Every Christmas my family makes a ton of a traditional rice pudding that uses whole milk and lots of almonds. Do you think it might be possible to sub in almond milk for whole milk? Add an extra punch of almondy-ness and maybe make it a little healthier? We make such huge amounts and I have no idea how to successfully scale the recipe back, or I might try it this weekend...

Blue Diamond's Almond Breeze! You can find it for pretty cheap if you live near Trader Joe's, and you can stock up if you get the shelf stable version. I'm not vegan but I wanted to find a milk alternative when I started watching my weight, so I buy the unsweetened plain variety. I love using it in my cereal and my coffee!

I'm lactose intolerant so I switched to almond milk out of necessity, but I've grown to really love it. I even make my own sometimes (which is a lot easier than you think), and I've gone from sweetened to unsweetened almond milk. I use it in baking, smoothies (AMAZING in smoothies), puddings, etc- just about anywhere you'd use cow milk.
The type of almond milk you buy dictates its flavour, obviously - the standard 'original' often comes sweetened, and there's also chocolate, vanilla, and unsweetened out there. I find that you can taste more nuttiness in the unsweetened.

I love Almond Breeze Unsweetened Vanilla! I'm lactose intolerant, and I think this is a great sub for milk. I'm not a huge fan of soy milk--too gritty. But this stuff is smooth, and has a hint of sweetness without the sugar. It's especially good in less sweet cereals. I also use it for baking and even in mac n cheese, and it's always worked well for me! The Pacific brand almond milk also is good.

Almond milk is a staple in my household. The health benefits far outweigh those of soy milk, and it has a much longer shelf life.

In contrast to soy milk, I have found some of the vanilla flavored almond milks too strong. Keep trying until you find one you like.
I am not vegan but detest milk, but I am also trying to minimize my intake of precessed soy, so I am loving me some almond milk.

We used to get it for the longer shelf life too. In college my roomie and I just wouldn't go through a half gallon of milk before it went bad. She didn't like the soy milk so we bought Almond milk. Worked great for the occasional bowl of cereal or random Oreo binge.

I'm not vegan, I love milk. (Daughter of a dairy farmer) But Almond Milk is amazing. Healthy and delicious, sometimes I just prefer it for smoothies and other things, and it makes for some absolutely killer hot chocolate because of the nuttiness and sweetness.

At my household, we use almond milk and soy milk as well as cow milk, depending on whom we're cooking for and what we're cooking. We also use coconut milk, coconut cream, coconut oil, hazelnut milk and hemp milk. Sometimes we'll also use those milks (primarily soy), combined with other ingredients (like vinegar) to try to simulate other cow-milk derivatives (like buttermilk).

Mostly we'll use those hacks to try to find acceptable substitutions for cow-milk derivatives in cooking or even baking (notoriously hard to figure out substitutions for).

In experimenting with these different substitutes, it seems like a lot of what matters is what else you use to complement the taste (sometimes subtle, sometimes not) of the substitute milk. It brings to mind for me the Milk Gelato recipe in an old Sauveur issue which enhanced the milk taste with a tablespoon of apricot preserves.

For example, coconut milk, cream and oil all taste coconutty. You really can't get beyond it. So if you use those for making non-dairy ice cream, I recommend using it in recipes that contain things that go well with coconut, like banana.

Similarly, there's a raw chocolate mousse recipe that involves avocado and provides a splendid texture. If you use a strong enough dark chocolate, it doesn't matter that there's avocado providing the texture. But if you used a chocolate flavoring or other flavoring that didn't mask it so well, you might have a problem.

In my opinion, Almond milk is a pretty neutral taste, but I'll still tend to use it with tastes that complement almond, just in case the taste comes through.

The other factor that informs our experimentation is total fat. Take a look at whole milk, 2% milk and skim milk and look at the fat % listed in the nutritional information. Compare to the nutritional information for the alternate milks. I remember that when I did that, I had assumed that the non-cow-milks would compare favorably to the whole or 2% milk, but if I remember correctly, it was a close call.

Also if you're making ice cream, you may need to add another fat source or non-milk-solids source. Whole or 2% milk doesn't freeze pleasingly and your nut milk is going to have the same problem.

