What is the easiest real food to make?
Kefir is the lazy-man’s (or woman’s) culture and sourdough is the lazy-man’s bread. Both sit on the counter and do nothing. As the lazy-person who’s “making” kefir or sourdough, you do nothing as well.
Pretty nifty, eh?
Well neither of those can hold a candle to rice milk. Of all the non-dairy milks, this is the ultimate lazy dairy alternative milk. No soaking, no heating up water… shoot, you don’t even have to make rice just to make milk, if you don’t want to. Any leftover rice will work. Surely you’ve got some hanging out in the fridge or freezer, right? If not, just make extra sometime. Then you can be lazy and have rice milk too.
All you need is rice and a blender. Seriously.
Commercial Rice Milk
This is where I start to tell you guys how bad commercially made rice milk is for you, right? Well, I kinda have mixed feelings on rice milk.
At first glance, I didn’t think rice milk was all that bad. The label said it was organic and it was even made with brown rice instead of white. In fact, I only counted one “foul” ingredient in the list of this milk and that was high-oleic safflower oil. Safflower oil is a “yellow” cooking oil and despite what agribusiness says, polyunsaturated fats really aren’t that great for us. You’re better off eating a handful of nuts for those healthy omega-3’s and -6’s. But, the oil was “expeller pressed.” At least the unhealthy oil was processed naturally right?
Is there such a thing as “processed naturally?”
As you keep reading the ingredients, you’ll find a slew of vitamins and minerals. Hmmm… well then. I guess if it only has water, brown rice, high-oleic safflower oil and vitamins and minerals, it can’t be that bad for us, right?
WRONG.
It’s those vitamins and minerals that should worry us the most! Our bodies do not process fake foods very well, and that includes synthetic vitamins and minerals.
When you eat real food, the nutrients in the food help the body function and contribute to the storage of extra nutrients. When you eat fake food, like nacho cheese corn chips (of which “cheese” is not an ingredient, by the way), the body uses the spare nutrients it’s been storing up to break the food down and digest it. So when you eat processed food, it actually costs the body nutrients.
The same goes for when the body eats synthetic vitamins and minerals. Those are fake too, and the body spends more energy trying to break them down and do something with them than actually benefiting. Plus, the same dangers of enriched flour apply here too.
I’m willing to overlook the safflower oil, but there’s no way we’re eating enriched foods in this house.
By the way, this “new and improved” enriched rice milk is in addition to the “classic” version, which contains expeller pressed high oleic safflower oil too, but also canola oil and sunflower oil.
Two. Thumbs. Down.
Don’t even get me started on this brand. Claiming to be lactose-free, casein-free, gluten-free, low-fat and cholesterol free, it sounds like a miracle health food. Never mind the fact that it contains three different sugars as the first three ingredients. “Rice flour” is ingredient number 7, followed by more chemicals and oh wait, more synthetic vitamins and minerals.
The Cost of Commercial Rice Milk
At less than $5 on Amazon, one quart of rice milk rings up at just two cents less than cashew milk. You’ll be blowing that grocery budget on not only the EASIEST milk to make, but quite possibly the CHEAPEST milk too! You thought coconut milk was cheap? Check out these numbers.
You can buy 50lbs of long-grain rice at Costco for $22.08, or 44¢ per pound. There are 2 1/2 cups of rice in one pound, so that’s 18¢ per cup of rice. Want to guess how much rice it takes to make one quart of rice milk?
One cup.
But because this recipe uses COOKED rice, your cost is only 6¢ for homemade rice milk, without sugar or synthetic vitamins or fake minerals or oils! (Thanks Marianne for helping me with the math!) And you know what, it actually tastes pretty good!
- 1 cup cooked rice
- 4 cups filtered water
- Measure rice into a blender and add 4 cups of filtered water. Blend until smooth, approximately 1 minute. You may want to blend again for ultra smooth consistency. Store in the refrigerator and enjoy cold; shake before using.
For one cup: ¼ cup rice, 1 cup water
I mentioned this earlier, but you don’t even have to make fresh rice to make milk. Any cooked rice will do, and if it’s leftover coconut rice from taco night, that means you’ll get a hint of coconut flavor in your milk too. YUM!
If you’re looking to flavor this milk, I’m sticking with the standard 1 tsp vanilla and 1/2 tsp of cinnamon. There are plenty of sugars elsewhere in our foods – there’s no need to add them to our milk! Plus if you don’t try it sweet in the first place, you’ll never know the difference (nor will the kids!).
Other non-dairy milk alternatives that may interest you:
Homemade rice milk is super simple!
- I use a high powered Blendtec blender like this one to make rice milk. It’s one of my favorite kitchen appliances and has over 45 uses!
- I used to use a pot on my stove top, but now I use my Instant Pot (I like brown rice for meals but white for rice milk). Some of my readers swear by their rice cookers too. However you make it, it’s easy to make in big batches. Make some for dinner, save some for rice milk, and freeze the rest!
I love how you break things down so they are so easily understood. Half of the time, when I don’t understand the ingredients, I can’t explain “why” they are bad- I just know they are! On a side note- do you have a way to “share” your posts with others via email that I’m not seeing? I know mi madre would love to see some of it. Thanks!
Thanks Chelsea! There should be a small envelope at the bottom of each post, right next to the facebook and twitter icons. This should let you email just that post to someone. Let me know if it doesn’t work!
Thank you. I make homemade white bean milk milk. It is higher in protein than rice milk.
I can white beans
3 1/2 cups water
Blend 1 minute on high
Strain into nut bag
save pulp for humus
Shake before using
Lasts 5 days
Wonderful idea! Thanks for sharing.
Thank you so much for this easy recipe. I am starting to make my own rice beverage because Rice Dream uses fluoridated water ! I just found out ! Yikes. Very harmful to the thyroid function. How would one flavor the beverage when making it home made ? Vanilla extract ? Thanks again.
