May 3, 2011
Homemade Oat Milk
From the department of Saving Money By Making Things From Scratch -- the same department that campaigned for homemade hummus a couple of months ago -- comes this public service announcement: making your own oat milk is very easy and very cheap.
I don't drink milk myself -- oat or otherwise -- but I use oat milk as an ingredient regularly, in this vanilla oat milk tapioca pudding or in this Swiss chard gratin, but also to make pastry cream for strawberry tartlets, or to whip up a batch of crêpes.
If you want to make your own, there are several ways to go about it. You can start from rolled oats, from oat flour, or from oat groats, i.e. the dehulled grain of the plant. I like to use the latter (available from natural food stores) as they are the least processed of the three, and give the best results flavor- and texture-wise.
All you need to do then is soak the oats overnight, cook them (or not, if you choose to make raw oat milk), blitz them with water and a little salt in a blender or food processor, and then strain.
Oat milk made from oat groats has a very pleasant texture, smooth and milky, with a richer mouthfeel than most non-dairy milks.
I will note that the raw version has a distinctive flavor that I would describe as grassy, and a bit of a bite, which you may or may not like. I personally wouldn't drink it straight up (then again I don't drink milk) but I use it in preparations that call for boiling or simmering the milk, which takes the edge off. The cooked version has a much milder flavor, one I very much enjoy, and it's the one I use for crêpes, for instance.
The bonus byproduct of oat milk is the oat pulp that remains in the sieve after you've strained the milk; this is sometimes referred to as okara by analogy with the soy milk making process. It is quite nutritious, so it would be foolish to toss it: if you've cooked the oats, you can eat it as porridge if you're into that sort of thing, but if you haven't or you aren't, you can fold it into cake or muffin batters, or add it to bread dough, as I do.
Just to drive home my point about the money one saves by doing this: in my organic store, I can buy a package of 500 grams (17.6 ounces) of oat groats for 1.65€ ($2.45). This amount allows me to make 10 liters (10 quarts) of oat milk, which ends up costing 0.16€ ($0.24) per liter (if you cook the oats, a few cents should be added to account for the energy needed to run the stove for 40 minutes). By comparison, a carton of oat milk sold at the same organic store costs about 2€ ($3) per liter, in other words twelve times more.
Factor in the environmental cost of packaging and transporting the oat milk (which is mostly water) rather than the dried grain, and then transporting and recycling the carton (so much the better if you can buy oat groats in bulk; I can't), and you have a pretty strong incentive to make your own.
Homemade Oat Milk
- 50 grams (1/4 cup) raw organic oat groats
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt (optional)
Yields a scant liter (or quart) of oat milk.
Step 1: Soak
Put the oat groats in a bowl, cover with fresh water, and leave to soak for 8 hours or overnight. Rinse the oats and throw out the soaking water.
Step 2, option 1: Raw oat milk
If there is time, leave the oats in the colander at cool room temperature for 12 to 24 hours, to initiate the sprouting process.
Put the oats in a blender* with the salt, if using, and 1 liter (1 quart) fresh water, and whizz until very smooth.
Let the water and oats mixture rest for 1 hour at room temperature.
Step 2, option 2: Cooked oat milk
Place the oats, the salt if using, and 250 ml (1 cup) fresh water in a saucepan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, cover, and cook at a low simmer for 40 minutes (or according to package instructions). Let cool completely.
Transfer to a blender*, add 750 ml (3 cups) fresh water, and whizz until very smooth.
Step 3: Strain
Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into an airtight container. (Reserve the solids and add them to a bread dough, or a cake or muffin batter.)
Oat milk will keep for 4 to 5 days in the fridge. It will separate as it sits; stir very well before using.
If you're going to use the oat milk for drinking, rather than cooking, you can sweeten it to taste with a little honey or other liquid sweetener, and flavor it with vanilla, spices, cocoa powder, or fruit syrup.
* If you don't have a blender, you can use a food processor. However, food processors aren't watertight, and if you add in the water all at once, it will leak out from the lid. What you need to do then is process the oats with just a little of the water at first, say 80 ml (1/3 cup). When the oats are roughly puréed, add a little more water and process until finely puréed. Add the rest of the water out of the food processor, and stir to combine.
 Vanilla Oat Milk Tapioca Pudding |
 Walnut and Date Cookies |
 Swiss Chard Gratin with Vegan Bechamel |
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Permalink | Posted by in Basics - Drinks - Recipe Inside!
Cooking/baking time: 40 min
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Sounds like a great DIY beauty ingredient too.
I'll bet this would be delicious spiced with a bit of honey or incorporated into chai...And so nutritious! Off to get some groats :)
You made this sound so easy! I am going to make this up in the next couple of days!
Wow - this is the first recipe I've seen for homemade oat milk, but looks great! Thanks!
I am a big believer in making everything at home (as much as possible that is). I have made almond butter, almond milk etc, but haven't got into oats. I surely am going to try this one.
Thanks for the recipe, Clotilde. I am starting to explore home made vegan milks, but they are not easy to find and very expensive indeed. I recently made soy milk but turned it into tofu - not sure it is cheaper than store bought one but surely it tastes much better! On the other hand this recipe looks fairly easy and gentle on the washing up as well.
