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With just a couple of pantry-friendly ingredients, you can make your own delicious homemade oat milk with creamy, rich results every time.
Making oat milk isn’t as daunting as it might sound it’s surprisingly easy! Being one of the most popular dairy-free milk varieties, my DIY oat milk gets a little sweetness from maple syrup and vanilla extract and makes a perfect substitution for dairy milk in baking, for breakfast, or even just in your cup of coffee.
I’ve spent a long time perfecting my oat milk recipe so it doesn’t turn out slimy, has a deliciously creamy taste, and is quick and easy to make.
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Oat Milk Ingredients
- Rolled Oats: I prefer to use organic oats, but you can use any you have to hand, including steel-cut oats and certified gluten-free oats.
- Cold Water: It should be ice cold.
- Salt: Just a pinch of salt will bring out the sweetness in the milk.
- Maple Syrup (Optional): I like to add this as a sweetener, though you can substitute it with honey (either ordinary or vegan) or agave nectar.
- Vanilla Extract (Optional): I also use this for flavor, though you can adjust the amounts based on your taste.
Flavored oat milk
You can flavor your oat milk – just add your desired flavoring either when blending or when ready to drink. These are some of my favorite options:
- Vanilla
- Maple Syrup – or your favorite sweetener. Medjool dates can also work great here if you prefer.
- Cocoa – cocoa powder will make a delicious chocolate oat milk – great for kids!
- Strawberry or your favorite berries.
- Coffee.
How to make oat milk
Add your rolled oats, water, salt, vanilla extract, and maple syrup (if using) to a high-speed blender and blend for 10 seconds (15-20 seconds if you’re not using a high-speed blender).
Once the oats have been fully blended, pour the mixture into a nut milk bag or a fine mesh strainer lined with a few layers of cheesecloth. I recommend having the bag in a bowl already before you pour the oat mix in.
Using your hands, strain the milk through. You should have a thin liquid with no lumps or extra mix in it and the pulp still in the bag. For super-smooth milk, strain the oat milk twice.
Top tips to avoid slimy oat milk
If you want to make your own oat milk – you don’t want a slimy result! These are my top tips for getting perfect oat milk every time:
- Use Dry Oats: Your oats should be completely dry when you add them to the blender. If they’re wet, they won’t soak up as much of the liquid and will give the milk an unpleasant texture.
- Don’t Over Blend: High-speed blenders work quickly, so you don’t need more than 10 seconds to get the right texture. Over-blending causes heat and friction, which changes the overall composition of the oat milk – making it slimy.
- Don’t Over-Squeeze: The trick when straining is to handle the oat milk as little as possible. Too much squeezing causes more of the starch compounds from the oats to end up in your milk, which results in a slimy thick texture.
- Double-Straining: Straining the oat milk mix twice in the bag will remove any extra pulp and starch that could make the milk slimy.
How to use oat milk
- Use as an alternative to creamer or milk in coffee – try it in a matcha green latte or TikTok favorite, a Dalgona latte.
- Substitute in vegan baking and add to my favorite chocolate chip cookies or my healthier chocolate digestives.
- Use for breakfast favorites – this milk is great for chia seed pudding, overnight oats, and smoothie bowls.
What to do with the leftover oat pulp
The leftover pulp can also be used in a variety of ways – and it’s easy to make this recipe completely no waste. Use the pulp for:
- Breakfast dishes, especially overnight oats, muesli, oatmeal, and chia seed pudding.
- Use in baking for extra fiber – it works great for cookies, brownies, and muffins.
- Add to smoothies for fiber and protein.
- Use around the house – you can use it to make face masks, body masks, and compost.
Can you heat oat milk?
Yes – but it’s best to do it slowly. Heat it gently over low to medium heat and stir it until it’s reached your desired temperature. Just be careful to not overheat, as it can thicken and get a strange taste if it’s heated too fast.
How long does homemade oat milk last
Once it is ready, transfer it into pre-sterilized containers or glass jars. Stored in the refrigerator, the homemade milk should be kept for up to 4-5 days. If you decide to use extra flavorings in your oat milk, this can affect the shelf life, so keep an eye on it after a few days.
More homemade plant-based milk recipes
If you try this oat milk recipe, let me know how it goes in the comments below. I’d appreciate a recipe card rating and would love to see your recipe recreations – tag me on Instagram @Alphafoodie!
How To Make Oat Milk
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup rolled oats use organic and/or gluten-free if needed
- 4 cups water ice cold
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp maple syrup optional, or sweetener of choice
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract optional
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients into a high-speed blender and blend for 10 seconds (15-20 seconds if you're not using a high-speed blender).
- Pour the mixture through a nut milk bag or a fine-mesh strainer lined with several layers of cheesecloth (don't over squeeze!).Optional: Strain twice for super-smooth milk.