Yep! Extracts and oils and spices are a great way to flavor at home. 🙂
We should also talk about how awful those non-recyclable cartons are! Theyre like a mishmash of paper plastic and Metal, completely landfill bound.
Hey Tiffany
You got a new fan follower of your Blog <3
I loved your posts and how you make things really easy for your readers. We have remedies, recipes and DIY so easily available.
Keep up the good work 🙂
Thank you for your kind words Payal, and welcome to Crumbs! 🙂
Of note, is the homemade rice milk is 51 calories, and the store bought is around 130. It’s a clear choice for those of us trying to eat healthy and lose weight.
Nice find Kathryn! 😉
I just found you while looking for healthy milk alternatives. My husband is diabetic so we have to watch carbs. Do you happen to know the carb content on the rice milk recipe? I would be interested to know which of the homemade milk varieties has the least amount of carbs. Thank you!
I’m sorry I don’t JoAnne, but you can input the ingredients into a nutrition calculator online to get the information you need!
51 calories for how much?
I found your blog when looking for alternatives to store bough protein powders for smoothies and I’m hooked.
This article in particular blew my mind. I can’t believe that’s all there is to making rice milk. I know what I’ll be doing this weekend.
I’m glad you found us! Good luck on the homemade rice milk – it really is super easy! 🙂
I was shopping at the big brand organic store today for milk alternative milk product. I simply cannot endure dairy and recently gave up using standard sugar (lost nearly 10 lbs from just giving up sugar). So I loaded up my cart with various brands of rice milk and was heading for the check out when something said to me “check the label” of these products. I was shocked to see so much sugar in the plain version. Needless to say, I unloaded my cart and came home to search the web for homemade recipes for milk.
I stumbled upon your page, and boy am I glad I did. The info here is great and now I can make my own milk, plus save some money more healthier things.
Thanks so much for sharing.
Wow! Thanks for sharing your shopping trip Gwen! I’m glad that little voice spoke up and that you were able to find what you were looking for here. 🙂 Welcome to Crumbs!!
Wow that amazing..I really do not know about this Rice milk making…Love it…
Thanks Pankaj!
It’s even cheaper than $0.18, isn’t it? That’s for one cup of raw rice, but we’re using one cup of cooked rice for the milk.
I make several cups of jasmine rice at a time in my rice cooker, then freeze smaller amounts in quart bags. I have a bag thawing out now, can’t wait to try your recipe. With the cinnamon, it’s going to be loads better than the one time I tried to make it last year.
Ah – good point! I’ve never measured how much raw rice makes to cooked. Do you know? Oh yeah, the cinnamon really helps with the flavor. Plain wasn’t really that great, lol, but just the small seasoning did wonders!
If i remember correctly, you get 2-3 times what you put in as raw rice = 1 C. raw rice = 2-3 c cooked rice.
Any ideas on how to make rice milk powder??? thanks!
I’ve never heard of rice milk powder before. Is it like dehydrated milk, or powdered milk, but made with rice instead of animal milk?
We have a home freeze dryer (expensive but so worth it with my celiac disease). We have freeze dried milk and it turns crystalline. But why not just finely grind the uncooked rice in the Vitamix or Blendtec and put the powder in the freezer? Then when ready to use, you can add boiling water and blend until smooth. I haven’t tried it with rice, but I have with beans. Works like a charm with beans. No cooking involved.
Marianne
When you use your thawed out cooked rice do you then add the four cups of water to one cup of cooked rice
Thank you jayne
Yes, that would be what the recipe calls for. I actually use a bit less water, more like 3-1/2 cups water.
One cup of raw rice will yield about 3 cups of cooked – wow! That brings the cost down to $0.06!!!! Plus a minute amount for any sweetener or flavoring.
Awesome! Thanks Marianne – I’ll update the post!
How long will rice milk keep in the refrigerator?
I’d say you’ve got about 5-7 days Debi. After that, go by the smell test. 🙂
Hello,
Does this taste the same as the rice milk from the store? I tried the Rice Dream brand the other day and it tastes great, but I really don’t want to consume the extra ingredients that are in it (mostly the vitamins and minerals that you mentioned above). I noticed that Rice Dream from the store has naturally occurring sugars in it, from the brown rice. Won’t homemade also have that if I use brown rice? I really just am looking for the same flavor as the store bought, more so than anything.
Thanks. :]
Hi Jenna,
I’ve never tried store-bought, so I can’t say for sure. I can tell you though that the milk I made in this recipe was pretty good! All starches have naturally occurring sugar, but whether or not you’ll be able to taste them in your homemade version depends on how much and how often you eat sweets in general. Remember that although it’s “naturally occurring,” stores can still add more of that sweetener to make it more palatable to consumers. 🙂
totally not the same. the home made one tastes like rice + water + processed in a blender. whereas the store bought tastes like rice milk. I guess it’s the process of fermentation that’s missing. But anyways, it’s a fun little recipe and worth a try once.
To each their own, I guess. I love homemade rice milk much better than commercial rice milk. I especially love to use short grain brown rice and add about a quarter cup of cashews in there and it gives it a nice, creamy flavor/texture. 🙂
Just made this recipe, I can’t believe how easy it was to make! I added the vanilla and cinamon and the flavor is great. I found it came out a bit thin for my taste, though. I think I’ll add less water next time, unless anyone else has advice? Can’t wait to try the almond and peanut milk, too!
I think adding less rice will do the trick. There isn’t much to rice in the first place, which makes it hard for the milk to be satiating. 🙂
Can you recommend an affordable blender that will do this? I tried this recipe with my Magic Bullet and all I got were small chunks of rice floating in white-ish water. Not particularly appetizing. Although it was a small batch and I used warm water, not hot. Maybe that was the issue? Thanks!
I think the BlendTec or VitaMix are two of the best high power blenders. There may be others but those are the two that come to my mind. Both are pretty expensive but I think the BlendTec may cost less than the VitaMix.
Thanks Gina!
