Pumpkin Seed Milk: The Autumn Plant Milk Worth Making at Home

Don't bin the best part of your pumpkin

Halloween is ten days away, and across the UK kitchen tables are about to disappear under pumpkin guts. Most of that goes straight in the bin: around 18,000 tonnes of pumpkin are thrown away in the UK every year, worth roughly £29 million, seeds included.

Those seeds are one of the most nutritious foods in the whole pumpkin. Most people roast a handful at best. This autumn, try something different: blend them into fresh, creamy pumpkin seed milk.

It's nut-free, naturally rich in minerals, and has a soft, slightly earthy flavour that suits cosy autumn drinks perfectly. Here's why it's worth making and how to do it in minutes.

Why pumpkin seed milk deserves a place in your fridge

Pumpkin seeds are one of the most mineral-dense foods you can buy. A 28g handful of shelled seeds gives you about 8.5g of protein, roughly 156mg of magnesium (around 37% of your daily value) and about 2.2mg of zinc, for around 160 calories.

When you blend seeds into milk and strain them, some fibre and minerals stay behind in the pulp, so your glass won't carry the full handful's worth. But you're starting from a much richer base than most shop-bought plant milks, and nothing is added that you didn't put in yourself.

There are other good reasons to try it:

• Nut-free: a great option for households avoiding tree nuts (always check with your doctor if you have a seed allergy).
• Naturally creamy: the seeds' healthy fats give a smooth, full-bodied texture without gums or thickeners.
• Seasonal and low-waste: this time of year, you may already have the seeds sitting inside your pumpkin.
• A pretty colour: hulled green pepitas give a soft, pale green milk that looks lovely in a glass.

How to make pumpkin seed milk with Milky Plant Plus

With Milky Plant Plus, pumpkin seed milk takes about three minutes, with no overnight soaking and no squeezing a nut bag over the sink.

1. Add your seeds. Fill the ingredient container with hulled pumpkin seeds (pepitas) up to the MIN line. Raw seeds give a fresh, mild flavour; lightly toasted ones taste nuttier.
2. Add flavour if you like. A pitted date, a pinch of salt or a little vanilla all work well.
3. Fill the water tank with clean, filtered water.
4. Press the button. Milky Plant Plus blends, strains and pours fresh milk, with the pulp kept separate.
5. Clean up with one press. Run the self-cleaning cycle and you're done.

Keep the leftover pulp. It's packed with fibre and works well stirred into porridge, banana bread, granola or energy bites.

Recipe: pumpkin spice pumpkin seed milk

This is the cosiest way to use your homemade milk: warm, lightly sweet and full of autumn spice, made from the pumpkin itself rather than syrup.

Serves 2 · Ready in 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 500ml fresh pumpkin seed milk
• 3 tbsp pumpkin purée (roast and blend leftover flesh from your carving pumpkin)
• 1 tbsp maple syrup, or 1 to 2 Medjool dates blended into the milk
• 1 tsp pumpkin spice mix (or ½ tsp cinnamon, ¼ tsp ginger, a pinch each of nutmeg and cloves)
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• A pinch of sea salt

Method

1. Warm the milk gently in a pan over a low heat. Don't let it boil, or it may separate.
2. Whisk in the pumpkin purée, maple syrup, spices, vanilla and salt until smooth.
3. Taste and adjust the sweetness or spice.
4. Pour into mugs and finish with a dusting of cinnamon.

Make it a latte: add a shot of espresso to each mug. Make it iced: skip the heating, blend everything cold and pour over ice.

Why the water you use matters

Homemade plant milk is mostly water, so the water you pour in shapes the flavour of every glass. Tap water that tastes of chlorine or leaves a chalky film in your kettle will carry those notes straight into a delicate seed milk.

That's where The Watery comes in. Milky Plant's countertop purifier uses 4-stage reverse osmosis and then remineralises the water, so you get clean, fresh-tasting water with minerals added back for a smoother taste.

Fill your Milky Plant Plus water tank from The Watery and your pumpkin seed milk tastes of pumpkin seeds, not of the pipes. The same goes for the tea, coffee and soups that keep you warm all season.

Tips for the best pumpkin seed milk

• Pepitas vs carving-pumpkin seeds: the seeds inside a carving pumpkin have a tough white shell. For the smoothest milk, use hulled green pepitas. Rinse, dry and roast your carving-pumpkin seeds as a crunchy snack instead, so nothing goes to waste.
• Raw or toasted: raw seeds give a light, grassy flavour. Toast them in a dry pan for 3 to 4 minutes for a deeper, nuttier milk.
• Balance the earthiness: a pinch of salt and a date or a drop of vanilla bring out the seeds' natural sweetness.
• Mix it up: try half pumpkin seeds and half oats for a creamier, more budget-friendly blend.
• Storage: keep your milk in a sealed glass bottle in the fridge and drink it within 3 to 4 days. Natural separation is normal, so give it a shake before pouring.
• Use the whole pumpkin: roast the flesh for soup or the purée in the recipe above, and compost anything that's left.

Make this the year your pumpkin goes further

Pumpkin seed milk turns the part of the pumpkin most people throw away into something creamy, nut-free and naturally rich in magnesium and zinc. Add a little spice and you have an autumn drink that beats anything from a café queue.

With Milky Plant Plus, fresh pumpkin seed milk is about three minutes and one button away. Pair it with The Watery and every glass starts with clean, great-tasting water.

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