When I mentioned that I was working on a homemade milk post many of you asked for a low-cost and nut-free homemade milk recipe. I decided to put myself to the challenge. Homemade Oat Milk, it is!
First, I’ll show you how I made it with step-by-step photos and at the end of my post I’ll share my thoughts on flavour, price, texture, and overall pros and cons.
You will also need a blender (any blender should work as we don’t need to blend the oats super smooth), a fine sieve, a large bowl, a small bowl, and measuring spoons/cup. I haven’t tried this oat milk with cheesecloth or a nut milk bag yet, but if anyone does please leave a comment and let us know how it goes.
Homemade Oat Milk
Yield
3 cups
Prep time
Cook time
0 minutes
Total time
Ingredients
- 1 cup steel-cut oats
- 3 cups filtered water
- 1.5-2 tbsp pure maple syrup (or other liquid sweetener or pitted dates), to taste
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- scant 1/4 tsp fine grain sea salt (enhances flavour)
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon (optional, but nice)
Directions
- Rinse and drain 1 cup of steel-cut oats. [I’ve heard you can also use oat groats.} Place oats into a bowl and cover with water. Soak for around 20 minutes. You can soak longer (even overnight) if desired.
- After soaking, rinse and drain the oats very well. This step is very important because you want to rinse off any of the oat slime that has occurred from soaking. Yes, oat slime is a thing...it happens.
- Scoop oats into your blender and add 3 cups water. I prefer using 3 cups of water as opposed to 4 cups because it yields a creamier/thicker milk. Feel free to add more water if you wish, just know the more water you add the thinner your milk will be.
- Cover with lid and turn the blender on a low speed, increasing the speed gradually, and blend at the highest speed for about 8-10 seconds only. You don’t need to completely pulverize the oats.
- Place a fine sieve over a large bowl and pour the oat milk very slowly into the sieve. You might have to do this in a couple batches depending on the size of your sieve.
- With a spoon, gently push down on the oat pulp so the milk flows through. This helps push the milk into the bowl, leaving the oat pulp behind in the sieve.
- Scoop the oat pulp into a small bowl and set aside. Clean out your blender and sieve with a good rinse of water until no pulp residue remains.
- Place sieve over top of your blender and pour the milk in once again and strain.
- Rinse out the bowl and sieve once again. Strain the milk through the sieve into the bowl (optional). If you don’t want to strain again, simply add in your mix-ins and blend on low.
- I whisked in 1.5 tbsp maple syrup, 1 tsp vanilla, 1/4 tsp fine grain sea salt (enhances sweetness), and 1/4 tsp cinnamon. These mix-ins turn your oat milk from bland to hmm-this-could-be-decent-when-cold.
- I strained my milk one last time into a clean blender. Then I poured the milk from the blender into a clean mason jar for storage in the fridge.
Tip:
Notes: This should last in the fridge in a sealed container/jar for 4-5 days. Use it in smoothies, oatmeal, cereal, baking, or drink it straight. If you want to use it in a savoury recipe, you can omit the sweetener, vanilla, and cinnamon. Homemade milk does separate (remember there are no added emulsifiers!), so be sure to give your milk a very good shake (or stir) before using. No biggie. A little non-dairy milkshake never hurt anyone. I just don’t want you to be alarmed when you see the heavier ingredients sitting at the bottom of the jar.
This should last in the fridge in a sealed container/jar for 4-5 days. Use it in smoothies, oatmeal, cereal, baking, or drink it straight. If you want to use it in a savoury recipe, you can omit the sweetener, vanilla, and cinnamon.
Don’t let all the step-by-step photos fool you into thinking this is lengthy to make – it takes just 5 minutes once your oats are soaked.
Step 4:
Step 5:
Step 6:
Step 8:
As you can see in the bottom left photo, straining twice gets even more pulp out yielding a smoother milk. I usually strain it 3 times or so, but it’s not necessary if you are time-crunched.
Step 9:
Step 10:
Step 11: I strained my milk one last time into a clean blender. Then I poured the milk from the blender into a clean mason jar for storage in the fridge.
