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This Homemade Hazelnut Milk is made using only two ingredients. It is a delicious vegan, lactose free, dairy-free milk alternative that can be flavoured for wonderful DIY hazelnut milk! I also provide ways to use the leftover hazelnut pulp for this zero waste recipe.
From almond milk to cashew milk, coconut, rice and oat milk – homemade nut milk has become a bit of an obsession. There are so many fantastic dairy-free milk alternatives out there that I’ve started to put on my blog! What’s even better is that they are so super simple to make at home. This DIY hazelnut milk uses just two ingredients for the base recipe, takes only a few minutes to make and can be stored for 3-5 days in the fridge, within an airtight container.
Plus, just like with my other DIY dairy-free milk recipes on my blog, I’ve tried to keep this homemade hazelnut milk recipe zero-waste. With that in mind, I’ll be suggesting a few ways that you can use the leftover hazelnut pulp ( which can be delicious in a variety of baked goods).
Hazelnut milk also works amazingly for add-ins and flavouring. Think delicious ‘Nutella’ type chocolate hazelnut milk or even a spiced Christmas blend. Homemade hazelnut milk is also an excellent base for coffee and tea drinks such as a spiced chai and lattes.
Once again, as with all my homemade dairy-free and nut milk recipes, the nut content of this homemade hazelnut milk will be higher than store-bought versions. It also doesn’t contain any unnecessary thickeners or preservatives. Meaning this recipe is 100% clean eating, using whole ingredients!
This homemade DIY hazelnut milk can then be used in SO MANY ways. With your cereal, in Smoothies, For these 5 healthy Dessert Inspired Overnight Oats and porridge, in chia pudding or to drink, straight up!
Benefits of hazelnuts
Just like when consuming hazelnuts in any form ( including this simple homemade hazelnut butter, or vegan Nutella), with this DIY hazelnut milk you are drinking all of the nutritional value of hazelnuts. White almond milk may be the current most popular dairy-free milk- that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily the best nutritionally.
That’s not to say that homemade hazelnut IS the best – but it’s certainly not lacking in nutrients and health benefits. For example:
- Hazelnuts are a rich source of a variety of vitamins and minerals, as well as omega-6 and omega-9 fatty acids.
- Vitamin E is plentiful in Hazelnuts and is excellent for healthy hair and skin, is an antioxidant and even boost brain and heart health
- In fact, homemade hazelnut milk is loaded with antioxidants. These help fight damaging free radicals and reduce inflammation.
- The thiamine and manganese inside hazelnuts are said to accelerate your metabolism, which means that these nuts are a great option for those watching their weight.
- The various nutrients within hazelnuts work to reduce harmful cholesterol levels and improve overall heart health.
- Hazelnuts are linked to lower rates of cancer due to their anti-cancerous properties.
And that’s not even all of the health benefits that I could have named. What’s even better is that introducing homemade hazelnut milk into your diet is super easy. It’s incredibly versatile and works amazingly as a stand-alone drink, with additional flavourings, and for a variety of recipes ( I even like to have it with cereal).
How to make Hazelnut milk
Making homemade hazelnut milk at home is relatively simple and follows the same process as other nut milks. Begin by soaking your raw hazelnuts for a few hours, then add the rinsed hazelnuts to a blender.
Blend the soaked hazelnuts with fresh water and any additional flavourings of your choice.
Drain the hazelnut milk with a nut milk bag into a large bowl/container. Pour the milk into a bottle and voila, it’s ready.
You can then use the leftover hazelnut pulp in various ways, to make this recipe zero-waste ( see suggestions below).
This milk then lasts 3-5 days in an airtight container in the fridge!
Homemade hazelnut milk Flavour Variations
As with all the nut milk recipes I have on my blog, you’re able to customise these milks to your taste. This includes using a sweetener of your choice if wanting sweetened milk.
For Hazelnut milk I do tend to like sweetening it slightly and usually use between 3-6 pitted Medjool dates in the blender, when blending the milk. Then strain as usual.
However, your choice of sweetener is up to you—maple syrup, Agave syrup, coconut nectar etc. etc.
You can also add some homemade vanilla extract or a vanilla bean pod to your DIY hazelnut milk.
In terms of flavoured hazelnut milk varieties, I always think of delicious, sweet types, perfect for a treat!
From adding a simple vanilla powder to adding cacao powder & sweetener to create a delicious ‘Nutella’ style milk. I particularly find hazelnut milk works well in creating a lovely ‘spiced’ milk too like a chai latte or Christmas spice milk with cinnamon etc.