Wow...I was not expecting these comments. I drink soy, rice, and hazelnut milk on a really regular basis, but almond milk always tasted like Play-doh smells to me. I could never stomach it.

What a perfect way to describe it! That's EXACTLY how it tastes!! :)

I am a vegan and almond milk has become my go to dairy substitute. I like to limit my soy intake and rice milk is just too thin my for taste. I find that it doesn't work well as a creamer in coffee because it seperates. So for my coffee I use coconut creamer.

I've never known anyone to drink cashew milk, but I do cook with homemade cashew cream often.

I used to mak cashew cream regularly for vegan truffles, and I can imagine if I'd made it into milk instead, it would be a bit richer than almond milk.
Unlike almonds and hazelnuts and even rice, the cashews don't have a very overwhelming flavor unless they're roasted (a second time, you can't get raw cashews).

It's so easy to make nut and rice milks and creams at home, just water and soaking and blending. It seems like a thing you could play with to get it just the right consistency/richness.

I've never liked milk, and now that I'm vegan, I still don't ever reach for a glass of milk-analog. But when I cook with milk, I usually grab almond or oat milk because it tends to not have as overwhelming a flavor as soy does in the dish. They blend in a lot better, in my opinion.

(All that said, I have made fresh soy milk, and when it is still warm, it can be pretty tasty. After that? Forget it!)

Just wanted to share, as one lactose intolerant person to several others commenting on this post, that goat milk is wonderful. It doesn't bother me like cow milk does, and it doesn't have the strange mouth feels that nut and grain milks have.

I do think almond milk is pretty darn tasty too, but feels a bit too thick on cereal.

I make almond milk at home sometimes, so I can control how rich I make it. I personally use a higher almond to water ratio than I see in most recipes because I like my almond milk a bit thicker. Of course, it is still water-based, but the almond milk I make is certainly richer than the ones from the store. Most commercial almond milks add thickeners and stabilizers. I'm guessing they do this so they can use less almonds to keep costs down, and then they try to replicate the body by adding the thickeners. Obviously, it's not a fair trade off.

You know, I've never really noticed its warm quality until you mentioned it, but you're right!

@ScotArany, you might try different brands of almond milk. They vary a lot, and many of them are pretty thin (too thin for me, really).

im not a vegan but i love almond milk. lots of people like Almond Breeze but i really dont. its not organic and i think they put something in it to make it creamier/thicker tasting. i get why people like that, but i dont want anything weird added to my milk. i like Pacific organic unsweetened vanilla almond milk. its great with cereal and keeps unopened forever. i buy several at one time.

as a lactose intolerant person, it took me a while to find a happy milk "substitute" - especially for one who used to drink 3-4 huge glasses a day.

Though soy was the first step, and rice felt awkward, almond is an amazing answer. I've found Blue Diamond, specifically the unsweetened, plain is the best. Great for ceral, pretty handy in cooking (though not all) and the shelf stable box is great. I can buy tons on sale and use them as I need them. Though recently my local Meijer's started carrying the large refridgerated containers.

@ScottArany - and though I love goat cheese - I can't quite make the leap to goat milk, plus the lack of rediably available sources for me.

We love almond milk. I don't like the taste or smell of dairy milk. My husband and I use: Almond Milk and Coconut milk for our smoothies, oatmeal, cereal. He still loves a big glass of milk with cookies and cereal but I prefer to drink a mug of almond milk sprinkled with cinnamon (tastes like horchata). the chocolate almond milk makes a great banana/choc./peanut butter shake!

I LOVE almond milk. Both the unsweetened almond breeze and unsweetened silk pure almond are staples for me.

I really like Silk's plain/unsweetened almond milk. I think the taste is pretty neutral and it has a good body. I mainly use it for hot and cold cereals, but sometimes I'll take a couple of glugs out of the container because I'm a heathen. The only thing I don't like it in is my coffee. It just doesn't hold up as well as a full-fat soy or good old half & half.

Almond milk was recommended to me when I was pregnant for heartburn. It didn't really offer much relief, but I found it really tasty especially the vanilla flavored kind - it was like a melted milkshake!

Almond Milk, Coconut Milk, and Hemp Milk are all fantastic. I cook with them often, and the food never tastes funny. Much healthier options than cow or soy milk.

