A nut milk bag allows you to make delicious nut and seed milks quickly, efficiently, and with less mess. Although a variety of nut milk bags are available commercially, I have found good, strong, inexpensive cotton bags to be harder to find.
If you can sew a straight line, you can make your own unbleached cotton milk bag in about twenty minutes for only a few dollars.
I will also give away a handmade nut milk bag to one reader! See below for the details!
DIY Nut Milk Bag
- 20″ x 14″ piece of unbleached cotton (always wash your cotton before you cut!)
- 27″ piece of cotton string, yarn, or even a cotton shoelace
1. Fold the piece of cotton in half so that it now measures 10″ x 14″. The fold will be one side of your bag. Measure 2″ down from the top of the bag and mark with two pins. This is where you will start to sew.
2. Starting at the seam, sew the side and bottom with a 1/4″ seam.
3. Trim the seam to about 1/8″ and cut off the corner close to your stitching.
4. Turn the bag inside out and press well. Once again starting 2″ from the top, sew the side and bottom seams again with a ¼” seam. This will completely encase the raw edges of the fabric.
5. Turn the bag right side out. Stitch down the folded edges on the top 2″ of the bag. Fold the top edge down 3/8″ and press.
6. Then fold the edge down again about 3/4″ and press again. This will form the casing for the string to go through. Stitch around the top, close to the bottom edge.
7. Attach a safety pin to the end of your string and feed it through the casing. Tie the two ends in a knot.
That’s it! Now you’re ready to make some delicious nut milk! To use the nut milk bag, blend your (soaked) nuts and water together well, then pour through the nut milk bag to strain it.
Do you make your own nut milk? What is your favorite formula?
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I want to learn to make nut milk for my Mom, who is so sick now — she’s been drinking nut milk from aseptic packaging for 14 years, and I’ve just read that the packaging is toxic, plus the added carageenan is linked to bowel disorders (her problem), and the added calcium is not in a bio-available form.
I’ve always wanted to try to make nut milks. Now I have no excuse. Thanks for these directions.
This is great- I’ve never been happy with the nut milk bag I bought. Thank you so much!
I’ve been on a recovery journey for the past 15 months and I’ve learned so much even though my diet is extremely limited. One of the things I want to do is make my own nut milk. I know it’s easy, but, for whatever reason, I’m intimidated by the process. Thanks for sharing your talent!
Would love one! Fumbling around worth the cheesecloth is getting old 😉
Also want to try and make some nut milk – this is a great idea. Thanks for sharing.
i love this idea! I so want to learn to make my own nut milk 🙂
I have been needing a bag for ages. Using cheesecloth gets the job done but it’s such a pain and can be messy. Such a great idea to make one!
I am very concerned about the production and packaging of the nut milks that I purchase in the store. I can get organic nuts… why can’t I make my own? Do you have to have a VitaMix?
Hi Joan, No, you don’t have to have a vitamix. I used to make nut milks in my regular blender. and I have heard of some that use a food processor. The milk is smoother with a high-speed blender, but I am a big fan of using what you have!
This is a great idea!! Much easier than the cheesecloth method!! Thanks!!
This would be amazing to win! Thank you for the chance to 🙂
This would be wonderful to have right now as I am beginning to change my lifestyle and diet towards a healthier lifestyle. Thanks for the opportunity.
I make my own almond milk. I love it and it tastes so much better than anything in the store. I use Against All Grains recipe. It’s very easy. I haven’t tried coconut milk yet. That’s next. Would love to win a nut bag. Thank you.
Always inspirational! I’ve always been a hippie at heart but lacked commitment. Not any more. Thank you for your enthusiasm and motivation 🙂
What an easy project. I just bought nut trees to grow my own supply, and once they produce I can make nut milk from my own nuts. For now I glean them from neighbors and friends who share them. Thank you for sharing!
I haven’t made any, but I should since most of the nut milks at the store have other ingredients that I don’t want. Would love to win this.
Thanks for this! Love having the directions, but I must admit that I’m so not a sewing person… Here’s hoping for a win on this little giveaway, and future success in sewing to top it all off. 🙂
I love the ideas you have in your blog. I’m trying to prepare my food in a healthier way but was nervous about making nut milk because of how everyone talks about the mess. Now I have an easier way to prepare it. Now if I can just get to my sewing machine….I know it is in this closet somewhere!
Congratulations Kathy! You are the winner of the giveaway. I’ll send you an email shortly. 🙂
I have made nut milk occasionally using my daughter’s Chinois. It works fine but is such a chore to clean afterwards. I have seen milk bags online and have it on my wish list. It never occurred to me to make it myself. Thank you for turning the light bulb on for me. Funny thing is I go to the fabric store with my daughter quite often, but am always focused on helping her find what she needs that I never think what I could possibly use. There probably are some nice choices in the remnants section that I could get at quite a reduced price.
