• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Forager | Chef
  • Home
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Interviews
  • Partnerships
  • Contact
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Home
  • About
  • Recipes
  • Interviews
  • Partnerships
  • Contact
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Home
    • About
    • Recipes
    • Interviews
    • Partnerships
    • Contact
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • YouTube
  • ×
    Home » Nuts and Starches » Black Walnuts

    Homemade Black Walnut Milk (Dairy Free)

    Published: Feb 17, 2024 Modified: Jun 12, 2024 Author: Alan Bergo

    Jump to Recipe Jump to Video

    If you love the rich flavor of black walnuts like I do you're going to love black walnut milk. I've made a number of dairy-free nut milks before but the flavor of black walnuts really shines here. It's easy to make and only takes 1 cup of nuts. Here's how to make it, and what to do with it.

    A glass of black walnut milk garnished with cinnamon next to whole black walnuts in the shell.
    Served warm in a mug, black walnut milk will surprise and impress your friends and family.

    When I say this is good I'm not lying. I was so impressed after my first taste I made plans right away to serve it at events this year. 1 cup of nuts can make 4 cups of milk, so It can easily be scaled to make hundreds of portions.

    It's crazy delicious and a great way to introduce people to black walnuts. It's also budget friendly and a good way to use fresh walnuts purchased from Hammons if you don't shell your own.

    Commercial black walnuts work fine, but if you have them, fresh cracked black walnuts will have the most potent flavor. For cracking, I love my Grandpa's Goody Getter which is the best black walnut cracker I've found. They also have a new model with attachments for butternuts and hickories.

    Cracking fresh black walnuts with a grandpas goody getter nut cracker.
    The Grandpa's goody getter makes short work of black walnuts.

    How to Make Black Walnut Milk

    Just like other nut milks, you'll soak the nuts overnight in water, then puree them in a blender and strain them. It's important the nuts are soaked for the full 24 hours or the mixture won't emulsify properly. The images below describe the process.

    Soaking black walnuts in water in a bowl. a
    Soak a cup of black walnuts in water for at least 24 hours.
    Straining the water from black walnuts before making homemade nut milk.
    Strain the water from the nuts.
    Pouring warm water into a blender with soaked black walnuts.
    Add 4 cups of warm water to a high speed blender.

    I like to use warm water to puree the milk. This reduces friction in the blender and helps it become as smooth and creamy as possible.

    A hand over a blender while it's pureeing nut milk.
    Puree the nuts and water in a blender.
    A blender pureeing with the top removed showing creamy white black walnut milk.
    The nut milk will become creamy, light and smooth.
    Straining homemade black walnut milk through a strainer.
    Strain the nut milk through a strainer lined with cheese cloth.

    After the milk is pureed you'll strain it through cheese cloth, massaging it to get as much milk as possible. Next the milk is seasoned to taste with maple syrup or honey, and my wild vanilla extract if you have some.

    The leftover nut meat makes a great a present for the birds or squirrels to watch with your morning coffee.

    Squeezing a bundle of cheesecloth filled with pureed black walnuts to extract the milk.
    Massage the cheesecloth to harvest as much milk as possible.
    Black walnut solids left over in cheesecloth after making nut milk.
    Leftover black walnut solids.
    Adding wild vanilla extract to black walnut milk.
    Adding wild vanilla extract to the nut milk.

    After the milk is seasoned you can use it however you like. It's good with a bowl of granola or cereal, but it really shines warmed in a mug like Kanuchi or hickory nut milk.

    A bowl of nuts and coconut with berries and black walnut milk for breakfast.
    Breakfast with wild rice, coconut, berries fresh black walnuts, butternuts and shagbark hickory nuts.

    Serving The Milk Warm

    While it can be served cold, black walnut milk will get rave reviews served warm in a mug garnished with a dusting of cinnamon. A small mug with a two ounce portion is fine. In a pinch I've served it in Dixie cups.

    A thermometer in a pot of fresh nut milk showing 165 degrees.
    Heat the nut milk to around 160-170 F. Don't simmer it or it will break and separate.
    A plate full of Dixie cups filled with warm black walnut milk.
    2 oz is the perfect portion size for groups.

    Sipped from a small mug, it's a special treat on a cold winter evening.

    Garnish the finished nut milk with a pinch of cinnamon.

