The 5 Best Nut Milk Makers, According to Our Tests

Best Overall

ChefWave Milkmade Milk Maker

$240 at Amazon $225 at Walmart $240 at Newegg.com

The ChefWave is a feature-loaded appliance with preset buttons for various kinds of nuts, soy, oats, and coconut, and we were able to combine nuts and seeds to make unique flavor combinations. In less than 15 minutes, we made 20 ounces of almond milk which was hot and ready to use in coffee, as the Chefwave cleverly uses steam while grinding its ingredients. The design is straightforward and intuitive, and we liked that we never had to figure out a whole panel of different settings.

The recipes took a bit of tweaking and adjusting the ingredient quantities to get a thicker consistency, but comparatively, we used fewer quantities of nuts and grains to make creamy milk. We noted that the texture of our milk was slightly gritty with harder nuts like almonds, but this was easily fixed with a fine mesh strainer. Cleanup was also very easy and required a simple soap and water rinse of the wastewater basin, the water reservoir, and the glass pitcher. The steam cover took care of the rest. The grinding jar self-cleans each time it makes a batch of milk, too. Overall, we love this machine for its features, customization, and self-cleaning.

Dimensions: 13.6 x 6.5 x 12.8 inches | Capacity: 2.5 cups | Power: 1000 watts

Best Splurge

NutraMilk Nut Processor

$250 at Amazon View on Thenutramilk.com

We may be slightly obsessed with the versatility of the Nutramilk nut milk maker and how easy it is to operate. Even after our testing, we kept making bean dips, hummus, and salsas in addition to making nut butter and milk. The process is simple: Place the nuts in the container, place the lid on, and hit the butter cycle. It turns everything into smooth and creamy butter and automatically tamps the contents. After the butter cycle runs its course, you can add in the liquid, and let the machine run its course. Once done, the milk can be dispensed through the spigot. We also liked the easy clean-up process as the parts are dishwasher-safe. 

Taste is another area where the Nutramilk had us floored. It produced the creamiest cashew and oat milk and its almond milk had only the slightest residue. And a cup of nuts yields about one quart of nut milk. The assembly is intuitive and works just like a food processor. Once you start the nut or grain milk process, this unit does it all, with one catch. The machine works in multiple stages, making nut butter first, adding liquid, and then dispensing – all of which require manual actions or inputs. The basin, blades, and wiper blades are top-rack dishwasher-safe and can also be washed by hand with soap, and the spigot requires unscrewing for additional cleaning.

Dimensions: 17.75 x 11 x 9 inches | Capacity: 5 cups | Power: 320 watts

Most Efficient

Almond Cow Plant-Based Milk Maker

$250 at Amazon $250 at Walmart View on Almondcow.co

If speed is your main concern, we recommend the super fast Almond Cow. It uses about 10,000 RPM while processing the ingredients to make milk. At most, it only took one minute, but usually, it was even less for softer nuts like cashews and grains like oats. The entire unit is sleek and consists of a motorized unit, a stainless-steel filter basket, and a container for collecting the milk. Once loaded, operating it is simple. Just press the ‘cow’ button and let it run through its cycles. The ingredients are ground and blended with the water, and once the cycle finishes, the pulp stays back in the filter basket. Although the unit does not have heating capabilities, you can add warm or hot water to make the milk at the desired temperature.

We noticed that it leaves behind a lot of pulp which can contain almost half a cup of milk. The mouthfeel of the almond milk particularly was quite gritty. We found that running the cycle twice and further straining it through a cheesecloth increased the desired mouthfeel of the nut milk and improved the yield. It takes some maneuvering to attach the filter basket especially when it is full, as getting the blade through a full cup of whole almonds is tricky. We would have liked clearer instructions on how to attach the basket when it is full.

We should also note that cleaning the Almond Cow also proved to be a bit tricky, as the blades are attached to the top which also houses all the electric components. It is heavy to hold in just one hand while you scrub the food off with the other and try not to get any water in the vents.

Dimensions: 12 x 10 x 7 inches | Capacity: 6 cups | Power: 240 watts

Best Value

Tribest Soyabella Automatic Nut & Seed Milk Maker

$80 at Amazon $110 at Walmart $120 at Wayfair

This is a value option for someone who regularly makes soy milk, soups, and other beverages, as the Tribest Soybella heats, cooks, and blends all in one go. It’s also easy to store if it’s not used every day. We were able to easily make chai with cashews, warming spices, and black tea leaves by simply adding our ingredients and pressing the preset function for hot beverages. It worked similarly for making soups and stocks. The raw function makes milk from nuts, seeds, and oats and does not heat up. The machine comes with a fine and coarse screen to filter out the pulp after blending. Though we found the texture to be gritty at first, we learned that running the cycles a few times and using another strainer improved the texture.

It took some time to figure out how to attach the head to a fine mesh container that holds the nuts or grains. It is tricky to attach especially when it is full of nuts, and occasionally it does not thread in properly. The clean-up is a bit time-consuming, as everything must be hand-washed. We also noted that there is a slight wait time for making hot beverages or soups to allow for proper cooling before cleanup. And since the blade is attached to the motor head, clean-up feels like a bit of a balancing act between trying to keep the electrical bits dry and watching out for the blades.

Dimensions: 8.5 x 6.25 x 10.5 inches | Capacity: 5.5 cups  | Power: 200 watts

Best for Single Servings

Nutr Nut Milk Maker

$180 at Amazon View on Thenutr.com

*Editor's note: The Nutr Single-Serve Nut Milk Maker is currently available for pre-order only.

The Nutr is chic, small, and ideal for single servings or smaller households. The Nutr is extremely user-friendly and has seven preset functions that are controlled via a control panel with a single touch button for toggling through the various settings. There’s even a function for self-cleaning. The option to make milk at room temperature, warm, or boiling adds to the versatility of this nut milk maker. During testing, we found that the milk had a smooth texture, though we appreciated the fact that you can run it through a second time for added smoothness.

For the most part, you don’t need to use the strainer that comes with the machine, but if you want to, you can strain the milk directly into a cup or your favorite coffee mug. The hot setting in the Nutr is for making milk that requires prior cooking (like soy or rice) and it runs for 20 minutes. The flavor and texture of the milk was consistent throughout our testing.

Given the capacity of the machine, it's important to note that this machine makes small batches of milk. Should you need more, you can run it multiple times, but only after giving it time to cool down between batches. In our tests, it stopped blending when we worked it continuously because of overheating. It is easy to clean with the self-clean function and also very easy to store due to its compact size.

Dimensions: 4.3 x 4.3 x 8.2 inches | Capacity: 1.5 cups | Power: 1400 watts