How to Make Hemp Milk: A Nutritious and Tasty Alternative to Dairy

If you’re looking for a lectin-free, nut-free, and dairy-free milk alternative, hemp milk is a fantastic option that is both nutritious and delicious. This plant-based milk is made from hemp seeds, which are packed with essential nutrients like protein, omega-3 fatty acids, and minerals.

Making your own hemp milk at home is easy and affordable and allows you to control the ingredients, consistency, and flavor to your liking. In this blog post, we’ll provide you with an easy-to-follow recipe and tips for making your own delicious hemp milk, so you can enjoy this healthy beverage anytime.

A staple in our house, we use this DIY hemp milk with our sugar-free granola, to make golden milk, in baking, porridge, and even savory dressings and sauces.

What are hemp seeds?

Hemp is a variety of cannabis plants with a long history of culinary use in many parts of the world. Now that I am in Romania, when I write this (my home country), I discovered Romanians were making hemp seed milk and using it to make traditional desserts for centuries.

In Denmark, where my husband and I live during summer, hemp seeds are becoming increasingly popular and are even used in making sausages and other processed meat products.

If you are wondering, cannabinoids are not present in hemp seeds, and they can only be found in the leaves and flowers of the plant. Hulled hemp seeds, also called hemp hearts or shelled hemp seeds, are technically nuts and a superfood with the ideal omega-3 to omega-6 ratio (1:3).

Hemp milk health benefits

Hemp seeds contain all of the 20 amino acids, including the nine essential amino acids that our body can’t produce. They are high in two essential fatty acids:

• linoleic acid (omega-6)
• alpha-linoleic acid (omega-3)

Hemp seeds are a rich source of plant-based protein and other vital micronutrients such as:

• manganese
• magnesium
• zinc
• copper
• iron
• vitamin E
• phosphorus
• iron

Why make hemp milk at home?

Firstly, if you love it as I do and live in a place where it is impossible to find (most places), you have no choice.

Secondly, even if you find brands in stores, most store-bought ones have preservatives and additives necessary for shelf life, which is ruining it for me. And except for one brand in the US, Pacific (Unsweetened, Original), I haven’t found a store-bought unsweetened version anywhere.

Thirdly, in my humble opinion, this is the best milk of all the non-dairy alternatives. And it’s nut-free, great for those avoiding nuts. I love full-fat coconut milk and cream, and I use it a lot in baking and some savory dishes, but I wouldn’t say I like any other dairy-free milk as much.

I also love tiger nut milk.

It is also a great alternative to cow’s milk, oat milk, soy milk, and almond milk.

Is hemp milk healthier than oat milk?

Yes, hemp milk is way healthier than oat milk. Oat milk is one of the most popular non-dairy milk at the moment. This is because oats are widely available and they are cheap. But there are a few problems with oats. Although naturally gluten-free (if not contaminated), they are full of lectins, which are a type of anti-nutrient that will damage your gut.

Oats are also known to be heavily contaminated with glyphosate, even the organic ones. Food producers use glyphosate as a desiccant to dry out the crops before they harvest them. For this reason, oats tend to have a high amount of glyphosate, according to NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) researchers. Crop desiccation allows for an earlier harvest and improves the uniformity of crops. More in this article.

Oat milk also contains a type of sugar – maltose – with a glycemic index of 105. Anecdotally, oat milk has been tested with continuous glucose monitors, and an unusual spike in glucose has been noted.

While oat milk has a high carbohydrate content, healthy fats and fiber are predominant in hemp milk.

We have the same problem with non-organic almonds and almond milk.

Is hemp milk sustainable?

In short, I don’t think there is any other alternative milk out there as sustainable as hemp seed milk. Hemp, in general, is the least harmful plant to the environment. Hemp crops require little water to grow and replenish soil nutrients to help improve soil health and all the parts of the hemp plants can be used.

Does hemp milk taste good?

Taste-wise, hemp milk is my favorite non-dairy milk, even when it’s plain, made with only hemp seeds and water. Add a pinch of quality salt, some vanilla, and a date or inulin powder, and you have a delicious and flavorful milk replacement.

What you need to make hemp milk

The ingredients

My basic hemp milk recipe contains only two ingredients: hemp seeds and filtered water. Since I use it for both sweet and savory dishes, I don’t add sweeteners or flavors to it when I make it. So basically, hemp milk is hemp seed water.

Tools

The only thing you need is a high-power blender. I use a Nutribullet, but any high-speed blender will work. You need to blend on high. The Nutribullet only yields 2 1/2 cups of milk. But if I need more, I can make it twice.

Quantities

For 2 1/2 cups of hemp milk, you need 1/4 cup of hemp seeds and 2 1/4 cups of filtered water.

Optional ingredients

You can add a pinch of salt to it, but I never felt it needed it. If you know you will only use it for sweet purposes, add vanilla extract to taste. Instead of adding maple syrup which is quite popular, add some raw, local honey, inulin powder, yacon syrup, or another natural sweetener.

How to make hemp milk

Add the hemp seeds to a high-power blender. Top with filtered water and blend on high speed until smooth (for about 1 minute). Transfer to a glass bottle or jar, cover, and store in the fridge for a couple of days. If you decide to strain it (not necessary, in my opinion), use a nut milk bag. Shake well before using.

Alternatively, you can make hemp milk using hemp seed butter. This butter is becoming more popular, and there are already a few brands available on Amazon. Just blend about one tablespoon of butter with 1 1/2 cup of water, or experiment with quantities until you get the desired consistency.

Hemp milk tastes good. It is smooth and silky, but it needs to be well shaken before use, as there is a deposit of solids on the bottom, the milky part in the middle, and the foam on top. Just make sure you shake before using.

Straining is not necessary. The solids are part of the milk, and the whole thing is very nutritious, so you don’t want to discard any part of it. If you’re going to do it for any reason, use a nut milk bag.

How to use hemp milk

I still remember the best non-dairy cappuccino I’ve ever had was in a charming coffee shop in Waco, Texas. It was made with unsweetened hemp milk (usually, all non-dairy milk used in coffee shops is sweetened). They used the same brand I used at home in Dallas: Pacific, Original and Unsweetened.

So, you can use it to add to your coffee or tea, make smoothies or hot drinks like golden milk, cocoa, or hot chocolate, replace milk or buttermilk in baking, make porridge, and make creamy sauces for pasta or dairy-free salad dressings.

The only thing I haven’t personally made with homemade hemp milk so far is yogurt, but I plan to give that a try at one point. Below are some of my recipes with hemp seed milk.

Perfect for my Coco-Nuts Crunchy Granola with Green Plantain.

Use it to make Millet Porridge.

Make a smooth and creamy sauce for my Green Gnocchi with Sausage and Arugula.

Use hemp milk to make a delicious and creamy garlic dressing or dip for my Lectin-Free Zucchini Baked Fries.

You can make chocolate milk using cacao powder and a zero-calorie sweetener.

Another plant-based milk

If you like this hemp milk, you must also try tiger nut milk, which is also a nut-free milk alternative. It’s incredibly sweet and tasty and only requires two ingredients: tiger nuts and filtered water.

*This post contains affiliated links, which means I get a small commission if you choose to purchase something via one of my links, at no extra cost to you.