Homemade rice milk: 3 recipes to choose from

by Lili Mounce

Reading my blog, you're probably thinking that I make everything from scratch. It may appear that way. But I don't. I make the things that are easy enough, and that will save me the most. For example, I don't make my own salt. (Although, be on the lookout on April 1, for an amazing post on how I extract salt from the rocks in my own back yard, using nothing more than an ice pick, a blender and 1 cup of leftover pickle juice.) I bake bread, make granola, make salsa, jams, jellies, pickles, and I make my own rice milk.

I'm lactose intolerant and use soy milk for most of my needs. My family, however, can have all the dairy milk they want. Soy milk is about 3 times the cost of dairy milk. So I like to reserve it just for my personal use.

A bedtime story: The Three Bears and Their Supply of Rice Milk
What do the Three Bears have to do with homemade rice milk? One of these rice milks is too thick, the second rice milk is too thin and separates, but the third rice milk is just right. Read on.

All three of these recipes have their merits. And so I provide all three for you to choose which would suit your needs best.

a bit thick for me for drinking, but good flavor
with the addition of almonds, which by the way,
the skins of almonds are the little flecks in the milk

Rice milk #1 (This is the most digestible of the rice milks, due to prolonged cooking; good for those having tummy troubles. Mostly I use this in baking. I don't care for it's viscosity, as is.)

This rice-almond milk has appealing flavor, creaminess, and is ideally suited for use in cooking and baking for my whole family, as it's super cheap to make and reserves the costlier, fortified soy milk for my personal use.

1/4 cup (48 g) long grain brown rice
4 cups (950 mL) water
1/4 to 1/2 cup (40-60 g) almonds (blanched, slivered, slices, whatever you have, for color you may want to use almonds out of the skins I use the slivered almonds, as they're smaller pieces and without skins)
1/4 teaspoon (1.25 mL) salt (my soy milk has 120 mg sodium per cup, 1 cup of this blend will have about 140 mg sodium)
up to 2 teaspoons (10 mL) vanilla
3 to 4 tablespoons (35-50 g) sugar, honey, agave, maple syrup (whatever sweetening you prefer)
1  1/4 cups (300 mL) additional water

In the pot in which you plan to cook the rice, wash the rice, by stirring rice and some water vigorously with a spoon for about 60 seconds. Strain through a strainer, and rinse.

Add the 4 cups of water to the rice. Bring to a boil. Add almonds. Reduce to simmer, cover and allow to cook for 3 hours.

Remove from heat and allow to cool. Add salt, sugar and vanilla. In 2 cup (425 mL) batches, run through the blender until smooth. Strain through a sieve, if desired (I don't bother straining). Store in canning jars or a pitcher with a lid. This will keep for 5-7 days refrigerated. Stir or shake before use, and thin as desired.

this has been sitting for 1 hour
you can see it has separated already

Rice milk #2 (This rice milk is the easiest to make. However, it is a bit thin and separates significantly. But when I'm in a hurry and need some rice milk for a recipe, provided I have some cooked rice in the fridge or freezer, I can whip this up in about 10 minutes -- and just skip the "allow to stand" portion.)

1/2 cup (82 g) cooked, cooled rice

1 cup (240 mL) water

1 tablespoon (15 mL) sugar

1/2 teaspoon (2.5 mL)oil

1/4 teaspoon (1.25 mL) vanilla extract

In the blender container, scoop 1/2 cup of rice. Add 1/2 of the water. Process until smooth. Add sugar, oil and vanilla. Blend. Add remaining water. Blend till smooth. Allow to stand for 45 minutes.

Strain through a mesh sieve. Then pour into a jar or pitcher and refrigerate. Stir well before each use.

The remaining pulp can be used in muffins, pancakes, and added to oatmeal when cooking for a breakfast cereal.



Rice milk #3 (This is the rice milk I prefer most. I use it in coffee and on granola.)

the baby bear of the three milks,
this one is just right

1/2 cup (95 g) dry, long grain brown rice
2 cups (480 mL) water
1 to 2 tablespoons (15-30 mL) sugar (to taste)
pinch salt
1/2 teaspoon (2.5 mL) vanilla

Wash rice before straining and adding fresh water.

Add rice to water and allow to soak for 6 hours, at room temperature.

Scoop rice and about half of water into blender. Blend on HIGH, until smooth. Add remaining water, sugar, salt and vanilla, and blend again.

Pour through a mesh sieve, using a spoon to gently move the liquid through the mesh (without scraping it through). Again, the pulp can be used in cooking oatmeal and various quick breads.

This rice milk has a bit of a raw taste. To minimize the rawness, pour half of rice milk into a microwaveable container (I use a pyrex 2-cup measuring cup). Microwave on HIGH until the rice milk comes to a boil. Remove from microwave, stir and pour into raw half of rice milk. Mix the two together and pour all of rice milk back into the blender. Blend to remove any lumps of thickened cooked rice milk.

Pour into a pitcher or glass jar. Cover and refrigerate.

Any of these quantities can be adjusted up or down. If you want to try all three, just make tiny batches, about 1 cup of water per batch. then you can compare the three and see which you prefer.

I still prefer the convenience and vitamin fortification of the packaged alternative milks. But these are great in-a-pinch substitutes.

*update* for an improved version of rice milk go here