Joy the Baker

Cashew Oat Milk with cinnamon and agave

by 166 Comments

cashew milk

Milk from nuts! Milk from oats!  Milk with cinnamon.  Milk with sugar.

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Homemade Cashew Oat Milk is my new favorite… oh-my-goodness-I’m-totally-obsessed… thing.

Raw cashews are soaked, rinsed and blended with ground oats, fresh ground cinnamon, agave, and filtered water.  The result is a surprisingly creamy, slightly sweet, dairy-free drink.

It’s delicious is coffee.  I poured it in my tea.  I drank it straight from the bottle.  I dunked about 12 of these Vegan Ginger Cookies in this milk.  I let my cat drink some.    I thought about brushing my teeth with it.  I thought about dating it.  I thought about knitting it a shawl.  I think I might be losing it.

… but I made milk.  And I’m not a cow.  And I’m pretty excited.

cashew milk

Cashews are full of all sorts of healthy fats.  They’ve got copper.  They help eliminate free radicals.  They’re full of magnesium.  They’re dang good for you.

Oatmeal is great for the heart.  It’s full of fiber and helps to thicken the milk and makes the belly feel full.

I used a spice grinder (it’s actually my old coffee grinder cleaned out) to pulverize two cinnamon sticks and the old fashioned oats.  If you don’t have a spice grinder, you can surely use ground cinnamon and a blender to pulverize the oats.

If you don’t have a blender… I think you should totally get one.

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After blending the nuts, oats, cinnamon agave and water, I strained it through this fine mesh strainer.  I pressed hard to release all the milk, and got a fair amount of nut, oat, and cinnamon bits in my milk.  I loved it.  But!  If you want a smoother milk… line the fine mesh strainer with cheese cloth for straining, and strain the milk several times.  Smooth milk.

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Vegan milk with vegan cookies.  I’m pretty stoked on this.

And tomorrow… you’ll most likely find me with a stick of butter in my hand.  I’m complicated.

Cashew Oat Milk with cinnamon and agave

Makes just under one quart of milk

Print this Recipe!

1 1/2 cups raw cashews

3 cups of water for soaking

1/2 cup old-fashioned oats, ground to a powder

2 cinnamon sticks ground to a powder or 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

3 cups filtered water

2 tablespoons agave

Place raw cashews in a clean bowl and top with 3 cups of water.  Cover with plastic wrap and let sit overnight, or for 8 to 12 hours.  Once soaked, place the cashews in a fine mesh strainer and run the softened cashews under cool water until clean and the water runs clear.  Set aside.

In a spice blender (mine is a clean coffee grinder), grind cinnamon sticks, one at a time, to a fine powder.  Place in a small bowl and set aside.  If you don’t have a spice grinder, measure 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon into a small bowl and set aside.

Grind oats in two batches in the spice grinder until oats turn into a fine powder.  Pour into the same bowl as the ground cinnamon.  If you don’t have a spice grinder, you can also grind oats in the blender.

Combine oats, cinnamon, cashews, filtered water, and agave in the bowl of a blender.  Cover tightly and blend on low speed, increasing to high speed, until smooth.

Place a fine mesh strainer over a large bowl.  Pour half of the cashew mixture into the fine mesh strainer.  With a spatula, work the liquid through the strainer.  The harder you press the cashew and oat mixture, the more liquid you’ll release, and the more cashew and oat bits you’ll get in your milk.  I happen to like this milk to be thick and slightly chunky.  Continue to strain the milk until all of the liquid has passed through the strainer.  Place cashew and oat meat mixture in a bowl and set aside.

If you’d like a smoother milk, feel free to pass it through the strainer once more.

Store in an airtight container (I used an old one-quart milk jar) and place in the fridge.  Shake well before enjoying.

Milk lasts, in the refrigerator, for up to 4 days.

Oh!  I used the cashew and oat meat as a face scrub for a few days.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Cornelia Mckeen

    While wild almond species are toxic, domesticated almonds are not; Jared Diamond argues that a common genetic mutation causes an absence of glycoside amygdalin, and this mutant was grown by early farmers, “at first unintentionally in the garbage heaps, and later intentionally in their orchards”. ;

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    Reply

  2. Ann

    I am going to be starting a raw food/juice cleanse soon and thought this would be perfect. The cashew milk was delish on its own but I also added it to my green monster (www.greenmonstermovement.com).

