And despite that, the Milkmade consistently produced smooth and creamy milk, batch after batch, and without the need for soaking most ingredients in advance. Occasionally you might encounter some foam you’ll want to skim off, or a tiny bit of grit, but those things are easily remedied with a quick strain through a mesh strainer and by rinsing the nuts in water before putting them in the machine. These are small grievances compared to the burden of repurposing pulverized nut “pulp.” Most nuts don’t need to be presoaked, but if you attempt rice milk, like I did once for some horchata, or like making oat milk out of whole unprocessed oats, soaking is a good idea.
The one drawback for some people might be that the machine has no room temperature option. Fresh out of the machine, the milk comes out at around 180℉. To get around this, I found that it was easy to make a more concentrated batch of milk by doubling the amount of ingredients, and then diluting it to your desired consistency with cold water. This means that you might not be able to make a batch of nut milk for your bowl of cold cereal that same morning, but the machine makes it easy enough to make a quick batch before bed.
All in all, the Chefwave Milkmade was the only machine that made making nut milk easy and cost-saving as well.
How we tested nut milk makers
We tested each machine by making a batch of cashew milk, almond milk, and oat milk, following the manufacturer’s instructions regarding proper water-to-nut or water-to-oat ratios. We then compared the resulting plant-based milks from each machine and measured the amount of pulp left over. Afterward, we cleaned each machine and noted the effort involved in doing so.
What we looked for
For this test, we chose to focus on machines that could perform the nut milk–making process in its entirety. We excluded any gadgets that only handled one step of the job and relied on food processors, your Vitamix, or nut milk bags in order to get complete homemade nut milk.
Does it make good milk?
First and foremost, is the quality of the milk good? Is it smooth and well emulsified? Are there any gritty bits or off flavors?
How efficient is it?
One of the biggest value adds a nut milker can bring to your home is the potential savings making your own nut milk might bring versus buying it from the store. This is only worthwhile if you aren’t spending tons and tons of money on raw nuts. We looked at how efficient each machine was based on how much milk it produced per volume of the nuts required. The fewer nuts needed, the better. Plant-based milk makers that produce a lot of wasted nut material in the form of “pulp” are potentially just as expensive as buying quarts of nut milk at the store.
Is it easy to clean?
The easier an appliance is to clean, the more likely we are to use it on a regular basis. With a nut milk maker—something meant to provide a regular household grocery staple like milk—easy cleanup is paramount.
Other nut milk makers we tested
Almond Cow
The Almond Cow is a versatile, stainless steel machine that produces smooth and creamy milk in 15 seconds without the need for heat (it works by blending the nuts and straining the liquid). However, the Almond Cow produces a lot of “pulp,” a.k.a. wasted nuts, which isn’t ideal when you consider the cost of nuts. The company recommends that you save the pulp for topping oatmeal or cereal, which is a good idea, but we would rather have been able to use it to make more milk. Also, washing all the parts and components and setting them out to dry was a bit of a hassle, especially compared to the self-cleaning Chefwave. All in all, it’s a high-quality machine, but the fact that it requires eight times the nuts for the same amount of milk as my top pick is just too hard to get around.
Almond Cow Nut Milk Maker Machine
Tribest Soyabella
The Soyabella is similar to the Almond Cow; the only difference is that it has an additional heat setting. However, if you use that heat setting, the machine takes up to 20 minutes to get to temperature, which was the longest out of the three models that used heat. Beyond that, the two machines, and their performances, were pretty much the same.
Tribest SB-130 Soyabella Automatic Soy Milk and Nut Milk Maker Machine
The Nutr
The Nutr Machine has a compact design that will take up little counter space, but it’s basically just a combination blender and hot water heater. We had an issue with the button interface, which did not seem to work properly. The multifunction start button did not allow us to cancel a cycle or use an advertised “delay” function. Cleaning was also a little precarious as the sensitive electrical components are close to areas you need to rinse out.
Nutr Machine
Nut Milk FAQs
Now that you know more about the machines, let’s tackle some of the most common questions about making nut milk at home.
Can a nut milk maker process all types of nuts?
Yes. Nut milk makers are designed to process a variety of nuts, including almonds, cashews, and hazelnuts. These are common nuts that dominate the nut milk landscape, but you can use whatever you like. Creamy macadamia milk anyone?
What nut milk is closest to milk?
If you’re looking for a nut milk that tastes most like cow milk, reach for almonds. Almonds give your liquid a slight sweet, mild flavor and a smooth consistency that tastes the most similar to dairy milk. Cashews and macadamias also produce a creamy, mild drink and probably come next.
What are the pros and cons of making your own nut milk?
The good here is that you can avoid additives and preservatives that show up in a lot of store-bought nut milk ("barista" nut milks in particular have ingredients added to help them foam up. It's also another way to avoid single use plastics or cartons, which are part of even the greener nut milk companies.