Taste Report:
The flavour of this oat milk is much like I expected; it tastes like oats. Shocking, I know. The biggest challenge I had when testing this recipe was getting it creamy enough. I tried 1/2 cups steel-cut oats with 4 cups water and then 3/4 cups steel-cut oats with 3 cups water. I found both end results to be too watery. Using 1 cup of steel-cut oats to 3 cups of water was my favourite ratio (so far). If you play around with the recipe, I’d love to hear your versions too.
Keeping in mind that this homemade milk is free of emulsifiers and thickeners, I was fairly impressed with the texture. Is it just like store-bought milk? Of course not, but I do think it’s a decent option with a clean ingredient list. It’s much easier on the wallet too!
PROS:
- Very low cost (a batch using steel-cut oats cost me about 50 cents – or less if you can get a deal on oats)
- Nut-free so good for those with allergies
- Quick to make
- You don’t need a nut milk bag or cheesecloth
- Clean up was easy, even with all the spilling I seem to do…
- Decent, but not mind-blowing, flavour
CONS:
- Not as creamy compared to homemade almond milk
- Slightly watery (although this is improved when using 3 cups water instead of 4)
All in all, I feel that the pros outweigh the cons with this homemade oat milk. It’s so cheap to make and that is a huge plus for me. I personally don’t drink much milk by the glass so I think this will be just fine when added to cereal, smoothies, oatmeal, etc. But so far, I’ve been sipping the jar straight from the fridge, letting out satisfied mmm’s and dribbling milk down the front of my shirt. Eric, as always, is quite confident he married a weirdo.
Update: I tried the milk with some Nature’s Path cereal and it tasted a bit like cinnamon toast crunch, probably thanks to the cinnamon in the milk. yummy!
I also made a trial using cooked steel-cut oats and the milk turned out super slimy. I didn’t rinse the oats after cooking, but maybe I should have? I’m going to stick with the non-cooked method.
Odds are that some of you won’t like this milk at all, but it’s also likely that some of you will really enjoy it and appreciate this as a cheap, at-home alternative to the store-bought stuff. I’m quite anxious to see what you think and I welcome your feedback in the comments!
What can you do with the leftover oat pulp? I suggest saving it and mixing it into oatmeal and smoothies. If you have a dehydrator, I assume you could also dehydrate the pulp and then pulverize it in a blender to make flour. If anyone has any other ideas, leave ‘em below.
Have you ever made homemade oat milk or tried a store-bought version? Do you make your own milks at home? If so, what’s your favourite recipe?
Catching up in this series? See: Vegan How To: Introduction (Why this series?), Part 1: How To Make The Transition, Part 2: Replacing Dairy
Angela, I am really enjoying your Vegan How To series. Thank you for this recipe. I am anxious to try it especially after your previous post with the information about carrageenan. I’ve since done a little more reading on the topic. Yesterday while grocery shopping I was disheartened to find that every brand of almond milk carried by my local supermarket had carrageenan in the ingredient list.
Bummer! Your grocery store doesn’t have Silk Pure Almond? It doesn’t have carrageenan.
I didn’t see it, but I’ll check again. I will also be making a trip to Whole Foods this week and I know I will find more options there. Thanks Carie.
Hello, I have made many meals and desserts from your recipes. They were all delicious. Anyway, I would like to point this out that there is GMO in Silk. I buy Blue Diamond which is GMO-free!
I don’t like to promote Silk since it’s owned by Dean Foods, but their almond milk IS non-gmo.
There are no gmo almonds. Personally, I know that gmos are not at all a health risk so I have no problem ingesting them (this is after doing tons of research and speaking to scientists).
GMOs are anything but proven safe to consume. There have been no sufficient third party studies done in the United States – not a single one – to prove whether or not there is harm in consuming GMOs. Most people will remain rightfully weary of consuming GMO foods, along with 16 European Union countries who refuse to involve themselves in such destructive agricultural practices. There are hoards of reasons to stay away from GMOs, and health risks are just the tip of iceberg.
“Why people oppose GMOs even though science says they are safe” – worth a read if you are a GMO skeptic.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-people-oppose-gmos-even-though-science-says-they-are-safe/
Lets not be so quick to give GMOS a pass, but on the other had lets not be so fast to condemn.
