How to Make Oat Milk
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Learn how to make oat milk with a high-powered blender and a few simple ingredients for just $.07 per cup. This is one of the most affordable non-dairy milks.
Homemade oat milk is a creamy vegan alternative to regular milk. You can drink it straight, pour it over cereal, or stir it into your coffee. It has a mild flavor, so it goes well with lots of different things.
One of the best things about learning to make oat milk from scratch is the money-saving potential. It costs just $.07 per cup, making it one of the most affordable non-dairy milk options.
For comparison, my homemade coconut milk is $.14 per cup, and my homemade almond milk costs $.31 per cup to make. These are all frugal alternatives to store-bought vegan milk, but this homemade oat milk recipe is clearly the winner when it comes to cost.
How to Make Oat Milk
It’s simple to make this milk from scratch. I use traditional rolled oats, but quick cooking oats should work, too. Steel cut oats wouldn’t be a good choice for this recipe.
I have two tips that will help you learn how to make oat milk that isn’t rubbery. Oats naturally thicken when they encounter water and heat, but you don’t really want that overly-thickened consistency in a milk.
- The first thing to note is that it isn’t a good idea to soak or rinse the oats before starting this recipe. Soaking the oats will pre-dispose your milk to get that rubbery texture you’re trying to avoid. Use dry, uncooked traditional rolled oats.
- The second tip is to add ice cubes to the blender along with the oats and water. A high-powered blender heats up its contents while blending due to the high speed of the blade. You don’t want to “cook” the mixture with this heat, and the ice cubes keep the temperature down while the milk is being blended.
To strain the oat pulp out of the milk, I use a fine-mesh sieve lined with butter muslin. This muslin is woven more finely than cheesecloth, so it doesn’t let bits of oats fall through into the strained milk. A nut milk bag will work, too.
To balance the flavors of the finished milk, I add a bit of salt and pure maple syrup. Honey works well, too, and you could also add a little vanilla extract. You can adjust the quantities of these extras to suit your tastes.
When you’re done making this homemade oat milk, you can use the oat pulp in lots of different recipes. Add it to smoothies, cookies, or pancake batter. And try this oat milk smoothie for a delicious, satisfying drink.
Recommended Equipment
Ingredients
- 2/3 cup rolled oats
- 5 cups water
- 1 cup ice cubes
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tbs pure maple syrup or to taste
Instructions
- Place the oats, water, and ice cubes in a high powered blender. Blend on medium high for one minute. (If your blender can't fit this quantity in one batch, divide it into two batches.)
- Strain the oat milk through a fine mesh sieve lined with butter muslin (or a nut milk bag). Let it strain for about 5 minutes, or until it slows to a drip. Then gently ring out the last bit of milk. (Don’t squeeze so hard that the bits of oat will go through the muslin).
- Pour the strained oat milk back into the blender, and add the salt and pure maple syrup. Process briefly to mix. (Alternately, you can stir the salt and pure maple syrup into the oat milk once it’s in a jar for storage.)
- Transfer the mixture to a large jar. This oat milk will keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
Approximate Nutrition Info
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Price Breakdown
This recipe costs $.29 to make, or $.07 per cup. Try this frugal recipe for a vegan alternative to regular milk.
Why did I not try this sooner. Is it for everyone? Maybe not but for the amount of ~15 minutes to make and as a soy to almond milk drinker I’m sold on oat milk and will NEVER buy in the store as there’s no need
I have to say, I have tried everything for good oat milk and this is the best/easiest. I even bought digestive enzymes to soak the oats in to break down the amylase so they don’t get slimy because when it is blended it gets hot causing the slime but then I thought, what if there is a recipe with ice cubes?!? And I found this! I ended up doing 1 cup oats, 4 cups water and 5 very large ice cubes because I didn’t want to risk it getting warm. Turned out great! Great consistency and it’s cold once you make it which is an extra win! So quick and easy! Thank you! Later I added maple syrup, salt, and vanilla extract and it tastes like marshmallow milk! So good! So thank you thank you! My search for cheap, quick, easy, and more ethical (oats have small carbon footprint relative to almonds) non dairy milk is over! THANK YOU!
How long can you store this in the fridge? Thanks for the recipe.
You can keep this in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Trying this tonight!! Thanks for the recipe and helpful tips!!
Made it exactly as per your recipe and it came out perfectly! Thank you!
This is so cool! I have never seen oat milk before! I will have to try this with gluten free oats 🙂
I make my own cashew milk and have wanted to try oat milk. Thank you for the great tips. I would have NEVER thought to add ice cubes!
I love oat milk! It’s so creamy and delicious. Now I know how to make it. Thank you!
Great ideas. Thanks so much for sharing.
Not rinsing the oats and adding ice are both really helpful tips that I wouldn’t have thought of. Great post!