Learn How to Make Oat Milk in just a couple simple steps and customize it with your favorite sweeteners and flavor enhancers. Then enjoy it throughout the week in drinks, cereal, smoothies, and more!
We love to make a batch then enjoy it in coffee, smoothies, and oat milk pancakes. The best part is that this recipe is easily customizable. We like it with a little bit of cinnamon and sweetener, but you can adjust it to your liking.
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About Homemade Oat Milk
- Taste – Oat milk has a mild nutty flavor with a light sweetness.
- Texture – The milk is lightly creamy.
- Effort – All you need to do is blend the oats with the other ingredients then strain them.
- Time – It takes just 10 minutes to blend and strain the ingredients.
Ingredients
- Gluten-free old fashioned rolled oats - Rolled oats have been steamed and flattened which makes them easier to blend and results in smoother and creamier milk.
- Cold filtered water - Cold filtered water is the liquid base of the oat milk.
- Sea salt - A pinch of sea salt enhances the flavor and highlights the natural sweetness.
- Mix-ins - Enhance the milk with your favorite mix-ins, including a sweetener of choice, vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste, dates, cinnamon, and more.
See recipe card for quantities.
Substitutions and Variations
- Kosher or sea salt - Kosher salt accentuates the sweetness of the milk.
- Vanilla extract - Vanilla extract adds complexity.
- Pitted date - Pitted dates add a sweet caramel flavor.
- Ground cinnamon - Ground cinnamon adds a warm woodsiness.
- Sweetener - Add a sweetener like honey, agave nectar, maple syrup, or date syrup.
Instructions
- Blend - Add rolled oats, cold filtered water, and any additional mix-ins to a blender carafe. It is important that the water is chilled and not room temperature or warm. Blend on high for 30 seconds. (Photo 1 and 2)
- Strain milk – Place a nut milk bag over a large mixing bowl and pour the mixture into the bag. Then lift the bag above the bowl and gently squeeze the liquid out. Do not squeeze too much or the oat milk will develop a slimy texture. Save leftover oats and oat pulp for other recipes or compost. Transfer milk to an airtight bottle or jar. Shake before serving and keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or freeze in an air-tight non-glass container for up to 2 months. (Photo 3 and 4)
Recipe Notes
- Ratio – We use a ¼ cup of oats to 1 cup of chilled water ratio. But you can adjust the ratio to your liking. To make the milk thinner, add more water and to make it thicker, use less.
- Blender – High-powered blenders work best, such as Vitamix and Wolf; however, you can use whatever brand of high-powered blender you prefer.
- Sweetener – Add sweetener of choice to sweeten the milk. Some options include honey, agave nectar, maple syrup, and date syrup. If you’re in a flare, you may want to avoid sweeteners in general, or add ones that are low on the glycemic index.
- Nut bag – We recommend using an unbleached reusable nut bag. You can also use a clean kitchen towel (preferably a thin cotton one). Just lift the corners inward to shape it into a bag.
Top Tips
- Do not over-blend. Over-blending can activate beta-glucan, resulting in slimy oat milk.
- Use chilled filtered water, not room temperature or warm water. Warm water activates a soluble fiber called beta-glucan, which can give the oats a slimy, gummy texture. If you don’t have chilled water, you can add a few ice cubes with water to the blender carafe and allow the water to chill in the refrigerator until you’re ready to make the milk.
- Use an amylase digestive enzyme capsule to prevent sliminess. The enzyme converts the oat starch into sugar, completely removing the slime.
- Use organic oats. If you’re able to, use organic oats. According to EWG, glyphosate is often found in non-organic oat-based products.
Recipe FAQs
This creamy oat milk has a ton of different uses. You can use it for coffee or tea, smoothies, hot chocolate, or cereal. But you can also use it for baking and pancakes.
Both homemade and store-bought oat milk are made with rolled oats and water. But our homemade milk is thicker and allows you to control the amount of each ingredient.
Oat milk can be watery if you don't blend the oats long enough or don't use enough water.
Yes, all of the ingredients in this recipe are gluten-free.
Yes, homemade oat milk is vegan and gluten-free. Oat milk also has more fiber than other plant based milks like almond, soy, or cow's milk. But less protein than dairy milk.
Storage
Store this homemade plant-based milk in the refrigerator in an airtight glass bottle or lidded jar for up to 5 days. You can also freeze oat milk for up to 2 months for best results. When you are ready to use it again, let it thaw to its liquid state. If the milk has separated, you may need to remix it.
Equipment
These simple oat milk recipe requires common kitchen essentials. All you will need is a measuring cups, mixing bowl, Vitamix or blender, and a reusable nut milk bag or kitchen cloth.
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How to Make Oat Milk
Ingredients
- 1 cup gluten-free old fashioned rolled oats
- 4 cups cold filtered water
- ½ teaspoon kosher or sea salt optional
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract optional
- 1 pitted date optional
- ground cinnamon optional
- sweetener optional
Instructions
- Blend - Add rolled oats, cold filtered water, and any additional mix-ins to a blender carafe. It is important that the water is chilled and not room temperature or warm. Blend on high for 30 seconds.1 cup gluten-free old fashioned rolled oats, 4 cups cold filtered water, ½ teaspoon kosher or sea salt, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 1 pitted date, ground cinnamon, sweetener
- Strain milk – Place a nut milk bag over a large mixing bowl and pour the mixture into the bag. Lift the bag above the bowl and gently squeeze the liquid out. Do not squeeze too much or the oat milk will develop a slimy texture. Save leftover oats for other recipes or compost. Transfer milk to an airtight bottle or jar. Shake before serving and keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days or freeze in an air-tight non-glass container for up to 2 months.
Notes
- Ratio – We use a ¼ cup of oats to 1 cup of chilled water ratio. However, you can adjust the ratio to your liking. To make the milk thinner, add more water than what the recipe calls for and to make it thicker, add less water.
- Blender – High-powered blenders work best, such as Vitamix and Wolf; however, you can use whatever brand of high-powered blender you prefer.
- Sweetener – Add sweetener of choice to sweeten the milk. Some options include honey, agave nectar, maple syrup, and date syrup. If you’re in a flare, you may want to avoid sweeteners in general, or add ones that are low on the glycemic index.
- Nut bag – We recommend using an unbleached reusable nut bag. You can also use a clean kitchen towel (preferably a thin cotton one) if you don’t have a nut bag. Lift the corners inward to shape it into a bag.
- Refrigerate this homemade oat milk in an airtight glass bottle or lidded jar for up to 5 days. You can also freeze oat milk for up to 2 months for best results. When you are ready to use it again, let it thaw to its liquid state. If the milk has separated, you may need to remix it.
-
- Do not over-blend the mixture or you will get slimy oat milk.
-
- Use chilled filtered water or the oats will get a slimy, gummy texture. If you don’t have chilled water, you can add a few ice cubes with water to the blender carafe and allow the water to chill in the refrigerator until you’re ready to make the oat milk.
-
- Use an amylase digestive enzyme capsule to prevent sliminess. The enzyme converts the oat starch into sugar, completely removing the slime.
-
- Use organic oats if you are able to. According to EWG, glyphosate is often found in non-organic oat-based products.
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