Learn how to make oat milk at home! With this easy recipe, it always comes out smooth & creamy - perfect for adding to coffee, baking recipes & more!
Have you tried oat milk yet? Lately, it seems to be popping up everywhere. You can add it to your coffee at Starbucks, buy a carton of it at the store, or even pick up a pint of oat milk ice cream! I had to see what all the fuss was about, so I tried making my own homemade oat milk. I have to say, I’m hooked! It’s super easy to make, it’s smooth and creamy, and it has a yummy oat-y flavor that tastes great in coffee or tea.
Unlike other non-dairy milk recipes, this one doesn’t require any special equipment (looking at you, nut milk bags). And because you don’t need to soak the oats beforehand, it takes minutes to make. All you need is 5 minutes, a handful of whole rolled oats, filtered water, a fine mesh strainer, and a powerful blender! What are you waiting for?
How to Make Oat Milk
Making delicious oat milk is easy! But if you have made other plant-based milks in the past, a word to the wise: it is NOT like making almond milk, where you wring as much liquid as you can out of a nut milk bag. In this recipe, your goal is to squeeze and press the mixture as little as possible. Otherwise, it will end up slimy and grainy. Here’s my method:
- Blend. First, I add the oats and filtered water to a powerful blender (I use a Vitamix) and blend for 30 seconds, until the water looks creamy and white. For the best texture, be careful not to over-blend!
- Strain. Next, place a fine mesh strainer over a large bowl and pour the oat milk through it. Some liquid may pool at the bottom of the strainer. That’s ok! Discard this liquid and any oat pulp below it. DO NOT try to press the pulp to get more liquid through the strainer, as it will make the milk slimy and gritty.
- Strain again (optional). For extra-smooth oat milk, strain the liquid twice, discarding the leftover pulp both times. This step is optional, but it will yield the smoothest final texture.
- Chill, and enjoy! I like my oat milk best when it’s cold from the fridge. Unlike other dairy-free milks, don’t shake it when you go to use it. Instead, allow any leftover oat pulp to settle at the bottom of the container, and pour the creamy milk off the top.
How to Use Oat Milk
Once you’ve made oat milk, use it as you would dairy milk, cashew milk, or any other type of milk you like. I like to chill it and drink it with ice, add it to coffee, or use it to make a matcha latte. It would also be great in breakfast/brunch oat-y recipes like oatmeal, baked oatmeal, overnight oats, or no bake cookies. Alternatively, use it in any brunch baking recipe that calls for milk, like my vegan chocolate cake, blueberry muffins, banana bread, or cinnamon rolls.
Because it has a strong oat-y flavor, I don’t recommend using it in savory recipes. You’ll find my favorite way to enjoy it in the recipe below. I like to add a pinch of salt and a splash of vanilla and maple syrup to sweeten it up!
Next, try these plant based basics: tofu, tempeh, quinoa, chickpeas, or lentils.
How to Make Oat Milk
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup whole rolled oats
- 3 cups water
- 2 teaspoons maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
Instructions
- Combine the oats, water, maple syrup, vanilla, and salt in a blender and blend for 30 seconds.
- Place a fine mesh strainer over a large bowl and strain the milk without pushing any excess pulp through the strainer. This will create a creamier texture that’s not gritty or gummy.
- Add more maple syrup, to taste, if desired. Chill overnight. If you want to drink your oat milk right away, I recommend adding ice - it's flavor is best when well chilled.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Detoxinista’s method
I also use a vitamix. I like to blend the oats dry first, to turn them into a powder. Then add the water, salt, vanilla and (if you want, but I don’t) sweetener. This makes for less pulp and a creamier oat milk, enjoy!
Thanks Brian I’ll try this next time mine came out very watery.
Delicious!!! and so easy. Yum!
Has any one tried making it with oat flour
how much oat milk does this recipe make?
I’d say using about 3 cups of liquid (3 cups water) you’ll come out with about 3 cups of milk.
Can you use the oat excesses for any recepts? I would not want that go to waste.
