Creamsicle Cashew Milk Recipe

This easy DIY cashew milk tastes just like a Creamsicle! It’s Paleo, vegan, and Whole30 compliant and so much better than store-bought.

If you’ve found yourself lost in the plant-based milk aisle lately, you’re not alone.
Dozens of options—many with flavorings, sugars, emulsifiers, and other additives—have made it a chore to identify exactly what you want and don’t want. One solution? Make your own! It takes just three easy steps: Plan ahead to soak your favorite nut in water for a few hours, then blend and strain. You’ll have fresh, creamy nut milk with just about 10 minutes of actual work. It’s a totally delicious project, and all you’ll need is a good blender (a high-powered one is preferred) and a nut milk bag or some cheesecloth.

Why Creamsicle for this cashew milk? It just might be the ultimate orange-vanilla combination and maybe the most refreshing flavor combination ever! The original Creamsicle, an orange ice pop with a vanilla ice cream center, dates back over a century and has been a nostalgic summer treat for generations. We figured we could give it a healthy DIY makeover and keep it totally plant-based, plus free of additives, artificial colors, and flavors. And while we don’t want to say this nut-milk drink could exactly replace that iconic ice pop, let’s just say we think it’s a creamy, dreamy vegan update. Here’s everything you need to know.

Is Creamsicle Cashew Milk Healthy?

This recipe for orange-flavored cashew milk is a pretty healthy treat. It’s made with just a few simple ingredients and contains no gluten, dairy, or other animal products and is lightly sweetened with dates, not refined sugar. It’s vegan and compatible with Paleo and Whole30 diets. It contains some important nutrients like potassium, vitamins A and C, and a small amount of protein. That said, it’s fairly high in fat, although almost all of that is the heart-healthy unsaturated kind. So savor it in moderation and feel good about giving its ultra-processed namesake, the Creamsicle ice pop, a pass!

How To Make Just About Any Nut Into Milk

The basic ingredients for homemade nut milks are just nuts and water, and the technique for making them all is basically the same: soak, blend, and strain. One of the benefits of mastering the technique is branching out to try it with any number of nuts and even some seeds like green pumpkin seeds. So if you’d like to try others, like almonds or hazelnuts, for this recipe, you definitely can. But remember that some nuts (like almonds) are denser than cashews, so will require longer soaking and may need more blending time to extract the maximum amount of nuttiness. Some nuts that make really interesting-tasting milks include pecans, walnuts, and pistachios, but these might go a little oddly with the flavor profile of this recipe; stick to cashews, almonds, or hazelnuts for this one!

Serving Suggestions

Want to try out more great plant-based milk recipes? FFF has you covered! Check out How To Make Almond Milk, or go beyond nuts and see How To Make Oat Milk. You can also try some fun blender drinks featuring plant milks like Chocolate-Peanut Butter-Banana Smoothie, Berry-Packed Frozen Fruit Smoothie, or this chocolaty Vegan Milkshake.

Recipe