I'm not vegan, but I like almond milk a lot. I keep up to two boxes at home for recipes that call for milk, a nice and subtle substitution that will leave people wondering, "what's in this?" I also use it with chai that I brew at home--it's the perfect combination.

I switched from a more popular brand (maybe Blue Diamond?) because I noticed there was a kind of starch and other stuff in the ingredient list. Granted, there's nothing wrong with starch, but I prefer milk to be more pure, so I switched to an organic brand that only adds water to the milk.

I love almond breeze unsweetened vanilla almond milk, occasionally get silk's. It is my staple milk for cereal & baking. The only thing I've found it doesn't work in is pudding.

the BEST almond milk i've found is Trader Joe's brand unsweetened vanilla. It is thicker than any other almond or soy milk i tried and tasted wonderful! And still super low in calories and doesn't cost much :)

Not vegan or lactose intolerant, but I also love Almond Breeze's vanilla unsweetened. Love the rich, creamy texture of it on my cereal. Also love it for the longer shelf life.

I am neither vegan nor a milk drinker (I am lactose intolerant and stopped drinking milk when I was about 6; I am now 52 and still don;t do milk). I guess because I came of age when there weren't substitutes--heck, when people didn't recognize lactose intolerance or other food issues--I have just worked around the milk thing for years. It's not hard; since milk makes me sick, I just don't "do" it. Since I don't like milk, almond milk or other substitutes just taste weird.

I'm not vegan but I'd pick almond milk over the dairy kind any day. I use it mostly for smoothies, cereal or baking. It works in tea, but tends to curdle in coffee, for some reason.

I like that it tastes lighter than soy milk (which I also like).

My infant daughter is breastfed, and as a newborn she was intolerant of milk if I had it with cereal - which is pretty much the only way I consumed milk straight. I switched to almond milk and I won't go back! It adds an extra nutty punch to my cereal and has the added benefit of being a healthier alternative to milk - especially if you get the unsweetened variety. Daughter is now over a year and has long since outgrown the sensitivity, although not breastfeeding, but I won't use any other thing with my cereal. I don't know the last time I actually bought cows milk.

Cashew is way tastier and creamier, like real cream (or half n half). I use it for my coffee; during the summer I made it even thicker (by adding less water) and it was pretty close to "whip cream" and excellent on top of fruit (just add honey & vanilla or similar sweetener). I don't buy boxed almond milk anymore after seeing all the "stuff" in the ingredients. It is so easy to make (lasts 1 week). I use 1 cup of soaked cashews a week.

I love almond breeze unsweetened original. We buy it by the case, and it's awesome in cereal, baked goods, and even plain with cookies. :)

Costco now has unsweetened Blue Diamond Almond Breeze in a 6-box carton. I really like it better than the sweetened kind. I recently used it to make pumpkin oatmeal and it was incredibly good!

I love cow's milk for most things, but I've become absolutely addicted to chocolate almond milk. Chocolate-almond-peanut butter-banana smoothies are divine, or I'll steam the milk with a little espresso for an afternoon mocha. Totally satisfies any chocolate cravings and tastes much lighter than chocolate cow's milk.

I switched to soy milk, then almond milk, then back - I was drinking almond for almost a year, and I noticed my fingernails were splitting... almond milk does not have the same fortifications as soy (and regular milk), so I had to go back since I noticed it was depriving me of nutrients I needed. I get a lot of my calcium from my soy milk, and it works for me. I'd never been a fan of regular milk (since childhood - I would mix it w/ chocolate to get it down) and turns out in my late 20's, I realized I was not able to drink it. I liked the almond milk just fine, just didn't do what I needed it to do for me.

My dad used to make cashew milk often when I was a kid. He uses 1 cup of raw cashews and blends them with warm water (always warm was his suggestion because it helps the cashews to blend into a smoother consistency), adds a few teaspoons of honey and then mixes in more water. We usually would have to cool it off with ice cubes so that we could drink it immediately rather than waiting for it to cool in the refrigerator. It's really creamy and I much prefer it to other nut milks on cereal. It's the only milk that I ever want to drink an entire glass of (usually I just use milk in cooking or on cereal). I have wondered why it isn't made and sold in stores. Perhaps because cashews are more expensive?

