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    Home » Recipes » Smoothies & Drinks

    Vanilla 'Bean' Milk (Dairy-Free, Nut-Free, Soy-Free)

    Published: Apr 22, 2013 · Modified: Jun 26, 2022 by Lauren · This post may contain affiliate links · 58 Comments

    Jump to Recipe  ↓

    Alternative milks are quite popular these days.

    You can make a milk out of just about anything! Rice, nuts, seeds....how about beans?

    Soy milk starts with soy beans, so I wondered if I could make milk from other kinds of beans. milk111

    Turns out, you can!... AND it's easier on your pocketbook. Check it out:

    (These figures relate to Tucson, Arizona, where I reside, and what I personally purchase, so check your own health food stores to be sure!)

    I figured out that there are about two cups (1,376) of beans in one pound, and three cups (432) of almonds in one pound. In short, you get about two cups of beans for $1.69, and three cups of almond for $4.99.

                         PRICE PER POUND              AMT. TO MAKE ONE MILK RECIPE        PRICE/RECIPE

    Beans                   $1.69 (organic)                                      1/2 cup                                      $0.42

    Almonds             $4.99 (non-organic)                                 1 cup                                        $1.66

     

    Most recipes use one cup of almonds to four cups of water, equaling about five cups of milk. My bean milk, however, only requires 1/2 cup of beans to the same amount of water.

    As you can see, making this bean milk results in huge monetary savings! It costs about four times as much to make almond milk as it does to make organic bean milk, and this doesn't even reflect if you buy ORGANIC almonds, which I don't.

    Now, let's take a peek at the nutritional stats of each:

                                                                 BEANS                                           ALMONDS

    CALORIES                                                350                                                      546

    FAT                                                         1.6 g                                                     47 g

    CARBS                                                    63.2 g                                                  20.6 g

    FIBER                                                     25.4 g                                                  11.6 g

    PROTEIN                                                23.2 g                                                   20.2 g

    SUGAR                                                    4 g                                                        3.7 g

    **Based on 1/2 cup of Navy beans and one cup of almonds.

    There are significant differences in both fat and carbs, but in defense of the beans carb amount, they are slow absorbing (complex) carbs, and beans are a low glycemic food, which basically means they aren't going to spike your blood sugar, they boast a decent amount of fiber, and they keep you fuller longer.

    Print Recipe
    4.50 from 10 votes

    Dairy-Free, Nut-Free Vanilla 'Bean' Milk

    Prep Time12 hrs
    Cook Time7 mins
    Total Time12 hrs 7 mins
    Servings: 4
    Author: Lauren Goslin

    Ingredients

    • ½ c. dried mild-tasting beans Navy, Great Northern, and black are all delicious!
    • ½ T. lemon juice
    • 4 c. purified water divided, plus more for soaking the beans
    • 2 t. vanilla
    • ½ t. salt
    • 1 T. maple syrup
    • 12 drops liquid stevia

    Instructions

    • Place the beans and lemon juice in a bowl.
    • Cover the beans with water, and let them soak for 12-24 hours.
    • Drain and rinse the beans.
    • Add the beans and three cups of water to a blender, and blend for about 2 minutes until it appears smooth.
    • Strain the mixture through a fine sieve or nut milk bag, removing the bean pulp.
    • Heat a pot over medium heat, and add the bean milk.
    • Stirring constantly, warm the bean milk for 10 minutes. BE CAREFUL to not let the mixture come to a rolling boil, only a low simmer. Otherwise, the milk will scald, and it will have a burnt taste.
    • Stir in the final cup of water, vanilla, salt, maple syrup, and stevia.
    • Cool.
    • Pour into a storage container, and store in the fridge.
    • Use as you would regular milk!

    2013_04_16

    IMG_2210

    IMG_2211

    This stuff is delicious!

    milk222 My husband loves how thick it is, and claims he likes it better than any milk he's ever tried! Husband approved! 😀 Stored in my cute milk jug ($3.50 at TJMaxx!)...