    More Things to Make with Black Walnuts

    • Maple Black Walnut Ice Cream
    • Green Walnut Jam
    • Walnut Ketchup
    A warm glass of black walnut milk pictured next to dried black walnuts in the shell and a spoonful of cinnamon.
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    5 from 7 votes

    Homemade Black Walnut Milk (Dairy Free)

    Delicious homemade black walnut milk seasoned with cinnamon, maple syrup and wild vanilla extract. Great for breakfast, drinks, and anywhere you'd use nut milk. Makes 4 cups.
    Prep Time5 minutes mins
    Soaking time1 day d
    Course: Beverage, Breakfast
    Cuisine: American
    Keyword: black walnut dairy
    Servings: 8 servings
    Calories: 151kcal
    Author: Alan Bergo
    Cost: 5

    Equipment

    • 1 High speed blender Such as a Vitamix
    • 1 Fine mesh strainer

    Ingredients

    • 1 cup (4 oz) Black walnuts or other nuts
    • 8 cups Filtered water separated
    • ½ cup Maple syrup honey or your favorite sweetener
    • ¼ teaspoon Cinnamon
    • 1 teaspoon Wild vanilla extract optional
    • 1 pinch Kosher salt

    Instructions

    Make the Nut Milk

    • Soak the black walnuts in 4 cups of the water overnight.
    • The next day, strain the nuts. Warm the other 4 cups of water to body temperature or a little higher.
    • Puree the soaked nuts and warm water until very fine and creamy white in color.
    • Strain the mixture through cheesecloth, squeezing out as much milk as possible.
    • Season the nut milk with maple syrup, cinnamon, and a splash of wild vanilla extract if using.

    Serving Warm

    • To serve the nut milk warm, put it into a pot and heat it gently to around 160-170 F. Do not simmer or boil the milk as it will separate and no longer look creamy.
    • Taste the nut milk and gauge the seasoning. If you'd like it sweeter, add some extra maple syrup to taste.
    • Serve the nut milk warm garnished with a pinch of cinnamon.

    Video

    Notes

    • I use black walnuts here but any nuts can be used. 
    • You can make an extra rich version using half and half, whole or raw milk instead of the second batch of water. 

    Nutrition

    Serving: 4oz | Calories: 151kcal | Carbohydrates: 15g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 19mg | Potassium: 127mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 12g | Vitamin A: 6IU | Vitamin C: 0.3mg | Calcium: 39mg | Iron: 1mg
    A pitcher of black walnut milk next to fresh black walnuts in the shell.
    « How to Make Sauerkraut in a Crock
    How to Make Homemade Almond Extract (Crème de Noyeaux) »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Muffy Barrett

      February 16, 2025 at 8:14 am

      I'm curious what the reasoning is behind using two soakings. I don't like the idea of throwing away water that may have flavor and nutrients in it. I sort of averaged this with Sam Thayer's hickory milk recipe - soaked, boiled, whipped with an immersion blender, and then strained. It came out really tasty; could be this is more flexible than you thought.

      Reply
      • Alan Bergo

        February 16, 2025 at 8:20 am

        Hey Muffy. There is only one soaking. You discard the water as it really helps soften some of the bitterness that can be very pronounced in black walnuts I’ve had from MO. My local ones are much milder. If you want to keep everything in the liquid you can puree them with the first round of soaking liquid. Recipes like this (if it’s not baking) are pretty flexible, but if I leave things too open ended people can get confused so I need to at least start with explicit directions.

        Reply
        • Muffy Barrett

          February 19, 2025 at 12:44 pm

          Thanks for your explanation, Alan. I guess my walnuts are sweet enough that they don't need a second soak. Maybe one of the differences between commodity foods and carefully self foraged foods.

          Reply
          • Alan Bergo

            February 19, 2025 at 12:46 pm

            You bet.

            Reply
    2. Doug

      February 24, 2024 at 11:17 am

      Ok - so the nuts are soaking. That was a lot of shelling.

      I'm thinking about doing half with milk, and making maple walnut ice cream. But your caution about staying below 170F has me concerned. Do you think ice cream will work? Note that I'll sometimes make a no-egg ice-cream (which requires a few minutes of hard boiling to remove water), but even with eggs, it'll need to go above 170F. Making a blancmange/biancomangiare is another dessert choice (and that'd be just using water+nuts, not milk).

      Reply
      • Alan Bergo

        February 24, 2024 at 11:27 am

        Hey Doug. 170 F is an estimate and you can likely go a little higher. Just don't simmer it. Ice cream should work, but I would use half nut milk, half heavy cream. Even if you were to scramble the eggs in the ice cream base, it can be pureed with a hand blender and re-emulsified so I don't see any issue there.

        Reply
        • Doug

          March 01, 2024 at 5:10 pm

          5 stars
          This nut milk is so lovely.

          After tasting it, we decided against ice cream, and made rice pudding instead. That was fantastic. We changed up this Italian recipe (arborio rice, chestnuts, golden raisins), flavored it as you do here (maple, vanilla, cinnamon), and added some cubed candied citrus peel. We added butter, but a vegan version of this recipe that gets its fat from coconut milk also works. The whipped cream on top was sweetened with the syrup from your green black walnut preserve recipe, which made it extra special.

          Reply
          • Alan Bergo

            March 01, 2024 at 5:12 pm

            Hey Doug I'm so glad you liked it. Yes, ice cream could be a little dicey as it's water based. Rice pudding was a smart move. I'm in AZ right now and had to bring the last of my nuts to make some for my family down here. Thanks for sharing what you made.

