Hemp milk is the easiest plant milk to make at home, and the reason is that it does not require soaking, straining, or any particular skill. You put seeds and water in a blender, blend for a minute, and you have milk. It is naturally free of the common allergens, it needs no thickener, and it tastes better than most cartons because it has not been sitting on a shelf for months. It separates on standing and it is not nutritionally identical to dairy, but as a two-minute alternative it is hard to beat. Here is how to make it well, and what to expect from it.
What hemp milk is
Hemp milk is an emulsion of hulled hemp seeds and water. That is the entire ingredient list, which is more than can be said for most plant milks sold in cartons. Blending breaks the seeds into fine particles and disperses their fat and protein through the water, and the result looks and pours like milk.
Nutritionally it sits in a different place from both dairy and almond. Unsweetened hemp milk has roughly three to five grams of fat per cup, coming mostly from polyunsaturated fatty acids, including both omega-6 and omega-3 in a ratio of about three to one. It has two to three grams of protein per cup, which is more than almond milk but well short of soy or dairy. Unsweetened versions are low in carbohydrate.
Because the whole seed is blended rather than the oil being extracted, you also get some fibre and minerals, particularly magnesium, phosphorus, and manganese. It is not a like-for-like replacement for dairy on protein or calcium, and if you are relying on milk as a calcium source you should choose a fortified product or get calcium elsewhere.
A basic hemp milk recipe
This makes about a litre and takes under five minutes including clean-up.
- One hundred grams of hemp hearts
- One litre of cold water, plus more if you like it thinner
- A pinch of salt, which brings out the sweetness
- Optional: one to two pitted dates, half a teaspoon of vanilla, or a teaspoon of maple syrup
- Optional for creaminess: a tablespoon of neutral oil or a spoonful of cashew butter
Put everything in a blender and blend on high for sixty to ninety seconds, until it looks completely smooth and frothy. There is no need to strain it. Homemade hemp milk separates on standing, so give it a shake before pouring, and keep it in the fridge for up to three days. For a thinner milk, use more water; for something closer to single cream, reduce the water to seven hundred millilitres.
Flavor and texture tips
Texture is where most homemade versions go wrong, and there are a few reliable fixes.
- Use cold water. Warm water makes the milk taste flat and slightly bitter
- Do not over-blend. Past about two minutes the friction warms the milk and the flavour dulls
- Add a pinch of salt even to sweet versions, since it lifts everything else
- Blend in a date or a little vanilla if the nuttiness reads as too earthy
- For a creamier mouthfeel, add a spoonful of cashew butter or a tablespoon of neutral oil
The flavour is nuttier and more savoury than oat or rice milk, which surprises people who expect something neutral. In coffee it works well because it does not curdle, though it does add a distinct nuttiness. In tea it can taste slightly grassy. In smoothies, porridge, and baking it disappears almost completely.
Ways to use it
Hemp milk is best in applications where its flavour is a feature or where it gets lost in other ingredients.
It makes excellent porridge, since the fat content gives a creamier result than water or skimmed dairy. It works well in smoothies, where it adds body and protein without tasting of almonds. In baking it substitutes one-for-one for dairy milk in most recipes, and the higher fat content means you can often reduce the added fat slightly. For savoury cooking, it suits creamy soups, white sauces, and mashed potato better than it does delicate sauces.
In coffee it steams acceptably, though it does not foam like barista-style oat or soy. If frothing matters to you, add a spoonful of the blended cashew trick above, which improves body considerably.
Storage and freshness
Homemade hemp milk keeps three to four days in a sealed bottle in the fridge. It will separate into a denser layer at the bottom and a thinner layer on top, which is entirely normal; shake it before use.
It does not freeze especially well. Freezing breaks the emulsion and the texture turns grainy on thawing, though it remains usable in cooking and baking where texture does not matter. If you want to batch it, freeze it in an ice cube tray and blend the cubes directly into smoothies.
The limiting factor is the seeds rather than the milk. Hemp hearts are high in polyunsaturated fat and will go rancid if stored badly, so keep them in a sealed container in the fridge once opened and use them within a couple of months. They should smell fresh and faintly nutty; anything sharp or paint-like means they have turned, and the milk will taste of it. If you go through them quickly, whole hemp seeds keep longer and can be blended the same way for a slightly earthier, higher-fibre milk.
Q: Do I need to soak the hemp seeds?
No, and this is the main advantage hemp has over almond or cashew milk. Hemp hearts are already hulled and soft enough to break down completely in a decent blender within sixty to ninety seconds. Soaking does nothing useful and can make the flavour dull. If you only have a low-powered blender, blitzing the seeds with a little of the water first to make a paste, then adding the rest, gets a smoother result than soaking would.
Q: Is hemp milk the same as hemp seed oil?
No, though both come from the same seed. Hemp seed oil is the fat pressed out of the seed, so it is almost entirely oil with no protein or fibre. Hemp milk is the whole seed blended with water, so it contains protein, fibre, and minerals alongside the fat. A tablespoon of oil has far more concentrated fatty acids than a glass of milk; the milk is a more balanced, dilute product. If you want the fatty acids without the bulk, the oil is the more efficient source.
Q: How long does it last?
Three to four days in the fridge in a sealed container. Homemade plant milk has no preservatives and no stabilisers, so it spoils considerably faster than a UHT carton. Signs it has turned are a sour smell, a thicker or slightly fizzy texture, and any off flavour. Separation on its own is not spoilage, since it happens within an hour of making it. When in doubt, smell it; fresh hemp milk smells clean and nutty, and spoiled milk smells sour.