Today we’re talking about how to make homemade chocolate cashew milk! This delicious plant based nut milk is incredibly easy to make. It doesn’t require straining, and I’ve even included a short cut if you’re short on time to reduce the soaking time to 15 MINUTES! A crazy delicious dairy free chocolate milk for everyone at your table!
This homemade chocolate cashew milk was one of the FIRST recipes I ever posted on NK!
I remember scrambling to get it ready before we took off to one of our favorite local music festivals and feeling so excited to finally be sharing recipes on my *very own* food blog.
I can hardly believe that was all the way back in 2015! A lot has changed since then but some things are still the same.
My photography and recipe writing skills have certainly improved, and my love for this blog and homemade chocolate cashew milk have stayed the same (if not grown exponentially!).
So I thought I would give this recipe a little face lift love.
Even though it’s from what feels like forever ago, this chocolate milk is still one of our favorite homemade drinks and I’m SO excited to be sharing it (again) with you today!
Why we love this creamy homemade chocolate cashew milk
This homemade chocolate cashew milk is:
- Creamy
- Chocolatey
- Easy to make
- Decadent
- Dairy free
There’s a lot of variety available at the stores these days for dairy free nut milks, but IMHO, nothing beats a homemade nut milk.
Especially when it’s as creamy, delicious, and easy to make as this one!
What does cashew milk taste like?
Although almond milk tends to be the more popular choice for nut milks, if I had to choose between it and cashew milk, I would choose cashew milk 10 out of 10 times.
Not only does it have a creamier + fuller bodied texture, it’s also a little bit more mild in flavor than other plant based milks.
This makes it the perfect blank palate for just about any flavor additions that you might want to add to it. The possibilities are literally endless!
But are you ready for my FAVORITE part about making cashew milk?
(drumroll, please…)
You don’t have to strain cashew milk!
Honestly straining the pulp out of nut milk is one of the main reasons that I end up not making my own at home most of the time.
You could call me lazy, but it usually just feels like more work it’s worth.
But this is where your high speed blender / vitamix is YOUR BEST FRIEND.
When you blend soaked cashews with water on high speed for a minute or two there’s no pulp left behind from the cashews. Only the dreamiest creamiest cashew milk you’ve ever laid your eyes on.
How to make homemade chocolate cashew milk
Once you find out how easy it is to make this dreamy dairy free chocolate cashew milk, you may never go back to buying store bought again.
Here’s how to make it:
Soak the cashews
There’s a few different ways that you can do this, depending on how much time you have.
You can soak them one of three ways:
- In cold water over night
- In just boiled water for about an hour
- Or simmer them on the stove top for 15 minutes. This is the fastest method for when you’re short on time (or just forgot to start soaking them the night before but still desperately want some cashew chocolate milk in your life – BEEN THERE)
Add the soaked cashews to a blender with water and all the other ingredients
This is the most satisfying part of the recipe. Watching cashews and a few humble ingredients turn into the BEST dairy free chocolate milk right before your eyes. It’s like magic y’all.
For this recipe the soaked cashews will be added to a high speed blender with these ingredients:
- 4 cups of water
- maple syrup or dates
- cocoa powder
- cinnamon
- vanilla extract
- sea salt
What to use chocolate cashew milk for
This tasty chocolatey cashew milk is delicious on it’s own as a yummy beverage, but would also be perfect:
- In a smoothie – add some frozen banana and greens for a super easy and delicious chocolatey smoothie!
- With some cold brew coffee or a shot of espresso
- With this dark chocolate grain free granola for the chocolate-iest breakfast everrr
A few notes on the recipe
This homemade chocolate cashew milk is an incredibly easy to make (no strain!) plant based and paleo friendly nut milk that you are going to fall in love with.
- It will last in the refrigerator stored in a covered container for about 3-4 days (if you don’t drink it all before then!)
- For the best result start with raw cashews. I haven’t tested the recipe with roasted cashews, but I don’t think they would blend as well as raw cashews do.
- You can easily change the recipe around to suit your taste – the vanilla and cinnamon can be left out if you don’t have them or prefer not to use them, and the sweetness can be adjusted as well. Because of the cocoa powder, I don’t recommend not sweetening this recipe – it would be quite bitter without a little bit of natural sweetener.
- I have only made this recipe in a vitamix. If you don’t have a high speed blender, you may want to start by chopping up the raw cashews before you soak them so they can be more easily transformed into cashew milk!