I am an almond milk lover myself, but I drink oat milk sometimes when visiting my in-laws in South America, and have always liked it. Sometimes they spice it with a little clove there. I might use a milder spice, although a tiny bit of clove (for those who drink it as opposed to just cooking with it) is quite tasty.I may try this recipe.
Thanks for all the make from scratch at home recipes, I love them. I will definitely try this as I am a vegan and I use oat milk to make my porridge in the morning. I find that most oat milks are very sweet and I worry about the extra calories. Will give this one a go to see what the result is like. Thanks.
i love oat milk. thanks for this recipe! i will be making some this weekend...
I cannot believe that people do buy oat milk! It is so easy to make, just like chocolate milk.
Great idea, love it! I don't drink milk, either (however, I tend to use it in desserts), so sometimes, but rarely to be honest, I buy organic rice/oat milk - which, as you pointed out, can be pretty pricey. In summer, I like to prepare (sweetened) almond milk/drink which we drink cold and it's very refreshing (it is called "horchata de almendra" in Spanish).
I'm always happy to find articles like this, encouraging people to make things from scratch - thank you for sharing, Clotilde!
Is there a specific reason to use organic oats in the flavour? They are far more expensive then regular oatmeal and difficult to find. I was wondering if there is really a difference?
First of all, please note that the recipe calls for oat groats (the dehulled grain) and not oatmeal.
I can't comment on the flavor difference between organic and conventional oat groats as the latter are unavailable to me anyway, but I do recommend using organic from a health and environmental perspective.
Perhaps you've noticed the price breakdown I shared in the last paragraph of the post: even using organic oat groats, the final cost is still lower than buying conventional dairy milk.
I've never thought to make my own oat milk but this sounds pretty fabulous... and not too difficult, either!
Clotilde, do you think it would work to cook the groats in a pressure cooker, to cut down on cooking time? I recently acquired a pressure cooker (based on your praise of them!) and keep looking for ways to use it! I generally buy non-dairy milks, because I'm fortunate enough to live where I can get organic oat and nut milks fairly inexpensively ... but there is of course the environmental cost, and this looks easy enough to be tempting.
The reason why I didn't suggest using a pressure cooker here is because the volume is very small -- 1/4 cup oats and 1 cup water -- and I'm not sure how well pressure cookers handle being used for a very small amount. But maybe it's not an issue, in which case, by all means, the oats should be cooked in about 15 minutes.
I'm wondering if it's really necessary to toss the soaking water. Do you know, are any toxins released from the oats?
Reason I ask, is I make oat milk in my soy toy, and have never tossed the water. Sometimes too, we soak rolled oats in almond milk for 1 hr. and eat raw.
So I was a little concerned when I read that part of your recipe...
Soaking grains not only softens them for later grinding, it also helps remove some of the phytic acid they contain, which ends up in the soaking water -- this is why I read it's best to discard it. I understand that most of the phytic acid in grains is contained in the hull or bran, so oat groats may not contain very much, but still.
Don't forget to add the cost of your time to buy, cook and process the oats. If this is something that doesn't need tending on the stove, then that cost might be small (but it wouldn't be zero).
That's a good point Lynn: in this case, it's not a lot of work at all so I've neglected it, but if you have a super high-paying job, maybe this isn't the most profitable use of your time.
Along those lines, though, I would argue that it takes more time and effort to buy ten cartons of oat milk than a single package of oat groats.
So many questions! How nutritious is oat milk? Seems to me that so much of the goodness of oats is in the bran/fiber, no? Regarding the oat pulp that remains: how do you know how much to add to a recipe, and how to adjust the other ingredients? Also, do you think it would freeze well?
I'm not a dietician, but oat milk is said to be quite nutritious -- I'm sure you can look up the specifics online.
Regarding the oat pulp added to other recipes, I just eyeball it: the amount of pulp that you get from one batch of oat milk really isn't very much, so if you're adding it to a cake/muffin batter, or to a bread dough, I just throw it in without modifying the rest of the recipe.
I've never tried freezing it, but I can't see a reason not to.
Clotilde,
This is new item for me. Glad you shared it with us. So much food, so little time...
K Nelson
I love you giving recipes for making things yourself! One friend couldn't get over the fact that I make my own crackers. I much prefer having the knowledge and control over what I eat. Can't wait to see what you make next. And I'm still looking for the water kefir grains here - Seattle Washington area.
Just de-lurking to say thank you for this one! What an inspiring post.
I can't drink milk, though cultured dairy is fine (yogurt and cheese); so I've pretty much stopped eating breakfast foods that call for a splash of milk, much as I love the taste and texture of milk. I buy soy milk sometimes, but the cost really gets my goat and I also have concerns about the phytoestrogens. And here in India, it is rare to see almond or rice milk, at stratospheric prices. Oat milk I've literally NEVER seen, and I do look!
This looks certainly like a better (as well as, incidentally, easier) solution that making soymilk at home, though I do have a pound of beans waiting for me to drum up the courage.
Once again, thank you!