@Julia – I have a Blendtec and absolutely LOVE it. It’s a splurge for sure ($350 ish?), but I’ve had it for nearly two years now and it has well surpassed any blender I’ve ever owned. I consider it an investment piece, and well worth every penny!
With that said, if it’s not in your budget, I’ve heard good things about the Ninja blender too. The water temperature wasn’t the issue – it’s the blender. 🙂
Awesome, thanks Gina and Tiffany!! I hadn’t heard of the Ninja blender, I’ll have to look into that. 🙂
I have a Ninja and I love it!! That thing could blend rocks! LOL
I have a refurbished 2 speed vitamix, bought it about 4 years ago. Highly recommend!
I wonder if you put only part of the water in with the rice and blended that first to make it smooth like applesauce and then added the rest of the water, if that would help.
I just did this in my $35 Black n Decker blender and I had to set it to “liquify” for quite a while. When I poured the rice milk out into my jars, there was a bit of tiny rice pieces in the bottom of my blender. Is it supposed to blend completely smooth, with no chunks?
I have a Blendtec and there were a little bit of teeny tiny rice chunks, but not noticeable enough for me to not drink. I would suggest straining it through a mesh strainer first if you’re looking for super smooth, but you also might add an extra tablespoon of rice or so to start to account for the portion that’s leftover at the end. Does that make sense?
It totally make sense. 🙂 Thanks! I’m going to be getting a ninja blender in a few days so maybe that will make a difference. Most of the solid stuff stayed at the bottom of the blender. I just wondered if it was typical to have a bit of solid left. I’m about to give some to my son for a taste test.
Hi Ladies…
I have a Ninja, and I have had the same issue with the chunks in the bottom. I was looking here to see what I was doing wrong. I tried blending it for longer, but once you get over the one-minute mark, the motor gets pretty warm to the touch and begins to smell hot…??? I do love my Ninja, but it just wasn’t able to blend those chunks in.
That being said, I have bought the rice milk in the boxes for years, and there is some settling in those as well. You have to shake them before you pour, or the milk at the top will be watery.
I hope I can figure out a way to make this rice milk work without having to buy a new blender…. not in the budget right now. I’ll keep working at it!
Had the same problem with ‘graineyness’ and switched to rice flour instead of rice. Use 1/2 cup flour to 5 1/2 cups filtered water. Add flour slowly to simmering water in pan, cook for two minutes then place in blender and blend occasionally as it cools for a total of about 3 minutes. Transfer to container and refrigerate. Tastes like mild dumpling. Residue floats to top like pulp in OJ.
I love the concept of your blog – healthy and cheap! As for the rice milk, could it really be a total substitute for milk? What about calcium? Thanks!
Thanks Becky! Yes, rice milk can be used as a substitute for milk in most recipes calling for it. Granted, I haven’t tried EVERY recipe known to man, but the dairy-free folks seem to fair well. 😉 For calcium, you would have to get it from other foods such as cheese, yogurt and dark leafy green (spinach/kale/collards).
Super! Thanks!
We have chickens and my Mother in law puts the shell into her VitaMix after I bake the leftover shells. The resulting powder goes into the health drinks (we juice!) and some goes back to the chickens. Perhaps the shell powder will mix into the rice milk well enough for a calcium boost?
Love this post. Thank you so much for sharing! I’ve been trying to stay clear of anything that I don’t make myself as I can’t handle commercially processed food. I am going to make some brown rice milk tonight. On a side now, I am most surprised with how much sugars/flours/additives are in commercially processed foods. No wonder a 1/3 of Americans are obese. Commercially processed foods has changed the anatomy of the food as well as our anatomy; in the sense that (1) we are becoming an animal that is under-nourished, and (2) the nutrients in the food do not survive the over-processing system and distribution. Further, commercially processed food is carefully designed by Big Food to appeal to the pleasure centers of the brain. Thus, we eat more and more of it as if we are addicted.
Again, thank you for this post. You’re blog is incredible.
I hope your milk turns out delicious Brooke!
Let me tell you, you’re not alone in the sugar surprise. I agree with both of your points, and it’s one reason we avoid processed foods as much as possible. And sugar! It’s in EVERYTHING! I’ve seen myself and the kids first hand on the addiction of sugar, and how the body reacts to it when you don’t consume it regularly. It’s scary to think so many bodies are out there, overworked by the junk we eat, and silently being destroyed without us even knowing.
So, aren’t you going to tell us where to find the tiny udders on each grain of rice? So then we may milk the rice? 😉 making this right now, I’m cooking some coconut flour into the rice and flaxseed to add creaminess and nutrition. We’re vegan and a family of five on expensive milk alternatives is like BOOM to the check book. Can’t wait!
Hello! I’ve heard of rice milk but never tried it…I wasn’t sure how; I thought I had to pulverize rice to get flour and somehow make that into milk, or maybe even make rice and then drink the water it cooked it, or even try to squeeze the cooked rice somehow! 🙂
Anyway, your recipe is super easy and I can’t wait to try it. I’m lactose intolerant and I’m always looking for new non-milk alternatives.
I’m diabetic and my question is, would the carbs and calories be only from whatever the carbs and calories of whatever rice you cook?
This sounds delicious, especially with brown rice or maybe jasmine rice, especially with a little cinnamon! Thank you for sharing this, and thank you in advance for answering my question.
LOL, you’re funny Anna! Regarding the carbs and calories, I believe so. If you’re only putting rice and water in the blender (spices aside), then that’s all that should come out. If you strain it, you’ll come out will less than the true calculations though. I made mine with jasmine rice, and the cinnamon really put it over the top. You’re most welcome!
Does rice flour + water = rice milk?
Hmmm.. not sure Nala. I haven’t tried it with rice flour, but you’re welcome to! I’d start with 1 Tbsp to 1 cup of water, adding more to taste. Don’t forget to season too!
Yes, but it has to be cooked first or it will taste ‘floury’. See my earlier comment.
