Soy milk is a great alternative to cow's milk. It's delicious, affordable, easy to make, and only requires 2 ingredients: water and soybeans.
Soy milk is a delicious and healthy alternative to dairy milk. It is packed with nutrients and health benefits and this homemade recipe is way better than any beverage you can find at the grocery store.
It is dairy and lactose-free, so it is perfect for you if you have lactose intolerance. Besides, it only requires 2 simple ingredients! You actually need to blend the soy beans with water and then strain them using a nut milk bag.
How to make soy milk - Step by step
- Soak the soybeans in water overnight.
- Drain the soybeans and remove the outer skins. Then add them to a powerful blender and blend them with 3 cups or 750 ml of water until well blended and almost smooth (photo 1).
- Strain the blended mixture using a nut milk bag, a cheesecloth, a napkin or a fine mesh strainer (photo 2).
- Pour the mixture into a pot or a saucepan and add 1 cup or 250 ml of water (photo 3).
- Bring to a boil, stir and skim foam (photo 4).
- Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes (photo 5).
- Let the soy milk cool and enjoy it (photo 6).
Pro tips
- Use yellow soybeans, it's the best kind of soybeans to make this milk. They're a great source of protein. Soy protein is one of the best vegetable ones!
- Add more or less water depending on how thick you like your milk. However, it naturally tends to be thicker than other milk alternatives.
- Feel free to add any sweeter you want or don't add any sweetener at all. Add it gently until the milk tastes good.
- Some recipes call for a tiny amount of salt, but I prefer my milk salt-free.
- Feel free to add other ingredients like cocoa powder or ground cinnamon.
- Keep it in a sealed container in the fridge for about 3-5 days.
- Before you drink it you need to cook the milk, as soy is a legume and can't be eaten raw.
- You can use your soy milk to prepare recipes like vegan chocolate cake, vegan carrot cake, or vegan cheesecake, or have it with your cereal in the morning.
What is soy milk?
Soy milk is a type of plant milk. It is 100% plant-based and it doesn't contain cholesterol at all. I love to use it for baking because it has a thicker texture than other types of plant milk.
Is soy milk good for you?
Yes, it is! Unless you can't consume soy or it feels heavy in your stomach, this kind of plant milk is perfectly fine for consumption, as it has been in Asia for centuries. Just remember - if the milk has been in the fridge for some time and it smells bad, don't drink it.
Soy milk vs almond milk
Soy milk and almond milk are two different kinds of plant milk. I usually alternate between them and use them for different things; I use the first one for cooking and baking recipes, whereas I prefer to add almond milk to my coffee and smoothies.
Looking for more plant milk recipes?
Did you make this soy milk recipe?
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Soy Milk
Ingredients
- ½ cup dried soybeans
- 4 cups water
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract or a piece of vanilla bean, optional
- 4 dates, optional
Instructions
- Soak the soybeans in water overnight (ideally 12 hours or longer).
- Drain the soybeans and remove the outer skins. Removing the outer skins is optional, but your milk will have a better texture if you do.
- Add them to a powerful blender and blend them with 3 cups of water (750 ml) until well blended and almost smooth.
- Strain the blended mixture using a nut milk bag, a cheesecloth, a napkin or a fine mesh strainer.
- Pour the mixture into a pot or a saucepan and add 1 cup of water (250 ml). Bring to a boil, stir and skim foam.
- Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes.
- Let cool the soy milk. You can add other ingredients such as vanilla extract or dates. Blend the mixture if necessary.
- Keep the leftovers in a sealed container in the fridge for about 3-5 days.
Notes
- Use yellow soybeans, it's the best kind of soybeans to make soy milk.
- Add more or less water depending on how thick you like your milk.
- Feel free to add any sweetener you want or don't add any at all. Add it gently until the milk tastes good.
- Some recipes call for a tiny amount of salt, but I prefer my milk salt-free.
- Feel free to add other ingredients like cocoa powder or ground cinnamon.
Nutrition
Update Notes: This post was originally published in May of 2014, but was republished with new photos, step-by-step instructions, and tips in January of 2022.
Bonnie says
How do you remove the soybean outer skins?
Iosune Robles says
Hi Bonnie! Here is an article: https://tempebumbung.wordpress.com/2020/07/21/tempeh-making-process-how-to-dehull-soybeans/ that explains it in an easy way 🙂 Hope I have helped you a bit!
Adam says
I don't bother removing the skins; I just blend them as is. Any fibrous shreds from the skins all come out when you strain it anyway.
The strained pulp I make into tempeh. You just dry it out enough that it's like damp sawdust rather than like mashed potato, and treat it like any other tempeh substrate.
htet htet hlaing says
Can we boil again after keeping cooked soya milk in the freezer.