I made the mistake of trying Almond Breeze for the first time and purchasing the "regular" version... it was so sweet, I tossed it out. I usually drink my milk/soy/alterna-milk over ice and it was still too sweet to stomach. Maybe I'll give the unsweetened version a chance.

I tried vanilla flavored Almond milk with my cheerios and it made it taste like lucky charms

The stuff in cartons is so sweet, I can't see drinking it on a regular basis. I make my own: it's quick, inexpensive, and I can tailor it to my own tastes.

Through my gym, we're on a diet that doesn't allow dairy and I am allergic to soy milk so today I made my first batch of almond milk. I also increased the ratio of almond to water as another commenter suggested for a creamier texture compared to what most recipes dictate... and I added a few medjool dates to the blender, as well as some freshly scraped vanilla bean. I gotta say, I'm hooked! I agree that it tastes better than skim milk... and the subtle sweetness of the dates is a great addition. And now I'm looking forward to trying hot chocolate... great tips above!!

tj's used to carry a multi grain milk that was good - not too sweet or thick. just right as a milk replacement.

am definitely going to try the cinammon sprinkle - sounds good!

I've never liked cow's milk. I do enjoy almond milk for cereal. Warmed chocolate almond milk is great and a make an unbelievalbe smoothie with chocolate almond milk, frozen cherries and a banana.

I drank soy for a very long time because I couldn't drink regular milk and rice milk is incredibly gross. A family friend was recently diagnosed with cancer and her doctor told her that she shouldn't drink regular milk or soy milk because it creates a mucus in the intestines that the cancer can grow in. He told her to switch to almond milk. Having heard that I thought I'd try it out, and I think it's way better than soy milk. It has a lighter flavor, less plant-y, it also smells good.

I love almond milk for cereal. Thats about it. Can't really cook with it as it breaks into gritty almond and water when heated. It is a bit sweet (same with coconut milk, to me) and thought I like the taste, I can't bring myself to drink a glass of it.
The biggie with it though for me was the time I ran out of regular milk for coffee and tried almond milk. My coffee took on an odd brown grey color and tasted BITTER! It was bizarre. Tasted my husbands to make sure it wasnt a bad pot of coffee and it was the almond milk. I had to dump it out.

My roommate kept throwing away my iced coffee in the fridge because she thought the milk had gone bad, so I agree it's not the best for coffee. I like to mix it up between soy, help and nut based milks because it seems like too much of anything is not a good thing. I eat so much soy already I'm always looking to mix it up.

CHOCOLATE almond milk FTW

Wow, saw several comments on how bad almond milk tastes in coffee. Thanks for the heads up.
I was considering trying it for the reduced fat & 1/2 the points on Weight Watchers Plus program. Since I mainly use milk for coffee, I think I need another option.

Any alternative low fat suggestions?

Perhaps I'm the voice of dissent here...I think almond milk is GREAT in coffee. I get raw milk, too, but I think almond milk is even better in coffee than whole raw milk. Or at least as good.

Here's what I do: I soak raw almonds every day or couple of days, overnight, in salted water. (About a tbls of salt to a cup of raw almonds). In the morning while making my coffee, I peel the skins off the soaked almonds. Peel is a strong word, as usually the almond just pops out of the skin (sometimes flying across the room!) Then I blend them in blender with about 1.5 x's water. This is a MUCH lower water ratio than I see other people doing, but this is "cream" to me. Then I strain it. You can buy nutmilk strainers or make your own, but I use a nylon resusable produce bag which works perfectly. Then I add a bit of vanilla (do it to taste). Make sure the vanilla you use is NOT the kind with alcohol, but instead pure vanilla. Adjust vanilla and salt to taste.

I think it's fabulous in coffee, but the trick is to make it much more concentrated than most recipes call for, IMO. Wishing everyone peace and good health!

I forgot to add that I've tried making all the nut milks. For my coffee, I prefer the clean taste of the almond milk the best. Cashew milk is kind of neat because you don't have to strain it. It's been about a year since I made these experiments, so I'm trying to remember what it was about each nut that stood out, but I'm drawing blanks. I think I recall that the other nuts, like cashew and macadamia, seemed too "oily" in my coffee. Nuts milks are ridiculously easy to make, so I think everyone should try and see what they think. Especially if you have access to bulk nuts from a co-op at a decent price.