Pumpkin Spice Almond Milk
This post is part of our restricted diet series from Beth of Tasty Yummies.
I have a little bit of a thing for homemade nut milks. They are so easy to make, I just can’t bring myself to buy the store bought stuff anymore. Typically I make simple vanilla bean almond milk at least once a week, but I also love a slightly sweetened raw cacao almond milk to have as a treat. I have even made a Nutella-inspired chocolate hazelnut milk! To me, this is the perfect sweet treat. You can check out my lengthy tutorial post on how-to make homemade nut milks here.
With the fall, comes the influx of all things pumpkin spice and as much as I try to fight back against it, I just can’t help but give in. My love of nut milks and these amazing fall flavors, inspired this slightly sweet, slightly spicy, gorgeous, silky Pumpkin Spice Almond Milk. Unlike most pumpkin spice “flavored” things, this delicious drink actually has real pumpkin in it – no fake flavors, just the real deal!
This tasty fall-inspired beverage is not too sweet, so you may want to adjust how much sweetener you use, depending on how you sweet you like things. It’s really great served chilled right out of the fridge, it’s amazing in smoothies, and it’s even better served warm with some fresh spices on top. After making this tasty almond milk, I was inspired to take it all a step further and I made my own version of a healthy, dairy-free Pumpkin Spice Latte, with a frothy spicy foam on top. You can grab that recipe on my website, today.
Pumpkin Spice Almond Milk
makes 1 quart
• 1 cup raw organic almonds (soaked overnight)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean (soaked with the almonds)
• 4 cups filtered water
• 1/2 cup organic pumpkin purée (canned or fresh)
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• pinch of ground ginger
• pinch of ground cloves
• 2 tablespoons honey or maple syrup or a couple of soft medjool dates*
• Pinch of sea salt
1) Soak the almond and vanilla bean, if using, in enough filtered water to be covered – overnight in the refrigerator, for at least 8 hours.
2) Discard the soaking water and rinse the almonds and the vanilla bean.
3) Place soaked nuts, the whole soaked vanilla bean (you can chop it up or split it open if you wish) or vanilla extract, honey (or other sweetener), the pumpkin puree, your spices, a dash of sea salt and 4 cups of filtered water into a high speed blender. Cover and blend on high for 1-2 minutes. It will be milky and have a bit of foam on the top.
4) Strain milk through a nut milk bag** and squeeze into a bowl. Discard the pulp or saving for another recipe.
Store in a covered glass jar, bottle or pitcher in the refrigerator, it’ll be good for about 4-5 days.
Separation is totally natural with homemade nut milks, just be sure to shake it up just before serving.
Notes:
* you can use any sweetener of your choice or skip it, if you prefer it to be unsweetened
** I personally do not recommend using the cheesecloth, strainer or pantyhose methods, they are messy and require multiple passes to strain all the bits out. It is never quite as creamy as when I use a good nut milk bag.
For more of Beth’s recipes visit her blog Tasty Yummies.
More healthy recipes from the BLDG 25 Blog.