Easy Masala Chai Recipe
A delicious and easy dairy-free chai recipe made with whole spices. It's spicy, comforting, naturally sweetened, and made in just 1 pot with 8 ingredients!
Servings 3 (Cups)
Ingredients
- 1 whole cinnamon stick
- 6-8 green cardamom pods
- 1 tsp whole black peppercorns
- 3-4 whole cloves
- 2 ½ cups water
- 2 Tbsp grated ginger (for less intense ginger flavor, slice instead of grating)
- 3 Tbsp loose leaf black tea (or ~3-4 black tea bags // use decaf as needed)
- 2 cups dairy-free milk (we favor oat milk, coconut milk, and cashew milk // use thicker, richer dairy-free milks like canned coconut milk or our Oatly recipe for creamier chai!)
- Sweetener such as stevia, organic cane sugar, or maple syrup to taste
Instructions
- Add cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, peppercorns, and cloves to the bowl of a mortar (or cutting board) and use pestle (or heavy pan) to slightly crush the spices. You aren’t pulverizing into a powder, just slightly crushing into small pieces (see photo).
- To a medium saucepan add crushed spices, water, and grated (or sliced) ginger and bring to a boil over high heat. (Note: For a less gingery chai, reduce amount of ginger and slice rather than grating). Then reduce heat slightly to medium/medium-low and maintain a simmer for 15 minutes or until it reduces by about one-third.
- Add tea (loose leaf or bags) and dairy-free milk of choice (we love light canned coconut) and lower heat to low. Cover and continue cooking for 5 minutes to allow the flavors to meld. Then turn off heat and let steep for 5 minutes more (covered) or longer for deeper flavor.
- Add sweetener of choice to taste (we prefer stevia or maple syrup, but sugar is more traditional). Strain through a fine mesh strainer before serving.
- Keep strained, cooled leftovers covered in the fridge up to 3-4 days. Reheat on the stovetop or in a milk frother. Not freezer friendly.
Video
Notes
*Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated with our homemade Cashew Coconut Oat Milk and sweetened with stevia.
Nutrition (1 of 3 servings)
Serving: 1 cup Calories: 200 Carbohydrates: 19.4 g Protein: 5 g Fat: 13.5 g Saturated Fat: 5.9 g Polyunsaturated Fat: 1.61 g Monounsaturated Fat: 4.7 g Trans Fat: 0 g Cholesterol: 0 mg Sodium: 21 mg Potassium: 283 mg Fiber: 3 g Sugar: 4.9 g