tempt unsweetened: $1.51
-- Cow's milk(if $3.50/gallon): $0.22

Prices are from Amazon. More on my cost calculation:
The 3-lb bag of Nutiva is $35 on Amazon, or $0.73/oz. 1 cup of seeds weighs 4.8 oz, so 1 cup costs $3.50. My yield from that cup of seeds is 5.5 cups of strained hemp milk. $3.50/5.5 = $0.63 per cup.
If you're yielding 6 cups of unstrained milk, that would cost $0.58 per cup.

BUYING
The two cheapest options I found:
-- 3-lb bag of Nutiva on Amazon (.73/oz) ... yes, slightly less than the 5-lb bag
-- 5-lb tub of Manitoba Harvest on Amazon (.51/oz) ... but lots of complaints that the tub has too many gravel-hard husks

SOAKING
-- Don't soak shelled hemp seeds. They don't have the phytic acid / enzyme inhibitors that other nuts and seeds have, which requires soaking to remove.
-- Random individuals online mention soaking unshelled hemp seeds for a few hours, apparently to make the protein easier to digest, but those people aren't blending the seeds.

BLENDING
-- I can't really tell a difference in taste between the hemp milk from my old-school Osterizer and the Breville 605 I just bought.

STRAINING
-- For those who don't strain, are you still shaking the container each time you pour? If I don't shake it, a half-inch of cream+pulp accumulates at the bottom of the jar, and I feel like I'm missing out on nutrients and yield.
-- I'm curious whether straining with a nut-milk bag rather than a flour sack towel would improve my yield.

The only nutritional info I've found is here and here.

Same as Ali's recipe --
Nutrition (per cup):
221.3 calories;
53% calories from fat;
13.1g total fat;
0.0mg cholesterol;
174.7mg sodium;
0.0mg potassium;
11.8g carbohydrates;
1.3g fiber;
3.8g sugar;
10.5g net carbs;
14.7g protein

900mg omega-3 fatty acid
2800mg omega-6 fatty acid

Hi, I make hemp milk regularly, love it. I am curious to know the nutritional value with details of a glass - 300 ml - of hemp milk. I have been googling for it but have not found anything.
I use 1 cup of Nutiva shelled hemp seeds in 6 cups of filtered water with a little bit of maple syrup.

Thank you

Hanneke ~ Australia

I used a simple metal mesh tea strainer - the kind that sits along the brim of a mug and has a little mesh basket the tea sits loose in below - kind of like a tea colander. Anyway... I used that to strain my hemp milk into a regular canning jar and it worked perfectly, so easy!
Thanks for the recipe!!

Ashley, I don't know the answer to your hemp fat question but I do know that in addition to hemp milk, home made brazil nut milk is great for weaning a baby off breast milk. You make it similarly to this hemp milk recipe, but you definitely want to strain it.

Thank you for your post! Do you know if this hemp milk recipe has as much fat as store bought hemp milk? I will be switching my baby from breast milk to hemp milk when she's 1 and she needs the fat in her diet.

I get my hemp seeds from http://www.EatSeed.com , they seam to be the cheapest, fastest and best quality. I've never made my own milk so I'm loving this post! Thanks

Hi, I have a question about measuring. If your recipe calls for a half cup of the hemp seeds, should the top of the measuring cup be leveled off, or should it be like the picture shows? Thank you for your wonderful recipes!!!
Amy

Hey! thanks for this great recipe, my collective loves it! aswell do i! A tip for leftover pulp: I use the leftover pulp to make spread/hemp butter. It works quite well and is still delicious even though its already been blended. It might not hold as much nutrition as before, but its still a delicious spread :) Cheers!

I just made the hemp milk, I've never dealt with hemp seeds only the powder...are they a little bitter or spicy or something? I used raw honey as I am out of maple syrup. I tastes like maybe 3c of water is too much but I am getting a bitter or spicy taste. Am I crazy? Lol!

I'm also interested in hemp milk yogurt. Anyone?

Anon - The glass pitchers are made in Italy but you can find them on Amazon. The one pictured here is a 1/2 liter size - perfect for a small amount of nut/seed milk. I have another larger size as well.
http://www.amazon.com/Bormioli-Rocco-Frigoverre-Pitcher-Liter/dp/B003GY7Q7W?&linkCode=wey&tag=wwwglutenfr0d-20

I am interested in finding the great glass pitchers you use to store your nut milks /hemp milks in. I am not in your locale so do not have access to your co op. Is there any brand name on the pitcher? Maybe I can find it that way.

I use an Oysterizer blender, it works great for the hemp milk and other smoothies, plus love the fact that the blender jar is glass, which makes cleanup simpler too. I do not strain my hemp milk either, it may have some residue, which I can just discard. I also add a 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla, and some cinnamon and I try to only use spring water too. This stuff is beyond delicious, I have lost my taste for milk - got some?!

Thanks everyone for the comments. We love making hemp milk and I am glad I finally got around to sharing my recipe!

To those of you who asked about using unhulled seeds, I really don't know as I have never tried it before. If you do, could you please leave a comment to let others know? Thanks! :)

You could definitely add the pulp to cookies/muffins/breads though I only get a tablespoon or two so usually compost it.

I buy Nutiva hemp seeds (and chia seeds). I contacted the company and both of those seeds are processed in a gluten-free facility, though, unfortunately their virgin coconut oil is not processed in a GF facility!

Cynthia - Although I do buy the 5 pound bags from amazon, we use hemp seeds for other things, not only for making milk, so don't know how many batches a 5 pound bag would yield. You could weigh out a 1/2 cup of hemp seeds and then do the math to figure out the cost per batch. Let me know if you figure it out, would love to know! :)

So any idea how many batches you get out of a 5# bag of hemp seed?

love this, thank you!

I've made a similar hemp milk recipe using a regular old Oster beehive blender, and it worked great. No straining needed. I think the hemp seeds are soft enough for a regular blender. I may have to try using maple syrup instead of agave! Vanilla bean also gives it a good flavor without using flavored extract.

Hello, by the way! New food blogger here. :-) I've been reading your blog for a while and really love your recipes. They fit my dietary restrictions quite well and are easy to adapt, so thanks!

Can you use unhulled seeds if you soak them first?