How to Make Homemade Chocolate Cashew Milk
- Total Time: 25 minutes
- Yield: 5 servings 1x
Description
Today we’re talking about how to make homemade chocolate cashew milk! This delicious plant based nut milk is incredibly easy to make. It doesn’t require straining, and I’ve even included a short cut if you’re short on time to reduce the soaking time to 15 MINUTES! A crazy delicious dairy free chocolate milk for everyone at your table!
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw cashews
- water to soak
- 4 cups of cold water
- 6 tablespoons maple syrup OR 3-4 dates, depending on size
- 4 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Start by soaking the raw cashews. This can be done one of three ways depending on how much time you have to prepare them.
- You can either: soak cashews overnight in cold water, soak cashews in just boiled water for about an hour, or simmer cashews in boiling water for about 15 minutes until softened.
- When the cashews are ready to be made into milk, they will be plump and soft.
- Once cashews are soaked and prepped, strain and rinse with cold water.
- Add rinsed cashews to a blender with 4 cups of cold water, maple syrup or dates, cacao powder, cinnamon, vanilla extract, and sea salt.
- Blend on high for about 2 minutes, until smooth, creamy, and frothy.
- Store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days and ENJOY!
Notes
This cashew milk will last in the refrigerator stored in a covered container for about 3-4 days (if you don’t drink it all before then!)
For the best result start with raw cashews. I haven’t tested the recipe with roasted cashews, but I don’t think they would blend as well as raw cashews do.
You can easily change the recipe around to suit your taste – the vanilla and cinnamon can be left out if you don’t have them or prefer not to use them. And the sweetness can be adjusted as well. Because of the cocoa powder, I don’t recommend not sweetening this recipe – it would be quite bitter without a little bit of natural sweetener.
I have only made this recipe in a vitamix. If you don’t have a high speed blender, you may want to start by chopping up the raw cashews before you soak them so they can be more easily transformed into cashew milk!
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Drinks
- Method: Blender
- Cuisine: American
adam smith says
A Vitamix costs like $500. A Ninja costs like $70. If these drinks need to be made in a Vitamix then that just proves that eating/drinking this way is more for affluent people, and not the average person. I could buy a Vitamix, but I can’t really afford to. It’d hurt my budget.
Nyssa Tanner says
Hi Adam, I haven’t tested this recipe in a Ninja, but it’s possible that it would work. I recommend Vitamix because that’s what I use to test my recipes. I know that they cost more than other blenders, but the investment has always felt worth it to me, since it’s something I use every day and and they last forever. I bought my first Vitamix 14 years ago as a refurbished model and paid less than $300 for it – I only replaced it because I was ready for a newer model. That old one was given to a friend and is still running 🙂 Just some food for thought – I appreciate you bringing up the topic!
Erin says
This is delicious! I did not soak or simmer the cashews, just threw them in with the rest of the ingredients and let the Vitamix do the work. I used cocoa powder and 3 plump dates. Thanks for the great recipe!
Nyssa Tanner says
Isn’t the power of a Vitamix just amazing?! I’m so glad to know you can skip the soaking step and still end up with delicious cashew milk. Thanks for the comment! 🙂
Michelle says
Delicious milk to use in chia pudding, especially with cocoa nibs sprinkled on top.
Nyssa Tanner says
I could not agree more! Love cashew milk for chia pudding. So happy you enjoyed this recipe!
Paris says
This is delish! I used 1/2 the maple syrup since I only had cocoa powder and cacao is much more bitter! I love it!
Nyssa Tanner says
Aw yay! So glad you enjoyed, and such a good note on a substitution. Thanks for the comment! 🙂
calgal says
I’ve made this recipe twice already this week. It’s so good! Tastes like the chocolate milk I remember as a kid. I have a Vitamix so didn’t even need to soak my nuts. Going into my regular rotation!
Nyssa Tanner says
Oh my gosh YES! Love that you’re loving this recipe – it’s also one of my favorites. The chocolate milk nostalgia is real. Thanks for the comment & for making the recipe! ☺️
Matt - Total Feasts says
I’ve only recently discovered nut milk at the grocery store (hazelnut chocolate is my current favorite). Do strain the blended cashews or leave them in?
Nyssa Tanner says
It’s a no strain recipe! Since the cashews are soaked until soft and processed on a high speed they just blend right into the milk. So easy to make!
Adrienne says
Looks lovely! I prefer the creamy texture of cashew milk also.
Nyssa Tanner says
Thank you Adrienne! ☺️