Hi Tiffany, My GI doctor just told me to drink rice milk for my diarrhea. In your recipe, it just says water, except for one cup it says hot water. Do you use hot or cold water?
I’ve used both Lennie. Hot water makes for a better blend, but you can use room temp too.
Your blog is a bit misleading. Hot or cold water, dry white rice or cooked white rice?
2cups or 4cups?
Nice helpful info otherwise!
Hey Owen – there’s no specification on hot or cold water because it doesn’t matter. And the recipe calls for COOKED rice – it doesn’t matter what type. The measurements are also listed in the recipe. 🙂
Thanks so much for this simple recipe and notes. In the list of alternatives to dairy milk, I miss one: oat milk. I have just made some and I love it! I will sure try your recipe for rice milk.
I’ve never tried oat milk before Lia, but now you’ve got me wondering. 🙂
A couple ideas and suggestions…..
1.) using a potato press or wire mesh sieve and preprocessing the cooked rice a couple of times before blending makes a far less chunky milk.
2.) if you must have a sweeter milk, as most alternative milks seem to have a slight bitter note to the taste, using some honey, molasses, natural maple, apple sugar, or cane water a suggestion.
Thanks so much Revlchurch!
I’m trying to do another week of no spending and I’m out of milk. But I have plenty of distilled water and about 50 lbs of rice. It looks like we’ll be using rice milk this week. Thanks for sharing.
LOL, rice milk for us too. And coconut milk. Tip: super-thick rice milk makes for a not-too-bad coffee creamer. 🙂
I had dethawed some fish in the fridge overnight, and when I woke up the next morning the entire kitchen wreaked of fish–btw I’m pregnant. We didnt have milk for me to soak the fish in to get rid of this fishy smell…but I knew we had a tin of rice in the pantry, and I knew milk could be made! Your recipe was the first I found. 25 minutes kater, the fish were in milk, two fresh arm & hammers were open in the fridge, and I am relieved. A tip: after the blend, I poured the milk through an ultra fine strainer to remove goop and half blended rice. I cant say its as tasty as the rice milk from the store, but I know it’s much healthier, and that’s everything!! As a person who is not one to drink a glass of milk, I can see myself using this rice milk to add to my tea, hot cereals, and inrecipes that call for milk. Nicely done, ultra easy, and above all HEALTHY! Thanks!!
Wow Kate! You’re most welcome, but I’m terribly sorry you had to deal with the fish smell – while pregnant no less! Thankfully, you’ve found a new way to enjoy your favorite beverages and I’m honored to have helped. 🙂 BTW, thanks for the tip on ridding the fish smell. I had no clue!
This is great in fresh fruit smoothies
Hi,
When I made rice milk with parboiled rice I found that the rice milk was rather sour I don’t know if this is a sign that the milk has spoiled.
Hi Bobby! Was it sour when you drank it immediately? Or did it sit for a few days?
I call bullshit on this – mostly.
As you keep reading the ingredients, you’ll find a slew of vitamins and minerals. Hmmm… well then. I guess if it only has water, brown rice, high-oleic safflower oil and vitamins and minerals, it can’t be that bad for us, right?
WRONG.
It’s those vitamins and minerals that should worry us the most! Our bodies do not process fake foods very well, and that includes synthetic vitamins and minerals.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
There is NO chemical difference between manufactured vitamins and organic ones – same goes for the minerals….
I don’t think half the stuff added to rice milk, really needs to be there either like corn syrup etc..
But I think from memory, adding some vitamins to rice milk is essential for people who more or less live off it, because rice milk is deficient in some vitamins and minerals – like it’s not a whole food by it’s self.
And some incredients do make it TASTE better – which in terms of practical consideration, gets the product sold, as not many people want plain old “rice and water” milk…
And for the nut jobs without blenders, you can buy bags of rice flour, so soak it up and serve it up.
I have to disagree on the minerals part. Certain forms of minerals (i.e. ionic compounds, oxidation states, complex ions, etc.) are better absorbed in the body than other forms. The most ideal one isn’t necessarily what’s added to the fortified foods that we eat, so a 45% value for calcium on the label might actually be as low as 1% in practical terms, as a hypothetical example. There’s also the issue of balancing nutrients to assure that said vitamins and minerals will have optimal absorption rates. This is more common in *natural* than fortified foods. One last thing on this part – can you be sure that manufacturers are taking proper measures to eliminate anti nutrients in their final product? Skipping a proper soaking of the rice would also inhibit metabolic pathways and essentially waste a lot of what’s in the rice, nutritionally speaking.
As for the corn syrup, there are more health friendly sweeteners out there than just corn syrup; corn syrup is just cheaper and more addictive in terms of flavor and flavor enhancements. One could also cite the number of health issues related to corn syrup, but we don’t have to go there to know that it’s fairly common knowledge…
This is a great recipe & I’m so glad you posted it. Seriously, thank you. I do notice, however, that you have affiliate links to the very product (s) you are criticizing. You make money on these items if people click through & buy. Don’t you find this to be contradictory to what you preach? I love your blog & recipes but it’s hard to see genuineness when you are profiting off of products you condemn.
I appreciate your honesty Jenny, and I hope my comments will clarify my intentions a bit. First, those links are primarily in place to show the brand and price association with the products mentioned. Amazon is one of the few (possibly the only) site that shows the same brand for the same price to everywhere across the country. Company sites don’t show prices, and local stores vary regionally. Neither of those options would work to get my point across.
Also, I don’t believe linking to the product is contradictory to my comments regarding it. I link to products and articles all the time, and a link (in my opinion) doesn’t mean I’m supporting it – especially when I state so within the context. With so many readers being in different places in real food journey, I can’t take for granted that anyone knows anything for certain – even a mere mention of a brand name – as some only recognize by what the container looks like.
