Homemade Golden Milk Mix
Does it feel like turmeric came out of nowhere and now everyone is obsessed with it? I mean, obviously, I know that's not the case (personally, I've been rocking turmeric when I can bread and butter pickles for years-and I'm about 97% sure I didn't start the trend with my pickle production), but it's definitely having a bit of a moment right now.
And for good reason! Turmeric is one of the very best anti-inflammatory spices out there-and even better is that it's readily available, relatively affordable, and really delicious (which, trust me, is sooooo not the case with all medicinal herbs and spices-blech).
The health benefits of a diet rich in turmeric have been well documented, so I'm not going to go into it here (this article from Dr. Weil is a good starting point, if you're interested). But I am going to talk to about my two favorite ways to consume turmeric.
First up, I make a wicked good Turmeric Chicken Zoodle Soup which we eat at least once a week during the winter-I swear it's been helping keep wintertime colds from ruining our lives. I'll be sharing that recipe coming up in January, but for now, I want to share with you my second favorite way to eat turmeric (and it just happens to make for an excellent holiday gift)-Homemade Golden Milk Mix!
I have to be honest, I think "Golden Milk" is a bit of a branding nightmare-but that's the name that someone came up with and, alas, it stuck. I would much prefer to call this, "Sweet and Spicy Anti-inflammatory Turmeric Latte" because it sounds much more appealing, but I'm not sure anyone would Google that phrase. So we're going with Golden Milk.
But at it's core, Golden Milk is a beautifully anti-inflammatory latte. It's rich, earthy, sweet, and has a little bit of a kick thanks to black pepper (black pepper helps the body use the compounds in the turmeric-plus it adds a wonderful spicy bite). I make mine up with full-fat coconut milk (fat helps your body absorb the beneficial compounds in turmeric), and it's just the best little wintertime afternoon treat.
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To make it even easier to make my mid-afternoon pick-me-up, I've started pre-making Golden Milk Mix and storing it in a jar in my pantry. Think of it like grown up DIY hot cocoa mix. I just mix two heaping tablespoons with some boiling water (or hot coconut milk if I'm feeling decadent), go at it with my frother, and BOOM. Super speedy Anti-inflammatory Turmeric Latte Golden Milk.
I was mixing up a cup the other day, and I thought, "You know what, this would make an awesome holiday gift!" And here we are, kids. Homemade Golden Milk Mix. Perfect for giving to all your loved ones.
I've included instructions below both for making the mix in bulk and for whipping up my favorite cup of Golden Milk with the mix. I've also added labels that you can download for free by filling out the form below. Happy holidays!
📥 Download the Free Labels
I've made you free labels for gifting these jars of golden milk that you can print off at home. Just fill out the form below to get them delivered right to your inbox.
📖 Recipe
Homemade Golden Milk Mix
Ingredients
- 2 whole vanilla beans OR 2 teaspoons vanilla bean powder
- 1 cup coconut milk powder I've been using this brand with really good results
- ⅓ cup ground turmeric I *love* Thrive Market's spices
- 2 tablespoons ground ginger
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- ⅓ cup date sugar more or less depending on taste preference
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
To Make the Mix:
- If using whole vanilla beans, slice the beans in half lengthwise using a sharp knife. Scrape the vanilla flecks out of all four halves into a medium bowl. OR, if using vanilla bean powder, add that to a medium bowl.
- Add the remaining ingredients and stir well to combine.
- Store in an airtight container.
To Make Golden Milk:
- Combine two heaping tablespoons of the Golden Milk Mix with 8 ounces of boiling water or hot coconut milk (for a richer drink). Whisk until frothy and smooth (a frother works for this, too!).
- Sprinkle top with additional cinnamon or turmeric, if desired. Enjoy!
I know that spices don’t dissolve in liquid but are there any ‘solutions’ to avoid a mouth of grit at the bottom of the cup after drinking this? I did pulse the mix in my food processor. The taste is good though.