There are two ways to look at it. Tomato’s for example, when was the last time you saw a tomato that was rotten in the store. They don’t rot for the reason there is an egg enzyme spliced into the plant derived from and egg. Also there is roundup ready. It gets the name because roundup won’t kill it. But if its sprayed with roundup in is absorbed into the plant and ends up in the fruit, what ever that might be.
Now, what is the difference in Broccoli and brussel sprouts…… none. same thing just the dna was changed a little to produce a different look..
Hi, A lot of GMO is to make the plant “roundup ready” which means the plant can be sprayed with roundup and not die. Roundup is now on the carcinogenic list. So anything that is GMO and sprayed with roundup would have to be suspect. Spraying roundup on your food? IS NOT ON!
I heartily agree that GMOs are safe to consume. Frankly, anyone who looks at the scientific data surrounding GMO organisms quickly begins to understand our food system even more deeply than they thought they had before researching. Stay clear of “natural” news type websites offering you un-sourced, un-researched opinion and passing it off as hard fact. Remember that correlation is not causation.
Remember that anyone telling you that GMOs are bad always has something to sell you. Books, foods or t-shirts. Don’t believe everything you read on the internets. If anything, GMOs need to be regulated and those regulations need to be well-funded in unbiased scientific circles (a la public safety funding organizations such as the FDA) GMOs might be the only safe, reliable way that we can feed ourselves 100 years form now with climate change and our 5,000 year history of poor crop breeding habits (yep, “ancient” grains aren’t everything you think they are either…)
Also, the EU food regulation policy is a terrible stick to measure against US food laws… They permit diseased hooves in their deli counters, have slack pasteurization laws and different food holding temp standards not based on evidence. Food poisoning is very common in the EU. I wouldn’t trust how accurate their opinion is on food safety. Keep in mind, the EU is under public pressure from scared, misinformed citizens just as in the US. The important difference being that, culturally-speaking, European regulators look lazy and stupid the LESS they regulate (contrast that to the American ethos of gutting inspection programs and shrinking research funding because ‘regulation is bad for business’.)
Stay healthy out there, people! Exercise, don’t over-eat, don’t under eat. Eat as MANY different things as you can. Eat more whole foods in less packaging. And remind yourself that you’ll be fine. <3
I trust not one thing that the FDA says.
@Jared RE: “GMOs might be the only safe, reliable way that we can feed ourselves 100 years form now with climate change and our 5,000 year history of poor crop breeding habits”…
I have wondered about this, for the reasons you mentioned, among others. Curious if you have any scientifically based resources you’d recommend for more info?
I used to primarily be opposed to GM crops based on the concept that they tend to result in fewer crop varieties being grown, because of the amount of time and resources required to develop GM crops. There are also concerns about how GM crops cross breed with other non-crop plants and therefore affect ecosystems. There is also a concern about the accessibility of GM seeds for low income farmers, as well as the fact that the majority of GM crops grown in the world have been developed not for higher yields or greater nutrition but to enable greater use herbicides and pesticides, which is not a beneficial practice for our ecosystems or human health.
However, in recent years I have come across a great deal of rigorous evidence indicating the health effects of GM foods are in fact a significant concern. This publication provides a summary of some of these studies in case you are interested.
http://livingnongmo.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/GMO-Myths-and-Truths-edition2.pdf
Your blind approval of GMO food is disturbing. Like many you fail to do your research. The 3 most destructive GMO crops are wheat, soy and corn. These GMO crops where never intended to “feed the world” or improve yield, they were created so that the chemical companie mainly Monsanto can sell more of their crap. Glyphosate (found in Roundup) causes not only big health problems but is an enviromental nightmare. Millions of pounds of that stuff is used every year in the US alone. Being water soluble it makes its way in the water ways and you can research yourself how it ends up in areas where they dont even use this stuff, it is found in the air and in the rain. Glyphosate is an amino acid inhibitor in the plants. If you are eating a plant that does not have all of its amino acids, what do you think it happens to its nutritional content? Extensive use of GMO crops is proven to destroy the soil. Education in this greed money driven world is so important today.