    Now, I have also been into bread making so I used the left over meal to make bread. Recipe below:

    3/4 cup cashew/oat meal
    1 luke warm cup water
    1 tablespoon agave
    pinch of salt
    1 teaspoon active dry yeast
    2 1/2-3 cups unbleached flour (you can use wheat but it will drastically change the texture)

    Mix the nut meal, water, agave, and salt in a large bowl. Sprinkle yeast on top and let sit for a minute, stir. Add flour and mix until combined. Cover and let rise for 2 hours. After this, place in refrigerator overnight. Sounds weird for bread, I know, but trust me. The next day take out the dough, turn out onto a floured surface. Lightly dust the top of the dough. Shape into a loaf. DO NOT KNEAD! Let rise for 1 hour. In the meantime, preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Place a jelly roll pan on the bottom rack of the oven. Dust a cookie sheep with corn meal and place the risen dough on top. Place this in the oven and immediately pour 1 cup of hot water onto the jelly roll pan and quickly shut the door. Bake for 20 minutes or until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped. Just a hint of cinnamon and sweetness.

    Reply

  3. lauren

    this looks SO DELICIOUS! i recently bought a bunch of mixed nuts at WF in bulk and the cashews were delicious! so going to make this as soon as i go back and buy more! (and conjure up a bunch of money… whole paycheck :/ )

    Reply

  5. sara

    fabulous! we’ve been looking for a very simple raw nut/oat milk recipe for a while and have tried a few different variations – our best one yet was based off of your recipe! we did 1/2 c powdered oats, 1c soaked cashews, 4c water, 2T agave, and 1T maple syrup. yum!

    Reply

  6. Amber

    I finally got around to making this and the giner cookies this past weekend. The cookies are amazing! They are gingery and chewy with just enough crunch. The cashew milk was good, not sure it was worth the mess I made. But, the cashew pulpy stuff certainly was! I mixed in some dates and little fresh apple juice and it was delicious. It was pudding-ish, yet sweet with texture. Thanks for your recipes! I am enjoying trying new things…next up: brown butter with toasted coconut and chocolate chip cookies.

    Reply

  7. Joli

    I just made it – delicious!

    I am interested in using the almond/oat mixture in your low-fat oatmeal banana bread – any suggestions as to how much to add? Should I use it in place of something else in the recipe or just add a little for flavor/texture? Thanks so much – I LOVE your blog!
    Joli

    Reply

  8. Aimee Vercio

    This is so great. I just found you today and haven’t even tried your recipes yet but can hardly wait. Thanks!

    Reply

  10. bethany edwardson

    Can you substitute honey for the agave or does it need to be agave?
    ..just looking at whats in my cupboards…

    Reply

  11. Stacy @ Say It With Sprinkles

    I love this! I’ve been a little intimidated by the thought of making different types of “milks” at home, but I think I’m going to have to break down and try this one! It seems totally doable, and cashews and oats are such a great sounding combo! Thanks, Joy!

    Reply

  12. nn

    dont discard the almond/oat mixture/’stuff’! its close to a vegan cream version (depending on how dry you get it). just store it in your fridge and pull it out whenever you need sth cream-y or sauc-y, such as for exp for a vegan mac’n cheese, or alfredo sauce, or for a raw kind of ‘pudding’: 1 cup of the mixture, 3/4 cup orange juice, 1 cup chopped dates – just throw it in a blender and mmmmh (depending on your dates you might need a bit more juice). oh and speaking of sauce-y: it thickens when cooked, i think i once even saw a cashew based sauce for a lasagna recipe!

    Reply

  13. Haley

    I made this and I love it! But I didn’t even have any leftover oat/cashew mixture, mine completely blended.?

    Reply

  14. michelle

    I made this with almonds instead of cashews and used maple syrup. I let the almonds and whole oats soak overnight. The next day I blended the mixture in my VitaMix. The result was incredibly creamy and smooth. After straining, I added the maple syrup. I cant stop drinking this wonderful milk – so creamy and yummy! Oh and I used the leftover almond/oat mixture (which resembled a whipped topping) in chocolate chip cookies. My family loved them!

    Reply

  15. Seanna Lea

    I modified this recipe for pistachios and quinoa (because I know far more people with severe enough gluten intolerance to have problems with oats, despite them technically not having gluten in them) and then made pudding!

    I love that I could make the entire thing from beginning to end without resorting to ingredients from boxes.

    Reply

  16. Danielle

    Shoot, I was about to try this then realized I got roasted cashews instead of raw ones…would that significantly affect the flavor? Can’t wait to try this!

    Reply

  17. Seanna Lea

    I bought nuts to make this (and then forgot to soak the nuts yesterday), but I was wondering that if you were going to use it right away if you needed to use filtered water.