    IMG_2245

    I hope if you have dairy, soy, or nut allergies, you will give this wonderful alternative a try! It is my new go-to milk!

    Have you tried making milk out of anything other than almonds?

    I've personally made it out of sunflower seeds, hazelnuts, brazil nuts, and hemp seeds...next on my list is quinoa!

     

     

     

     

     

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    Filed Under: Smoothies & Drinks

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Vanessa Pedroza

      June 27, 2020 at 4:09 pm

      Mine came out slimy and clear looking not creamy looking.

      Reply
    2. İdil

      May 16, 2019 at 10:42 am

      Just made this and it is AMAZING!! AND I found a way to use the pulp too! Turn it into tofu!! I followed this recipe in Vegan Richa's blog but instead of using chickpea flour, I used the bean pulp leftover from straining. It's in the refrigerator right now, thickening up. I'll let you know how it turns out 🙂

      Reply
      • İdil

        May 16, 2019 at 10:44 am

        https://www.veganricha.com/2016/04/chickpea-flour-tofu.html forgot to add the link haha

        Reply
      • ACC

        September 18, 2020 at 1:50 pm

        This sounds fascinating! How did it turn out? Did you use chickpeas? This recipe only uses 1/2 cup of soaked beans and the leftover pulp is less than 1/2 a cup, isn't it? Did you save up the pulp until you had the one cup called for in the recipe? I would like to try this but I'm a fish out of water trying to use bean pulp instead of flour so I will wait to hear how yours turned out, assuming you can remember from over a year ago 🙂

        Reply
    3. Bets

      March 23, 2019 at 10:45 am

      Can this milk be made into yogurt like soy milk can? Do you have a reference for doing that? Thanks

      Reply
      • Elizabeth

        February 04, 2021 at 8:04 pm

        I found one for chickpea yogurt on youtube and on this website:
        https://theveganchallenge.com/easy-thick-vegan-yogurt-soy-free-nut-free-high-in-protein-only-1-single-ingredient/

        Reply
    4. Fuz

      August 04, 2017 at 2:06 pm

      Hello. Can some1 pleeeeease provide info about nutritional content i.e. calories etc..of the strained product..using a cup of beans to start with and no other additions? Thanks

      Reply
    5. AJ

      January 03, 2014 at 10:37 am

      This is brilliant. Just discovered your wonderful blog and already have a batch of your snicker doodles in the oven! Now i need to make some 'milk' to go along with the cookies!! I only have canned beans (black, white, and great northern) on hand, do you think any of those would work if I rinsed them? Should I rinse and soak them for a bit in water and lemon first?

      Reply
      • Lauren

        January 03, 2014 at 1:02 pm

        Thanks AJ! Unfortunately, you can't use canned beans here, as you want the beans to be hard and raw in order to separate the pulp from the milk. I hope you enjoy the snickerdoodles though, and thanks for your sweet comment! 🙂

        Reply
    6. Ashley

      December 06, 2013 at 10:52 am

      I have never made any of my own milks, but I definitely would like to give it a try! Can you recommend a good nut milk bag?

      Reply
      • Lauren

        December 06, 2013 at 1:12 pm

        Diana Stobo makes the best one I've found (it lasts the longest). I usually buy it on Amazon. 🙂

        Reply
    7. Tammye

      October 13, 2013 at 10:56 am

      OH!!! Use the pulp to make hummus or some other creative dip!!! Waste not!!!!

      Reply
      • Linda Camp

        November 06, 2020 at 7:15 am

        Excellent idea! Thank you!

        Linda

        Reply
    8. Tammye

      October 13, 2013 at 10:53 am

      I had this ingenious idea to make bean milk but decided to google the concept first then WHAM!!! I found your website! I made the milk using white northern beans and, yes, there was a strong beanie taste. I will cook the milk next time as you instructed but on very low temperature to not kill the nutrients. Thanks Lauren!!!