The trick is to know WHO funds the research. You can read an article on ANY subject and come away knowing nothing at all, depending on WHO is funding the research. For instance, if the American Dairy Association is funding research behind an article on cow’s milk, you will probably read that cow’s milk is superior to nut/seed/bean milk, whereas Nut Growers of America, funding articles that sing the praises of nut milk and how superior it is to cow’s milk, will have you believe something different than the findings of the lab research behind cow’s milk. And I’m talking about genuine scientific laboratory research. This is why, when people quote me their references, I am STILL skeptical , even when their sources are peer reviewed academic, scientific, laboratory research. MONEY TALKS. That’s why the American public knows nothing.. .
White Wave owns Silk, Dean Foods owns about 20% of White Wave. I am not sure how much influence Dean Foods would have over White Wave.
I’m really enjoying the series too!!! thanks
Silk Milk is not without it’s controversy since it is now owned by Dean Foods.
I love almond milk, too! One thing you should keep in mind when buying Almond/Oat/Soy/Rice/Coconut milk in cartons is that they each contain added synthetic vitamins to “enrich” (such as Vitamin A Palmitate, Calcium Carbonate, Vitamin D2, etc). These have shown to actually deplete your body of the vitamins it needs as they are isolated vitamins (your body does not recognize them as vitamins), and actually keeps your body from ingesting the vitamins naturally occurring in the almonds/oats/coconut in the milk. It is a way for them to be competitive in marketing against dairy milk – but is very unhealthy for us in the long run. These milks are very nutritious by themselves without the added isolated vitamins! I got excited when I saw Silk Almond Milk didn’t have carrageenan in it, but when I researched what those isolated vitamins did to our bodies, I opted to start making my own milk at home. Luckily, if you can find canned versions of these milks (I’ve only found coconut milk in this form so far), they won’t have the carrageenan or synthetic vitamins in it. Sorry to be the barer of bad news! All natural is always better. :-) Thanks again for this awesome oat milk recipe! Can’t wait to try it!
Hi, We don’t like carragean and fillers, so we use Rice Dream milk and love it! We buy the large half gallon size and can even water it down buy half and it still tastes great not too watery. Of course, the rice milk is a cooked product not raw.
Hi Sarah,
I’m sorry to tell you research now indicates rice milk contains huge amounts of arsenic (yes, the poison!). Actually, rice in all forms does. I have excluded rice milk from our menu and limit rice to very little a week. Google “Arsenic in rice” and you’ll see!
You do realize that the Japanese – the longest & healthiest lived people on the planet – eat rice 3 meals a day 365 days a year right. It’s a dietary staple. The trace amounts of arsenic in rice are very obviously not harmful so please stop fear mongering & perpetuating food myths.
Yeah, well that is because the arsenic is only activated in the presence of cancerous cells and will only destroy the cancer. It won’t convert to arsenic in healthy cells. Read up on B17!
Yes but in Japan they didn’t grow rice on fields laced with inorganic arsenic that was used as a pesticide for prior crops. Do your due diligence
Rice is the staple food of over half of the world’s population!
so do apples. stop being scared of things just because someone said something about it
Below are some important findings based on Consumer Report’s new analysis:
White basmati rice from California, India and Pakistan and sushi rice from the U.S. carry, on average, half the amount of arsenic than that found in most other types of rice. Brown rice has 80 percent more IA on average than white rice of the same type.
Brown basmati from California, India, or Pakistan is the best choice because it has about a third less IA than other brown rices.
All types of rice (except sushi and quick-cooking) with a label indicating they’re from Arkansas, Louisiana or Texas had the highest levels of IA in Consumer Reports’ tests. White rices from California have 38 percent less IA than white rice from other parts of the country.
Organic rice takes up arsenic the same way conventional rices do, so don’t rely on organic to have less arsenic.
Gluten-free grains, including amaranth, quinoa, buckwheat, millet and polenta (or grits) have much lower average levels of IA. Bulgur, barley and farro, which contain gluten, also have very little arsenic. Consumer Reports recommends that consumers vary the type of grains they eat.