I found both nut bags and cheese cloth awkward. I have been using the Handiwipes make by Clorox in a colander over a bowl to drain things like nut milk and yogurt, cheeses, but not jellies. The Handiwipes used to come in blue and pink sheets and are hard to find in retail stores now, but Clorox sells them on a roll on its website. They are pretty tough so you can squeeze lots of liquid out at the end of draining. I like to spread out the ground almond solids left from making milk on a cookie sheet to dry on low heat in the oven, then kept in the refrigerator. This almond “flour” is great added to other finer flours for pie crusts, many other baked goods, or custards.
Thank you very much for the instructions as well as the offer!
Thank you for a great resource!!!
Thanks for the instructions nut bags are expensive. I Love almond milk, 3 parts water to 1 part nuts. I don’t add sweeteners or flavoring, straight up for me.
I am so excited to try and make my own nut milk!!!!! Thank you for instructions, you make it seem so doable.
I’m allergic to dairy milk and nuts are too expensive. So I started making coconut milk. It is so easy to make and tastes so good. Plus organic coconut is so much cheaper than nuts.
How do you start with a piece of cotton 20 x 14″, fold it in half and end up with a 10 x 15″ piece???
Typo or cloth stretcher??? The rest of the instructions made sense.
Definitely a typo Caroline! Thank you for letting me know. 🙂
Caroline – This has been corrected. You should end up with 10″ x 14″ piece. Thanks for letting us know!
Thankyou so much for a great blog with so much useful information. A nut milk bag is a great project for all ages. Much love!
I have made nut milk occasionally in the past but usually cashew, which doesn’t require much straining. With a nut milk bag, I’m sure I would do it more often and have more variety.
My favorite blend is 3/4 cup hazelnuts and 1/4 cup almonds, 4 cups Water, 1 vanilla bean, 1 tsp cinnamon, 2 dates and pinch of salt. Yum!
How generous of you to offer one of your handmade nut milk bags, as well as the detailed instructions to make your own. I’m just chiming in to here to applaud you, and also to encourage other readers to make their own nut milks. Your attention to the detail of enclosing the raw edges of the seams is right on, as that makes cleaning the bag later after use that much easier.
A little story — I’d never had any of the commercial non-dairy milks before because I was so turned off by the additives listed in the ingredients. But once I learned how easy it is to make my own (and thus having control over exactly what was going into it), I have never turned back. Since I already have a pretty good stash of nut bags now, if by chance my name were drawn for the giveaway, please re-pick so someone else can have the joy of experiencing making easy, smooth and delicious nut milks with a good quality nut bag such as yours. Cheers.
Thank you, Jackie!
Thank you for the great info!
What a great post! Thanks for the opportunity to win one.
I have a nut milk bag that I purchased from a health food store. It was quite pricey and I’m not crazy about it. A homemade one from cotton sounds perfect. I’m not great at sewing due to arthritis but what a wonderful idea! I do sometimes use a cotton bandana when making cheese from milk kefir, but it can be a mess!
Thanks for the idea and opportunity!
I have never thought about making my own Almond Milk before. We are new to Dairy Free and Gluten Free eating after my youngest child started having horrible reactions to almost every food she was eating. It has been so hard and inexpensive to buy the foods that she can safely eat. A friend shared this story/tutorial with me and I am going to attempt making our own Almond Milk now.
Thank you so much~! I may even try to make a nut milk bag!!
I would love to start making my own nut milks. This would be the nudge I need to make me do it. Thanks for the great article!
I am toying with starting on my own nut milk again. I’ve been doing raw cow’s milk for years, but just sold my cow share. . . as it was too expensive. I have also bought a calf for milking, but it will be another year before milk, and I need to do something. . . this bag would make it easier I would guess.
I soaked raw almonds overnight and have them on my dehydrator trays to dry. I set aside a cup of the almonds to make milk then realized I have no nut milk bag for straining. I want to dehydrate the nut milk pulp at the same time as the whole soaked almonds, so I will have to improvise until I maybe win your generous drawing of a nut milk bag? Handmade is always sweeter. Thanks for sharing your time and talents, Andrea.
Hi Adrienne, Cheesecloth over a strainer works if you don’t have a nut milk bag! It’s messy, but it works.
Where can you buy unbleached cotton? Regular fabric store? I’m going to sew for the first time in over 30 years .
Hi Sharyn,
I think your local fabric or hobby store would carry unbleached cotton fabric.
Let us know how your nut milk bag turns out! 🙂
~ Vicki, TCS Customer Success Team
Couldn’t this be made with an old tea-towel?
A think kitchen towel would work.
~Danielle, TCS Customer Success Team