    Reply

  18. Iris

    I’ve been eyeing this since you posted it and I finally made a batch this morning. DELICIOUS. I used the leftovers for a face scrub (like you did), then I added some extra oats and some baking powder to make waffles. I used cheesecloth since I don’t have a mesh strainer but a bunch stuck to the cloth so I just balled that up and threw it into my shower for a body scrub/loofah.

    Reply

  19. Kelly

    This was a fantastic recipe and the first one i’ve attempted on your blog. Nut milk is now one of my favorites, if you get a chance, throw in some mango recipes for me! Cheers and keep up the good work.

    Reply

  20. Alex

    Can you make milk with other nuts? Cashews kind of freak me out. They look like little old men’s ears. How about brazil nut milk? I love brazil nuts. Great recipe!

    Reply

    • joythebaker

      brazil nut milk!? ooh my goodness. amazing. you can definitely make milk with other nuts, but i’m not sure the proportions are the same, as i’ve only made cashew milk so far.

      Reply

  22. Alanna

    This looks delicious! I’ve gone through almond-milk making phases in the past, but never branched out into using grains. Odwalla used to make a delicious “milk” (called “Odwalla milk,” natch) which I used to love; I remember it had oats as one of the ingredients, that gave it an earthy, rich taste that soy or nut milks lack. Thank you for a stellar recipe – I’m looking forward to trying it!

    Also, if nut milk making is something you do often, I can’t recommend a nut milk bag enough – the $12 bucks that I spent on it was totally worth it – it makes the milking process much less daunting, and you end up with a perfectly smooth milk. Cheers!

    Reply

  23. Jenny

    I sipped on this cashew milk all the way to work this morning – delicious! Like chunky horchata… I’ll be making it often – thanks so much for the great recipe!

    Reply

  24. Seanna Lea

    I wonder if this method could be used with things like rice and quinoa, because while I would love to try this I know a lot of people who are allergic to nuts (poor guys) and it would be so like me to make a dessert with this milk and need to tell them that they can’t have any!

    Reply

  25. Emma

    Sinful. It is sooo rich. Mine turned immediately to a rich, thick, creamy consistency with no face scrub granules at all. That’s quite okay. I put half a cup back in the blender with some ice, filtered water and frozen strawberries. I could float away….

    This is an immediate staple for me.

    Reply

  27. Ally

    Hi Joy! If you’re reading this, I want you to know that I am a huge fan of everything you bake! I just made the Dulce de Leche Cupcakes today and although I have frosted them yet, they look amazing!!! I think I will try making the cashew milk tomorrow–now THAT sounds delicious! Anyways, keep up the good work and keep on cookin’ :) You have a very lovely blog!

    Reply

  29. monique

    the cashew milk from the BPC is my favorite part of the cleanse! I had been searching high and lo for cashew milk and coming up empty handed. I will definitely try this recipe out. in other news, I am new to your blog and I really really love it. I like the baking and cooking ideas but am also really digging your overall personality and fun take on life. Thank you for being a hip cool bakin’ lady. This salad-for-dinner, bakephobe DCite really appreciates it!

    Reply

  33. Steph

    Do you think this recipe would work with almonds? Looks yummy! I recently stopped eating meat and I’ve been wanting to cut back on milk and eggs. Never butter though!

    Reply

    • Channon

      me too. and, my personal favorite, hazelnuts? any suggestions Joy? any modifications? and where does one get agave? Is there something you’d recommend as a substitute, since I doubt I can get it around here any time soon and I am DYING to try this!! Been waiting with bated breath since you told us the recipe was forthcoming!!!

      Reply

  36. Deb in Indiana

    I love your recipes — the ginger cookies are on my list to try next — but I’m getting a little worried. I know you are a SoCal girl, but please, don’t go over to the overly-righteous side of the food divide. Never forget the goodness of butter. And bacon. Oh, and chocolate!

    Reply

  38. Lindy

    wow! this almost reminds me of horchata, just without the rice. I’ve wanted to try making it, I wonder if you have? this looks so interesting! and the cashew oat face scrub is just about the coolest idea ever. I love being resourceful and putting leftovers to good use!

    Reply

  39. Philip Geneman

    I love cashews one of my favorites, oats and cinnamon! that makes me happy, I would be obsessed with that too! thanks the milk and those cookies was meant to be! I could think of a lot of things to make with this! :)

    Reply

  47. stephanie

    If nothing else, just to know that you can make milk out of pantry items in an emergency… that’s like gold! I’ve had almond milk before (and it was delish), but I’ve never made anything like this before.