Their delicious just eaten straight from the strainer with a spoon!
Typo correction: THEY’RE delicious…
I’m always making typos.
I am sooooooo glad I found this recipe. NEVER EVER buying Oat milk again. This taste so delicious.
Thank you so much for this 🙂
Just made this oat milk … easy & delicious!
Would you use more oats/less water to make a thicker coffee creamer? Thanks!
Have you ever tried making oat milk creamer?
Hi Amanda, I haven’t. I’m not sure if it’d be as simple as increasing the oat ratio or if other thickening ingredients would have to be added.
I’ve made Oat Milk from several online recipes. This one turned out the best by a long shot and the easiest. Not only is it the easiest but the taste is much better. A hint – if using honey as a sweetener, put it in before you blend because if you put it in the cold milk afterward it will not mix in well and you will have gritty pieces of honey in the milk – at least that’s what happened to me. Also, as another commenter said, using ice as part of your water is the way to go. I used about 3 cups water and then about a cup of ice. Thank you for such a great recipe!
Hi Jane, thanks for those tips! I’m so glad this method worked well for you!
When using a vitamix what speed do you use?
High speed.
Thanks for the recipe! I love the glass jar you used, where did you find it? (Sorry if you already answered!)
Hi Lindsey, I think I got it at Ikea.
Can’t wait to try this! Can I double the recipe?
sure, if your blender is big enough. You may want to work in two batches.
Thank you for this! Going to try it soon. My son had multiple food allergies and it is hard to find milk alternatives in the store that are safe for him. We can have regular cow’s milk, but we are looking for alternatives to branch out his diet a bit. Also. I just do not like cow’s milk. I’d love to have a tasty alternative I can make at home.
I have never tried store-bought oat milk, but this is amazing! I realized that cow’s milk might not be the best because of the impact on the world. Are there any other good recipes that can include oat milk? I would love to try it! Thanks for this tasty milk!
The flavor of this milk substitute is great! Definitely double strain, as you want the consistency here to he very fine. In order to get closer to this ideal, I blended my oats dry first, and then with water.
Does anyone know what the calories would be for this recipe?
Can you use steel cut oats for this recipe? I have an Almond Cow machine and need to use gluten-free oats.
I think you can oats except for the instant ones because they make the drink too slimy. Hope this helps!
I’m i’ve made this a few times now and the first few times I didn’t feel like it was slimy at all, but now I have a different blender, maybe different brand of oats too and it’s super slimy even though I don’t try to push anything through the strainer. Help?
Hi Lily, I’m so curious to know what type of blender and what type of oats you had before vs. now?
Previously I was using my roommate’s ninja 900 watt and now I have a Nutribullet also 900 series. Oats before were bulk oats from Sprouts supermarket and now I have Quaker Oats Old fashioned from Costco.
Hmm, assuming they’re both whole rolled oats (not instant), I might first try using your original type of oats. Or with the new blender, I might experiment by blending one batch a little less and blending one batch little more to see if there’s a difference in how much you blend. I hope that helps!
I’ll try those, thank you. I’m wondering now that I’ve been thinking about it, if I have been over blending. I also read with some other recipes that really cold water for blending is important. Do you have any comment on that front?
That’s interesting, the temp might make a difference (ie, I find overnight oats less slimy than cooked oatmeal). I’ve always used filtered water from our tap on the coldest setting. It’s always been fine, not ice cold but not warm. I’m curious to know what you figure out!
Glad I never tried store bought oat milk because this is delicious! Wow!! Super easy! I made two batches. How long can you store it? I might’ve skimmed over this part. I just wanted to share how yummy and easy this recipe is!
Dumb question- you said savory meals, what is an example? I use almond milk in everything, I really want to use oat milk but you said not great for savory dishes.
Hi Nancy, I’m so glad you loved it! It’ll keep for up to a week, give it a shake if it separates.
You can use it in savory foods if you don’t mind the oat-y flavor that it’ll add. You might want to leave out the maple syrup and vanilla in that case.