            Reply
    3. Doug

      February 22, 2024 at 5:45 am

      5 stars
      I'm excited to try this. Can it be frozen?

      Not sure how I'll sweeten it. Have you tried black birch syrup?

      Thanks!

      Reply
      • Alan Bergo

        February 22, 2024 at 1:19 pm

        No. Maple or anything comparable is fine.

        Reply
    4. Cee

      February 20, 2024 at 11:18 pm

      I love your thread!! Thank you so much!!

      Reply
      • Alan Bergo

        February 22, 2024 at 1:19 pm

        Thanks Cee.

        Reply
    5. Sandy Lou

      February 19, 2024 at 5:09 pm

      5 stars
      Delicious! Thank you!

      Reply
      • Alan Bergo

        February 19, 2024 at 6:04 pm

        Thanks Sandy Lou

        Reply
    6. Blanche Derby

      February 18, 2024 at 5:18 pm

      5 stars
      Thanks for the recipe to make a Walnut drink.
      Now that Maple sap is running, I'll cook it up so it's somewhat sweet --it'll have a maple flavor. (I don't boil it down to syrup as I don't have the facilities to do that.) Then I'll blend the Walnuts with the cooled down sweetwater. I'm looking forward to the results...

      Reply
      • Alan Bergo

        February 19, 2024 at 12:45 pm

        Hey that sounds like a novel idea. LMK how it works.

        Reply
    7. Ellen

      February 18, 2024 at 9:39 am

      I'm going to think on how to use this is a cocktail. It could be a great warm, winter, cozy-by-the-fire adult beverage.

      Reply
      • Alan Bergo

        February 18, 2024 at 10:18 am

        Someone on FB mentioned adding a splash of nocino to it. Black Russian or something has a ring to it!

        Reply
      • Cee Stre

        February 20, 2024 at 11:15 pm

        Try my dairy free version of a Russian qualude 1 part vodka
        1 part coffee liquor
        1/2 part butterscotch schnapps
        1 part nut milk
        Delicious
        Russian qualude is usually vodka, coffee liquor and Irish cream equal parts (can become a qualude shake if you add 3 parts chocolate milk)

        Reply
        • Alan Bergo

          February 22, 2024 at 1:19 pm

          This sounds great.

          Reply
    8. LaRae

      February 17, 2024 at 5:33 pm

      5 stars
      Fabulous! Excellent dessert drink!

      Reply
      • Alan Bergo

        February 18, 2024 at 10:18 am

        I’m so glad you liked it.

        Reply
    9. Lana

      February 17, 2024 at 12:03 pm

      Black walnut horchata! Yammm! 😋

      Reply
      • Alan Bergo

        February 18, 2024 at 10:19 am

        That sounds great.

        Reply
    10. Carla Beaudet

      February 17, 2024 at 10:11 am

      One think I like about this recipe is that, no matter how careful I am shelling these, I always seem to miss some black walnut shell. By using the nuts in a recipe where the final product is strained out, it's not much of a problem. It also sounds really delicious.

      Reply
      • Alan Bergo

        February 17, 2024 at 10:14 am

        That's a good point! Another bonus is making a little ball of the strained nuts (sometimes I add melted tallow) and setting it out for the birds near a window where you have breakfast in the morning. They love it.

        Reply
        • Carla Beaudet

          February 20, 2024 at 7:22 am

          Yeah, I'd be loathe to just toss out the nutmeats I'd worked so hard to shell. That's a sweet way to use them!

          Reply
          • Alan Bergo

            February 20, 2024 at 9:50 am

            I'm not cracking these by hand but you sure could. I've been buying 5 lb bags from Hammonds for testing recipes.

            Reply
      • Sam S

        February 17, 2024 at 5:12 pm

        Sounds good! How does this recipe taste using other nuts such as English walnuts?

        Reply
        • Alan Bergo

          February 18, 2024 at 10:19 am

          English walnuts will have a much milder regular walnut flavor.

          Reply
    5 from 7 votes (2 ratings without comment)

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    Chef Alan Bergo

    HI, I'm Alan: James Beard Award-winning Chef, Author, Show Host and Forager. I've been writing about cooking wild food here for over a decade. Let me show you why foraging is the most delicious thing you'll ever do.

    More about me →

    Get The Book

    the forager chef's book of flora
    The Forager Chefs Book of Flora

    As Seen On

    An image showing many different brands and media companies forager chef alan bergo has worked with.

    Footer

    Privacy

    Subscribe

    Be the first to hear what I'm doing

    Contact

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2025 Forager | Chef LLC® Accessibility Statement

    Rate This Recipe

    Your vote:




    A rating is required
    A name is required
    An email is required

    Recipe Ratings without Comment

    Something went wrong. Please try again.