In regards to making a profit, I do earn a very small commission on affiliate links, and its that commission that helps to cover the costs associated with running this blog. That’s not a standard quip copy and pasted from a government disclosure – it’s the truth! Unfortunately, there are costs associated with running Crumbs, and we’re not able to cover them all out of our own household budget. The commission helps to offset that.
I appreciate your encouragement and it’s because of readers like you that this blog continues to exist. Thank you, for both the positive note and the challenge to remain an open and transparent blogger.
I say fair play to you!! “A very small commission” will not go very far towards covering your costs… I notice there are a lot of readers who are very grateful for your recipes and tips… money saving and health inspiring 🙂 Maybe they would like to donate a little each, so you didn’t have to rely on commissions? Nice blog, Tiffany, thank you.
You’re most welcome Rona! 🙂
I’m in France VENDEE
Hi. Really enjoying what I’m reading on your site here, lots of things that we buy but are easily made.
I just followed your recipe for the rice milk, after buying some to see if I was drinkable and deciding to make some (tried other milks that I just couldn’t stand in the past). Not sure why, but the one I bought is a little sweet tasting, yet doesn’t list any sweetener in the ingredients. I found it quite enjoyable. Ingredients listed were the sunflower oil, 10% rice flour, calcium, sea salt, emulsifier, acidity regulator.
The stuff I made, I used white rice, all that was in the cupboard, and at 1 part rice to 4 parts water it just tasted like bland watery rice. Tried 3 parts water and cooking the rice a little more, that turned like a thin runny slime, if that makes sense, but still tasted like watery rice. Very bland and really not something I could offer to the kids.
I figured there isn’t really anything added in the one I bought that would add the flavour, so I assumed it all came from the rice used. Would using brown rice add a nicer flavour? Any other hints you could give to make it more useful? I’m looking at this for using in coffee, adding to cereal, that sort of thing.
I’m located in Australia if that makes any difference to things.
Cheers
Stu
Hi Stuart, as in the recipe, I recommend vanilla and cinnamon to enhance the flavor. I don’t know what caused the sweet flavor in the store-bought brand, other than what could have been used as the emulsifier and acidity regulator. Neither of those are ingredients themselves, but what ingredients do… mustard is an emulsifier, as is egg yolk… does that makes sense?
If you try the cinnamon and vanilla and still don’t like the flavor, try a few drops of stevia to taste. 🙂
Beauty, thanks Tiffany. Makes perfect sense. I’ll keep playing and see how I go. Cheers
I had no idea it would be this easy, will give it a try. Great way to say some money. It is definitely a healthier option than the store ones with high fructose corn syrup.
Someone might have asked you this question already. What about the left over water that we boil with the rice? Does that count?
Hi Mercedes! I’ve never made rice and had leftover water… ? My rice always absorbs it all!
I rinse my rice first, than i use plenty of water to cook with and then i drain it. Like when you make pasta? So i thought that water could be used as a rice milk?
Oh, I see. Sure, you could use that water!
I was just wondering what could you add to get all your vitamins? Please and thanks!! Great information, thank you so much!
*Ben
Uhmmmm Kifer.. is a probiotic living organism.. rice milk while good, is not in the same category.
Correct Peter, kefir is not the same as rice milk, but I wasn’t comparing nutrition content. The parallel is drawn at the ease of making them both.
A question – -should the “4 C of filtered water be hot or cold? You specify hot water for the 1/4 C. rice method. thanks – and
does it matter if i just use cold tap water if I do not have filtered water on hand?
Hello! Hot water makes it a bit easier for the rice to break up into smaller pieces (resulting in a better milk), but I’ve used room temperature water without a problem too. I’ve even used tap water, so I think cold tap would be fine as well. You might need an extra blend, but you’ll be good!
Can you tell me how long it keeps in the refrig?
Can one use this for making yogurt using the crockpot/oven light method and commercial yogurt for starter? Thanks! And thanks for these wonderful, inspirational and educational posts!
Just whipped up one cup as an experiment. I’ll strain it as you recommended. Thanks so much for sharing this information!
You’re welcome!
This was super easy!!! Thanks a million $$$ lol
You’re absolutely welcome!
Thank you so much for this recipe. Super easy, practical, and one saves a lot of money and on ingesting low-quality, cheaper processed Vegan milks. I did a banana, cinnamon milkshake with mine! 😉
That sounds really good Rosa – so glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Hi! I definitely will try this since i looove rice milk. Thank u, from Jakarta, Indonesia. ☺
This was really easy to make, and I love how customizable the flavor is! I made two cups of rice milk and added a splash of honey. It still tastes kind of bland to me, BUT it’s a great way to stretch my store-bought almond milk 🙂
I also made a really simple spinach and rice dish to go with the milk – it’s perfect since the spinach supplies the calcium that the rice milk doesn’t! 🙂 I don’t know if I want to try making coconut milk or almond milk next-but I’ll definitely be using more of your recipes!
I tried both the cooked and the raw version. I prefer the raw. It is much lighter and more refreshing. I prefer it ice cold. I use a small amount of honey to improve the flavor (very small). I found one use for the raw rice meal that is left back, I use it as a thickener for my soup. I was trying to find a recipe to make rice cakes with it but no luck. Any suggestions?
Rice cakes used puffed rice, like the cereal, and as far as I know, it takes a serious machine to make rice puff up like that. I haven’t seen an alternative using cooked rice though either. Maybe “rice balls” would be a better search term? I think I’ve seen those around!
When I put all 4 c. of water in and turned on my (Kitchen Aid) machine, it threw water all over my kitchen when I tried to blend it. I have better luck starting with the rice and a 1/2 C. or a bit more of the water, blending it and slowly adding a bit more, then straining it and blending in the rest of the water. I also found tht I liked this better if I blended it with soem commercial milk when drinking it.
Please put an edit ability in for comments. I see some errors I cannot now correct. thanks.
