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The first time I ever heard of macadamia milk was when it was offered as a milk option at a coffee shop. My husband decided to be brave and try it in his latte, and once I tasted it, I was instantly jealous that I hadn’t made the same choice. Macadamia milk has a creamy, slightly nutty and buttery flavor that is hard to resist.

And luckily for us, it’s also pretty easy to make at home.

Similar to making almond milk, all you’ll need is 2 ingredients—macadamia nuts and water— to get started, and it’s easy to customize to your liking. (That way you won’t waste any expensive nuts!)

macadamia nut milk in glass with nuts around it

Why You’ll Love Homemade Macadamia Nut Milk

It’s relatively easy to prepare. Just blend the nuts and water, then strain out the pulp. It’s ready to drink in just a few minutes!

You control the batch size. If you don’t need a whole carton of milk, you can save money by making a smaller batch. (As little as one cup at a time, if you need!)

The creaminess is up to you. When you make your own nut milk, you can control the ratio of nuts to milk. For a creamier drink, use less water. For a lighter option, add a little more water. You can also add any flavoring you like, such as a pinch of salt or a splash of sweetness.

It will make foam for lattes. Since macadamia nuts are so high in fat, they make an excellent creamer for coffee, too. When added to a milk frother, it will make an excellent foam for lattes or cappuccinos.

Ingredients You’ll Need

  • Macadamia nuts. For the most neutral flavor, shop for raw macadamia nuts that are not roasted or salted. The roasted nuts will still produce a creamy milk, but I think the roasted flavor is more pronounced, in that case. Since these are one of the more expensive nuts available, you may only want to start by making a half batch. You can add more water to dilute the creaminess, or add more nuts and blend again for an extra-rich texture.
  • Water. When you blend water with nuts, it becomes ultra creamy.

That’s it! You can add a touch of maple syrup, vanilla extract, and a pinch of sea salt for a lightly flavored milk. Or, try using a pitted Medjool date to add sweetness, instead.

macadamia nut milk ingredients in glass bowls

How to Make Macadamia Nut Milk

Step 1:

Add the water and macadamia nuts to a blender. Secure the lid and blend until very smooth and creamy, about 60 seconds. There should be no visible pieces of nuts when it’s done.

macadamia milk blended in blender container

Step 2:

After the mixture is blended, arrange a nut milk bag, cheesecloth, or fine mesh strainer over a large bowl. Pour the mixture into the strainer, and squeeze the mixture to extract as much liquid as possible.

There should be a considerable amount of pulp leftover when you are done. (About a 1/2 cup, or so.)

If you want to use the leftover pulp in a recipe, check out my almond pulp hummus or almond pulp brownies for easy ideas. The macadamia nut pulp should work just as well.

macadamia milk poured into nut milk bag and strained

Serving and Storage Tips

Pour the strained milk into an airtight container, and store it in the fridge until you’re ready to use it.

Homemade macadamia milk can be used right away at room temperature, or stored in the fridge for up to 4 days. You can usually tell when a homemade non-dairy milk has gone bad, either by smell or by taste. (It will start to smell and taste tart, or sour, when it goes bad.)

Since this macadamia milk recipe has no preservatives added, it won’t last as long as the store-bought version, so make sure you only make as much as you’ll use in 4 days. The texture will also be different, and slightly runnier, since homemade versions don’t usually include ingredients like sunflower lecithin or gellan gum. (Which companies add for texture.)

finished macadamia milk in bowl with leftover pulp beside it

Freezing Tip

Homemade nut milks can be frozen into 1-cup portions for up to 3 months in advance. When you’re ready to use it, simply thaw what you’ll need the next day overnight in the fridge. It should be ready to use the next day.

Macadamia Milk FAQs

What does macadamia milk taste like?

Macadamia milk tastes exactly like the nut it came from. If you don’t like the taste of macadamia nuts, you won’t like this milk. Macadamia nuts have a very rich, buttery flavor that almost reminds you of white chocolate. (Hence, why they are probably paired together so often in baking recipes.)

Can I make a chocolate version?

Sure! Check out my Chocolate Almond Milk recipe, and swap the almonds for macadamia nuts, if you’d like to start there. You can always start with making only half the batch, to make sure you like the flavor.

Do you need to soak macadamia nuts?

No, you don’t need to soak macadamia nuts first. However, you can if you’d like to. To soak macadamia nuts, cover them with water and let the rest for up to 2 hours. (They don’t need longer than that!) Be sure to drain and rinse the nuts, to remove the soaking water; use fresh water when blending this milk.

macadamia nut milk in a glass overhead

How to Make Macadamia Milk

5 from 2 votes
Here's how to make macadamia milk at home with just two ingredients— macadamia nuts and water! It tastes better than the store-bought version because there are no preservatives or added thickeners required. Use it in your morning coffee, smoothies, or over cereal for a delicious dairy-free alternative.
prep10 mins cook0 mins total10 mins
Servings:4

Ingredients
 
 

  • 1 cup macadamia nuts (unsalted)
  • 4 cups water

Optional Add-Ins

Instructions

  • Add the macadamia nuts and water to a high speed blender, along with any additional add-ins you would like. Blend until very smooth and creamy, with no visible pieces of nuts, about 60 seconds. (Note: You can start with a half batch, in case you'd like to dilute the creaminess with more water. This recipe is easy to scale and customize as you see fit.)
  • Arrange a nut milk bag, cheesecloth, or fine mesh strainer over a large bowl, and pour the blended milk through the straining device to remove the macadamia nut pulp. Squeeze well, to remove as much liquid as possible. Discard the pulp, or save it for another use (like adding it to hummus, a smoothie, or oatmeal).
  • Once the milk is strained, it's ready to use. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days, or you can freeze it in individual portions for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge before you want to use it again.

Notes

Nutrition information is for roughly 1 cup, without any add-ins. Keep in mind that this is automatically calculated and doesn’t take into account that some of the macadamia nuts are strained out. As a result, there will be less fiber, calories, and fat in the final milk, but it’s hard to know exactly what the resulting nutrition will be without a science lab to test it yourself.

Nutrition

Calories: 241kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 20g | Sodium: 14mg | Potassium: 123mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 36mg | Iron: 1mg
Course: Drinks
Cuisine: American
Keyword: macadamia milk

Recipes to Use with Macadamia Milk

I hope you’ll love this macadamia milk recipe as much as I do. Be sure to let me know how you like it in the comments below!

Megan Gilmore leaning on her white countertop.

Megan Gilmore

Hi, I’m Megan. A former fast food junkie turned best-selling cookbook author. As a Certified Nutritionist Consultant (CNC), I love to make healthier food using simple ingredients. I test these recipes multiple times in my kitchen to make sure they will turn out perfectly for you.

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Comments

  1. Made this today and it came out great! Very thick and creamy so I added a 5th cup of water. Could likely do a 6th. Keep an eye on the nutrition though as it has a lot of fat. Overall very happy with the result