Ready to learn how to make oat milk? It’s creamy, healthy, and made with 4 ingredients in just 15 minutes. It tastes so good!
Here you’ll learn how to make oat milk, one of the most popular plant-based milks. It’s light and tasty, but it’s hard to find store-bought oat milk that is not full of sugar and chemicals.
By making it at home, you’ll make sure that your drink contains only natural and healthy ingredients, and it’ll also be much more affordable!
To make this homemade oat milk you only need 5 simple and easy to get ingredients and it’s ready in just 15 minutes, which is awesome.
It’s perfect to make plenty of other recipes and you can enjoy it plain or sweetened. Whether you drink it hot or cold, this healthy, soft and delicious oat milk needs to be a must in your meals!
How to make oat milk – Step by step
- Soak the oats in water for at least 30 minutes.
- Drain the oats and rinse them.
- Add the oats, 4 cups of clean water (1 liter) and all the remaining ingredients to a blender (photo 1) and blend until smooth (photo 2).
- Strain the milk using a cheesecloth, a strainer, a napkin or a nut milk bag (photos 3 and 4).
- Serve your oat milk hot or cold.
Pro tips
- You can use 1-2 Medjool dates (double the quantity if they are Deglet Nour) or any other sweetener if you like your milk sweet.
- I usually make unsweetened oat milk so I can use it to make savory and sweet recipes.
- Salt is optional, but it enhances the flavor.
- To make the milk, use just 3 cups of water (750 ml), try it and then add more water until you get the taste and thickness you’re looking for.
- Oat milk goes well with everything. Drink it plain, sweetened, with cocoa, or even add it to your coffee or tea to make a healthy and delicious hot beverage for the cold winter days!
- Use the pulp to bake spectacular vegan donuts, vegan oatmeal cookies or even make chocolate truffles. You can also add it to your smoothies to incorporate more fiber into your diet.
What is oat milk?
Oat milk is a beverage made from oats and water. It is 100% plant-based and dairy-free, and it works as a great substitute for cow’s milk.
Is oat milk good for you?
Yes, it is! Especially if you make it at home, that way you can make sure to only use whole and healthy ingredients and avoid artificial additives and preservatives. Besides, it is cholesterol-free.
Is oat milk gluten-free?
Oats are naturally gluten-free, but they sometimes can be contaminated with gluten. So if you can’t consume gluten, remember to buy certified gluten-free oats to make this recipe.
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How To Make Oat Milk
- Prep: 15 mins
- Total: 15 mins
- 3–4 cups (1 liter) 1x
- Drink, How-To
- American
- Vegan
Servings 3–4 cups (1 liter) 1x
Ready to learn how to make oat milk? It’s creamy, healthy, and made with 4 ingredients in just 15 minutes. It tastes so good!
Ingredients
- 1 cup oats (100 g)
- 3–4 cups water (750 ml-1 l), I make my oat milk using 4 cups or 1 liter
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
- 1–2 tbsp maple syrup or 1–2 Medjool dates (optional)
- A pinch of salt (optional)
Instructions
- Soak the oats in water for at least 30 minutes. I usually soak them overnight, but that’s not necessary.
- Drain the oats and rinse them. Discard the soaking water.
- Add the oats, 3 to 4 cups of clean water (750 ml-1 liter) and all the remaining ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth. Add more or less water depending on how thick you like your oat milk.
- Strain the oat milk using a cheesecloth, a strainer, a napkin or a nut milk bag.
- Store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Notes
- You can use 1-2 Medjool dates (double the quantity if they are Deglet Nour) or any other sweetener if you like your milk sweet.
- I usually make unsweetened oat milk so I can use it to make savory and sweet recipes.
- Salt is optional, but it enhances the flavor.
- To make this oat milk, use 3 cups of water (750 ml), try it and then add more water until you get the taste and thickness you’re looking for.
- Use the pulp to bake spectacular vegan donuts, vegan oatmeal cookies, or even make chocolate truffles. You can also add it to your smoothies to incorporate more fiber into your diet.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup (250 ml)
- Calories: 169
- Sugar: 31.1 g
- Sodium: 10.7 mg
- Fat: 0.8 g
- Carbohydrates: 41.7 g
- Fiber: 4.2 g
- Protein: 2.5 g
Update Notes: This post was originally published in March of 2020, but was republished with new photos, step by step instructions and tips in October of 2021.
Hi, I tried this recipe using 1 cup of oats and 3 cups of water only. It has come out very thin. Any suggestions on how to make the oat milk thicker? So it is more like shop bought oat milk. Would I just change the ratio to have more oats or is there something else I could add in to thicken it up?