;->
Thank you so much for this recipe! Our little man / 5 months old has allergies and severe GERD…and is allergic to Cow milk. We started feeding him Rice milk formula out of desperation, from a recipe I found on Pinterest, and it literally saved his life. He was dying of starvation and has spend time in the hospital as well as many medical emergencies. He is a failure to thrive baby and having to go through lots of therapy but He has finally started gaining weight a couple months ago, but is still very small for his age. All of that to say this…..His diet requires lots of feeding…thus lots of “Store bought” Rice Milk.(as in A carton per day now) = Lots of money….!!! This will be a HUGE blessing to our family if this recipe works out for him. I cannot wait to try it!! Tomorrow!! :]
Again, thank you! I’ll try to post again and update.
God Bless!
I have a two year old who can’t drink or eat any cow’s milk products. He mostly drinks store bought rice milk with some coconut milk in it. Does home made rice milk have sufficient calcium for a toddler or child?
Katie
Katie,
People don’t NEED as much calcium as was shoved down our throats growing up (brought to you by the folks at “Got Milk?” aka the California Milk Processor Board).
Cow’s milk is for calves and has the calories, fat, and cholesterol needed to grow a calf into a full size adult cow (600-2000 pounds depending on breed!). Humans do not need cow’s milk, period… not for calcium, not for any reason.
Furthermore, there is increasing evidence that dairy consumption actually depletes the calcium in bones and doesn’t actually strengthen bones.
Besides, why get your vitamins process through a middle man (the cow)? Where do cows get their calcium? Yep… plants!
Calcium sources: Butternut squash, beans, legumes, broccoli, oranges, brussel sprouts, etc. all have calcium. If your child doesn’t like beans, you can try bean chips (Beanitos or similar) or bean burgers. There are lots of options. If you are super worried about it, they make Calcium + Vit D. gummy vitamins for kids.
Geeky, Thank you for sharing all that. I do wonder whether we need all that calcium too. I look forward to the day when we can know for sure. We do live longer than cows do, but then I suppose so do elephants and they don’t drink calcium all day. Very interesting subject.
Hey! So I was just wondering, I’m starting this non dairy diet and was wondering if rice milk is a perfect substitute for calcium since I’m extremely worried about not getting enough calcium. Thank you and also great recipe. 🙂
Hi Nikola – I’m not a medical professional so I can’t make a recommendation on this. If you’re concerned about getting enough calcium, I’d suggest talking to a dietary professional.
I love your recipes! I have to start this by telling you, I’m not one who cares about “healthy” verses, “non healthy” anything. To many of my friends horror, I’ll eat just about anything that doesn’t eat me first. I have no fear of added anything! That being said, I’ve been living in foreign countries for the past few years. I’m all in for natural produce just because the flavor is amazing!
Okay, so, I live in Japan, where everything is “good for you”. And a while back I decided to try my hand at rice milk. I found your recipe. It was okay, but I have come to be a flavor fanatic, and rice milk just tastes watery to me. But, a couple days ago, I decided to try again. This time, I decided to reduce the amount of water in hopes of getting a thicker milk. My rice was hot and for whatever reason, I wondered what hot rice milk would taste like, so I added two cups hot water to my one cup of hot rice. OH MY GOODNESS! It was very thick and very creamy with NO sediment. I ended up adding the additional two cups of water, a little sugar, and a little vanilla. It is heaven in a cup! After two days in the fridge, it was still thick and creamy, and tasted great. I heated up a cupful, added a bit of nutmeg, and I am enjoying it as I write this.
Thank you for taking the time to put this stuff together online. Some of us avoided cooking for a long time. It’s nice to have a place to go to for fun and tasty recipes that are easy to follow!
Uhm…sorry, but you say “polyunsaturated fats aren’t that good for you”. That’s dead wrong. Its saturated fats that are bad for you. Polyunsaturated fats are simply fat molecules that have more than one unsaturated carbon bond in the molecule, this is also called a double bond. Oils that contain polyunsaturated fats are typically liquid at room temperature but start to turn solid when chilled. Olive oil is an example of a type of oil that contains polyunsaturated fats. Having said that, you say eat some nuts. Well, that’s what IS in nuts. Your recipe is great, but that bit is really some misinformation.
http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/HealthyLiving/HealthyEating/Nutrition/Polyunsaturated-Fats_UCM_301461_Article.jsp#.VwXoU_krIdU
I’m sorry Mandy, but we’re going to have to agree to disagree. In all the independent research I’ve done, I firmly believe that what’s being recommended by government groups is not correct. I encourage you to look beyond these groups and read more articles on how saturated fats and poly- fats work in our bodies.
I thought raw milk from grass-fed cows or goats was expensive, until I started to look at how much commercial soy, oat and rice milk cost.
WHAT??!! How can a product that comes from such cheap food be $12+ per gallon? (answer: vegans are willing to pay anything to have a milk alternative, rather than just give up dairy. Not to mention the “stuff” added to the plant-based milks.)
Thanks for posting the recipe; I’m going to try an oat milk recipe I found elsewhere, and then this recipe you provide and see which one the family prefers.
The Rice Dream you buy at the store has added canola oil and is very expensive. JRC
This recipe looks so good, but I’d love to incorporate it into hot drinks. Will it work in a hot drink too?
I haven’t tried it myself Stacey, but it should!
Thank you, will give it a try :).
Just made this recipe for my hot matcha latte…wow! SO good, thank you for the recipe. I poured the milk through a strainer, added a dash of cinnamon, ginger and vanilla….delicious!
So glad you liked it Stacey!!
My husband is extremely sensitive to FODMAPs and we’ve kept trying different cereals wondering what’s wrong. Turns out it was the store-bought rice milk he’s had on his cereal for years (recently tested for FODMAPs by the Monash University)! We had him completely off rice milk the last two weeks while we were on vacation and could easily have hot breakfasts and he feels so much better, but now that we’re going back to work I found your recipe and am taking a shot at making some safe rice milk so he can have cereal again! For anyone used to store bought, II taste-tested against Trader Joe’s Rice Drink (which I think tastes a lot like Rice Dream) and added 3 tsps of vanilla, a mixture of table sugar and stevia to taste (still leaving it less sweet than store-bought), and a pinch of salt. The salt made ALL the difference. I think he’ll be pleased–fingers crossed! (Oh, and I used some fresh nutmeg at the end instead of cinnamon…makes it taste like egg nog. ) 🙂 Thank you so much for posting this!
