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
- ½ 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
can you tell me what speed on vitamix you use? no one seems to say that but obv. low vs. high for :30 will differ greatly. I also think straining 3-4x is key. I’ve made about 5 batches so far, I’d also add that i like cinnamon and salt in it as well. my 2yr old loves it. thank you
high speed! I’m glad you’ve been enjoying it!
Is the milk supposed to be like a weird off- white translucent watery substance when the pulp settles?
You can shake it before you use it, if you’d like.
Do you think that steel cut oats would be good for this? I have a bunch on hand and would be interested to try it.
Fantastic – first try at making oat milk. Trying to get away from almond milk and this is absolutely delicious!
For cold oat milk, fill last cup of water with ice and then fill with water. This will chill the oat milk.
Really love this recipe! I have been making oat milk before and can tell you that if you get watery or slimy oat milk, you should follow a few recommendations:
1. blend well for no more than 45-50 seconds
2. strain twice for avoiding slimy oat milk and excess starch
3. skip soaking the oats, just blend them and strain with fine cloth.
Overall, what Jeanine recommends in the recipe is the way to go.
Hi Jenny, thanks for chiming in with your tips!
Hi there, I followed the recipe exactly, including the 30 seconds, I have a ninja blender. And mine was pretty watery and had like a quarter cup of pulp. Do you think it needs more blending?
Hi Hope, if it’s not as thick as you like, you could blend a little longer and/or add more oats. Every blender will be a bit different.
I would love to know your results because I got the exact same results with the same blender.
it sounds like you could try blending it longer if it hasn’t thickened enough.
Thank you Jeanine. Such a great recipe as not a big fan of buying packaged/cartons of oats or almond milk. Love the fact this milk is home made and non dairy, You know exactly what’s in it, is super easy peasy to make, low cost and without packaging. Am amazed just how quick and easy it was/ is to make. Took less than 3 mins! 2 mins washing up! Brilliant!
I can’t believe how easy that was. definitely best chilled
Hi Jen, I’m glad you enjoyed it!
Hello! Do you think this would heat well in a milk frother?
Hi Charlotte, I don’t have a frother, so I’m not sure.
I put it in my frother mostly so I can have it warm instead of cold when adding to my coffee. It doesn’t give you that latte foam but it heats up nicely and works just fine.
This is healthy for body and yummy taste.
Any clever ideas out there on how to use, not toss the resulting oat pulp?
Thanks!
There’s barely any oat pulp – I wouldn’t even really call it pulp, it’s maybe a tablespoon of foamy slime around the strainer. One of the nice things about oat milk vs. almond milk is that it all nearly gets incorporated.
I dry the pulp out in my oven, I then use my stick blender to make oat flour to make my dogs treats, works well with coconut n almond pulp to!
My grandma always shaped leftover oatmeal into patties and fried them on the stove like a pancake. I did that with my leftover pulp and it made a nice quick breakfast 🙂
Thank you for your instruction. You done a good job
What are your thoughts on soaking the oats? I always soak oats to ease digestion but wondering if it would be different when making oat milk?
Hi Kim, it’s not a necessary step and I think it might make the texture more slimy. But I haven’t tried it, so I’m not sure.
sounds interesting as a non-dairy option, guess I’d missed the trend on oat milk so appreciate your sharing it here
That is some awesome photography! I too enjoy making milk at home. I often make Almond milk..but I need to try this Oat milk soon. Love that it’s so easy to make milk at home.
I’ve made oat milk a couple times and find that it is very different (in a bad way) from the store-bought kind. It pretty much tastes like lackluster oat-flavored water. I hope your recipe yields different results, because 1. I’d rather not keep buying it (and creating more packaging waste) and 2. I’ve recently learned how horrible almond mild is for the environment, so oats are the way!
Hi Jenna, homemade plant milks are never going to be exactly the same as store bought ones which often have fillers and stabilizers, but we really like this method and I hope you do too!
Store bought oat milk often has cheap oils like sunflower oil added in to “improve the taste” and stabilize the thickness of the drink. Not only does this give it a ton of extra calories, it is also unhealthy fat. Sunflower oil is high in omega-6s and low in omega-3s (which are the fat you actually want to supplement in your diet). Omega-6 fats are bad for your heart and overall health. So making your own oat milk is probably the best way to go.
Just a note for those without a blender, this worked well with an immersion blender stick. Might be a bit more oat bits left over after sieving but I’m using them in my morning oatmeal. Next time will plan on making oat muffins with the leftovers. I like oat milk and find it sweet enough without additional sugars.
Hi Liese, thanks for the tip!
Just finished my Veganuary challenge and didn’t like the shop bought oat milk ! I tried this and liked it so much even my partner has replaced cows milk in favour of this?Thankyou
Love it. It’s so easy to make. I skip the sugar and my husband just adds it to his so we each have it the way we like it. Yum! Thank you!
Would quick oats work for this?
I don’t usually buy them but they were on sale and since i have to buy gf oats, i went for it. Thank you ?
I haven’t tried, (I only keep whole rolled oats on hand) but I think it would be fine.
I enjoy your oats milk recipe
I know this is a bit late for OP, but for anyone else, yes you can use instant oats. It comes out the same. My blender isn’t the best and I get less leftover pulp with instant oats too, and since all oats are whole grain oats the nutrition is the same
How long does this typically stay good in your fridge?
about 5 to 7 days
This is a great non dairy option! My daughter just drank it all!
My questions is should I have a mound of oats left? I am only blending for 30 seconds?
Any tips or if there is a video I missed please link! Thank you!
Hi Sara, I’m glad it was a hit! Depending on the blender, it’s normal to have some pulp left over. A few other readers left comments about things they make with the leftover. Or if you google oat milk pulp, there are a bunch of yummy looking cookie posts. I hope that helps!
OMG I never thought it was this easy. We buy it from tge store but would absolutely love to make our own. What blender do you recommend? Our old ninja just broke and need to get a new one.
Thanks!
Hi Marcela, I’m obsessed with my Vitamix!
This is AMAZING! I won’t buy milk anymore ?
I’m so glad you loved it!