My grandmother ate rice at least twice a day until it killed her…at the age of 104.
but doesn´t rice dream belong to monsanto?
Chelsea,
I completely agree with you that natural is always better, and I’m trying to find some research studies to support this concept of decreased assimilation of nutrients with synthetic vitamins. Unfortunately, I can’t seem to find anything in peer-reviewed literature. You mention that you’ve researched this — have you come across any studies?
Thanks!
A
please cite where you got your info about vitamin absorption.
Chelsea, the synthetic vitamins is the reason I am now looking for a homemade vegan milk option. Thanks for your input. Very helpful.
Where did you learn this information in regards to the synthetic vitamins in these “milks”?
I’ve never tried oat milk but am a fan of oatmeal, so would most likely enjoy it. I’m not a big milk by the glass drinker, so would most likely add it to my cereal or baking. I would most likely leave out the spices if using for soup or something as well. It would definitely be used at my house and I do have a large container of steel cut oats in my cupboard…
I agree with Aimee, I’m really enjoying this series. It’s so helpful and I love the discussions going on in the comments section.
Oatmilk is great with cereals! Yummy!
I am a breastfeeding mama and when I got the beginnings of thrush my naturopath suggested making oat milk, but from whole oat groats. There is some compound in the whole oat groat that fights the fungus that causes thrush. It really did work. So there is another bonus of oat milk- although you have to use the whole groat which is harder to find. I thought the taste wasn’t great but I like your idea of adding cinnamon. Next time I will try that!
Hi, I don’t know anything about that particular remedy, but I’m curious about why whole oat groats would work and not steel-cut oats, since steel-cut oats are oat groats that have been cut with a sharp blade. Especially since it all goes in the blender anyway. Does anyone know anything about this?
Also, I am excited to try this recipe, oats soaking right now. Cheap+healthy+vegan=yay
maybe the component in the whole grain is broken down when it comes in touch with oxygen?
Can you do one on almond milk too??? Pretty please?
Yup that’s coming up :)
^ Yay!! I wanna make that one too :D
I make my own almond milk the exact same way except you speak nuts over night and I don’t as sweeteners but if I did I would probably do this I have also made rice milk same way as almond
I made homemade almond milk for the first time this week, and it is SO much better than store bought. I actually don’t like the taste of store bought almond milk very much (I thought it tasted too almond-y) and usually just used it for baking and smoothies, but the homemade has a great natural warmth and sweetness to it, and much more closely resembles cow’s milk in flavor, though I would prefer almond milk all day compared to cow’s milk.
Kimberley,
Can you share your recipe for almond milk?
It sounds perfect!!
Linda
Question about both the oat milk and the almond milk: is straining necessary? If the vitamix can pulverize the oats and almonds, why not leave [what I think is fiber] in it? It a matter of preference or is there more to it?
Thanks for this site, i’m really loving it!
Hi, Sus. I make a couple batches of almond milk every week. If it weren’t strained, it would be very difficult to drink or even use on cereal as the particles left behind (even with a Vitamix blender, which is what I use) would cause you to choke. Think “chaulky,” only worse. If you plan to use your almond or oat milk for baking only, I’m sure the straining would not be necessary. I use a nut milk bag for both oat and almond milk. The pulp can be used in many ways, so it is definitely not wasted. As I am just now seeing your post, I hope that you have been successfully making your own milk by now.
hehe, I have made my first batch of almond milk without straining (i stopped reading the instructions a bit early,,, oops) and i couldn’t stop drinking it, on top of that I had doubled the dry ingredients to a single quantity of water so mine was thicker than it should have been and just a smidgin chewy at the end of the mouthful,,, but i didnt find it at all difficult to drink, I couldnt stop myself from going back for another 10 gulps!! it was a little “pulpy” (not really what you ‘envision’, the words sound worse than the reality,,, more a little sediment) but i really love my orange juice pulpy so i could say from my own first experience it does not make you choke (thats pretty extreme imagery there Traci) or chalky. Any on top of that you dont have to worry about using the leftovers. Just blend a little longer if you dont want to strain!! And shake. Still delicious, no chalk, no choke, no joke!!!! haha.
