Make homemade Oat Milk in minutes with just 2 ingredients. This easy oat milk recipe is super quick and very budget friendly!
Two words : Oat Milk. One of my favourite plant-based milks. And this homemade oat milk recipe is a game-changer.
Just like my homemade cashew milk, it is super quick and easy to make. No soaking or fancy equipment required. And it's so budget-friendly!
Once you've made some, be sure to give my Iced Brown Sugar Oat Milk Shaken Espresso a try ;O)
This is a recipe that was originally published in 2018. Since then I've gradually changed the way I make my oat milk and this is the new and improved version. It's quicker, easier and it's not slimy! (If you've made your own oat milk before you'll know this can be an issue).
What Is Oat Milk?
Oat Milk is a popular budget-friendly, dairy-free milk that is made by blending oats and water. The resulting milk is smooth and creamy with a neutral taste and a fuller texture than a lot of other plant-based milks.
Oat Milk Benefits
This popular plant-based milk has many benefits, some of which include:
- It's much cheaper to make than other plant-based milks.
- It's virtually fat free, cholesterol free and low in calories.
- It's perfect for people who want to avoid dairy, coconut milk, nut milks or soy milk.
- Oats are a really sustainable crop and you can buy them cheaply just about anywhere.
- Oats are nutritious. See this article for details about their nutritional value and health benefits.
Ingredients
Oat milk is a very budget friendly and sustainable non-dairy milk. Much more so than nut milks like almond milk, and you only need 2 ingredients to make it:
For this oat milk recipe I recommend using old fashioned or rolled oats. Steel cut oats, quick or instant oats don't work as well.
You can also include some optional add-ins:
- 1 or 2 tablespoons of maple syrup or agave for sweetness
- A drop of vanilla extract
- A pinch of salt
To make the milk you will need a blender and a sieve/fine mesh strainer. A nut milk bag, cheese cloth or very fine cloth or lint-free towel will also work.
Success tip - Adjust the thickness/thinness of the milk by increasing or reducing the water when you blend it or by adding more water after you've strained it. The beauty of homemade milk is you can make it exactly how you like it.
How To Make Oat Milk
Making oat milk is such an easy process and as long as you have some rolled oats in the pantry, you are minutes away from a fresh batch. Be sure to follow my instructions though. They include several steps that ensure your oat milk remains slime-free.
Here's how it's done:
- Add the oats to a blender with chilled water and any optional add-ins, then blend.
- Strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer or nut milk bag twice then decant into a bottle/container of choice and refrigerate.
Success tip - Don't over-blend. High powered blenders like a Blendtec or Vitamix are powerful and produce a lot of heat. Heat will make the milk slimy (think of how the texture of oats and the liquid they are in changes when you make hot oatmeal/porridge).
How To Avoid Slime
My top tips for avoiding slimy oat milk are:
- Don't soak the oats before blending.
- Use old fashioned or rolled oats, not quick or instant oats.
- Use cold water when blending. Heat makes it slimy.
- Do not over-blend. High-speed blenders produce heat as their motor runs and warm the liquid as it blends. Blend in short bursts and not for more than 30 to 40 seconds total. A few ice cubes added with the water can help to keep things cool if you have a blender that runs warm.
- Strain at least twice.
- Let the milk run freely through the strainer. Don't squeeze or smush it.
Variations
Make chocolate oat milk by adding a couple tablespoons of cocoa powder and your sweetener of choice. You can also try adding fresh berries, cinnamon, matcha or brewed coffee for fun flavour.
How To Use
Wondering what you can use oat milk for? It's perfect for drinking ice cold and for using in/on:
- baked goods
- smoothies
- iced coffee
- chocolate milk, just add 2 to 3 tablespoons of vegan chocolate syrup
- breakfast cereal like vegan granola
- overnight oats or Bircher Muesli
Important - I don't recommend you use oat milk for making hot sauces or hot milky drinks like lattes or hot chocolate because as it heats up it thickens a lot and can become a little slimy. You can however add a dash of it to cups of tea and coffee.
Recipe FAQs
This is completely normal. Because it is homemade it doesn't contain emulsifiers like storebought oat milk. Simply give it a good shake before serving.
You can use certified gluten-free oats if you need your oat milk to be gluten-free. If you are sensitive to even gluten-free oats then I don't recommend you make this beverage.
You can use leftover oat pulp to make my oat pulp cookies, or you can add it to smoothies or oatmeal. You can also dehydrate it (using a dehydrator or spread out thinly on a baking tray and baked in a low oven until completely dry(, then use in granola recipes or energy bars/balls. You can also compost it.
I don't recommend using dates to sweeten this milk. We need to minimize the blending to stop the milk becoming slimy and dates will not blend up completely in that short time. It's much easier and more effective to add a liquid sweetener like maple syrup.
If you try this recipe, let me know how you like it by leaving a comment and rating below! And be sure to join my mailing list for more deliciousness!
Recipe Video
Recipe
Oat Milk Recipe
Author:Ingredients
- 1 cup (90 grams) rolled or old fashioned oats , certified gluten-free if necessary.
- 4 cups (960 ml) cold water , from the fridge. Or as cold as you can get it from the tap with a handful of ice thrown into the blender (reduce the water a little to compensate for the ice).
Optional additions
- 1 to 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt , optional. I don't recommend using table salt.
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract , (optional)
RECOMMENDED EQUIPMENT
INSTRUCTIONS
- Add the oats to blender.
