How to Make Hemp Milk (Easy, Nut-Free, Dairy-Free)

Homemade hemp milk is one of the easiest plant-based milks you can make: no soaking or cooking, and for most everyday uses, you don’t even need to strain it. Made with just hemp hearts and water, it’s naturally dairy-free and nut-free, with a creamy texture and a mild, pleasantly earthy flavor. I make it regularly and use it with granola and porridge, in baking, golden milk, smoothies, and even savory sauces and dressings. It takes about one minute in a high-speed blender, and making it yourself means you can keep the ingredients simple and adjust the consistency and flavor exactly the way you like it.

Why make hemp milk at home?

Hemp milk has been a staple in our house for years, partly because it’s so simple to make and partly because it’s incredibly versatile. Unlike homemade almond milk and many other plant-based milks, hemp hearts don’t need to be soaked beforehand. Add them to a blender with water, blend, and the milk is ready to use.

Making it at home also gives you control over the ingredients. Many commercial plant milks contain added oils, gums, sweeteners, or stabilizers, while the basic homemade version needs nothing more than hemp hearts and filtered water. You can keep it completely plain for both sweet and savory recipes or add vanilla, a pinch of salt, cacao, or a little sweetener when you want something specifically for drinking.

It’s also a useful alternative for anyone avoiding both dairy and nuts. Although hemp hearts have a rich, slightly nutty taste, hemp is a seed rather than a tree nut, making this milk an interesting option when almond, cashew, and macadamia milks aren’t suitable.

What are hemp hearts?

Hemp hearts are simply hulled hemp seeds — the tender inner part of the seed after the hard outer shell has been removed. They are rich in plant-based protein and provide essential fatty acids, including linoleic acid (omega-6) and alpha-linolenic acid (omega-3), along with minerals such as magnesium, phosphorus, iron, and zinc.

Although hemp comes from Cannabis sativa, the seeds are used as an ordinary food ingredient and don’t have the intoxicating effects associated with cannabis.

Hemp also has a much longer culinary history than its relatively recent popularity as a “superfood” might suggest. While spending time in Romania, my home country, I discovered that hemp seeds have been used in traditional Romanian cooking for generations, including to make a hemp preparation similar to milk that was used in traditional dishes. I love that something we now think of as a modern plant-based alternative actually has such old culinary roots.

Hemp milk vs. oat milk

Oat milk may be one of the most popular dairy-free milks today, but nutritionally it’s quite different from hemp milk. Oats are naturally rich in starch, so oat milk tends to contain considerably more carbohydrates. During commercial processing, some of that starch can also be broken down into simpler sugars, which helps explain why some oat milks taste sweet even without added sugar.

Hemp hearts, on the other hand, are naturally rich in healthy fats and plant protein and relatively low in carbohydrates. Homemade hemp milk made with just hemp hearts and water is therefore an appealing option if you want an unsweetened, lower-carbohydrate plant milk. It’s also naturally gluten-free and nut-free, while people who need to strictly avoid gluten have to pay attention to the source and certification of oats used in oat milk.

What you need to make hemp milk

My basic hemp milk recipe has only two ingredients: 1/4 cup hemp hearts and 2 1/4 cups filtered water, which makes approximately 2 1/2 cups of milk. You’ll also need a high-speed blender; I use a Nutribullet, but any powerful blender should work.

I usually leave the milk completely plain because that allows me to use the same batch for granola, baking, drinks, and savory recipes. If you know you’ll only be using it for sweet purposes, you can add a little vanilla and a pinch of salt. For a sweeter version, add a date, a little raw honey or yacon syrup, or your preferred sweetener (I like allulose). Cacao powder turns it into an easy homemade chocolate milk.

You can also adjust the amount of water depending on how you plan to use the milk. Use a little less for a richer, creamier consistency or add more water for a lighter milk.

How to make hemp milk

Add the hemp hearts and filtered water to a high-speed blender and blend on high for about one minute, until the mixture is creamy and the hemp hearts are finely blended. At this point, you can use the milk as it is or strain it, depending on what you’re making.

For granola, cereal, porridge, baking, smoothies, sauces, and dressings, I don’t find straining necessary. The finely blended hemp solids become part of the milk, and in these applications you won’t notice them anyway.

For coffee, tea, golden milk, hot chocolate, or anything you want to drink on its own, you may prefer a finer, smoother texture. In that case, simply pour the milk through a nut milk bag or a fine-mesh strainer. It only takes an extra minute and gives you a more refined milk for drinking.

Transfer the finished hemp milk to a clean glass bottle or jar, cover, and store it in the refrigerator. Natural separation will occur as it sits, especially if you haven’t strained it, so give the bottle a good shake before using.

If you happen to have hemp seed butter instead of hemp hearts, you can also make a quick hemp milk by blending approximately one tablespoon of hemp seed butter with 1 1/2 cups of water, adjusting the quantities until you get the consistency you prefer.

What does hemp milk taste like?

Hemp milk has a mild, earthy, slightly nutty flavor and a naturally creamy texture. I enjoy it completely plain, but if you’re accustomed to sweetened commercial plant milks, the flavor may take a little getting used to. A little vanilla, a pinch of salt, or your preferred sweetener can make it more appealing as a drinking milk without changing its basic character.

One of my favorite non-dairy cappuccinos, in fact, was made with unsweetened hemp milk at a little coffee shop in Waco, Texas. At the time, I was living in Dallas and using the same Pacific unsweetened hemp milk at home. It was a good reminder of how creamy hemp milk can be in coffee when the texture is right.

How to use hemp milk

Hemp milk can replace other unsweetened plant milks in most everyday recipes. I use it with my Lectin-Free Granola with Green Plantain and Low-Carb Granola, and it’s excellent for making Millet Porridge. It’s also useful in smoothies and hot drinks such as golden milk, cocoa, and hot chocolate, and it can replace milk or buttermilk in many baking recipes.

Because I keep my basic batch unsweetened, I can also use it in savory cooking. It works as the base of creamy pasta sauces and dairy-free dressings and dips; I’ve used it in the sauce for my Cassava Gnocchi with Sausage and Arugula and in a creamy garlic dressing for zucchini fries.

Can you heat hemp milk?

Yes, hemp milk can be used in baking, cooking, and other recipes that involve high temperatures. However, when homemade hemp milk (since it doesn’t contain emulsifiers and gums) is heated on its own as a liquid, bringing it to a boil can cause it to separate. You can warm it gently over low heat, but avoid boiling it if you want it to remain smooth. For very hot drinks such as coffee or cacao, I prefer homemade tigernut milk, which works better for this purpose.

How to store homemade hemp milk

Since homemade hemp milk doesn’t contain the stabilizers or preservatives found in shelf-stable versions, I prefer making small batches and storing them in a tightly closed glass bottle or jar in the refrigerator for a few days. The milk will naturally separate as it sits, which doesn’t mean anything is wrong with it — just shake it well before pouring.

Another nut-free plant milk to try

If you like hemp milk, try my homemade tigernut milk next. Despite its name, tigernut isn’t a nut but a small root vegetable, so tigernut milk is another naturally nut-free and dairy-free alternative. It’s naturally sweeter than hemp milk and requires only tigernuts and filtered water.

And if nuts aren’t an issue for you, homemade macadamia milk is another delicious option with an especially rich and creamy texture.

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