What do you use the pulp for?
I never bother straining my almond milk! I do use a Vitamix, but have used regular blenders also. I don’t drink a glass milk EVER, like we did as kids (it’s just me, nothing wrong with it!), so the slight sediment isn’t an issue as far as I’m concerned. Why go to the extra time, fuss, of straining, when I can just add all that extra lovely fiber to whatever I’m using the milk in? ;-) Which is always a plant-based recipe anyway? It all works together. I simply don’t sweeten the milk that is to be used for a savory recipe. And I tend to make very small batches, usually no more than about a pint, so it’s used really fresh. If it’s to go in a smoothie, I just put soaked almonds in whole, add the amount of liquid, and other stuff, and blend. SO EASY!! Plant milks are so much cheaper and healthier. And EASY!!
I’ve never made my own before but you’ve got me curious. I might just get ambitious this week! Thanks Angela!
Do you think this milk is a good substitute for us vegans fighting candida? Of course, I would make it without the maple syrup, probably use stevia instead, but do you think the carbs in the oat themselves would feed those yeastie beasties?
I’m sorry I don’t know enough about candida to comment on that. I would talk to your doctor and/or do some research online. Goodluck!
Brittany, I have suffered from recurrent yeast infections and the one thing that works for me is 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar in a glass of water every morning. I know this is nothing to do with oat milk but I thought I’d throw it in there!
While I agree whole-heartedly about the Raw Apple Cider Vinegar. It really is wonderful! I saw above that someone mentioned using oat milk for thrush which if I am correct, is caused by candida. I am not completely certain but I do believe it is some sort of a yeast imbalance. I think that the oat milk is totally worth trying for it as I don’t feel that it is extremely yeast-feeding. Also kefir – both water and milk – are great against candida. Be well!
look into apple cider vinegar, Bragg’s especially for candida.
My sister is currently on a candida diet. Make sure you are having aloe vera whenever possible, and coconut oil. All great in fighting candida.
Candida, your diet is very high in acids. Perhaps you’re eating too much grain based food? You need to up your raw vegetables, reduce processed foods, eliminate at the very minimum “white’ grains or just reduce them… base your diet on a minimum 80% raw fruits and vegetables. The natural sugars in fruits do not contribute to candida. Sugars in processed foods do, along with grains, etc. I used to suffer in my late teens but I was barely eating any vegetables at one stage. I know a lot of people who complain of candida and their diets are “quick and easy” packet type stuff, they barely eat raw fruit, they barely touch raw vegetables. Vegetables are alkalising. The counteract the acidity of a “modern” fast food type diet. Feeling peckish? Stay out of the chips / dry goods snacks cupboard. Reach in the fridge for 3-4 celery sticks, leaves and all. (Your taste buds change! And you don’t feel hungry when you consume the minerals your body is craving. You will never get teh minerals you need eating a refined, processed, grain based diet. It actually robs your body of vitamins and minerals, leading to deficiencies and a compromised immune system that cannot help “stave off” things like infections like candida, and you will continually get it again and again until you address your raw fruit and vegetable intake and make it the basis of your every day diet.) It’s not one particular food that “stops” candida / yeast / thrush. Its the fact that your diet is completely inadequate and robbing your body of it’s functioning and immunity. You need to stop your behaviour and change it to support your body’s functions. This does not come with fish oils or one type of food. It comes with modifying your processed and refined foods eating patterns. But don’t just take my word for it, try it for yourself, over a period of 3 months. Then go back to how you were eating before that for one month, and see the truth for yourself. No expensive superfoods or pharmaceutical “pills” required to magically solve the problem (and contribute to others!). Just raw fruits and vegetables. Eat ’em till you’re stuffed! Daily! You will see the difference and never get this infection (or other infections) again, because you’re eating to support your immune system, not overload / chock it up with rubbish! Keep a record of everything you put in your mouth for a week, before changing your diet, keep records of this too, then go back and compare. I hope you have the strength to cut the crap :)) it takes time to change but candida will be a forgotten word eventually. No processed take aways! And no alcohol! No refined sugar added anything! Even one slip up with sugar / alcohol can make you feel it robbing your body of its immunity the very next day!!!!! Dont do it!!!! Honey is an excellent alternative for home cooking (even if from bees – but it is a powerhouse food), that will not contribute to candida and actually is such a superfood for the body it is amazing. Raw unprocessed honey (buy from local bee keepers or markets they frequent), not store bought commercial cooked honeys which are acid and “dead” and do nothing for your body’s system. Stevia (not the refuned white crap – the herb that is green and leafy and you crumble it into your food) will give you a glow and not contribute to thrush. Hope this helps, and I would love to hear your results. I am talking from my own experience.
