I started drinking oat milk more regularly on our summer trip to Austria in 2018. To my complete surprise a restaurant that we love for breakfast and lunch was serving oat milk cappuccinos and being in Europe, I just HAD to have a cappuccino. My preference is definitely a tea latte though ( I am little sensitive to caffiene ).
The thing I love about oat milk is that it has a very neutral taste because as much as I love nut milks, they are just not my favourite when it comes to most warm drinks. Almond milk, as you likely know, has a very distinct taste and the almond flavour can take over. And as you likely know, I don't drink cow's milk nor do we give it to Vienna , our 4-year old.
Oat milk is the most neutral tasting of all the non-dairy milks out there and that’s why I love it!
It also foams up pretty nicely if you buy a "barista blend" from the health food store. However, there is likely to be a few additives if it's able to sit on a store shelf for months on end. When I'm buying oat milk, I usually by Earth's Own Organic oat milk and it's refrigerated so there are fewer additives. However, that's not why you're here!
Making oat milk is very, very easy and making chocolate oat milk is just as easy, plus one more ingredient -- raw cacao.
Before we get to this creamy, delicious lovely milk let's talk about some of the health benefits of oat milk.
Health Benefits of Oat Milk
There are a couple of different combinations you can make. I like adding some dates and vanilla in my recipe because it gives it a little sweetness.
And you must make oat chocolate milk! Here's the recipe and I will outline all the steps below with photos.
Ingredients
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 5 1/2 cups of filtered water
- 2 medjool dates, pitted
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Optional: 1/2 cup raw cacao powder
Instructions
- Place oats, water, dates and vanilla extract in a high power blender. Blend for 30 seconds. (*SEE MY NOTE ABOUT BLENDING)
- Strain liquid through a fine mesh strainer or a nutbag into a container like a mason jar. Don't over strain it, that's when it gets slimy.
- Store in fridge for up to 7-10 days. Or freeze in batches and take out as needed.
- If you're making chocolate milk, add the raw cacao AFTER you've strained the oat pulp. Pop the oat milk back into the blender, add raw cacao powder and blend until combined and creamy.
Notes
Makes 6 cups approximately of oat milk.
*NOTE: To avoid slimy oat milk, the less blending the better. You can blend up the water and dates first and then add the vanilla and oats.
If you overstrain it, it can get slimy. I suggest using a wire mesh strainer instead of a nut bag.
The nice thing unlike making almond milk from scratch , is that you don't need to soak the oats before blending them up.
Place all your ingredients into a high power blender and give it a whirl!!
You can easily adjust the amount of water by increasing or decreasing. More water will make a thinner consistency and less water will make a creamier oat milk.
Then you pour it through a wire mesh strainer or a nut bag. I found that my nut bag was too fine to strain the oat milk so I ended up using a mesh produce bag and it worked perfectly! If you're using a wire mesh strainer, you'll have to press down the oat pulp with your hands or a spoon to strain it through.
Then squeeze the bag to strain all the milk out and you're left with the oat pulp.
And there you have it, delicious, creamy, wonderful oat milk you made yourself!
The possibilities are endless! Enjoy in a smoothie or make a tea latte!
Let me know if you have any questions and happy oat milk making!
Joy xo
Mmmm, sounds yummy. I can’t wait to try it. I was wondering is there any use for the left over oat pulp? I know it’s compostable but I hate to waste. Thanks!
ReplyYep! You could dry it out in a food dehydrator and use it as an almond flour. However, I haven't tried this so I can't say 100% for sure what the texture will be like but I think that would work.
It might work mixed into homemade granola, since you bake this to toast/dry it out anyway.
Oh yes, awesome idea RJ!
Hi joy! I’m obsessed with oat milk, but I cannot make it myself. I’ve tried your recipe, and a few others, with no luck. It’s always.... slimy? and I don’t soak the oats... what’s happening 😭
ReplyI've just updated my recipe with some notes to help because I've had a few questions about this! The first time I made it, it was slimy. Best to do as little blending as possible and use a wire mesh strainer as opposed to a nutbag.
I bought quick oats by accident, would I be able to use them for this recipe??
ReplyI think so!
Does the homemade oat milk froth ? I like to froth milk and have not had much luck with oat milk or rice milk when I use my milk frothier.
ReplySometimes yes, sometimes no. It's a little more finicky than store-bought and not all store bought froths either. Homemade oat milk sure is tasty though!
This seems to have a much longer shelf life than fresh made almond milk. I can generally keep my almond milk 3 days, 4 absolute max. Recipe says 7-10 days for oat milk. Is this accurate? If yes, yahoo!
ReplyOh really? I definitely keep both almond and oat milk longer than 3 days! You can put a pinch of salt in it too so it stays fresher longer. I would recommend freezing it beyond a week.
I tried making oat milk before and couldn't get past the gelatinous film. How can I get around that? Thanks Joy! MG
ReplyI just posted some updates. I've made it a few times now and figured out how to trouble shoot this!
What kind of mesh produce bag did you use?
ReplyIt's actually better if you use a wire mesh strainer (not in the photo). I ended up using a produce bag (but took all the photos with a nutbag which isn't ideal).
