As the demand for plant-based alternatives continues to rise, more people are turning to homemade nut milk as a delicious and nutritious substitute for traditional dairy. To cater to this growing trend, nut milk makers have become invaluable kitchen appliances. In 2023, the market is flooded with options, each promising to deliver the perfect blend of convenience and quality. These cow-replacing machines turn nuts, oats, and other plants into milk quickly, easily, and automatically. Let’s explore the best nut milk makers that stand out this year.
For Solo Milk Makers
The Nutr
The somewhat questionably named Nutr is the smallest of the milk makers I tested, about the size of a half-gallon milk carton. It also makes the smallest amount of milk, about a cup and a half at most. It is speedy, though: Throw in a cup of water and a tablespoon of instant oats, and five minutes later, you get a cup of oat milk. The same is true of almond milk, so the idea is that it makes milk only when you need it, precluding the need to store it. If you want larger quantities, just know that Nutr is working on a family-size version that can make up to 600 milliliters (about 2.5 cups) in one batch.
I tested it by making oat, almond, rice, and tiger nut milk. The resulting milk was very well blended, although the milk did benefit from using the Nutr’s included cup-top filter, which catches the plant mush. That filter didn’t catch it all: I still found some gritty bits in the filtered milk.
The Nutr is quick but frustratingly noisy: The loud blender motor runs intermittently as if an annoying child has their finger on the power button and keeps turning it on and off to bug you. The blender runs less often on the longer milking cycles, but it is no less irritating. It certainly isn’t the kind of noise I want first thing in the morning: It woke up my dog, which meant I couldn’t have a cup of coffee before I took him for a walk.
The Nutr also handled rice milk (a hot milk that has to be heated while brewing) without problems, but it took about 27 minutes, plus about 10 minutes waiting for the milk to cool from the near boiling point the milking process needs to get those enzymes working. That’s a long time to wait for the small amount it makes.
PRICE: 146 €
For Families and Milk Experimenters
ChefWave Milkmade
If you want to make larger quantities of plant milk or experiment with different milk sources, try the ChefWave Milkmade. It automates the process of milk-making but allows plenty of flexibility in the source and quantity, and has an auto-clean feature that saves a lot of time. It looks like a coffee machine, with a loader at the top and a glass carafe at the front. There’s even a water reservoir at the back, like a Keurig or other capsule coffee maker, though you have to refill it every time you use it.
You take off the water reservoir and fill it to the 10- or 20-ounce levels, depending on how much milk you want. You then put the milk source in the mixing chamber, a glass-lidded compartment on the top of the machine. You then select the cycle from the control panel, and it brews you up a batch in the handy milk jug on the front of the machine. That process took about 18 minutes for oat milk and 45 minutes for soy milk. Once complete, the Milkmade beeps contentedly and runs a cleaning cycle that purges the system and dumps the cleaning water into an internal hopper. Once the cleaning cycle is complete, empty the hopper, and the Milkmade is ready to run again.
It’s simple and effective, but the downside is that you must refill the water reservoir and empty the internal water hopper every time you use it. Even though the reservoir holds over 40 fluid ounces, most of that is used in cleaning.
The Milkmade did an excellent job blending the milk but didn’t filter it, meaning the milk can have a slightly gritty texture from bits of the source material. This was present in the oat, soy milk, and horchata that I made, all of which benefited from a final pass through a fine mesh filter (not included).
The control panel provides six presets (almond, soy, oat, cashew, macadamia, and coconut) but you must select your desired preset by pressing the program button repeatedly until the one you want is selected. The control panel looks like you could just touch the name to select, but only two of the buttons are touch-sensitive. You can delay the start of the milk-making process so you will have a fresh batch of milk when you wake up, but you only set a delay; there is no true timer. There is also no way to customize the presets, so you can’t raise or lower the mix temperature or tweak the grinding time, things that most plant milk connoisseurs like to do with experience.
PRICE: 243 €
The Cheapest and Simplest Nut Milk Machine
Tribest Soyabella
Looking like a slightly overgrown electric kettle, the Tribest Soyabella is a simple plant milk maker that can do other things, such as make soups, infusions, and tofu. It is rather too simple, though—the only option is to make raw or heated milk, chosen by a pair of buttons on the top of the device. This top lifts off to reveal the device’s workings: a blender arm and a filter cup. To make a batch of milk, you put up to 4 cups of water in the vessel and a cup of your plant material into the filter cup, which twists to lock onto the top. The blender then grinds up the material and mixes it with the water, while the filter cup keeps the plant pulp contained.
The process takes about a minute for raw milk and between 15 and 25 minutes for hot milk, depending on how much water you add. The Soyabella can handle between three and about five cups of water.
When done, pour the milk out, remove the filter cup, and discard the pulp. This works well. While some gritty bits did get through, the filter cup kept the chunkier bits contained. I found the results from the suggested recipes relatively weak and watery; the instructions suggest that you run the cycle twice or thrice to get a better result, which was a good idea. It would be better if there were a way to set a longer blend time. There is also no provision here for automatically soaking the plant source, so you must do that manually.
The short manual shows how to use it to make soup, sauces, and soft tofu, and includes a good selection of recipes for various dishes. A grinding cup is also included, which fits over the blender arm to grind dry ingredients.
The Tribest Soyabella tries to be a jack-of-all-trades but doesn’t master any of them. It makes decent milk, but only if you run it twice or thrice. That makes it feel a bit pointless since it requires a lot of extra work every time you use it.
PRICE: 120 €
2023 offers a diverse range of nut milk makers to suit various preferences and lifestyles. Whether you prioritize power, capacity, nutrient retention, space-saving designs, or smart features, there’s a nut milk maker for you. Before making a purchase, consider your specific needs, budget, and the features that matter most to you. With the right nut milk maker, you can enjoy fresh, homemade nut milk at the touch of a button, elevating your plant-based culinary adventures to new heights.