- Cover with around 3 cups / 720 mls of the cold water then blend for a maximum of 30 seconds. It's important that the contents of the blender don't warm up, so try not to blend any longer than that.
- Check the thickness. It will likely be quite thick like cream consistency. Add enough extra water to get it to the thickness that you like and give it a very quick pulse in between additions. If you are using it as a coffee creamer then it's nice left pretty thick. Otherwise it's better a little thinner.
- Strain the milk through a sieve/fine mesh strainer into a bowl. Do not press or squeeze it while straining. Just let gravity do the work.
- Pour the milk back into the blender, give the strainer a quick clean out, then strain again.
- Once strained twice pour into bottles or jars. At this point if you notice it is still a little too thick, you can fill the bottles to about ¾ full, then add a little water to the bottle and shake to thin it further.
NOTES
NUTRITION
Nutritional information is provided for convenience. The data is a computer generated estimate and should be used as a guide only.
Alexandria Phillips says
I finally succeeded in making drinkable oat milk with this recipe!! Thank you. Mine kept coming out slimy and none of the kids would use it. Now I can stop buying it and spending an arm and a leg on milk every week!!
Melanie McDonald says
Yay!!! Love this. So pleased this method is working well for you.
C. Nixon says
I have made this recipe a couple of times now. I love the simplicity of the recipe. When I first started making, I was using just a mesh strainer, but found that even after straining 2-3 times, I still had a grainy consistency. Once I started using a cheese cloth, it was much better. I make a this recipe weekly for my babies who have dairy aversions. Thank you so much for this! Looking forward to using this to make French vanilla creamer! #YUM 😋
Melanie McDonald says
So pleased you're enjoying it! Thank you for coming back to leave a review. It's much appreciated!
Trish says
Just made this and its fab! Thankyou
MJ says
Thank you so much for the recipe! I have been trying ro find a good recipe to replicate a dairy free version of Starbucks's Vanilla Sweet Cream coffee creamer. I haven't made this recipe yet but if I make it exactly as tour directions say will the consistency be creamy enough to be a coffee creamer?
A Virtual Vegan says
Definitely. Start with only as much water as you need to get it to blend up then add more gradually until you get it to the thick and creamy texture you want. Add vanilla, maybe some sweetener like some maple syrup and it will be great!
MJ says
Won't adding more water make it more watery and less creamy?
A Virtual Vegan says
Yes adding more water will make it thinner. But I advised you to only use just enough water to get the blender going so it will be way too thick at first. That's why you'll need to add more water to thin it a bit until it's the consistency you want your creamer to be.
Brandy says
Your recipe is great! I’ve made it several times since I found out I needed to eliminate dairy. This may seem a silly question, but what are the delicious looking cakes you picture the oat milk pouring over? I’d love to try it!
A Virtual Vegan says
I'm glad you're enjoying it Brandy! And ha ha, this photo has spurred so many questions about what's in the bowl. It's just plain old Weetabix. A very popular English breakfast cereal. Common in Canada too and available in the US if that's where you are located (I just checked on Walmart's website ;O). If you find some I highly recommend 2 in a bowl with plant milk poured over and lots of sugar sprinkled over. One of my favourite breakfasts!
Pam M says
I like to soak my grains using strained whey (acid whey from yogurt). Would there be a way to incorporate whey into this recipe? If so, would it be best to use during the soaking portion or in during the blending portion? Thank you, I am excited to try this recipe!
A Virtual Vegan says
Whey isn't something I'd use because I'm vegan. I have no idea how you would use it in this recipe.
Vicky says
Amazing! Works perfectly.
Catherine says
I make this weekly. Great recipe. Thank you!
jj says
Excellent Mel thank you very much very easy i tried both with rolled and steel cut oats.
came out very nice did not add dates used it for my plant based kefir milk. Used the strained oats for my morning cereal.
So very easy love it thank you
A Virtual Vegan says
I'm really pleased you're enjoying it!
N says
It’s perfect
Frank_G says
I'm a subscriber of your newsletter from Germany, so I had to do a bit of math in advance ;-). Having a food processer that says 500 ml is the maximum, I did it in two batches of 50 g rolled oats and 500 ml water each that provided me with 1 l for a glass pot that I'm having (once sold to use it with dairy milk or fruit juice). The consistency comes quite close to what they sell as "oat drinks" over here in supermarkets. All kinds of "oat milk" or "oat drinks" that I could find in stores so far have some additives (at least salt) that I don't really like. So, I'm surprised and really, really satisfied with your recipe. Did you ever try this method to make oat cream (to be used in savory dishes)?
A Virtual Vegan says
Hi Frank, I'm glad you are pleased with it! You can definitely reduce the water right down to make more of a cream consistency. Start with a little water and add more to get it to the thickness you want. For desserts, some vanilla and a touch of sweetener would be nice. For savoury just as it is. However, there is one thing you need to be aware of. When you heat this milk it thickens a lot and can end up almost like custard. I would imagine that would be even more of a problem if you use less water to make it, so if you are planning to add the cream to anything hot it would likely become really, really thick. Might not be relevant but thought it worth mentioning just in case!
Adele Rumbold says
I used to use soya milk all the the time but this is the only milk I use now, so easy and cheap. Plus no packaging to recycle.
A Virtual Vegan says
I'm glad you're enjoying the recipe Adele!
puttymaster says
Very clear instructions, and easy to make. The taste is another matter entirely. It calls to mind the thin gruel Charles Dickens described in Oliver Twist - truly dreadful stuff.. I won't be making this again.