The fight against candida is about balancing blood sugar levels, not balancing alkalinity in the body. Nothing you eat will effect your bodies pH. Nothing!!! Reducing foods that spike your blood sugar levels, foods that are high on the glycemic index, or only eating them after foods high in fibre or protein will certainly help. As will having a healthy diet overall and minding yourself and enjoying moderate exercise on a regular basis. Smoking, excessive alcohol or sugars – all bad. Being healthy!!! Good. Also use natural lubricants during sex like almond oil or coconut oil, avoid silicone based ones. From someone who has tried everything!!! :)
Old post, but I wanted to comment – coconut oil can have small amounts of sugar – which is obviously NOT what you want if fighting/preventing yeast infections. Also oil-based lubricants break down latex condoms, causing them to break.
I’ve never tried to make or even tasted oat milk!
One kind of milk I did try to make in the past was rice milk. It. Was. So. Gross. I actually followed a recipe published in a certain green cookbook… It was made with cooked brown rice. So slimy, bland, and watery. Ugh. I have to admit that experience made me never want to try to make my own milk again, but I think you changed my mind – I must try this! It looks wonderfully creamy and I love that there are no mystery ingredients!
I did try a version with cooked steel cut oats and I also found the milk was very slimy. I will stick with just soaking and rinsing the oats before blending and no cooking. Although, maybe if I would’ve rinsed the oats after cooking that would help…
let me know how it goes if you try it!
Thank you so much for this post. My daughter is allergic to milk, and I can’t send almond milk to her school due to potential nut allergies in the other children. I will be trying this for her today. For a cooked version, have you tried toasting the oats rather than boiling?
I did not know you could use steel cut oats to make milk I wonder what it would taste like I am going to half to try this recipe thanks…
Growing up , my mother, would make a drink of this. I donut now for my kids. We add more water to thin it out. It almost looks like an HORCHATA (Mexican rice drink). Anyway, you serve it with lots of ice in your glass. Very refreshing! It wouldn’t last more than a day in our fridge because it was so yummy!
Oh how I LOVE horchata :)
I love how cheap it is to make – a definite bonus! I never drink milk by the glass (even before I went vegan). Once and a while I will have a small glass to dunk cookies in, but that’s it. This oat milk looks so creamy…maybe I’ll be drinking it from the fridge as well! Do you think quick GF oats would work? I’ll have to try it out..
I tried a version with rolled oats and the taste was very similar. Maybe a touch more watery tasting, but I could barely notice the difference when side by side. I’m sure GF oats would work too.
GF Oats do not get as much slime on them. maybe you wouldn’t need to soak them as long?
I saw you mentioned no more than 10 seconds on high in the blender, but what was the total blending time you used? I don’t want to over-blend. I can’t wait to try this!
It was maybe 10-15 seconds MAX, I’d say more like 10 seconds total. Sorry for the confusion!
I was really surprised to see what a simple and clean ingredient list this milk had. I always had the impression making your own ‘milk’ was really complicated, but this looks SO easy. I will definitely be trying and will let you know how it goes!!!
I’m such a lazy person, I eat my oats soaked in a little hot water. No milk, no cooking, and I still like it (with some sugar) :D
hah well that works too!
I do that but with warm milk. I like how the oats keep some texture and don’t get so mushy. It’s not lazy…its delicious!
I put cold unsweetened almond milk on the rolled oats and let it soak for about 10 minutes then eat. Yummy!!! They already have a natural sweetness to them and taste so good!
