Is the Nutr Machine Worth It? Here’s Our Honest Review of the Plant Milk Maker

If you can dream it, you can...turn it into milk

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Published Jun 10, 2023

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Nutr

Value: 16/20
Functionality: 19/20
Ease of Use: 15/20
Quality: 16/20
Aesthetics: 20/20
Total: 86/100

I’m neither a plant milk superfan nor completely devoted to dairy. If I’m putting anything into my usual black coffee, it’s half-and-half or bust. But if I’m making a fancy latte, a smoothie or overnight oats, I’m reaching for the carton of oat milk in my fridge. So when I was asked to test a home plant milk maker, I was…ambivalent. Sure, a new gadget, fun! I’ve tested plenty of kitchen appliances with a skeptical attitude, only to be pleasantly surprised (exhibit A: the Cuisinart AirFryer Toaster; exhibit B: a Breville espresso machine).

But I knew this one was going to have to be life-changing to convince me it’s worth the counter space. Enter the Nutr machine ($169), a compact home plant milk maker that whips up single servings of fresh plant “milk” at the touch of one button. It promises to save you time, money, hassle and waste (so basically, everything short of filing your taxes). With Nutr in tow, I set out to see if I might be swayed. Here’s my honest review.

Katherine Gillen

How the Nutr Machine Works

The Nutr machine is like a cross between a blender and a countertop milk steamer. It has a set of rotating blades that pulverize and blend solid ingredients like nuts or oats, while simultaneously heating (if desired) and blending them with water. The machine has a small touch-activated screen to toggle between modes, and you can set a delay if you want to pre-soak your nuts for creamier milk. There’s also a cleaning mode that runs for 90 seconds.

What Types of Milk Can the Nutr Machine Make?

If you can dream it, the Nutr machine can milk it. The instructions specifically indicate that you can make milk and creamer from nuts (like almonds, cashews, peanuts, pistachios, macadamia nuts, walnuts, hazelnuts and pecans), grains (like oats and rice), seeds (like sesame, pumpkin, hemp and flax), coconut and soy. You can also make smoothies, lattes and other blended beverages, plus dips, pureed soups and batters, or you can use it to bring liquid to a boil.

nutr machine plant milk maker review: oat milk next to the machine

Katherine Gillen

I set out on my own alt-milk journey with what I deemed the simplest, lowest-stakes variety: oat. (With zero experience making plant milk, I wasn’t about to fail on first try with something expensive like almonds.) I followed the recipe in the Nutr instruction manual, adding two tablespoons of oats, a cup of water and a pinch of salt to the machine. I locked the lid, pressed the button and…

This is where I came close to short-circuiting (yes me, not the machine). I couldn’t figure out how to get the touch screen to work, so I furiously jabbed at it like a frustrated dad who doesn’t read instruction manuals. As it turns out, you only need to press the one button to cycle through the six settings…and it indicates that in the manual. In my defense, it’s not explicitly clear or intuitive.

Once I was able to choose the “room temp” setting, the Nutr machine whirred to life and spent the next five minutes turning my oats into, well, oat juice. When the cycle was complete, I poured the milk into a cup and took a sip. It tasted exactly like the bare-bones unsweetened oat milk I buy from the store, just a little grittier. Success.

Katherine Gillen

Nutr

How Much Milk Does Nutr Make?

The Nutr machine is meant to be a single-serve plant milk maker, so it makes anywhere from 8 to 13 ounces of milk at a time. That said, you could get more than one serving out of each batch depending on what you’re using the milk for—adding it to coffee or using it to thin out a smoothie would stretch your milk further than drinking it straight up. (FWIW, the brand is launching a family-size Nutr for $299, currently available for preorder.)

Is It Worth It to Get a Plant Milk Maker?

In my opinion, there are two reasons you might want to buy a plant milk maker. If you’re already making homemade plant milk with a blender and a strainer bag, the Nutr machine streamlines the process and reduces the amount of equipment you need. And if you’re entirely new to homemade plant milk, Nutr makes it easy to dabble in the process. In those cases, I think Nutr is worth it. Not to mention, it can save you money on store-bought plant milk and eliminates the preservatives factor, if that’s a concern. However, this machine can only handle a small capacity, so if you like to make large batches you might prefer to use a blender (or wait for the larger Nutr to arrive).

What I Like About the Nutr Machine

The machine is aesthetically pleasing with a small countertop footprint. It doesn’t have a ton of extraneous parts to clutter your kitchen or get lost in a drawer.
The Nutr allows for customization that store-bought plant milk lacks, since you can use any type of nut and add sweeteners like dates, maple syrup or even fresh fruit. It also functions as a personal blender and kettle.
The Nutr is cost effective and could save you money, since cartons of store-bought plant milk are often pricy and easy to waste.

What I Don’t Like About the Nutr Machine

The button to operate the machine is not intuitive to use. There’s one touch-screen button for all six settings, but no instructions on how to operate it.
It’s loud for such a small appliance. I was expecting the machine to be on par with my countertop milk frother, but it sounds like a high-speed blender.
The outer body is made of plastic and feels slightly flimsy for $169.
There are no cleaning instructions in the manual, but the sticker on the back of the machine indicates you shouldn’t get the machine fully wet or let liquid touch the handle. It seems important…so I think this should be clearer.

The Verdict

Since I’m not a plant milk diehard, I went into my Nutr machine review with a healthy amount of skepticism. Once I passed the hurdle of figuring out how to operate the machine’s only button, I found it relatively easy to use. If you love plant milk but hate the price and added ingredients of store-bought, the Nutr would be a smart investment.

Pros: potentially cost effective, versatile
Cons: loud, not intuitive to operate
Size: 4.3 by 4.3 by 8.2 inches
Weight: 3 pounds
Capacity: 350ml; makes 8 to 13 ounces of plant milk

Buy it ($169)

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Why You Should Trust Us:

Katherine Gillen is PureWow’s senior food editor. She’s a writer, recipe developer and food stylist with a degree in culinary arts and professional experience in New York City restaurants. She used to sling sugary desserts in a pastry kitchen, but now she’s an avid home cook and fanatic baker.

PureWow is the best friend you never had when it comes to finding the best, most useful lifestyle products online. Founded in 2010, our company’s editors and writers have spent more than a decade shopping online, digging through sales and putting our home goods, beauty finds, wellness picks and more through the wringer—all to help you determine which ones are actually worth your hard-earned cash. From our PureWow100 series, which sees each and every item we test being ranked on a 100-point scale of awesomeness, to the painstakingly curated lists our fashion, beauty, cooking, home and family editors create as vertical experts, you can trust that our recommendations include some of the greatest items you’ll find on the internet. Whether you're looking for travel-size hair dryers you can take on-the-go or women’s walking shoes that won’t hurt your feet, we’ve got you covered.

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Katherine Gillen

Former Senior Food Editor

Headed PureWow’s food vertical
Contributed original reporting, recipes and food styling
Studied English Literature at the University of Notre Dame and Culinary Arts at the Institute of Culinary Education

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