Thanks
Hi Kat! You only need to add more water until you get the thickness you’re looking for 🙂
It’s great that you offer suggestions on what to do with the pulp at the end, but the recipe links don’t call for pulp, just oats 🙁 it would be great if there’s more information on how to modify those recipes to work well with pulp, because all that extra liquid in them must require balancing out somehow!
Hi Carmen! You can add the pulp to those recipes!
Hi what about storage where do you store the milk if you don’t want to use it straight away? And how long does it last before going bad?
Hi! You can store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or try to freeze it 🙂
Just a heads up! You mention that this oat milk can be enjoyed hot or cold. Store bought brands often have an added anti coagulant in them that stops them from thickening when heated, but homemade oat milk does not. Homemade oat milk will get thick and goopy when added to hot beverages or when used to make puddings or custards. I haven’t made your exact recipe, but I make my own oat milk at home and the recipe is similar. I’d imagine that your milk probably thickens as well seeing as you only soak the oats vs heat them.
Hi! I’ve heated it several times and it never thickens!
Hey teyler – I use it in my black spicy tea – adding it pretty soon after after pouring on boiling water and it doesn’t go gloopy.
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I love it! The soaking, draining and rinsing is a good idea. I used a pinch of salt and a little bit of vanilla essence. And I mixed the leftover pulp with chopped pecans, chopped dates and maply syrup and it’s currently baking in the oven. It may not be a good enough biscuit but it might crumble up for granola.
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Hi! Sounds so good 🙂
How long does homemade oat milk last in the fridge?
Hi Annette! You can see it in step 5 (instructions) 🙂
Thanks, My Turns out delicious with walnut and Date.
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Sounds so good 🙂
Hello, could you please tell me why you throw out the soaking water? I’ve seen other recipes that use it.
Thanks!
Hi Julia! To get a better consistency 🙂
Depends on your blender. If you don’t rinse it sometimes can turn out quite slimy
Thank you for sharing your method clearly and concisely, but most of all, for not having cookies or annoying pop ups. I wish there were more web pages like this in the world.
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Thanks for your kind words 🙂 Have a nice day!
You didnt state which form of oats to use! Groats? Old Fashioned? Quick? Im guessing maybe groats. Cant imagine soaking n rinsing quick oats. Maybe old fashioned!
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Hi Bonnie! Feel free to use any type of oats. I’ve made this recipe using rolled and also quick oats 🙂
Incredible recipe & thanks a lot for sharing it!
I’ve strained and re-processed a few times,
so actually there was no pulp left.
The denser part at the end, I used as a Cream in a Creamy Mushroom Pasta recipe and worked so well, that even though I normally do use dairy products,
I doubt I’ll ever use anything else than this Oat-Milk/Cream.
It is equally good, and so much lighter to digest! I’m thrilled with it!
In fact, I finished my first batch just today, but going to prepare for the next batch, now!!
In appreciation,
Liana
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Thanks for your kind comment Liana 🙂 Have a nice day!
Great and simple to understand recipies!! A big thank you!!
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So glad you liked it! Have a nice day 🙂
Thank you for this recipe! Tried it and absolutely love it! Never using shop bought again 🙂 Do you know if this is suitable to use with a milk steamer on a coffee machine? I know that some plant milks split when you steam them and wouldn’t want to waste a drop of this one by mistake!
Hi Lucy! I’m so glad you liked our oat milk recipe 🙂 I haven’t tried it myself but I think it’s suitable to use with a milk steamer!
Thanks for this simple but great recipe, have been making all week. I was keen to make my own oat milk because of reports that Oatley may be contributing to deforestation and also my local council in Glasgow don’t recycle tetrapak which most makes of non dairy milks come in
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Hi Alison! Homemade plant-milk is just amazing and also it’s better for the environment and for the animals 🙂
Thank you for this recipe. I have a question about the oat pulp and adding it to recipes. For your oatmeal cookie recipe would you substitute the pulp for some of the rolled oats?
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Hi Debby! You have to make oat flour with the pulp first! You can follow the same steps we follow in this recipe: https://simpleveganblog.com/coconut-flour/ 🙂
This recipe looks a lot easier and more promising than others I’ve tried in the past. Quick question though – Should I use cold, room temperature, or hot water to soak the oats for at least 30 minutes?
Thanks!
Hi Samuel! Thanks for writing to us 🙂 I prefer to use room temperature water! Hope you like our oat milk recipe!
I don’t see how many oats a person is supposed to soak. Is it 1 cup, 2 cups??
