Homemade soy milk is excellent high-protein plant milk. Soy milk became our milk of choice for our morning coffee, no more to say. Making soy milk is easy, cheap, and ensures you have a non-GMO product.
We like that this recipe is super adjustable. You can make it creamier, sweeter or flavor infused. You can also make it plain if you need it to make a vegan bechamel sauce or a vegan cheese.
It is way cheaper than store-bought and super easy to make. It requires 2 ingredients, 30 minutes, a filter of any kind, and a blender.
Why should you do your own
Health
If you look into the ingredients list of most commercial Soy Milk, it's full of strange ingredients such as guar gum, lecithin, and the list gets longer.
Soy has many detractors. It is no secret that most of the soy products we consume regularly are full of GMOs.
Using your own Soymilk Recipe with organic non-GMO soybeans gives you the peace of mind that you need to take care of yourself and your loved ones.
Convenience
It is effortless to make; it only takes us 30 minutes.
You can make only the quantity you need.
It's fully adjustable on flavor, thickness, and sweetness.
Economy
As a former Engineer, I needed to do my math. And I am living in Northern Italy, where things are pretty expensive. I found that making our Organic Soy milk is 25% cheaper.
That's not a lot, but we use a lot of milk, and the number quickly adds up, and we are in complete control of what is in there.
The Environment
All those Tetra Paks and plastics are gone!
150 Tetra Paks saved per year: 3 per week!
Ingredients
- Dry soybeans
- Water
Optional: sweetener, flavorings such as vanilla extract.
Instructions
The first thing you need to do, it put your soybeans to soak overnight in water.
Optional: Some people remove the outer skin; I have done it countless times and can't notice any critical difference in texture. If you choose to do it, plan for additional 20 minutes.
You then need to drain them and add them to the blender for 1 to 2 minutes along with water.
You can optionally add a pinch of salt and your preferred sweetener or flavoring as for flavor enhancers.
If you chose to use dates as your sweetener, now is the time to throw them in.
Suggested sweeteners: dates, raisins, agave syrup, or maple syrup.
Then you just need to strain through a nut milk bag or fine-mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth, squeezing out as much liquid as possible.
cheese cloth 
fine-mesh sieve
soybeans and dates filter soy milk
Pour the mixture into a saucepan and add 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, and immediately bring it down to low heat.
Stir occasionally and skim foam.
boiled soy milk in saucepan skimming soymilk
Let it cool. If there is any need to skim it again, do so before storing it in a sealed container in the fridge for about 3-4 days.
skimming soymilk store
Add in ideas: cocoa powder, vanilla extract, coffee, strawberry, or hazelnuts.
Soaking your Soybeans
- Soak the soybeans at room temperature or in the fridge.
- If you need to make the soy milk the same day, pour boiling water into the soybeans to accelerate the process and leave them soaking for one to two hours.
How to Thicken it
We find the perfect thickness for our taste is 1 cup of soybeans / 6 cups of water + 2 cups when boiling.
Suggested thick soymilk options:
- 1 cup of soybeans / 5 + 2 cups of water, if you don't mind sacrificing final volume.
- 1 ¼ cups soybeans / 6 + 3 cups of water, if you want the same volume.
If you want thinner milk, reduce the number of soybeans to ¾ cup or increase water by one cup.
How to make Soy Milk taste better
If you don't love the taste of plain soy milk, most likely and just like us, you have been drinking flavored soy milk. The most common flavorings, sometimes not even well disclosed, is vanilla extract and sweeteners.
The solution? Do just that: add organic vanilla extract and your favorite sweetener; you will find it tastes just as good and better. Remember, you can also add other flavorings like cinnamon and cocoa powder. Get creative!
How Long Does Soy Milk Last
How long does homemade soy milk last depends on whether you sterilize your equipment and how fresh are the ingredients you used. In general, we have found it lasts about 3-4 days.
We use soy milk quite often for our morning smoothies and coffee, so one batch only makes it to the third day. If you are like us, you don't need to sterilize your ingredients as it reaches the 3rd day without any problem.
If you find that it goes off before expected, easily sterilize your bottles either:
- Pouring boiling water inside, ensuring the jars are not cold so that they won't break.
- Then, putting them in the dishwasher.
If you have unexpectedly leave home or didn't use your milk soon enough and want to prevent it from going off, you can freeze it in ice cube trays and save them to add to your morning smoothies.
Can you Cook with It?
Yes! You can. Just use it as you would use regular cow's milk; it is entirely interchangeable.
Just make sure that you make plain soy milk. Don't add any of the suggested sweeteners or flavorings.
Recipes using Soy Milk
You can use it the same way you would use regular milk: in your coffee, in smoothies, in your morning granola or breakfast fruit bowl, bechamel sauce, baking, and even making vegan cheese.
Below are some recipes where you could use your soy milk:
- Vegan Bechamel Sauce
- Post-Work Out Smoothie
- Easy Strawberry Banana Smoothie
- Vegan Cauliflower Wings
- Creamy Vegan Sauce for Everything
Make sure you also check these Easy to Make Plant Milk Options: 5 minutes Almond Milk.
If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo #ourplantbasedworld on Instagram. Cheers!
Recipe: Making Soy Milk in 6 Easy Steps
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried soybeans organic, nong-GMO
- 8 cups water
Optional:
- ½ tsp sea salt avoid if following a WFPB diet
- ½ vanilla bean or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 6 dates
Instructions
- Soak the soybeans in water overnight or a minimum of 2 hours.
- Drain the soybeans (some people remove the outer skin, I have done it countless times and can’t notice any important difference in texture if you choose to do it, plan for additional 20 minutes).
- Blend the soybeans with 6 cups of water until well blended and any other additives you may have chosen (dates or vanilla).
- Strain the mixture using a cheesecloth or nut milk bag or a fine-mesh strainer.
- Pour the mixture into a saucepan and add 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil, and immediately bring it down to low heat.
- Stir occasionally and skim foam (watch it close as it may go up, just as boiling cow’s milk would). This is why it is essential to cook on low heat for about 15-20 minutes.
- Let it cool. If there is any need to skim it again, do so before storing it in a sealed container in the fridge for about 3-4 days.
Video
Notes
- You can adjust the water quantity depending on how thick you want your soy milk.
Use yellow soybeans. - Boil on low heat; otherwise, you may notice some brown threads, which are nothing more than the remaining milk sticking to the bottom of your saucepan.
- You can use other sweeteners like agave syrup or maple syrup. Just add these liquid sweeteners after boiling your Soy Milk (or they can even be added directly in the bottle and shake. Another option is to blend the cooked milk again with the liquid sweeteners or add any sweetener at all).
- Add it little by little until the milk reaches your desired taste. The sea salt is optional; it simply helps to bring all the flavors together. Feel free to add other ingredients you might like, such as cinnamon or cocoa powder, at any point.
Nutrition
Food safety
We sometimes take for granted that we have years (or decades) of cooking experience that the average visitor may not. Add to, or remove from, the list below with health and safety tips.
- Cook to a minimum temperature of 165 °F (74 °C)
- Do not use the same utensils on cooked food, that previously touched raw meat
- Wash hands after touching raw meat
- Don't leave food sitting out at room temperature for extended periods
- Never leave cooking food unattended
- Use oils with high smoking point to avoid harmful compounds
- Always have good ventilation when using a gas stove
See more guidelines at USDA.gov.
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full Nutritional Disclosure here.
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Never realized how easy it was to make your own soy milk. I started making it now and I really like it. I added vanilla and maple syrup. Thanks. I am loving the blog. I am going to try out the Oats Milk too.