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    Home > Recipes > How-Tos

    How To Make Oat Milk

    Published: Mar 5, 2020 · Modified: Oct 9, 2022 by Iosune · This post may contain affiliate links · 387 Comments

    Jump to Recipe
    A picture of a jar with oat milk with the words how to make oat milk

    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!

    A side shot of a glass jar with homemade oat milk

    Here you'll learn how to make oat milk, one of the most popular kinds of plant-based milk. It’s light, tasty, and lactose-free, 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! Besides, it's a great way to start switching from dairy milk to plant-based milk.

    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

    Step by step photos of how to make oat milk
    • 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 leftover oat 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.
    A picture of 2 mugs with homemade oat milk onto a wooden tray

    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 will not raise your cholesterol levels.

    Is oat milk gluten-free?

    Oats are naturally gluten-free, but they sometimes can be contaminated with gluten. So if you have gluten sensitivity or suffer from gluten intolerance, remember to buy certified gluten-free oats to make this recipe.

    Looking for more plant milk recipes?

    • Soy Milk
    • Rice Milk
    • Cashew Milk
    • Coconut Milk
    • Almond Milk
    A picture of a Mason jar filled with oat milk

    Did you make this oat milk recipe?

    Please leave a comment below, share it, or rate it. You can also FOLLOW ME on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, and PINTEREST. I’d love to see what you cook!

    A square picture of a glass jar with homemade oat milk

    How To Make Oat Milk

    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!
    4.59 from 48 votes
    PRINT PIN RATE
    Course: Drink, How to
    Cuisine: American
    Diet: Vegan
    Prep Time: 15 minutes
    Total Time: 15 minutes
    Servings: 4 cups (1 liter)
    Author: Iosune


    Ingredients 

    US Customary - Metric
    • 1 cup oats
    • 3-4 cups water, I make my oat milk using 4 cups or 1 liter
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, optional
    • 1-2 tablespoon maple syrup or 1-2 Medjool dates, optional
    • A pinch of salt, optional
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    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: 1cup (250 ml) | Calories: 169kcal | Carbohydrates: 41.7g | Protein: 2.5g | Fat: 0.8g | Sodium: 10.7mg | Fiber: 4.2g | Sugar: 31.1g

    Update Notes: This post was originally published in March of 2020, but was republished with new photos, step-by-step instructions, and tips in February of 2022.

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    9.2K shares

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Liana says

      December 13, 2020 at 10:47 pm

      5 stars
      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

      Reply
      • Iosune Robles says

        December 14, 2020 at 11:31 am

        Thanks for your kind comment Liana 🙂 Have a nice day!

        Reply
    2. Ola says

      December 11, 2020 at 2:20 am

      5 stars
      Great and simple to understand recipies!! A big thank you!!

      Reply
      • Iosune Robles says

        December 14, 2020 at 11:13 am

        So glad you liked it! Have a nice day 🙂

        Reply
    3. Lucy says

      November 05, 2020 at 2:53 pm

      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!

      Reply
      • Iosune Robles says

        November 06, 2020 at 8:23 am

        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!

        Reply
    4. Alison Peebles says

      September 11, 2020 at 10:38 am

      5 stars
      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

      Reply
      • Iosune Robles says

        September 11, 2020 at 11:16 am

        Hi Alison! Homemade plant-milk is just amazing and also it's better for the environment and for the animals 🙂

        Reply
    5. Debby says

      August 16, 2020 at 3:34 pm

      5 stars
      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?

      Reply
      • Iosune Robles says

        August 17, 2020 at 9:37 am

        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/ 🙂

        Reply
    6. Samuel says

      July 16, 2020 at 12:08 am

      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!

      Reply
      • Iosune Robles says

        July 16, 2020 at 11:02 am

        Hi Samuel! Thanks for writing to us 🙂 I prefer to use room temperature water! Hope you like our oat milk recipe!

        Reply
    7. jim says

      June 02, 2020 at 3:56 pm

      I don't see how many oats a person is supposed to soak. Is it 1 cup, 2 cups??

      Reply
      • Iosune Robles says

        June 03, 2020 at 2:05 pm

        Hi Jim! It is 1 cup oats (100 g). Hope I have helped you 🙂

        Reply
    8. Lindsay Chapman says

      May 24, 2020 at 2:05 am

      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?

      Reply
      • Iosune Robles says

        May 27, 2020 at 1:47 pm

        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!

        Reply
    9. Sara says

      April 23, 2020 at 2:45 pm

      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???