Update after the husband-taste-test: A bit too thick for what he’s used to on cereal, and he doesn’t really want to have egg nog every day. 😉 For our second attempt, we used half the rice for the same amount of water (1/2 cup), skipped the vanilla and nutmeg, and used 4 tsp sugar, 1 scoop stevia and a heavy dash of kosher salt. It was a winner! Next time we’ll bend the sweetener ratio a little more toward stevia and see if we can get the amount of sugar down. But I’m excited! And with half the rice and no vanilla, we’re now looking at what, 3 cents a quart?
hi Tiffany! please research how unhealthy white rice is. there are no health benefits to it whatsoever. brown rice would be infinitely better preferable
Brown rice has a much higher level of arsenic in it. A good quality Jasmine like the organic one from Lundberg Farms in CA is a better choice. Stay away from any rice farmed in the South because those fields were used to produce cotton and the pesticides used we’re high in arsenic which is absorbed by the rice as it grows. Wash the rice until the water rooms clear before you cook it.
Emerile made his “Horchata” or Rice Milk with rice, almonds, cinnamon, and lime zest…FANCY! This is what is currently resting on my counter over night. I love your website so far, I’m really excited to keep reading. I’ve added you to my book marks so I don’t lose your site. My family lived on Rice milk for two years, then I noticed they were all rashing out AGAIN!!! So my husband, who never believed in my dairy allergy theory took the kids to visit his mom for a week, while I had to work. They came back completely clear, and had been drinking milk. So I gave up on Rice milk, but my little guy with the worst skin issue, missed the rice milk…he says milk makes his stomach hurt, so I started trying to make it… well once they get attached to a certain idea of how it should taste, it’s hard to change… So I am adding agave to mine, or dates, I wish I could get away with not doing it, but my husband supports a healthy sweet tooth for our family and if it isn’t sweet they don’t want it. I choose not to fight it too hard… but trying to encourage limiting sugar.
great post, great topic, two things, it would be good to have more of the scientific basis for your claims clearly referenced and it seems wrong that you put so much effort in at the “make it yourself level” so you know exactly what you’re getting, but then you buy your rice or almonds at cost co and they could be of dubious origin and cultivation. Shoudn’t you also pay very precise attention to the “composition” of the rice itself?. I think with some more rigour you could have one of the best presentations on this topic I’ve seen, and your inspiring message would carry so much farther. I’ve always felt the key issues in this whole healthy eating vs. industrial food argument have been victim to the lack of fundamental scientific fact, e.g. no one will listen to your point about added vitamins if you don’t prove it, and industry will say these statements are ridiculous because a vitamin is a molecule and a molecule is a molecule… etc… More effort is needed on the basis of fact in this space. Well done on a great blog and lovely recipes.
Hi Tiffany. I was diagnosed with fructose, Lactose and Sorbitol intolerance 3 years ago and am limited to only Rice milk as a alternative but have avoided buying it because of hidden fake sugars that are added to the product which I am not able to tolerate. Thank you for you recipe. I will try this and look forward to eating cereal once again.
You’re most welcome Diana!! Enjoy the cereal! 🙂
The first ‘rice milk’ recipe I found said to strain the milk and use the residue for something else. I decided to check out those options tonight and found your website. It sounds like I can make the rice milk and don’t need to strain it, correct?
I am allergic to dairy, corn, and sugar cane. recently found out that the chemicals used in non-dairy milks contain corn. Sad to say, I discovered this after 3 years of trying to manage food allergy symptoms.
More IMPORTANTLY, I am on the track to eliminating them from my diet.
Correct Nanc, you don’t have to strain if you don’t want to. It’s more of a preferred texture thing really, not nutritionally based. Congrats on being on track with your food allergies!!
I’m in shock, I’ve been buying rice milk for YEARS! I am seriously trying this today! Thank you!!
How long will rice milk be good for in the fridge?
Up to a week Rachel – after that, use the smell test!
All that is required is to boil rice, add some water and blend? WOW!!! I am literally blown away. I got diagnosed with lactose intolerance a few months ago and I have been struggling to get alternatives in my country (tried soy, hated it). I am definitely trying this as soon as I get home today. Anything else you feel I need to add before trying this with my oatmeal?
Before trying this with rice, nope – go for it! (PS – did you mean to say oatmeal?)
I did say “oatmeal” or at least I think I did. Anyhoo, so I got home and tried it yesterday and it was a bit bland till I added some sugar (something else I am trying to stay away from). I have therefore asked the wife to purchase some vanilla syrup to spice it up a little. Is there anything else you think I should try?
Vanilla and cinnamon will help with flavor, cinnamon especially! A smidge of maple syrup goes a long way too.
Thank you for this! I double the rice and it makes a nice thick milk. Currently I don’t flavor it because I just use it in recipes or cereal. SO inexpensive and no reason to limit it in our meals! Awesome.
Hi Tiffany, thanks for the recipe, it works so well and was just what I was looking for! I am disappointed about one thing though – I went out and bought a whole lot of rice milk last night, before coming across this recipe.
After my first batch, I noted I had some raw figs (not 100% ripe though), and I added a couple of those – this made a much creamier batch and just a subtle hint of flavour. I think I’ll keep experimenting. But the standard recipe will be my ‘go to’ from now on.
I can see how adding figs would help with creaminess and a hint of flavor. Good call!! You could do the same with banana, mango, pear, etc. Just a smidgen of flavor, with a natural sweetness. 🙂
This recipe sound terrific! One question though, can you drink the milk immediatly after making it because I know other recipes make the “milk” sit for three hours before making it.
