If you’ve found yourself with way too much almond milk, and no way to use it in the next few days, surely you’ve wondered if you can freeze it. Can you freeze almond milk?
Almond milk is rising in popularity among all age groups and demographics, but not everyone is drinking or using tons of it on a daily basis.
The good news here is that yes, you absolutely can freeze almond milk. What’s the best way? Stick around, this article will go in depth on everything you need to know about freezing almond milk.
Taste change and how to fix it
When you freeze almond milk, unfortunately this creates a process of separation in the liquid. You’ll see the milk in two layers – a thicker solution on the bottom, while a thin fluid rests on top.
How can you avoid this? Well, you can’t. Freezing almond milk will always give you this separated mixture.
This is easily fixed with a blender. Blast it on high for up to a minute, and it should be frothy but a blended milk solution.
If you don’t have a blender, you can use a whisk or a fork to mix it up. Though, this will take a bit longer.
Now, onto another problem: the taste.
After freezing, almond milk’s flavor is going to be different. And very likely considerably worse than fresh. Drinking it straight from your cup isn’t gonna be the best experience here.
But don’t worry! You can still use it for any cooking recipe. You can blend it into a protein shake or smoothie, or any recipe that calls for milk. The taste and texture change won’t be noticeable much, or at all in some cases.
So, if you’re gonna freeze your almond milk, be sure to find yourself a good recipe you can use it in once you’ve thawed it out.
How to thaw frozen almond milk?
When you’re finally ready to thaw out and use that leftover frozen almond milk, you do have a few options depending on time constraints and whether or not you’re concerned with quality.
The fridge
This is the method most would recommend for defrosting frozen almond milk.
While it’s the slowest method you can use, it’s gonna be the safest in terms of both food safety and the preservation of taste and texture quality.
You can simply pop the milk into the fridge and let it thaw overnight. THough, do be mindful that a larger container will take longer to thaw – so be sure to account for that.
In water
You can put your bag or container of frozen almond milk into a bowl of lukewarm water to help speed up the thawing process. Water is a better heat conductor than air, so the heat will get right into the milk and speed up the defrost.
For safety reasons, don’t try to speed it up even faster with warm or hot water. Use cold, or room temp water to maintain safety.
While cooking
If you’re planning on using your almond milk in a recipe that you cook on the stove, you might as well go ahead and skip the thawing process.
Just toss your milk right in, if you’ve portioned it out at least, and stir it in while everything heats up.
By far, this is the most efficient way, but it’s not gonna work for everyone.
How long can almond milk keep frozen?
Almond milk will keep frozen for a while, but try to use it within a 6 month window.
While it won’t necessarily spoil or go bad while frozen, the longer it’s in there the more the quality of the almond milk is going to drop. You also run the risk of your almond milk getting freezer burned, or forgotten about entirely.
This is where proper labeling and dating come in handy. You’ll know exactly how much longer you have, if the date it was frozen is right on the package.
When should you freeze your almond milk?
You really should only freeze your almond milk if your plans for it later involve its use in a recipe.
The way the almond milk separates after being frozen is a big factor to this, but there’s also the undeniable change in taste. It’s just not gonna be a delightful massage of the taste buds anymore.
A quick tip: if you find yourself doing this often, freezing almond milk to use later, do some experimenting with different brands. Some freeze better than others, and which is the best is entirely personal preference.
How to use thawed almond milk
There are a lot of recipes you can use that call for milk, and your frozen almond milk will do wonders in all of them.
If you’re into smoothies, you can toss your frozen milk into a blender with other frozen fruits, such as avocado and bananas, to blend a nutritious and tasty breakfast.
If smoothies aren’t your thing, you can also use the almond milk in a soup or curry recipe.
If you want to try an interesting, creamy beverage, try heating up the almond milk and adding a large dollop of coconut cream. It’ll thicken and add a delectable creamy texture.
Best way to freeze almond milk
Ice cubes
If you’ve got an ice cube tray, then you’ve got the absolutely perfect conduit for freezing your almond milk.
Pour it into the container just like with water, and pop it into the freezer as-is.
You can use the almond milk ice cubes in so many recipes. Throw them into a blender to make a smoothie, drop a cube or two into your coffee for some delicious iced coffee at breakfast, or into a sauce pan for some curry.
Once they’re frozen, you can easily pop the ice cubes out of the tray and into a freezer storage bag.
Containers
All you need for this method is some airtight containers and just a few minutes of prep.
Portion out your almond milk into freezer-safe containers, making sure to save a little bit of room inside for expansion during the freezing process. You don’t wanna come back to find your container busted.
Slap a label of today’s date on the containers and pop them into the fridge. You’re done!
This method is preferable over the ice cubes, if you’ve got a lot of milk to freeze.
Final thoughts
Almond milk is a delicious and versatile ingredient, and very important in a lot of vegan recipes.
If you’ve found yourself with way too much almond milk to drink or use, hopefully this guide will give you a bit of peace and clarity on the issue. Freezing your almond milk for later use is a simple and easy process absolutely anybody can do.