This week I wanted to share with you one of the simplest and best recipes I've made in ages -- a raw vegan fig hazelnut milk. Hazelnut milk has been an amazing addition to my diet, and there seems to be no end to how many uses I can put it to -- it's delicious as a drink on its own, it's amazing in smoothies, and it's incredible as a milk to use in desserts (like this Overnight Raw Vegan “Nutella” Chia Pudding).
Best part is that homemade nut milks are incredibly easy to make, taste a billion times better than the store-bought dairy-free milk alternatives, and don't have any questionable additives and preservatives to worry about. I recently tried to spice up my hazelnut milk by pairing it with a fig flavor, and the results were absolutely incredible! I can't wait for you to try this out and tell me how much you love it! ;)
P.S. Don't forget to check out this easy-peasy DIY Coconut Milk recipe too.
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Fig Hazelnut Milk {Raw, Vegan, Paleo, GF}
Prep Time: 10 minutes- Total Time: 10 minutes
Yield: approx. 2 cups mylk
Category: Drinks
Cuisine: Refreshment
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Pin RecipeDescription
A tasty, easy raw vegan hazelnut recipe sweetened with fresh figs. Delicious as a drink on its own, amazing in smoothies, perfect to use in desserts.
Ingredients
- 1 cup hazelnuts
- 6 dried figs
- water (roughly 4 cups, divided)
Instructions
- Place hazelnuts and figs in a bowl and cover with about two cups of water. Allow to soak overnight {or at least a few hours}, then strain and discard the water.
- Place soaked hazelnuts and figs into a blender {a high power blender; I used my Vitamix}, add 2 cups fresh water, and blend until the mixture is smooth. Add more water for a thinner milk {I liked this slightly thicker personally}.
- Strain contents through a nut milk bag {squeeze out as much as you can} and enjoy the resulting mylk!
- *Alternative Directions for a Quick {Not Raw} Version: Place nuts and figs into a bowl and cover with 2-3 cups boiling water. Allow to sit for about 1 hour, then blend thoroughly. Strain contents through nut milk bag and enjoy as a warm drink, or chill in the fridge, or add a few ice cubes and enjoy.
Notes
- Use remaining pulp in baking or compost. I personally share the pulp with my pups -- they seriously love this stuff!
- Store leftovers in the fridge. I'd be surprised if you have any though ;)
- You can of course have fun adding in flavors of all sorts -- vanilla, cinnamon, cardamom, etc. But it's really amazing au naturel as well.
Hello Audrey
Can you please teel me if you peel the nuts or not.
Tanks
★★★★
Hi Maria, they need to be peeled, but they don't need to be blanched.
I love dairy alternatives, this milk sounds great and very straightforward to make. Thanks for linking up to Sweet and Savoury Sunday, stop by and link up again. Have a great day!!
Thanks Laura. I (have to) use milk alternatives quite often, but this one is a whole 'nuther kind of milk ;) It's a treat!
would ripe figs work in this recipe or just reconstituted dry?
Hi Kelsey. I think ripe figs would work just fine (quite delicious, actually), but you may need to taste and adjust for sweetness a little. Dry figs are usually a lot sweeter than fresh. This milk using dried figs isn't meant to be super sweet anyhow though (unless you want it to be). It's got a gentle sweetness to it. So just see how you like the final result with fresh figs and maybe add a bit of sweetener as needed. I'd love to hear how it goes!
What nut milk bag do you use and where did you purchase it?
Hi Corinna. I actually got mine as part of yogurt making set I purchased a long time ago via Amazon. Mine looks like this one, but if I had to buy one now, I'd go for this kind personally just because of its shape. I've seen them at local healthfood shops as well. In a pinch, I more than once used some clean fine linen cloth, and that worked well as well (though a little bit harder to manage than a bag).
I just made my first batch and it's delicious! I didn't have hazelnuts so used almonds instead. I then used the leftover pulp to make some yummy bliss balls. Two yummy snacks from the same ingredients!
So glad you liked it, Larissa. Fresh homemade almond milk is delicious! And the pulp is really versatile -- bliss balls sound yum! I would totally do that, but I think my pups would be disappointed -- they love eating the pulp :)
Can't tell you how excited I am to make this! Huge fan of nut milks and I've never tried (or even though about making) hazelnut milk. The figs are an added bonus, and I happen to have all ingredients on hand already! Excuse me while I start a hazelnut-soaking party over here....
Hi Jane. So glad I've helped you discover hazelnut milk :) . It's seriously awesome. Enjoy it!
Okay, I'm running to the store right now for some hazelnuts & figs! This sounds delicious! I found you on Real Food Forager's Fat Tuesday. Thank you for sharing. :)
Thanks so much, Laurie. Hope you like it :)