      Reply
    9. Jennifer Cummings

      September 26, 2013 at 1:00 pm

      Could you cook the beans before blending? Because the smell is very bad as I was straining and cooking it. Made me sick to my tummy. Also what do you do with the bean pulp? I have been making almond and coconut milk for 2 years and I use the almond and coconut pulp in baking for gluten free baking.
      Thanks

      Reply
      • Lauren

        September 26, 2013 at 1:56 pm

        Hi Jennifer,

        I've never tried cooking the beans first. The problem with that method would be straining the pulp out, as it would get mushy and probably wouldn't separate out as well.

        The smell dissipates once the beans are simmered though. I usually just throw the pulp away, but perhaps it could be used in something?...

        Reply
    10. Katie

      September 05, 2013 at 4:02 pm

      What is the purpose of heating the bean milk after it has been strained? Do you have to do that step?

      Reply
      • Lauren

        September 05, 2013 at 4:08 pm

        Yes! If you don't, you'll get a nasty 'raw' bean taste. This heating cooks that taste out, so be sure to do it for the full time.

        Reply
    11. Robin

      July 24, 2013 at 3:32 pm

      While this is a great option for those allergic to almonds, I would hesitate to make it due to the phytic acid content of beans. I try to stay away from beans as much as I can but sometimes some black beans and rice just call my name. 🙂

      Reply
      • Lauren

        July 25, 2013 at 8:05 am

        Do you stay away from beans even when they are soaked? As I learn more about phytic acid, it actually has a lot of benefits! I'm doing some research on it right now, and am finding that it has a greater affinity for toxic heavy metals than minerals.

        Reply
    12. Angel S.

      July 22, 2013 at 4:57 am

      I think I going to try it without the sweeteners and vanilla, I don't really care for sweetened and flavored milks for cooking and I can't have maple syrup. Hope it works, it would be so much less expensive than almond milk!

      Reply
      • Elizabeth

        February 04, 2021 at 8:10 pm

        I'm curious too. Unsweetened soy milk doesn't taste too beany, like Vitasoy. I think cannelini beans are less beany than great northern. Navy beans are very buttery when cooked. I'd like to know how it turns out.

        Reply
    13. I_Fortuna

      June 14, 2013 at 5:20 pm

      I boil the soy beans first using Dr. Ben Kim's method from his site. Boil them for 15 minutes after soaking, add water, blend, drink. It is that easy. It is not that time consuming except for cleaning up. I make oat milk using organic live miso and it is never slimmy. It is clean and fresh and a little salty from the miso. I add sweetener to it. I use hatcho miso from natural Import Company. You can use any live miso. They have all kinds of organic foods. I cook 2 cups of oatmeal in 5 to 6 cups of water,let cool to room temp, stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons of miso, stir until miso dissolves, and let sit overnight.. Strain, refirgerate, drink. Easy and no slime. Strain your miso in to your oatmeal through a strainer to make sure it mixes well with the oatmeal. The oatmeal will begin to break down while you are stirring and that is normal. It will be mostly liquid in the morning.

      Reply
      • Nichelle

        January 30, 2017 at 7:31 am

        Do you have to strain the soy beans or just blend the pulp into the milk?

        Reply
        • IFortuna

          January 30, 2017 at 1:57 pm

          I rub the beans together to remove most of the skins from the beans, blend and strain.

          Reply
          • Nichelle

            January 31, 2017 at 8:32 am

            Is there a lot or a little pulp left from straining?

            Reply
            • IFortuna

              January 31, 2017 at 8:36 am

              Depends on how much work you want to put into it. It is strained out anyway. Hope this helps. : )

    14. Produce on Parade

      May 21, 2013 at 5:02 pm

      Oh my, I must try this. I make my own almond milk and coconut milk. I tried oat milk once but it was rather slimy...so I am excited to try the white bean milk! Almonds are expensive up here in Alaska....