    And the bonus face scrub…. it’s like a gift with purchase!

    Reply

  52. teresa

    This looks delicious. I just wanted to point out that you don’t have to be a cow to make milk. Millions of women do it every day. We’re actually mammals. . . Just pointing it out.

    Reply

  54. Parsley Sage

    I am so excited about this recipe! We went to Spain last year and my hubby fell in love with horchata which is a little difficult for me to try to make where we live because of limited shopping options. I think this will serve as a lovely (if not even tastier) substitute. Thank you so much for sharing!

    Reply

  55. Adeline

    That looks delicious, and not just because regular milk makes me feel funny! (something about dairy and me not always agreeing)

    I’ve been thinking of getting a blender for a while, and it looks like now might be the time. Would you have any brand to recommend? I keep hearing that Vitamix is best (esp for smoothies), but unfortunately they’re worth almost twice my rent. And I like smoothies more than rent, but my landlord would disagree.

    Reply

    • gayle

      I have had an Oster blender since 1979. It’s a lovely yellow color that’s actually back in style now! Can’t say I have used it daily, but it’s held up very well with moderate use.

      Reply

  59. Zo @ Two Spoons

    Geeenniiuss! I made some almond and soy milk but this would be much nicer – richer and sweeter. Great idea for using the leftover ground stuff, rather than throwing it out/composting it! Do you think it could work in pancakes? I imagine it’d be quite nice in oatmeal, but that might be a bit of an oat overload haha.

    Reply

  60. Morgan

    I lo-uh-uh-uh-ve cashew milk. And I’m not vegan. I’m not even vegetarian. Grade B maple syrup and some soaked, blended, strained raw cashews? Anytime, anywhere. Face scrub with the remnants is an amazing idea; I also like the bits that are strained out in smoothies or banana bread. Or reserve some of the “milk” (which I have a hard time not gulping) and remix it (re-re-re-remix!) to make a raw “whipped creme:” amazing in oatmeal; awesome in place of yogurt with fruit; crazy delicious in raw chocolate pudding (blend an avocado, a heaping scoop dutch process cocoa, a dash vanilla, a splurt of maple syrup or honey, and maybe a frozen banana if it’s warm out); also delightful by the spoonful on its own.

    Reply

  62. Anita Menon

    It sounds sumptuous. I imagined a silken liquid – creamy and pearl coloured. But the calorie overdrive might be a dampner. But hey, all good things come with a price.
    Thanks for sharing..

    Reply

  63. Mika

    This is wonderful!!! I was thinking to have rice milk instead of cow milk but this is so much better…I don’t like rice milk… eheheh…but I have a secret affair with cashews…

    Reply

  64. Ethan

    When I was a kid, I was convinced chocolate milk came from brown cows. I would have been confused with cashew milk because i’d never seen a cashew cow.

    Reply

  65. Beth

    I am going to make this for brunch with my neighbors! And an extra batch not to share…

    I kinda want to take a bath in this stuff… What, too much?

    -beth

    Reply

  69. Lisanne :)

    I think this is brilliant. I’ve been obsessed with cow milk my whole life, but recently stopped drinking it. A very pretentious and kind of rude dermatologist told me to stop drinking it. Did I mention my skin now looks super awesome? Yep. I guess even pretentious and rude people can teach us something. Realistically I cannot live without “milk” so I’ve replaced my prior obsession with almond milk. I love milk! And now I simply must must make this! Variety is Yum!

    Reply

  70. Ashlae

    Oh, and guess what! I make raw cookies with cashews + oats.. and a some agave nectar, carob chips and flax seeds. They’re heaven. And when I eat 10 of them I don’t feel so bad because it’s all good fat, right?

    Reply

  71. sheila @ Elements

    I think it’s so wonderful you made this, Joy!!! I’d like to try it myself sometime. I can only imagine how yummy it must taste! :) Incidentally, I’m sitting here eating raw cashews right. Yum!!! :)

    Reply

  72. Bonnie

    Thank you for posting this! I just recently went dairy free and almond milk and rice milk aren’t my favs, so this will be perfect! Can’t wait to give it a try!

    Reply

  74. tj

    …You know, at first I kinda winced at this recipe thinkin’ Joy The Baker had gone off the deep end but the more I think about it I think this is worth giving a whirl! I also like that you’re not only doing your body good on the inside but on the outside as well using it as a facial scrub… :o)

    …I kinda wonder if you could take the nut and oat meat and add a few ingredients and bake it and use it as a granola or somethin’, no? Now I’ve gone off the deep end? lol…

    …Thanks Joy for the recipe, I will be giving this a try!

