Homemade Soy Milk

This recipe for Homemade Soy Milk is creamy and lightly sweetened, with no additives or preservatives. Enjoy it warm or cold, as part of a breakfast or just on its own.

Growing up, one of my favourite drinks from my childhood is soy milk.

Sometimes it would be unsweetened, but I always liked cold, sweetened soy milk.

With my new Instant Ace Nova blender (not sponsored), I wanted to play around with making soy milk since I did oat milk. 

What is soy milk?

Soy milk (also known as soya milk or soya bean milk) is a Chinese drink made from soaked soy beans that are ground up with water, heated and filtered to produce a "milk."

It is plant-based, dairy-free and vegan.

Soy milk is naturally off-white in colour. 

What are soy beans?

Soy beans are an edible legume widely grown in Asia. 

There are many food products that come from soy beans, including:

• tofu [Turkey Mapo Tofu]
• tempeh
• bean curd
• bean paste/miso 
• soy sauce
• kinako (soy bean powder) [Injeolmi Cream Buns]
• soy milk
• soybean oil

What's the difference between edamame and soy beans?

Edamame are green in colour and harvested early. 

Soy beans are mature beans that have been left to ripen and dry out. 

Edamame beans are eaten fresh, usually steamed in the pod. 

Soy beans are typically dull yellow in colour, but can also be brown or black.

Mature soy beans cannot be consumed raw and must be cooked.

Why you'll love this recipe

This Homemade Soy Milk is creamy, smooth and delicious.

It's not very sweet, and you can customize the sweetness level to your liking. Add more sweetener if you like it sweeter, or omit if you want it unsweetened. 

It's straightforward to make, with only 3 ingredients.

There are no preservatives or additives in this plant-based, vegan soy milk.

Only 3 ingredients

For this soy milk recipe, you'll need:

• soy beans: choose yellow, organic, non-GMO soy beans if you can; be sure to soak them overnight. You can find packaged dried soy beans in Asian supermarkets.
• water: clean, filtered water; adjust the amount of water to the consistency you like
• rock sugar: or granulated sugar; rock sugar has a more milder sweetness -- you can adjust the sweetness to your liking

How to make it

Place the soy beans in a colander and rinse under running water.

Transfer the beans to a large bowl and cover with enough water. Soak overnight.

Using Instant Ace Nova blender:

In the morning, place the soaked soy beans into a high-powered blender (I used the Instant Ace Nova blender).

Cover with 1L of water.

Press the SOY MILK function button and let it heat/blend. 

With about 2 minutes remaining, pause the blender and add in the rock sugar/sweetener and/or flavouring. Resume blending.

Carefully transfer the hot soy milk into heat-safe glass jars. (You can strain the soy milk through a cheesecloth/nut milk bag if you like). 

Skim off the foam and let cool before storing in the fridge.

Stovetop method:

Blend the soybeans and water until smooth.

Strain the mixture through a cheesecloth/nut milk bag into a large pot.

Bring the soy milk to a boil, and simmer for about 20 minutes. 

Near the end of the cooking time, add in the rock sugar. Stir until dissolved. 

Skim off the foam.  

Transfer to heat-safe glass jars and let cool before storing in the fridge. 

How to store

Store this Homemade Soy Milk in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 1 week.

I prefer storing it in glass as it will not absorb or transfer any flavours.

As this soy milk doesn't contain preservatives, it should be consumed within 1 week.

Can you freeze homemade soy milk?

In short, yes, however the texture may change. 

The milk may separate since we're not using any gums or stabilizers. 

Freeze for up to 3 months.

How to serve

Enjoy the Homemade Soy Milk warm or cold.

Serve the soy milk with Chinese fried doughnut (youtiou) as a breakfast.

You can use the soy milk as an alternative to dairy milk. 

Optional flavourings

Add a splash of good quality vanilla extract for a vanilla flavoured soy milk.

Try adding black sesame powder to make a black sesame soy milk. 

Add almond extract in place of vanilla for an almond flavoured soy milk.

Add cocoa powder for a chocolate twist. 

FAQs and troubleshooting

Foaming/bubbles appear in the soy milk

Foaming is a natural process that occurs when making soy milk.

Commercial soy milk uses an anti-foaming agent. 

You can use a spoon to skim off any foam that rises the to top and discard. 

How to thicken soy milk?

Use less water and the soy milk will thicken up.

My soy milk tastes bitter

Be sure to soak the soy beans for a minimum of 12 hours, which will reduce the lipoxygenase (that produces the "beany" taste). 

Cooking and heating the soy milk longer will also help get rid of any unpleasant taste. 

Can I make it sweeter?

Yes, you can increase the sweetness or omit it altogether. Adjust accordingly to the type of sweetener you use. 

Other recipes you may like

Be sure to check out these recipes:

Homemade Black Sesame Oat Milk

Instant Pot Turkey Congee

Wife Cakes (老婆餅)

HK Milk Tea Bubble Tea

Braided Pork Floss Green Onion Buns

Let me know if you try out this recipe for Homemade Soy Milk -- tag me on Instagram @siftandsimmer or leave me a comment/rating below!