Iosune Robles says
Hi! Feel free to boil it again 🙂
Adams Mayowa says
Hi Losune, thank you for sharing your brilliant vegan recipes especially the soy milk. I have tried preparing mine and it was wonderful but I discovered my milk cuddles after it cools down. Is there a way I can prevent my soy milk from cuddling?
Lastly, I prefer using dates as my sweetener, but can I blend the soy beans and dates together during the initial stage of preparation or anh better advice?
Iosune Robles says
Hi Adams! Don't know why your milk curdles after it cools down. Have you followed the recipe to a T?
I recommend you not to blend the soy and the dates together!
Hope I have helped you 🙂
Florbela Monteiro says
It doesn't say the quantity of soya beans in the recipe.
Iosune Robles says
½ cup dried soybeans (80 g) 🙂
Aunt M says
I haven't made it but am confused by your nutrition numbers. They don't jive with the ingredients you used.
You put in 80 grams of soy which literature says is 39% protein at most. It's in 1000 grams of water, so how does less than 32 grams protein total become 9.5 grams per cup (236.5 mL) when that would be 32 g protein/ 1000g water = 0.032g protein /mL water. So 0.032 g protein /mL water x 236.5 mL water = 7.568 g protein/cup. But your nutrition info says 9.5 g protein per cup. You didn't put that much in. Where did the extra come from?
Joe says
Maybe some of the water boils off during the boil step, which would concentrate the protein. Not sure if it would concentrate it that much though.
Susan says
Can you fortify the soy milk, like the store bought brands; I want to make sure to get my calcium etc? Also, I have a soy-milk maker. Would I still need to boil the milk afterwards to get rid of the beany taste? Lastly, can you make oat milk in a soy milk maker?
billiebean says
yes you can, you just need to shake it up like you would store-bought, and yes, and no
Iosune Robles says
Thanks for your help, Billiebean 🙂
Iosune Robles says
Hi Susan, I have never try to fortify it but I think you can do it. If you use a soy-milk maker you also have to boil the milk, this will make it more digestive. Lastly, soy-milk maker is only for soy milk!
Have a nice day 🙂
Joanne Murphy says
Great! Easy, remarkably so. I was shuddering in apprehension because although I love cooking I feared this would be intolerably complicated with a million steps, and it was not! Next will try the vegan buttermilk and vegan butter. Hooray! 😄
Iosune Robles says
Hi Joanne!! it is great to know you like our recipes !!! Give a try to the others and share your experience with us! Have a great day!
manatees says
Hey there! If i want to make chocolate soy milk, at what point should i add the cocoa powder? Thanks a lot for the advice!
Iosune Robles says
Hi! I would add it after step 6 🙂 Hope you like it!
Teigan says
Hi there, thanks for the recipe! Do you think it would work to make extras ahead of time and freeze until ready to use?
Iosune says
Hi Teigan! You're so welcome 🙂 I think it should work, but maybe it's better to use that milk for cooking, rather than for drinking it plain.
Steve says
I love Minute Tapioca with cow's milk then put frozen blueberries on top while it cools, but it's even better with store bought soy (Silk brand is my favorite) instead. Do you think homemade soy milk will work for MT?
Iosune Robles says
Hi Steve!! of course, it will work!! And you have de advantage of adapting it to your own taste. Regards!
Viji says
Hi there!
I am going to make this tonight - what with the social distancing and all, I have a lot of time to kill 😀
I had a question about cooking the milk for 20 minutes. Why do we have to cook it for so long? To make it thicker or ... ?
Thanks in advance!
John Chatfield says
According to the starter of this blog, "you need to cook the milk before drinking it, as soy is a legume and can’t be eaten raw." Check it out online. Not to scare you or anything but some websites talk about the potential for toxicity. I know I had some stomach issues when I didn't boil my dried chili beans long enough after soaking.
Iosune says
Hi John! Thanks for your comment 🙂
Iosune says
Hi Viji! Hahaha yes, I'm also cooking like crazy 😛 You need to cook it so long because soy is a legume and you need to cook it really well or your milk will be hard to digest. Have a nice day!
Lori Whitworth says
Are the soybeans used in the recipe fresh or dried?
Iosune says
Hi Lori! I use dried beans 🙂
Tahira Akhtar says
I have worked this out using the soybeans I have brought it will cost 15p per 1 cup of soy milk. So cheap. I had brought a huge bag of soybeans 5kg = £11. I can't wait to try this. Do you have any recipes on what you could use the soybean pulp for after making the milk?
Iosune says
Hi Tahira! No, I don't, sorry! I use it to make vegan burgers, but there's no recipe on the blog.
Nancy says
I've made a soy milk with soy flour and the water (60oz) from the tofu that I bought in at the store. It tastes great and it still lasted only 5 days at the most I use the water and a cup of soy flour from Hodgson Mill.
Iosune says
Hi Nancy! Thank you so much for your comment 🙂