Top 7 Plant Based Vegan Milk Recipes You Can Make At Home

Giving up dairy can be tricky – especially when you live in a country that rises and gets through the day with chai and filter coffee. While going without is an option, you don’t have to give it up entirely – you can replace your dairy with plant milk.  

India has plenty of non-dairy milk options, both on supermarket shelves and in the form of raw ingredients that are in your pantry, waiting to be turned into delicious plant milk. Here’s a list of easy-to-buy and easy-to-make plant milk! 

SOY

Probably the first that comes to mind, soy milk is a great stand-in for traditional dairy milk and can be found on restaurant and coffee shop menus and even in your neighbourhood grocery shop. You can also try your hand at making it at home with this easy step-by-step tutorial.

To make soy milk:

• Soak 1 cup of soybeans overnight in water. 
• After soaking, drain and rinse thoroughly.
• Place the drained soybeans in a high-speed blender with 1.5 cups of water and blend till smooth.
• Strain the milk through cheesecloth.

Try:

• Soy Milky
• Sofit  

Soy milk

COCONUT

We live in a tropical country after all and coconuts are a-plenty.  Coastal and Southern cuisine incorporates a lot of coconut milk anyway, so we’re not alien to it. It's made from the meat of the coconut and is creamy and an acquired taste - so if you do enjoy the rich, unctuous flavour, you will love a coconut milk latte. Plus, it’s high in vitamins, minerals and good fats.  

To make coconut milk:

• Soak 1 cup of chopped coconut overnight in water. 
• After soaking, drain and rinse thoroughly.
• Place the drained coconut chips in a high-speed blender with 2 cups of water and blend until smooth.
• Strain the milk through cheesecloth.

Try:

• Dabur
• Kara
• Real Thai  

Coconut milk 

ALMOND

Almond milk is a great dairy replacement – full of protein, with a consistency that mimics dairy milk and a flavour that complements almost any beverage! Almond milk is making its presence felt in larger grocery and world-food stores, but it’s easier to make it at home – watch our tutorial!  

To make almond milk:

• Soak 1 cup of raw, unsalted almonds overnight in water. 
• After soaking, drain and rinse thoroughly.
• Place the drained almonds in a high-speed blender with 4 cups of water and blend till smooth.
• Strain the milk through cheesecloth.

Try:

• Faymylk
• Raw Pressery
• So Good Almond Fresh
• Silk
• Break Of Dawn
• Nutriva Almond Milk For Boy Superheroes
• Nutriva Almond Milk For Girl Superheroes

                                                                                Almond milk                                                                                              

PEANUT

Peanut milk is an excellent substitute for dairy in Indian cuisine, especially for tangy buttermilk and curd rice. The so-called "poor man's nut" is an excellent and cheap source of protein and fibre and something that's readily available in any corner shop.

To make peanut milk:

• Soak 1 cup of raw, unsalted peanuts overnight in water. 
• After soaking, drain and rinse thoroughly.
• Place the drained peanuts in a high-speed blender with 1.5 cups of water and blend till smooth.
• Strain the milk through cheesecloth.

Try:

• Nutriva Peanut Buttermilk

Peanut milk & banana smoothie

CASHEW

Cashew milk is rich and creamy and works well in a variety of beverages and sweet & savoury dishes. If you think about it, cashew paste or cream is a regular feature in many Mughlai dishes – so why not use it to replace dairy altogether? Cashew milk is easy to prepare and bonus – no straining needed!  

To make cashew milk:

• Soak 1 cup of raw cashews (none of the roasted, salted stuff here, people!) overnight in enough water to cover.
• In the morning, drain your cashews and put them into a blender along with 3-4 cups of water, depending on how thick or thin you would like your milk to be.
• Blend, starting on a low speed and gradually increasing the speed, until smooth and frothy. No straining required!

Try:

• Goodmylk
• Wegun Organic Plant Milk

Cashew milk 

OAT

Though not as easily available on supermarket shelves as soy and coconut, oat milk is economical, easy to prepare and creamy – and since it has quite a neutral flavour, works with almost all kinds of beverages.  

To make oat milk:

• Soak 1 cup of rolled oats (not instant/quick cooking) overnight in just enough water to cover the oats.
• In the morning, rinse the soaked oats thoroughly – the soaking liquid will feel a little slimy, so you want to get rid of the excess starch.
• Once the soaked oats are rinsed and drained, add to a blender with 1 cup of water and blend until smooth.
• Drain the blended oat mixture through a cheesecloth and set aside.
• Take the remaining oat pulp that it’s in the cheesecloth and put it back in the blender with ½ cup of water. Blend and strain once more.

Once your oat milk is ready, you can flavour it with a pinch of salt, cinnamon, vanilla, maple syrup, agave, or anything else you fancy!  

Try:

• Goodmylk
• Wegun Organic Plant Milk

Oat milk

BANANA

Don’t raise your eyebrows at this one – not just yet! The humble banana is available all year round in most parts of India, is rich in potassium, fibre and protein. And, it whips itself up into a thrifty, creamy, sweet plant milk that literally takes 60 seconds and 2 ingredients – bananas + H2O. Again, this one is an acquired taste, so you will either love it or hate it.  The texture is a little on the viscous side owing to the nature of the fruit, so you may not enjoy it in your morning chai, but it’s great for oatmeal, poured over cereal or granola, in iced coffee beverages,  or as-is.  

To make banana milk:

• Peel and roughly chop 1-2 bananas (depending on their size).
• Add the bananas along with 1 cup of water to a blender and combine until smooth. No straining necessary!

*If you want a creamier blend, freeze the chopped bananas for min 2 hours to get a milkshake-like consistency.    

Banana milk

Like this?

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Read More: Soybean – The Right Protein Option Or Not?