      Reply
    15. Kathryn

      May 02, 2013 at 6:16 pm

      I literally JUST made this - it's still warm - but i'm in love! It does have a very mildly 'bean' flavor, but it's SO mild that it makes no difference. I took what didn't fit into my container, whisked in some cocoa, and had chocolate milk that tasted amazing! I also used dates as my only sweetener - worked perfect, though there are wee date pieces throughout now :p

      Reply
      • Lauren

        May 02, 2013 at 7:20 pm

        That's great Kathryn! When I posted it, I wondered if it would be an acquired taste like olives or something, so I'm happy to hear you enjoyed it. 😀 Love the idea of adding the chocolate too!!

        Reply
    16. Cindy (Vegetarian Mamma)

      May 01, 2013 at 7:04 pm

      Lauren, this is great! I can't wait to try this for my nut free boys! 🙂 Thanks for linking up at our Gluten Free Fridays party! I have tweeted and pinned your entry to our Gluten Free Fridays board on Pinterest! 🙂

      Be sure to stop by to see who the winner of our So Lucky GF Basket is! We are ALSO having a fantastic giveaway this week to kick off Celiac Awareness month! 🙂

      Cindy from vegetarianmamma.com

      Reply
    17. Renata Octaviani (VegVida)

      May 01, 2013 at 7:54 am

      I use oatmeal a lot for a quick vegetable milk and for recipes when I want a real thick texture, like a cream. However, I still haven't found nothing like almond milk for my baking fillings.
      I'll try this one, bu I'm tempted to boil the bean for 10-15 minutes before blanding, so I can avoid the burnt risk.

      Reply
      • Lauren

        May 01, 2013 at 8:56 am

        Almond milk is in a class all its own! I've been having trouble lately with nuts, so that's why I created this. Do you also make milk out of vegetables? I tried avocado milk once and it was AWFUL!

        Reply
    18. Shirley @ gfe & All Gluten-Free Desserts

      April 27, 2013 at 1:38 pm

      Hi Lauren--I think this idea is simply brilliant! I shared it on my gfe Facebook page after you posted. Readers loved it! Those of us who want to eat/drink dairy free need as many delicious options as we can get. 🙂 I just learned a new way to make almond milk (which I shared on my gfe blog). Wonderfully, it seems like there are quite a few options now. Some of my friends make their own hemp milk, too.

      Thanks so much!
      Shirley

      Reply
      • Lauren

        April 27, 2013 at 5:09 pm

        Thank you Shirley! I just tried hemp milk last night and thought it was delicious! It'd be a bit pricey for me to make that all of the time, so this recipe definitely helps in that regard. 🙂 Thanks again for sharing!

        Reply
    19. Joyce

      April 26, 2013 at 10:01 pm

      Oh wow! I have never ever heard of doing this before, but, duh... soy beans are used, so why not another bean?! I am so so excited to make some. Wow, wow, wow!
      Thank you Lauren. You sure know how to MILK-OUT greatness and goodness. Where have I BEAN? Again... thank you! I am truly grateful!

      Reply
    20. Em @ Love A Latte

      April 26, 2013 at 6:57 pm

      This is crazy awesome!!!

      Reply
    21. Anne, Texas

      April 26, 2013 at 2:42 pm

      Is the lemon juice a must in the soaking process. I have.beans in the freezer already soaked for 24 hrs I'd like to use.
      Thanks looks great I'm ready to try it

      Reply
      • Lauren

        April 26, 2013 at 3:00 pm

        Not at all. It just helps with digestion. Let me know what you think! 🙂

        Reply
    22. Amber

      April 25, 2013 at 5:39 pm

      Could I use regular sugar instead of stevia? How much? 🙂

      Reply
      • Lauren

        April 25, 2013 at 6:45 pm

        Sure! 8 drops is equal to about 1 tablespoon, so about a heaping tablespoon? 🙂

        Reply
    23. Mary @ Fit and Fed

      April 23, 2013 at 9:07 pm

      What a great idea! It's interesting to know that the navy beans made such a mild milk. And I would think that being bean-based it would have more protein than almond milk and other alternatives like rice milk (which has barely any protein at all).