    …Blessings… :o)

    Reply

  77. Averie (LoveVeggiesAndYoga)

    the nut milk looks great!

    and actually, if you like mylk like this, try hemp seed milk. But the great thing about hemp seeds is that you dont have to soak them OR strain them. And the milk is super creamy and works great in coffee.

    And with that pulp, you could make cookies or crackers with it! Just add cinnamon, sugar, or go savory for crackers, and bake. Or dehydrate.

    Love the face scrub idea, too!

    Reply

  79. Kat @ Cupcake Kat

    This milk sounds more of a dessert than a drink! Yum I definately need to get some cashews and try this.
    I’m loving your vegan recipes but I also can’t wait for the butter filled ones! Anything you make is delicious

    Reply

  82. Jen

    You can make this in a Vitamix blender without soaking the nuts first… you actually blend everything into a liquid (about 3-5 minutes) then let the whole thing sit overnight in the fridge before straining… it is a bit easier and just as tasty. And BTW if you don’t have a Vitamix blender you should find out where in your area one if being demonstrated and go watch the cooking show… my favorite kitchen appliance for sure.

    Also… what you have left after straining would be a great start to one of your awesome cookie recipes or bread for that matter. What did you do that all that goodness?

    Reply

  84. Stephanie

    I have all those ingredients in my kitchen and you make it sound so amazing that I will have to this ASAP. Thanks Joy!

    Reply

  86. Cat

    I love the fact that this is so simple (and obviously delish!)… but I also LOVE the fact that you used the cashew and oat meat for a facial scrub… so dang adorable!

    Reply

  88. April

    Cashews. Milk. I didn’t think those two went together. Let alone that one could create the other. I now have the urge to go make this…milk.

    Reply

  92. Ashley in NC

    Joy, this is great but I think next on your list should be ice cream made with human breast milk. Mmm mmmm.

    Reply

  96. Jess

    I’ve been a little weary about this cashew milk thing you’ve had going on here but your enthusiasm has converted me. I think I’ll make this tomorrow!

    Reply

  97. Carina

    Yay Joy! I’m just finishing the Blue Print Cleanse. After reading about it on your blog I bought the book and went straight to it – today is day three. I LOVE the cashew milk in the cleanse, and have been thinking about making it just for regular life. I love your recipe with the added oats!

    Reply

  98. Kocinera

    This is totally the sort of thing that I would casually brag all over about making. :D

    “What’s that you’re drinking?”
    “Oh this? It’s just some vegan cashew oat milk with cinnamon and agave that I threw together this weekend. It ain’t no thang.”

    Reply

  100. Bridget

    It’s all good. Vegan. Butter. And this kind of milk-making looks a bit easier and more fun than the other kind of milk-making (I can say this now that I’m done birthing and nursing my babies). Cuz ya know, you are a mammal, but definitely no cow. ;-)

    Reply

  104. Katy

    Thanks for sharing, Joy! This is awesome and I can’t wait to try it; I’m also currently doing the vegan thing one day and the next shamelessly indulging in ice cream. But I’ve heard it said that our age is one of flexitarianism, so we might as well enjoy the best of all possible worlds!

    Reply

  105. Anne

    Haha, I also thought of horchata when I saw the cinnamon. :) I’ve been waiting for this ever since your cookie post. I can’t wait to try this! It looks yummmmmmmy

    Reply

  107. Helena

    Thanks Joy, this is such perfect timing! All these delicious vegan recipes just in time for my Vegan Week challenge :) I’ve already tried the Ginger Cookies (Um… YUM!), and I’m definitely trying this milk next.

    Reply

  109. Chihiro

    This looks so good! It reminds me of horchata even though I know they’re totally different. I drank my friend’s horchata when we were in Spain because she turned out to be allergic but I’m definitely going to make this for her to make up for it.

    Reply

  113. Stacy Moore

    Oh My Goodness,

    This is such a wonderful recipe.

    I’m surely going to Trader Joes to get my raw cashews and will make this as soon as I can.

    Thank you for posting your new found love!!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  5. […] I’ve made my own pasta, chocolate sauce, marinara, breads, pies, gorgonzola cream sauce. There’s a grapefruit soufflé I’ve been yearning to taste, too. (Basta! Now I’m hungry.) Yet I’ve never made my own milk – much less, milk made from cashews and oats. So once again, on center stage, please welcome Joy the Baker. […]

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