The moment I learned how to make oat milk, I was obsessed! It takes less than 10 minutes, requires very few ingredients, and is perfect for everything from coffee and smoothies to pancakes and muffins.
Of all the plant-based milks, oat milk might be my favorite. It’s incredibly creamy, doesn’t require a lot of sweeteners to taste great, and, as you’re about to see, is surprisingly easy to make right in your kitchen!
All you need is a blender and rolled oats to whip up fresh oat milk. You can easily add it to your morning coffee or cold brew, use it in one of our smoothie recipes, or enjoy it with cereal. Plus, whenever I’m baking and suddenly realize I’ve run out of milk, homemade oat milk is my hero! I use it to make delicious vegan pancakes, vegan blueberry muffins, and more!
Key Ingredients
- Rolled Oats: These are your best bet for creamy, perfectly blended oat milk (and are also what I use for my everyday oatmeal). Avoid instant oats, as they can lead to a slimy texture due to being more processed. Steel-cut oats may work, but are generally not recommended, as they’re harder to blend and won’t give you that creamy texture we all expect from oat milk. If you’re sensitive to gluten, be sure to choose gluten-free certified rolled oats.
- Cold Water: This is the secret weapon against slimy oat milk! Using icy cold water when blending helps to control the starch in the oats, preventing that gummy, slimy unappetizing texture.
- Optional: Feel free to flavor your homemade milk with vanilla extract, sea salt, cocoa powder, or sweeteners like maple syrup or honey. You can even make strawberry oat milk and blend in some strawberries (frozen is best)!
The secret to the best homemade oat milk—one that’s never slimy or gummy—lies in two crucial steps. In addition to blending the oats with ice-cold water, you must thoroughly strain the liquid. Use a nut milk bag, a clean cotton dishtowel, or even a few layers of cheesecloth to remove any remaining oat bits, which yields a silky smooth consistency that’s perfect for everything from coffee and smoothies to your baking needs.
Easy Homemade Oat Milk
- PREP
- TOTAL
Our homemade oat milk recipe is really easy to make. Just keep two things in mind for the best results. First, use rolled oats and ice-cold water. The cold water prevents the oat milk from turning slimy. Second, strain your oat milk using a nut bag, a clean dish towel, or a few layers of cheesecloth. Straining removes any extra bits of oats, which would make your milk slimy and gummy. The staining is so helpful that I like to strain my oat milk twice. Once you have it ready, enjoy your oat milk in smoothies like my favorite blueberry smoothie, or make these incredible vegan pancakes!
You Will Need
1 cup (115g) rolled oats
4 cups (945ml) cold water
1 to 2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey, optional
1/2 to 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, optional for vanilla oat milk
Pinch fine sea salt, optional
Directions
1Blend the oats and water: Add the oats, cold water, and any optional ingredients to a blender. Cover with the lid and blend for 30 to 40 seconds. It’s okay if you see little speckles of oats. It is best not to over blend, as this can cause a slimy texture.
2Strain the oat milk: To prevent a slimy or gummy texture further, strain your oat milk. Strain it through a nut milk bag, a clean cotton dish towel, or multiple layers of cheesecloth set over a large bowl or pitcher. I like to double-strain the mixture so that most of the solids are removed.
3Storing: Store homemade oat milk in a sealed container in the fridge for up to a week. Shake or stir before using.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Make strawberry oat milk: Add frozen berries for a berry-flavored milk. Fresh are fine, but the cold berries help reduce starch.
- Chocolate oat milk: Add a tablespoon or two of cocoa powder and sweeten it to taste with maple syrup or honey.
- Why did my oat milk separate? Some separation is entirely normal. Stir or shake the milk before using.
- Does homemade oat milk froth? Unfortunately, no. Store-bought oat milk that froth has a few more ingredients added (like stabilizers) to help it froth and heat up without turning slimy.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates.
Easiest and tastiest I have tried so far! Not over blending was the game changer for me. My oat milk used to come out slimy. Not anymore 🙂 And the use of cold water makes it so you can put it right on your cereal. Yum!
Easy Peasy. Added vanilla and honey for my powdered protien milk shake all week. Ah yum… and lost 4 lbs ! Score! Thank you both.