I haven’t included exact amounts of spices and flavourings. This is because part of the beauty of making homemade milk is to be able to flavour it to your tastes. However, as a general rule, I tend to add between 3-6 Medjool dates to sweeten my hazelnut milk and then spices can vary from 1/2 tsp up to -2tbsp of cacao powder.
How to use the leftover hazelnut pulp
Just like with the pulp leftover from homemade almond milk, hazelnut pulp can be used for all sorts of recipes. Particularly working well when paired with chocolate.
For Example Raw bliss balls/bars, Cookies, brownies, muffins, tart bases etc. You can also use hazelnut pulp to make a Vegan Nutella. As well as using it within granola.
You can also use the hazelnut pulp to top off your cereal, yogurt, smoothies etc.
This post contains affiliate links which means, at no cost to yourself, I may earn a commission if you purchase an item having clicked a link on this page. This will help with buying ingredients for my next recipes.
If you give this homemade hazelnut milk recipe a go, then please let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Also, I’d love to see your recreations so feel free to tag me @AlphaFoodie.
Other Simple DIY’S You May Like:
If you’re interested in trying some more delicious dairy-free nut milk recipes, then look no further. I have a variety of different dairy-free milk recipes on my blog including Pistachio Milk, Cashew Milk, and Walnut Milk.
For the full list, feel free to browse through the DIY section of my blog or search ‘milk‘ in the search bar for options including rice, soy, almonds, oats, etc.
How to Make Hazelnut Milk
Ingredients
- 1.5 Cup hazelnuts
- 4 Cups Filtered water
Instructions
- Begin by soaking your hazelnuts overnight in a bowl of water.*
- In the morning, drain the excess water and rince the hazelnuts. Add the hazelnuts and filtered water to your blender and blend for two minutes, till smooth and creamy.
- Using a nut milk bag, strain the hazelnut milk into a large bowl, squeezing out as much of the liquid from the remaining hazelnut pulp.
- Pour this into an airtight bottle and keep stored in the fridge for 3-5 days.
Video
Notes
- If you're in a pinch then I'd say a minimum of around 4 hours in warm water, but it's best if left closer to 8-10 hours!
- The hazelnut pulp can then be used for a variety of purposes, as mentioned above in the blog post, from baked goods to delicious yogurt toppings.
- This will last 3-5 days in an airtight container in the fridge
- For flavouring options and add-ins then please check the blog post!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Thanks for the recipe.
Exactly how smooth and creamy should it be when in the blender please?
Eg. When you make it, does it still have micro bits in at this stage, or is it completely homogenised? It would help to know how much pulp you have leftover in the bag at the end. My resulting hazelnut mixture would not be described as milk, only water.
Hi Sam,
It should be more on the homogenized size, though having a few bits is OK. I hope this helps.
Do your nutrient calculations account for the subtraction of those left behind in the pulp?
Hi Jennifer,
The nutritional information is calculated with an online database and, even though I provide accurate metrics, these figures should be considered only as estimates as it uses the nutrition for the whole nut. I hope this helps.
I love hazelnuts and know I’d love this milk ❤ but a little question, I don’t have any hazelnuts now, but I do have some hazelnut flour on hand. Could I blend some of the powder and water together to make the hazelnut milk?
Hi Skylar,
Yes, it should still work. Let me know if you tried it! 🙂
Oh, by the way, I wasn’t able to use the leftover pulp (which I was drying) for a very stupid reason but out of curiosity and knowledge I am going to share why. That day I had a friend coming over to pick up a birthday cake (safety measures, she was outside and we were talking on my window) and she was smoking. When she finished I picked up a paper tissue and collected her cigarette butt so she didn’t have throw it on the street. She told me to get rid of it because of the smell and so I threw it in my bin, in the kitchen. Later that day my whole kitchen smelled like ashtray. The litter bin is placed near my kitchen window, which was where I left the hazelnut pulp to dry. That night, when I was picking up the tray with the pulp I felt such a strong smell of ashtray and confirmed my suspicions: the pulp had absorbed all the smell from that one cigarette butt and not only that but it tasted like cigarette ash too!! I had to throw it all away 🙁
Thank you for sharing that! Hopefully, that will help other people to avoid that issue in the future. And hopefully next time you get a chance to use the pulp without it tasting of ash! 😛
Thank you for sharing this recipe. It is my second favourite of the nut drinks I’ve tried so far.
That’s amazing! I love hazelnut milk too. Especially if I feel a little chocolate temptation – then I’ll add in a bit of cacao powder and some dates/ natural sweetener and it’s delicious, healthy chocolate milk. Yum!