      Reply
      • madeline says

        March 23, 2021 at 3:34 am

        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 🙂

        Reply
    10. Amelia says

      April 22, 2020 at 1:03 pm

      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.

      Reply
      • Iosune Robles says

        May 05, 2020 at 1:26 pm

        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!

        Reply
    11. Jen says

      March 15, 2020 at 8:18 am

      How long does the milk stay fresh?

      Reply
      • Iosune says

        April 01, 2020 at 3:39 pm

        Hi Jen! I talk about it in the recipe box 🙂

        Reply
    12. frances says

      March 12, 2020 at 10:00 pm

      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.

      Reply
      • Iosune says

        March 18, 2020 at 4:26 pm

        Hi Frances! Any type of oats will do. I've made this recipe using rolled and also quick oats 🙂

        Reply
      • Carol Horne says

        March 19, 2020 at 8:24 am

        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

        Reply
    13. TFussy says

      March 09, 2020 at 1:47 pm

      Why do you discard the first soaking water?
      Thank you

      Reply
      • Iosune says

        March 09, 2020 at 5:31 pm

        Hi! To get a better consistency 🙂

        Reply
        • Eric Claeyborn says

          June 14, 2020 at 4:09 am

          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.

        • Iosune Robles says

          June 18, 2020 at 1:49 pm

          That's perfect Eric 🙂 Have a nice day!

    14. Denise Miceli says

      March 06, 2020 at 2:40 am

      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!

      Reply
      • Iosune says

        March 09, 2020 at 5:33 pm

        Hi Denise! Thanks a lot 🙂 I've only made the recipe this way, sorry!

        Reply
    15. Margaret says

      March 05, 2020 at 8:39 pm

      How do you stop it being slimy please?

      Reply
      • Tahira Akhtar says

        March 07, 2020 at 2:46 pm

        try soaking the oats first

        Reply
        • Iosune says

          March 09, 2020 at 5:32 pm

          Hi Tahira! Thanks a lot 🙂

        • Margaret says

          March 09, 2020 at 9:03 pm

          thank you!!

      • Iosune says

        March 09, 2020 at 5:34 pm

        Hi Margaret! Wahs the oats really well and add more water if needed 🙂

        Reply
        • Margaret says

          March 09, 2020 at 9:01 pm

          Thanks a lot!

    16. Nate says

      February 11, 2020 at 9:21 am

      Can you just blend the oats with the soaking water? What is the reason for draining them and adding fresh water?

      Reply
      • JAC says

        February 13, 2020 at 4:24 pm

        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....

        Reply
        • Iosune says

          March 09, 2020 at 2:48 pm

          Hi Jac! Thanks for your comment 🙂

      • Iosune says

        March 05, 2020 at 5:13 pm

        Hi Nate! The texture is nicer 🙂

        Reply
      • Carole says

        March 06, 2020 at 2:27 pm

        Hi, do you use old fashioned or quick cooking oat?

        Thank you

        Reply
        • Iosune says

          March 09, 2020 at 2:46 pm

          Hi Carole! I've used both and both work great 🙂

    17. Petra Sedlak says

      February 03, 2020 at 2:36 pm

      5 stars
      Great recipe. Simple to make and so much cheaper than bought. Thanks.

      Reply
      • Iosune says

        March 04, 2020 at 4:45 pm

        Hi Petra! Thanks a lot 🙂

        Reply
    18. Laura says

      January 29, 2020 at 11:34 am

      5 stars
      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.

      Reply
      • Iosune says

        March 03, 2020 at 4:56 pm

        Hi Laura! Thank you so much for your comment 🙂

        Reply
    19. Sara says

      January 27, 2020 at 7:01 am

      Would an immersion blender work for making oat milk?

      Reply
      • Iosune says

        February 28, 2020 at 10:59 am

        Hi Sara! I haven't tried it myself, but I think it could work 🙂

        Reply
      • Amanda says

        March 29, 2021 at 6:53 pm

        I used an mmersion bblender today, it cream out really creamy and delicious after straining!

        Reply
        • Amanda says

          March 29, 2021 at 6:56 pm

          Oops sorry..it came out not cream out..typo

    20. anna says

      January 15, 2020 at 1:54 am

      4 stars
      gonna try that recipe. maybe my kids would love that.

      Reply
      • Iosune says

        February 27, 2020 at 3:54 pm

        Hi Anna! Hope you enjoyed it 🙂

        Reply
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