Yes, you can Clara! It might be slightly warm, because of the heat generated by the blender, but there’s no reason why you shouldn’t, or can’t, drink it immediately. 🙂
Is there a recipe using Uncooked Short Grain
brown rice …?
I don’t Zahrah, but you can substitute brown rice for the white rice in this recipe 🙂
If I’d known it was this easy to make, I would have made this ages ago! Plus now you can play with flavorurs. My little brother loves chocolate rice milk, now I can make it with a bit of cocoa and vanilla extract WITHOUT all the added sugar and chemicals.
Isn’t it crazy how simple this recipe is?! Enjoy the experiments, Nikolai!
I tried this and found the texture to be slimy. I’m really struggling because the raw milk is still chalky no matter how many times I filter it with a good not milk bag, and all the cooked recipes are slimy to me. Any suggestions? Also, had anyone tried using the Magic Bullet juicer attachment? I was wondering if the mesh is fine enough. I need a solution because three of my grandchildren can’t do dairy and the cost of commercial is killing me, not to mention the additives. I’m also really concerned about the arsenic levels in the Rice Dream that we’re using. I can reduce the arsenic drastically by using Lundberg rice and washing it well. Sorry about all the questions but I need help!!
Slimy and chalky? I haven’t had either of those issues Deb. My best guess is an issue with the filter process, OR you’re using rice that’s been undercooked. I’m sorry I can’t help more than that – maybe someone else has had a similar issue and has been able to resolve it?
Tiffany have you ever used your fresh rice milk, or another Vegan milk to make a condensed milk substitution? I want to find a good creamy substitute for making pies and other baked goods that use Dairy Condensed Milk. I am going to make some fresh rice milk and see about reducing the water if possible, then “cooking it down” more and adding a bit of a sweetening agent and see what happens! Thank you for the recipe(s).
Hi Kathie! I have made dairy-free sweetened condensed milk before! Here’s the tutorial I wrote up: https://dontwastethecrumbs.com/2013/11/dairy-free-sweetened-condensed-milk/
Hello! So I was making rice milk, and when I was reaching for the cinnamon I accidently grabbed turmeric. I didn’t realize it until after a few hefty servings, followed by an OH NOOOO. Well I wasn’t going to let it go to waste (because don’t waste the crumbs) and it ended up turning out well!! It’s like a premade golden milk! I’m looking forward to see what it will be like in my coffee tomorrow.
Lesson: sometimes mistakes turn into great discovers (Penicillin anyone?)
LOL – exactly! I’ve heard golden milk is good, but haven’t tried it myself. If it’s a bit weird in coffee, consider pouring some into a glass, adding cinnamon to just that little bit, and then try adding to coffee. That way if it doesn’t work out, you’re not ruining all the golden milk. 🙂
I will be trying this for the first time tonight! I threw a tablespoon or 2 in with my cooking rice for a little extra nutrients and I figured it would give it a deeper flavor : ) Can’t wait to try it tomorrow!
*a tablespoon or 2 of lentils
I like that rice milk has no waste and is super cheap to make ☺ I’m going start making it again, I’ll probably add dates and vanilla though. Last time I made it, it was thick and creamy, so i may water it down, depending.
This is great. Thanks for the recipe. I’m just confused- do we use uncooked rice? That seems hard to digest. I have a very sensitive stomach.
Use cooked rice Stacey!
You cook it first
How much is a serving for 51 calories?
Hello,
What a nice simple recipe, thank you! With the cooked rice, was it rinsed prior to cooking??
Thanks, Angela
Hi
I was wondering what the difference is with other recipes that use uncooked rice to make rice milk? Chalky? Smooth? Thanks!
g
Thanks for this.
I am currently looking at 30 empty boxes of rice milk and so angry about the waste involved I could scream (remember those days where milk was delivered in glass bottles, that were then picked up and recycled? The same could be done for rice milk too).
So I decided I needed to start making my own milk instead of spending money on 7 boxes of rice milk a week, and then being forced to find a way to get the boxes recycled properly.
Will be buying a blender this week 🙂
Hi Tiffany do you have a formula with rice milk for highly sensitive and highly allergic infant?
I do not Jackie, and I would encourage you to speak to your pediatrician about infant nutrition if you haven’t already. Their tiny bodies need so many nutrients! ♥
Have you ever tried combining cashew milk and rice milk? My thought on this was I find rice milk not quite rich enough or creamy enough and cashew milk maybe a little too rich. I thought an easy way to do this might be to add cashews to rice before cooking. Also, I suspect you are right that the companies add rice sugars to make it palatable to a wider audience. I would suggest to readers who are looking for that taste that they might try adding rice malt to taste. Rice malt is rich and a little creamy as well as very sweet so it might make it more milk like. Anyways, thanks for the recipes. I am sure they will be good base recipes for making something to my taste without all the additives. My main issue with those is it takes practically nothing to go over my b12 requirement for the day since I am not a vegetarian.
Hi Anne Marie! I haven’t personally combined the milks, but I would definitely give it a go! I’d try making them separately first, and then combining them to find the ratio that you like best. Plant milks are freezer-friendly, so freeze whatever you don’t mix, and you’ll have it for next time!
I’m looking forward to making this for my 2-year-old, who has eosinophilic esophagitis and after being on an elemental diet for several months, has just gotten back rice. I couldn’t find any rice milk in the store that didn’t have additives that he can’t have yet. Can I use an immersion blender for this? My regular blender has been used for milk and he’s highly allergic to milk, so I’m afraid to use it on his food.
You could probably Ahuva, but it might take significant blending. Can you put your blender jar in the dishwasher to sterilize it?
I tried with the cooked rice method and I dare to say I like it better than the uncooked one. My strainer isn’t as soft as most people and it’s quite hard to find a nut bag around my area so the leftover small bits have better aftertaste with the cooked rice one, also it tastes more glutinous?? But it’s thicker and better!
Yay! I’m so glad you found a homemade version that you like!