Exactly! No need to wait for overnight oats either!
Have you tried making oatmeal with organic apple juice? I tried it last week for the first time, all I can say is YUM! (higher calories makes it a occasional treat, not every day)
@ tablespoons of low fat greek yogurt just before eating makes for the creamiest of oats my husband cant get enough of them…..and my bread ;)
Agreed!
In summer I add cold non-dairy milk, and in winter I add hor water, tgen cold non-dairy milk. Yum!
I tried making oat milk once but with old fashioned oats. It was super watery and had that slimy feel that oats get when they are cooked. It was pretty gross.
Interesting…did you soak the rolled oats and if so did you rinse them after soaking? I found that when I didn’t rinse them after soaking it produced a slimy milk.
I don’t know if I rinsed them. I followed a recipe off the internet. Pretty much the only thing I remember about it was how gross it was. I may have done it wrong, or it may have been my cheap blender.
Hi, with the leftover you can make an oat plumcake.
recipe please x
I never heard of oat plum cake before, but sounds good. Is there a recipe?
PS: I can hardly wait to get some oats to try this. Thank you for your simple and pictorial instructions!
i just got a new blendtec so i’m excited to make this – curious about what to do with that oat pulp though…
I found this one post from a Polish vegan blog, where the author shared “quickest” recipes for plant milks. They are pretty much all made same way :
http://weganie.blogspot.com/2010/11/mleko-roslinne.html
coconut milk
1 cup grated coconut (soaked 1-2 hours.) + 4 cups of water. Grated coconut doesn’t not need to rinsed, you can mix with water.
Cashew Milk
1 cup cashew (soaked for at least 2-3 hours.) + 4 cups water
rice milk
1 cup rice (soaked. for about 3 hours.) + 4 cups water
sesame milk
1 cup sesame seeds (soaked for at least 4-6 hours.) + 4 cups water
Sunflower milk
1 cup of sunflower seeds (soaked for at least 6-8 hours.) + 4 cups water
oat milk
1 cup oats or oatmeal soaked. for 8 hours.) + 4 cups water
almond milk
1 cup peeled almonds (soaked. for 8-12 hrs.) + 4 cups water
And here are some useful images : http://weganie.blogspot.com/2011/09/domowe-mleko-migdaowe.html
If someone is interested in this text then “google translate” should do it Polish – English.
I make oat milk just like you do (with cinnamon, salt and sweetener), except I use cooked oats.. It does not come out slimy though.. In fact, it’s quite creamy!
To be exact:
– I soak 1/2 cup of oats in water overnight (I use those that are cut the least)
– then drain the water/rinse them
– then boil 1 cup of water
– then add the oats and cook for 10 minutes, until they soak up all the water
Than I add 3 cups hot water and proceed just like you wrote in the post.
Then, if needed, I add more water.
Sometimes I also add strawberries or sour cherries into the blend – the sourness goes well with the creamy and “full” taste of the oats :)
I am going to try it this way! Thanks!
…did you ever try with the cooked oats and hot water? I tried your recipe yesterday and today I tried it again without rinsing… both times I DID NOT like the taste: too “grassy” maybe if the oats had been toasted? I don’t know. Personally, I REALLY LIKE Pacific brand Original Oat Milk–no Carageenan or added sugars–the one thing I did notice in their ingredients list was the addition of Oat Bran. Maybe that makes a difference? I can’t stand to pay the $3+/liter because we’ve been going through 8-9 liters/wk with lattes and cooking! Yikes! So, I’m looking for a recipe that mimics the taste of store bought Oat Milk. Advice?
Thanks for this awesome tutorial! I’m a big fan of oat milk but sometimes find the store bought brands a bit too sweet for my liking. I love that I can control the sweetness (along with the other ingredients) here. I think some cinnamon raisin oat pulp crackers would be a wonderful use for the oat pulp.
I’ve never tried making my own milk, but have been really curious to try almond milk… I’d never heard of oat meal before reading this, though, and it sounds like a great idea! I typically buy a lot of rice milk because my fiance is a little sensitive to other kinds, so I wonder if this might be a good (cheaper) alternative. Thanks for sharing!