- Enjoy immediately or transfer to a sterilized bottle.
How To Store
- Fridge: Once bottled, store it in the fridge for 4-5 days, shaking it well between each use. When it's bad, it will start to smell and taste sour/off.Freezer: It will freeze for up to 3 months. However, upon thawing, it may be a little gritty and require re-blending for a few seconds and/or re-straining.
Video
Notes
- Use Dry Oats: Your oats should be completely dry when you add them to the blender. If they’re wet, they won’t soak up as much of the liquid and will give the milk an unpleasant texture.
- Don’t Over Blend: High-speed blenders work quickly, so you don’t need more than 10 seconds to get the right texture. Over-blending causes heat and friction, which changes the overall composition of the oat milk – making it slimy.
- Don’t Over-Squeeze: The trick when straining is to handle the oat milk as little as possible. Too much squeezing causes more of the starch compounds from the oats to end up in your milk, which results in a slimy thick texture.
- Double-Straining: Straining the oat mix twice in the bag will remove any extra pulp and starch that could make the milk slimy.
- Flavor Options: Add your desired flavoring when blending or when ready to drink. Here are some of my favorite options:
- Vanilla
- Maple Syrup or your favorite sweetener. Medjool dates can also work great here if you prefer.
- Cocoa to make chocolate milk.
- Strawberries or other berries.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I’m going to try the recipe soon! But I was wondering if there’s a nut allergy, is there an alternative to the cashews?
Hi Leslie,
You could skip the cashew nuts. It will still make delicious oat milk. I will have to experiment some more to see what else could work well – maybe a bit of coconut (shredded or flakes).
Is this recipe good for coffee or hot cereal? I’ve read that home-made oatmilk becomes more slimy when heated.
Hi Nadine,
I’ve made this specifically so it’s not slimy, even when heated. And I do use it for coffee. I hope you give it a try. 🙂
Hi. Can you tell me how you use the leftover oats from the cheesecloth?
Hi Alison,
I usually add it to overnight oats, smoothies, or other breakfast dishes (it can go in a yogurt parfait as well). You can also dry it and use it as oat flour in baking.
You can also reduce the slime factor if you use COLD water. Even blend in an ice cube or two, you reduce the friction heat that is generated by a high powered blender.
Love your milk recipes, just got a high powered blender and I am drinking my way through all of them 8-))
Thanks for your tip, Brigitte! Will try it next time!
Hello can I use a sieve to strain the milk please? I don’t have a nut milk bag 🙁
Hi Berenice,
Yes, you can use a sieve – it’s best if it has a very fine mesh. Alternatively, you can layer the sieve with a cheesecloth or possibly an old kitchen towel (clean) in order to collect the pulp. I hope this helps.
When do you recommend adding the chocolate/ flavor? Before straining or in that 10 second blend or the pre-blend with the cashews.
Hi Chelsea,
You can add it in that 10 second blend after straining.
Could not believe how easy and amazing this was! Most of the other oat milk recipes online don’t quite come out as good as store bought but this was really good!!! Thanks!!!
Thank you for your comment, Dee. Glad you gave the recipe a try and liked it 🙂
Can you use almonds instead of cashews?
Hi Lili,
Cashews make the oat milk more creamy and frothy. You could definitely add almonds for additional flavor, please keep in mind that the milk won’t be as creamy if you omit the cashews.
I use oatmilk for matcha lattes. Your tips were good. I had no cashews so added a little Trader Joes salted roasted peanut butter to the Vitamix. I forgot to strain the oatmilk before heating for the latte and didn’t see any pulp until Id gotten to bottom of the cup. It tasted very good. No peanuty taste. Not slimy at all. Didn’t boil it because i read heating oatmilk makes it thick although maybe the oil from the peanut butter would help it not to get thick.
Thank you so much for your comment, Keri. Glad you adjusted the recipe to what you had at hand. 🙂
HI! I LOVE THIS RECIPE CAN WAIT TO WORK ON THIS RECIPE.LOVEIT
Thank you for your comment. 🙂
how long would you soak the cashews before adding them?
Hi Lauren,
I pre-soak mine overnight in room temperature water or you can just soak them for 30 minutes in hot water. I hope this helps.
does removing the pulp(with a nut milk bag, etc) help reduce sliminess? is the digestive enzyme added before or after blending? should the whole capsule(s)(assuming it’s in capsular form) be added or should the capsule be opened and the contents only be added? actually, i think the digestive enzyme was a reader’s suggestion so i’m not even sure you’d know those answers, but perhaps the reader will respond. thanks in advance for any answers you can provide and thank you for your efforts in formulating this recipe.
Hi Rich,
Yes removing the pulp will help reduce sliminess.
I’m sorry I don’t have any answers regarding the digestive enzymes.
I’m glad you like it. 🙂