I’ve wanted to try this - thanks for the troubleshooting ideas! Question-does it separate in the fridge like nut milks? Also, does it separate in your latte? I made cashew milk/cream for my organic coffee and it separated in my cup
ReplyIt will separate in the fridge but not sure about separating when you put it into a hot coffee though. My guess is yes it will if it's not warmed up and the temperature is drastically different. I usually always steam or froth milk before combining and don't have that separation issue. Have you tried that?
Can we it be made with gluten free oats?
ReplyYes absolutely!
I haven’t tried that and to be honest, someone else suggested the same thing. Thanks for the recommendation! I miss cream in my coffee and have been trying to find a non dairy option.
ReplyOh good!!
Can steel cut oats be used instead?
ReplyYou would need to soak them. I've seen other people do this but I haven't tried it myself.
I love this recipe! That said I always feel a bit wasteful when making alternative "milks" at home. Any ideas on what to do with the left over oat pulp? Thanks :)
ReplySorry I just realized someone else already asked my question!! Pls disregard :)
ReplyThanks for this simple and quick recipe! How handy. We’ve recently switched to oat milk in our house and everyone loves it. It would be so great if you could do a recipe using the leftover pulp, no one wants to waste it! ~ unless you have chickens, the chickens will adore you for it! Haha!
ReplyYou could dehydrate it but I normally compost it because the pulp is so slimey!
Hi Joy...I prefer unsweetened almond milk. Would I simply leave out the date and vanilla in this recipe to make my oat milk?
ReplyYes for sure!
I tried the oat milk recipe but did something wrong and the it came out slimy. It is really a difficult non-dairy milk to try to make at home. :(
ReplyHi Sophia, sorry to hear that. Did you see my notes about troubleshooting to prevent that from happening?
So looking forward to trying this today! Thank you so much for the recipe and trouble shooting tips.
ReplyMy pleasure Mindy! Hope it works out for you :)
I tried to make oat milk at one point and it was a slimy mess...just tried your recipe and it turned out beautifully! Thank you thank you thank you!!! :)
ReplyHurray! So happy to hear that!
I’ve been making mine for a while now and I wouldn’t buy it from any store. It’s so easy to make and the taste is so yummy ! It’s worth the effort ! It’s interesting to see so many videos on how people do it, but I will stick with your recipe ! You are such a great teacher ! You inspire me ... I’ getting more involved in making better healthy choices !
ReplyThanks Elaine! Really happy to hear that you're making your own oat milk. It is really the only way to get the purest product :) There are some cleaner brands but making it yourself is also very rewarding.
sorry, somethings up with me posting comments. My question is how long should I mix if I have a 'normal' blender (rather than Vitamix style)? Thanks!
ReplyBlend until it looks like it's fully blended through... like no big chunks and then strain it.
I followed the recipe and also the extra blending section but still find that it’s a little slimy.
ReplyTough to say why it still has slime. If you don't love it I would suggest just using it for smoothies :)
I might have blended it for over 30 seconds, will try the next batch of oat milk. I love the brand "Oatly" but given the Corona virus, I am reducing my trips to the grocery stores hence making my own.
ReplyTry Earth's Own. I don't like Oatly because they use canola oil which I avoid.
I tried this recipe this morning and it turned out great! I do not have a high-powered blender and I think that worked out in my favour - judging from the comments. My oat milk was not slimy. I composted the oat pulp this time but next time I will try to dry it out and reuse it as suggested in the comments below.
ReplyThat's great to hear!! And makes me wonder then if the opposite can be true, if it's not overprocessed it's less slimy. Was there any grit in your milk?
Hello Joy, first of all, I am so glad I stumbled upon your youtube channel - not only that it´s simply and absolutely fun to watch, inspiring and informational, I also caught myself being in even much better mood, than I was before I watched a few videos. And it´s joyous, too, of course! :) So, thank you for that. Now, I have a question concerning oat milk i just made. I did everything as written in your recipe, only without vanilla. I used mesh produce bag and it all looked pretty nice. The milk I got was maybe slightly more creamy than the one from the supermarket, but still fluid. But then I wanted to make a Kurkuma Latte, with a powder mix I bought, so I started warming my oat milk in a pot. A moment after and it wasn't fluid anymore, but it turned into a sort of a sauce. Ok, I may have discovered a new delicious meal, but I'd also like to be able to cook / warm up my home made milk for coffee, for example. So, what may have gone wrong? Maybe I over strained it? Maybe you have an idea. I will try again tomorrow, less straining, see what happens... This way or another, thank you very much, for all you do and the way you're doing it. All the best to you, Vienna and Walker! Greetings from Berlin, Dusan
ReplyThanks for stopping by! Glad you're enjoying my YT channel and thanks for coming here to my blog to say hello. I don't understand what you mean by it turned to a sauce when heated? Like the milk thickened? That is indeed strange! Kurkuma latte - do you mean a turmeric latte? What other ingredients were in there? It could be something thickened it that you added?
Hi! Can I omit the dates? I don't need my milk sweetened. Thanks!!
ReplyFor sure!