Hi Laura! We usually leave that last little bit of spice residue in the bottom when we sip. But you can try putting it in a fine tea strainer or strain it through cheese cloth if you don't want to sip that carefully!
Bonjour, ma question est : quand vous dites une tasse cela represente quoi en grammes? merci
Bonjour Laurence! We only list grams when it greatly increases the chances of success when making the recipe (like in our homemade sandwich bread recipe). For everything else, we recommend checking out a free online cups to grams converter to find the gram equivalent for our recipes. Merci!
Hi Cassie I reallywant to try this recipe but as a diabetic it seems like it has a very high amount of carbs? Any suggestios to lower them? Thank you.
Hi Roxann! We always recommend checking in with your health care team to see how best to modify these ingredients to suit your health and dietary needs. They'll be the best folks to help you find something that will work for you!
Hi, I want to add ashwagandha to this recipe using your amounts listed, but how much ashwagandha (tsp? Tbsp??) would you recommend adding to this recipe, with the rest of the ingredients left as is? (
I love golden milk for helping me sleep and ptsd symptoms, and the ability to take this where I go seems great.. however the key ingredient for myself is ashwagandha 😭)
Thank you!
x
Hi, Eden! We recommend getting with a trained herbalist to figure out how much ashwagandha your body needs. Thanks!
Hi,
If I wanted to make this to be mixed with a milk of choice rather than just hot water, this should still work fine without the 1 C of powdered coconut milk, right? I’m just thinking...I could make so much more mix without adding the powdered milk & then I (or a gift recipient) could use whatever milk we wanted. Have you tried it this way? Thanks for your recipe!
Hi, April! Yes, it should still work fine, but we haven't tested it ourselves so it may take a bit of tweaking to get it just right. You could always make the recipe as is and still make the drink with your milk of choice. We often make ours in coconut milk instead of water even with the powdered coconut milk in it! If you do try mixing it up without the powdered coconut milk, please let us know how it turns out for you!
I love this! I will be making this as gifts for all my family. What size container is used in the photo? I just want to make sure I can fit 6 or 12 servings accurately in the jars. What size would you recommend?
If you follow the recipe as written it will make about 12 servings (1 1/2 cups of mix). If you'd like to gift the whole batch you can use these pint jars pictured in the post: Regular Mouth Pint Sharing Jar. If you want to gift six servings instead, half-pint jars should work nicely! Happy gifting!
I can’t have coconut, what could I replace the dried coconut milk with?
Dried dairy milk would do the trick!
How much vanilla bean powder should I use?
Not sure what happened there, but the recipe is supposed to say "2 whole vanilla beans OR 2 teaspoons vanilla bean powder" I'll fix it in the recipe as well!
Thank you! Can't wait to try this!
Thank you so much! And another question: what kind of sugar would be a good replacement for date sugar?
Any other dry sugar would work—cane sugar, coconut sugar, or sucanat would all do the trick.
I am not able to download the printable tags - it says access denied?
Hm, I'm sorry about that! Try this link for the tags: https://wholefully.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/golden-milk-labels.pdf
I looked up your recipe after seeing a 3.7 ounce jar of golden milk mix in Whole Foods for 15 dollars. I made this with monkfruit sweetener (0 calorie sugar alternative) instead of the date sugar. It turned out great!
You say "anti-inflammatory." Can I assume you're talking about intestinal gas?
If so, how effective is this turmeric drink in reducing or eliminating gas?
Because of MS, I am immobile and have some serious digestive dysfunction.
Thank you.
Anti-inflammatory across all systems of the body! So yes, it might help your digestive issues.
Love this! I've been wanting to drink more golden milk, but the process of making it at work just seems like a hassle. I've got a jar of mix on my desk now, and it's the perfect afternoon treat, just need hot water!
I love it. I tried this. Really very Delicious.
I love golden milk! This idea for a big batch is amazing! 🙂
Sounds scrumptious. Thanks for all you do Cassie
I'm so ready to try this! Already rushed out to buy the ingredients.