What to Make with Almond Pulp (and an Easy Marzipan Recipe) - Occasionally Eggs (2024)

If you make your own almond milk, you know that there’s always some almond pulp leftover after straining – and you don’t need to toss it! Almond pulp can be used in so many ways, and you might as well get the most use out of those expensive almonds.

The first time I made almond milk, it made me think of marzipan (almond paste candy) right away, and everything comes together with a few dates. It’s so simple to make. There are a dozen other ways to use it, though, so keep reading to see what’s best for you.

How to Use Raw Almond Pulp

Be sure to squeeze out as much of the liquid ad possible before adding to another recipe or drying for meal. You don’t want to lose out on the milk you’ve made, either!

• Add to porridge: stir a couple tablespoons into your morning porridge for a little boost that’s barely noticeable. I prefer to add it with the oats and cook rather than adding it at the end, but it’s up to you.
• Blend into a smoothie: this will add a slightly grainy texture to your smoothie, but if you add things like oats or protein powder anyway, it’s not a noticeable different. Add a tablespoon or two for a single smoothie.
• Mix into bread dough: this is for bakers who have a good understanding of baking bread as I don’t have a recipe specifically for this. If you bake a lot of bread, though, you’ll know when enough flour is added for the correct texture – add the almond pulp when stirring in the first bit of flour, then keep adding flour until it’s reached the right consistency. It adds a pleasant flavour to a lot of bread recipes and I particularly like it in honey oat bread.
• Use it to make energy bites: there is more liquid in the pulp than in blended seeds or nuts in sunflower seed energy balls, for example, but if you add it to an existing recipe it usually mixes right in. It’s a good addition if your dates are slightly on the dry side.

Making Almond Meal

To make almond meal from the pulp, save up the pulp from a couple of batches of almond milk (freeze if you don’t make it that often). Place the squeezed out pulp onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bake for 2-3 hours at 80°C (175°F) stirring with a wooden spoon every half hour or so.

Once fully dried, cool and then blend in a food processor until any chunks have been broken down into a fine meal. Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks.

You can also use a dehydrator to make the meal, but I haven’t had one in years so I’m not sure of the exact timing for that. Use dehydrator mats to prevent the small pieces from falling through the openings and dehydrate until completely dried out.

Using leftover almond pulp to make almond meal will result in a very low-fat version of it, and it can’t be used in every recipe that calls for regular almond meal. You can add it to a number or recipes, though – see below for more.

How to Use Dehydrated Almond Meal

• Substitute for the almond meal in these almond truffles, with no changes needed to the recipe. You might want to add a tiny drop of almond extract to increase the flavour slightly.
• Add 100 grams to almond butter granola and increase the amount of almond butter by 2-3 tablespoons to make up for the added dry ingredient.
• Use it as you would breadcrumbs, but note that it doesn’t absorb as much liquid.
• Use as a binding agent in recipes like homemade veggie burgers, but note that you may have to increase the fat content slightly.

Almond Pulp Marzipan

This healthier marzipan is made with fresh almond pulp, dates, and a few bits and bobs for flavouring. These are coated with raw chocolate. If you can’t find cacao butteror don’t feel like making chocolate, use melted dark chocolate to coat the candies instead.

You can substitute vanilla extract for rosewater if you can’t get it. It’s the traditional flavouring, in addition to the almond extract. You should be able to find it at a South Asian grocer or at some good supermarkets. Rosewater is also used in this homemade face cream if you’re not sure how to use up a full bottle.

It’s a five ingredient recipe, includingthe salt, so it’ll come together in a snap. It’s great for holidays, either to have as a treat, or to give as a nice food gift.

Expert Tips

• Don’t be tempted to turn up the heat: while having the oven on for this long is an energy suck, cooking at a higher heat for a shorter period of time results in toasted almond. It needs to be dehydrated. (To avoid this, simply use the pulp as is without drying it out.)
• Use a toaster oven: for smaller batches, you can use a toaster oven instead. It works just as well and won’t use as much energy, especially if you have a large North American style oven.
• Use a food processor: the marzipan, unfortunately, really can’t be made by hand. It must be as smooth as possible to reach a texture most similar to almond paste, and that means blending for a rather long time.

Almond Flour Recipes

Almond Rye Chocolate Chip Cookies
Almond Flour Brownies
Rhubarb Almond Cake
Almond Chocolate Chip Cookies

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This post was first published in May 2015. It has been updated most recently as of January 2023.