      Reply
      • Lauren

        April 23, 2013 at 9:35 pm

        Thanks Mary! It actually has a comparable amount of protein to almond milk, though far less fat. I used to drink rice milk, but prefer something a bit thicker. 🙂

        Reply
    24. Hannah@Mindrunningwild

      April 23, 2013 at 5:37 pm

      I'm so glad you did this- I've often had the same thought myself and just haven't gotten to do it yet. I tried quinoa milk, which came out nice, if a bit thin, but always thought that bean milk would go over well. SO glad it does and that you've taken the guess work out for me! I'm going to try it soon.
      Two things: 1. Does it taste bitter at all due to the dried beans?
      2. Do you recommend using a vitamin/high powered blender to blend the beans once soaked, or would a regular blender suffice?

      Reply
      • Lauren

        April 23, 2013 at 9:33 pm

        Hi Hannah! I haven't noticed any bitter taste at all! I would actually liken it soy milk. I use a 600 watt blender for all my nut/bean milks and smoothies, which is nooooo Vita Mix!...but it gets the job(s) done well! I hope you enjoy it if you try it. 🙂

        Reply
    25. freshlifefindings

      April 22, 2013 at 4:53 pm

      I've never tried this before! And you make it sound delicious! Before I try this I still have to try making your homemade almond milk 🙂

      Reply
      • Lauren

        April 22, 2013 at 8:00 pm

        Aw, thanks girl!!

        Reply
    26. Mary Frances @ The Sweet Tooth Life

      April 22, 2013 at 4:53 pm

      Wow. This is incredibly creative. I have dairy free friends and I am going to send them this link. So creative, in fact I've never seen anything like this! So easy and so much better for you! How much more genius can you get?! You said it was thicker, but is the taste noticeable different?

      Reply
      • Lauren

        April 22, 2013 at 7:59 pm

        I find it's comparable to soy milk. The heating of the milk reduces any 'bean' taste to a great extent. My husband and I both love it!

        Reply
    27. Deanna

      April 22, 2013 at 12:58 pm

      What a great idea. My next door neighbor makes her own soy milk and it tastes completely different (and better) than the store bought stuff. But, I can't handle soy. I'll have to try the white bean approach!

      Reply
    28. Stephanie @Good Girl Gone Green

      April 22, 2013 at 12:44 pm

      Interesting.:) I have some white beans and will give this a try! I make almond milk, but making your own is still cheaper than buying it at the store. I buy my almonds in bulk from an organic raw company and I get them for 5.00lbs. I was paying 8.99/9.99lbs for organic almonds at whole food while living in the USA. That does seems expensive for almond milk. You could also try sunflower seed milk which is cheaper, and nut-free! 🙂 However, this bean milk does look tasty!! Thanks for sharing!

      Reply
      • Lauren

        April 22, 2013 at 3:34 pm

        Hi Stephanie,
        I actually have a recipe on here for sunflower seed milk, but find that it definitely DOES taste like sunflower seeds. This how a much more subtle taste that I find blends well in smoothies, on cereal, or even by itself. 🙂

        Reply
        • Stephanie @Good Girl Gone Green

          April 22, 2013 at 3:45 pm

          I will definitely let you know how it goes. My husbands has already told me "no bean milk for me." I will make it and tell him it is almond milk! I am sneaky like that. LOL

          Reply
    29. Kathryn

      April 22, 2013 at 11:35 am

      Definitely gonna have to try this out this week - I'm running low on store-bought milks and have been considering just making my own! Really excited to see how it turns out 😀

      Reply
    30. Kinzie

      April 22, 2013 at 10:11 am

      right, as in... did it make you MUSICAL? 🙂

      Reply
      • Lauren

        April 22, 2013 at 10:19 am

        Haha, nope! Soaking the beans beforeh.and is helpful, and a lot of the flesh is lost during straining. 🙂

        Reply
    31. Heather

      April 22, 2013 at 6:28 am

      I hadn't thought of doing this. have printed the recipe and am going to give it a try. Thanks.

      Reply

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    Hi there, I'm Lauren Goslin, and I've been a food blogger for over ten years. My goal with this blog is to show you healthy, lower sugar recipes that my family and I enjoy.

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