Hi Jim! It is 1 cup oats (100 g). Hope I have helped you 🙂
This looks amazing and I can’t wait to try it! I have a question about the sugar gram content. You listed it to be 31 grams in one serving. It was also mentioned in your blog that a benefit of homemade oat milk is that it has less sugar. How can this be right?
Hi Lindsay! This has an easy explanation 🙂 Our oat milk contains only natural and healthy sweeteners. So, its sugar is more benefitial for us than the sugar from non-homemade oat milk!
Hope I have helped you! Have a nice day!
I just made this today. I soaked the oats overnight. I rinsed for about 15 minutes and then strained with a bit milk bag. Added the water, vanilla, and maple syrup then and blended. When I was straining again to get the pulp out and separate that from the milk, it was even more slimy, and it was far from the white posted in your pictures. And now sitting in the fridge, it’s separating.
Did I do something wrong???
oats shouldn’t be blended more than 30 seconds at a time, it starts to heat up as you blend which makes the milk slimy. make sure to soak in cold water and then blend with cold water 🙂
Hi Losune. You linked to a recipe for donuts as something you could use the leftovers pulp for, but the recipe does not call for leftover pulp and when folks in the comment section asked if you could use it, you said not to. Have you changed your mind on this? Since we are here, have you changed your mind about using coconut milk as the only kind of plant milk for the donuts? I’m doing super-low fat at the moment and coconut milk has a lot of fat in it so an alternative suggestion would be lovely if possible.
Hello Amelia, you can use any type of milk for the donuts recipe but if you don’t use the coconut one they won’t be as fluffy as these ones.
Have a nice day!
How long does the milk stay fresh?
Hi Jen! I talk about it in the recipe box 🙂
I look forward to trying this recipe. It would be good if the recipe stated that you are using rolled oats/flaked oats, not groats or oatmeal.
Hi Frances! Any type of oats will do. I’ve made this recipe using rolled and also quick oats 🙂
Why has my previous comment about phytic acid not been posted publicly? I’d have been interested in your take on it- as, I suspect, a lot of people are unaware of the issue. Information is choice…
Thanks
Why do you discard the first soaking water?
Thank you
Hi! To get a better consistency 🙂
It seems like discarding the first water that was soaked with oats would be discarding nutrients. I’m looking at a lot of oat milk recipes before I decide, how I’m going to make it.
That’s perfect Eric 🙂 Have a nice day!
I am hooked on Oatly Barista Creamer! Addicted is more like it! Is there a way to make it creamy like the Oatly Cream brand? It’s the bomb!
Thanks!
Hi Denise! Thanks a lot 🙂 I’ve only made the recipe this way, sorry!
How do you stop it being slimy please?
try soaking the oats first
Hi Tahira! Thanks a lot 🙂
thank you!!
Hi Margaret! Wahs the oats really well and add more water if needed 🙂
Thanks a lot!
Can you just blend the oats with the soaking water? What is the reason for draining them and adding fresh water?
It’s about removing the phytic acid I believe, apparently it ends up in the soaking water and blocks or impairs absorption of important minerals, so best to discard in this recipe – apparently if soaking your oats overnight to eat for breakfast soaking in an acid medium will also solve the problem….
Hi Jac! Thanks for your comment 🙂
Hi Nate! The texture is nicer 🙂
Hi, do you use old fashioned or quick cooking oat?
Thank you
Hi Carole! I’ve used both and both work great 🙂
Great recipe. Simple to make and so much cheaper than bought. Thanks.
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Hi Petra! Thanks a lot 🙂
Really simple to make ( if you have a blender), saves money and cuts down waste, tastes just as good as shop bought! I was getting really fed up of the plastic lids on oat milk cartons and my local recycling service in Brighton & Hove doesn’t pick up tetra packs/ cartons in the communal recycling bins so I have to bag them all up and take them a mile down the road.
So pleased to have found a good recipe for oat milk and going to save the left over oats to put in bread or cake mix or as a thickened as seems a shame to waste them. Oats are so good for your health!
P.s. if your vegan I would suggest getting some vitamin B12 tablets to take as lots of oat milks add this to their milks.
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Hi Laura! Thank you so much for your comment 🙂
Would an immersion blender work for making oat milk?
Hi Sara! I haven’t tried it myself, but I think it could work 🙂
I used an mmersion bblender today, it cream out really creamy and delicious after straining!
Oops sorry..it came out not cream out..typo
gonna try that recipe. maybe my kids would love that.
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Hi Anna! Hope you enjoyed it 🙂