In just 5 minutes you can make this creamy and sweet Oat Milk recipe that’s perfect for adding to coffee or cooking with. Oat Milk is a great non-dairy alternative that requires just 2 ingredients and has a couple of great optional flavors you can add as well.
Oat Milk has become a trend in recent years especially with the increased access to it in supermarkets thanks to the Swedish company, Oatly. Now at many small business coffee shops, select Starbucks locations, and supermarkets you can find Oat Milk.
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Oat Milk and Coffee:
One reason Oat Milk has become so popular, especially in the coffee world is because of how great it tastes and foams up when steamed or ran through a milk frother. This is where I need to clarify for my readers that this Oat Milk recipe is not a Barista version of oat milk, though we hope to have one posted soon. If you’ve ever wondered why some storebought non-dairy milk doesn’t foam up or mix as well in coffee is because the non-dairy milk we use at coffee shops is a specially designed barista edition that is often flavored and has oils added so them foam when steamed. The higher the fat content the more dairy or non-dairy milk will foam. Whole milk always gets a nicer microfoam when steamed versus nonfat milk would. (I speak out of knowledge as a barista, but not out of support of consuming dairy milk.) This is because whole milk has a higher percentage of fat in it than nonfat milk. Knowing this we can apply that knowledge to non-dairy milk and add an oil or fat to them so they foam when steamed or frothed. While today’s Oat Milk recipe is not a barista edition, this Oat Milk mixes in coffee with no visible curdling. I also did make this recipe with less water so it would be creamier and nicer for coffee in mind.
What Kind Of Oats Should You Use In Oat Milk?
When making Oat Milk you’ll want to use Old Fashion/Rolled Oats for this. Quick oats are too processed and will leave you with slimy milk. Steel-cut oats are not processed enough to flavor the milk. You’d just end up with foggy water.
How To Make Oat Milk:
Oat Milk is simple and requires just 3 easy steps:
- Blend all the ingredients: You’ll want to blend your mixture for 35-40 seconds. Any more then that and your oat milk will become slimy especially as it sits in the fridge.
- Strain the Oat Milk: In a reusable nut bag, old clean t-shirt, or thin towel you’ll want to give a gentle squeeze to the oat pulp to remove the liquid. Don’t squeeze too much or you’ll get excess starch in the liquid which will make it slimy. Straining it twice will also ensure most of the starch is not in the liquid.
- Store the Oat Milk: In an airtight container, mason jar, or jug store the Oat Milk for around 5 days. After that, you’ll be able to tell by its smell when it’s gone bad.
Optional Oat Milk Flavors:
- Vanilla: This is what we opted for with our Oat Milk. To get vanilla-flavored oat milk you’ll need to add 1 tsp of vanilla extract.
- Chocolate: Cacao powder can be added when blending if you’re looking to make this classic sweet flavor. 2 tbsp of cacao will be sufficient for this recipe.
- Strawberry: I know for me as a child I would go hard on a carton of strawberry milk. Whether you’re a child or adult you can make this fun take on the classic strawberry milk by adding 1/4 a cup of frozen or freeze-dried strawberries to your mixture before blending.
Oat Milk Substitutions and Tips:
- Avoid Slimy Milk: Do not soak your oats in the water before blending. Soaking oats, blending for too long, or squeezing the pulp mixture too hard will add excess starch to your oat milk causing it to become slimy. While we want thick Oat Milk we want to achieve that by lowering the water ratio, versus adding more starch will not thicken it and only makes it slimy.
- Gluten-Free: While oats on their own are gluten-free, chances of cross-contamination are high. If you are looking to make gluten-free oat milk you can replace the old fashion oats with any brand of certified gluten-free oats*. No changes needed in the steps to make oat milk.
- Oat Milk Separation: Not if, but when you open your fridge and see that your oat milk has a thick white layer on the bottom and tons of foggy water on top know this is 100% normal for any non-dairy milk. Just shake the milk up well and then it’s ready to drink or use. Every non-dairy milk does this, some worse than others. You likely just haven’t noticed before especially if your non-dairy milk has been in a paper carton that you can’t see through.
If you make this recipe we’d love to hear from you down below in the comment sections. You can also tag us on one of our social media or use our hashtag #vegantheway. You can also stay up to date with our new recipes and post by subscribing to our email notifications.
Thank you for checking out our How to Make Oat Milk Recipe and make sure to check out our other vegan recipes like our Vegan Mushroom Stroganoff), or this fresh and healthy Tabbouleh Salad.
Oat Milk
Equipment
- Blender
- Nut Bag or Straining Alternatives
Ingredients
- 1 cup old fashion oats
- 3 cup ice cold water
Optional
- 1 tbsp maple syrup (recommened even if not making a vanilla, chocolate, or strawberry verisons.)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 tbsp cacao powder
- 1/4 cup frozen or freeze-dried strawberries
Instructions
- Add all the ingriedents to your blender. Blend the mixture for 35-40 seconds.
- Pour the mixture into a nut bag or a listed straining alternative. Strain the mixture and then gentle press or squeeze the oat pulp to remove liquid. Do this step at least once, but twice will be even better.
- Pour the Oat Milk into an air-tight container and store it in the fridge for 5 days.