Dairy-free milk beverages are often looked down upon for being light on substance, but homemade versions, like this maple hemp milk, pack in unparalleled freshness and a wallop of nutrition.
Admittedly, I had never been a big fan of hemp milk. Store-bought versions are a bit too grassy and somehow a little “off” for my tastes. But once I started testing different milk beverages, I became a total hemp seed convert. I ended up creating Healthy Hemp Mylk and Happy Hemp Creamer recipes for Go Dairy Free: The Guide and Cookbook. And this easy recipe is a spin-off from those formulas.
Homemade Maple Hemp Milk or Creamer in Just 5 Minutes!
Below are some of my personal notes for this maple hemp milk recipe in addition to bites of nutritional information about its homemade goodness.
- Hemp seeds are not marijuana, and you won’t get high from them. They are, however, rich in Omega fatty acids and other essential nutrients.
- The taste of this maple hemp milk is still a touch grassy, but the pure unprocessed flavors are more full-bodied, complimentary, and almost a little, dare I say, addictive. I also find that the vanilla really tames those overtly natural notes and maple syrup brings it all together.
- Once well-blended and strained, I estimated (based on the remaining hemp see pulp) that each cup of this maple hemp milk contains approximately one 1-ounce serving of hemp seeds. This means that it has MORE protein, magnesium, and riboflavin than dairy milk.
- Magnesium is believed by many to be an unsung hero for bone health. Some research is saying that we may be overloading on calcium while deficient in magnesium. Want to balance both? Add a serving of calcium citrate powder to this maple hemp milk recipe
- Maple syrup gives this recipe a delicious, sustainable light sweetness. Yet even with this addition, my maple hemp milk has approximately the same amount of sugars as a very un-sweet cup of cow milk.
- I also like it as a post-workout drink. Though chocolate milk has been publicized lately as a fitness beverage, this maple hemp milk is much lower in sugars and yet higher in protein and healthy fats.
This post was originally sponsored by Bob’s Red Mill, but I’ve updated it more recently.
Special Diet Notes: Homemade Maple Hemp Milk or Creamer
By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, gluten-free, grain-free, nut-free, peanut-free, soy-free, vegan / plant-based, vegetarian, paleo, raw, and top food allergy-friendly (whew!). I think that covers the bases.
- ½ cup shelled hemp seeds
- 2 cups water, divided
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup, or to taste
- ½ teaspoon pure vanilla flavoring or extract
- Pinch sea salt
- Place the hemp seeds in your blender with half of the water. Blend until relatively smooth and creamy, 1 to 2 minutes. You will still see some little bits of hemp seed, that's okay.
- Add the remaining water, maple syrup, vanilla, and salt and blend until relatively smooth and creamy.
- Strain the maple hemp milk through a nut milk bag or (my method) through a sieve lined with a few layers of cheesecloth. Squeeze to extract all of the creamy goodness.
- If chilling any leftovers, stir before serving - it will separate a bit.
Hemp Seed Pulp: There shouldn't be much remaining after you strain the hemp milk as hemp seeds do blend up fairly easily, but any pulp from your cheesecloth or nut milk bag can be tossed into oatmeal or baked recipes (such as granola or muffins).
45 Comments
I haven’t tried hemp milk yet, but I’ve heard that it tastes amazing! 🙂 Really need to give it a try soon!
I definitely prefer it with a touch of sweetener, since it is a little grassy, but it really is addictive and worth trying Sina!
I have never tried hemp milk before, this looks so incredibly creamy too! Love the maple in there!
Never? You must give it a go!
With you, Alisa, I’m not a big fan of storebought hemp milks either, and think homemade can taste better. Your maple version sounds delicious!
I’ve never had hemp milk. I definitely need to try it. I love hemp seeds and sprinkle them on everything.
This is such a great idea Alisa! I love hemp seeds but never actually tried “milking” them 🙂 about time I did
Definitely, it is about time 🙂
I love hemp milk! I’ve made it before and it’s so good. I love the added maple in it, amazing flavor I bet. Will have to try! And no, it’s not weird at all 😉
I don’t know why I’ve never tried making my own hemp milk! I’ve made almond, but would loooove to try this recipe out.
Honestly I have never heard of hemp milk. But this sound a little sweet with the touch of maple syrup. May I ask, aside from consuming alone, what would you use this with (ie Cereal or use it IN something you’re baking).
Hi Kaitie, yes, we enjoy it with oatmeal, granola, and it works well in place of milk in baking – in fact, it’s great for recipes due to the protein and healthy fats, they lend structure and tenderness.
I can’t believe you can get two cups out of only a half cup of seeds! This sounds yummy!
Believe it! It’s fairly cost-effective if you buy hemp seeds in bulk. I’ve even seen a recipe that uses half that amount of seeds, but we like ours a little richer.
Well you’ve convinced me to try making my own now! I haven’t even tried hemp milk but I know I would love it, since I love hemp seeds 🙂
You definitely would love it then Aimee.
I’ve been looking for a recipe like this! I don’t care for the store bought hemp milk either. I’ll definitely give this a try!
You should Stacey, it’s waaay better than store-bought!
Lovely! I make my own oat, cashew and almond milk but have never tried hemp milk. It sound delicious with the added maple and vanilla.
Sounds delicious! Can’t wait to try this!
I’ve always wondered how related hemp is to marijuana and whether there are any side effects. Thanks for your helpful post!
Yep, you’re safe from those THC effects with hemp seeds 🙂
In my opinion a store bought hemp milk is the only one dairy milk alternative that I really like. In the same time I am truly impressed that it is so easy to make it at home! When buying plant derived milk I always check nutritional values and in this case assessing the exact nutritional values will not be that easy, although a problem of the nutrients solves itself if I’ll manage to use entire remaining hemp pulp within the same period of time what the hemp milk. I can add the amount of hemp seed hearts, maple syrup and other extras used for hemp milk production to my daily nutritional values calculator.
Hi Kate, when you make it at home, most of the hemp seeds do blend in – much more so than with store-bought – since they are fairly soft little seeds. I estimate that each cup of hemp milk from this recipe has about 3 tablespoons of hemp seeds; only 1 tablespoon or possibly less is lost if you strain it / remove leftover pulp. Also, if you’re using the hemp milk in smoothies, there really is no need to strain it at all. They’ll be pretty seamless in a blended beverage.
Hi Alisa, thanks for your response. 2-3 tablespoons of hemp seeds in one cup sound like a lot of good stuff! I’ll definitely give it a try. I have just bought a package of hemp seeds. I am really curious about the taste.
It is! I hope you get the chance to trial it and enjoy that bag of hemp seeds!
I’ve never had hemp milk before, but I LOVE hemp seeds and put them on everything! I definitely need to try this!
Really?! I guess hemp milk had only a small surge of popularity a few years ago and now just a couple of brands make it. I think it really is because it’s a dairy-free milk beverage that’s far better when made fresh.
I’ve never like the store-bought hemp milk either, but I love hemp seeds and i love what they can do for smoothies so I think homemade is the way to go! The maple + vanilla additions just make we want to drink it straight 🙂
You must try it Natalie! I find that the vanilla actually counters some of the grassiness while the maple is a very complimentary sweetener.
Ooh this hemp milk looks so good!
Thank you Becky!
I love hemp milk, such a lovely taste. Never thought of making my own one though, one to put on my list!
It’s even better when you make it yourself, and so, so easy Hedi!
This sounds great, and I’ve never made my own dairy-free milk. I’ll have to try it!