Clotilde, what about making ice cream with oat milk (or other "special" milks, like almond milk? Do you think that would work?
You can definitely use oat milk to make ice cream, yes!
Thanks for such simple instructions to make something good and easy - I will try it next week! My blender is the highest-tech item in my kitchen, and I do get a bit discouraged by the prevalence of recipes that require a food processor. In my kitchen, I am the "food processor" ;)
Cool!
I eat and drink everything under the sun.
I've never even heard of oat mik!
Sounds fabulous...
hi, clotilde! i made this recipe this weekend, and it's generally fantastic, but it seemed too salty to me. what is the purpose of the salt in the recipe? can it be cut back? i confess i didn't really rinse my groats before processing them in my blender, so the fault may have been entirely mine, but i was just wondering if you need to use salt in the cooking process at all.
I like my oat milk a little salted, I think it improves the flavor, but you can definitely cut it back -- I've updated the recipe to use 1/4 teaspoon instead of 1/2 teaspoon, as originally noted -- or omit it altogether.
Interesting recipes. I had no idea you could actually cook oat milk - I eat a lot of porridge, and it thickens up rather dramatically, so I just assumed it would do the same. Thanks for the tip! And a lovely idea to use this milk for pancakes and for cooking. I've also been trying to make non-dairy milk drinks recently - I picked up a bag of chufas (tiger nuts) in Spain to make horchata at some point - weather permitting.
Ah, this is perfect! I've recently been on a hunt for milk substitutes as milk here (Belgium...or Europe in general) is expensive (at least to a transplanted Wisconsiner). Have you ever tried to make horchata? It's a fairly similar process and incredibly delicious!
How cool! This looks like a fun project to try.
Nice idea. I'll have to try it, but one of the reasons I buy fake milks is for the fortification. B-12 (available from fortified products or animal items only), especially, but also vitamin D and calcium.
Yes, you could also eat fortified cereal or buy a supplement...
That's a good point, Stephanie. People replacing store-bought and fortified by homemade should make a note of it.
Reading about your oat milk made me want to add oats to other foods. I was wonder if you had any good chocolate chip oat cookie recipes that you could possible share?
I like these cookies a lot, and they can be made with rolled oats and chocolate chips.
Oats soaked for 15-30 minutes in boiling water is the best cure for dyspepsia (99% of the time cause of a stomach ache). If stomach is very sensitive drink just the oat water don't eat the oats.
Good to know, thank you!
Wow, this is amazing, thank for the recipe! I'm going to make oat milk right now! I love you rway of thinking about environment and money, too:)).
Amazing post, really! Bad I haven´t seen it before I bought a bottle of oat milk for an insane amount of money just yesterday:))
Most famous oatmilk is probably the Swedish brand Oatley which I purchase for a whopping £1.30/litre. The main selling point of oatmilk is obviously that it isn't soy which has gone controversial, but also has the cholesterol lowering properties. Oatley H is fortified with calcium and vitamins, whilst the organic one isn't. It also tastes OK in coffee, unlike soy milk (urgh).
I made this oat milk three days ago-- the whole groat cooked version-- and it has been a revelation. Delicious! It would not have ocurred to me because almost every experience I have had with commercial but even organic non-milk milks has felt either insipid or greasy. None has ever inspired me to buy another. But this was fresh and light but flavourful. A great addition to have around. Many thanks!
That's wonderful to hear, Noga, thank you!
I love the things our budgets drive us to do! I never would have thought of making oat milk, but this is going into my repertoire for particularly broke weeks. I usually have milk around, but sometimes I don't and I want it. There are, however, always oats. Thanks!
Thank-you for sharing this great recipe! I use bought organic oat milk in cakes and in pancake batters & use it to make custard with agar agar & agave. This homemade version is so much nicer! Thanks again...
Wow. I'm totally intimidated about making my own oat (or almond!) milk. But thanks for the tips and nudge to give it a try. I think I will. Cheers!
When I was scrolling through your recipe index I had to stop and take a double take for this one. I'm lactose intolerant so I'm always on the lookout for healthy alternatives to milk, I'm going to be sure to give this one a try!
Hi Clotilde,
I've just made a batch of your oat milk. The flavor was really nice but I found the texture a little bit slimy. Is that a normal thing or did I do something wrong?
Thanks!
I've never had a problem of sliminess myself. Which version did you use: raw or cooked?
I did the cooked version and followed your instructions to the letter but the milk didn't get the right texture. It was kind of a milk with starch on it. I just called it slimy but may be I used the wrong term to describe it.
It may be that your sieve is not fine enough or that it wasn't blended enough.
Hi, writting from Peru. Haven't found groats, how would it be with if using rolled oats, do I rinse them as well? and if I decided to cook them, how do I do that? Thank you in advance.
I've never tried this with rolled oats, so I can't offer specific guidance, but I don't think they need to be rinsed, and if you were to cook them, a short cooking time (maybe 15 minutes) should be plenty.
I just want to say how EASY it was to make (cooked) oat milk from oat groat, and how INEXPENSIVE the final product is. I tweeked the procedure a bit (ie.. fractured the soaked oat groat before cooking). Because I have a Vitamix 5000 I was able to grind the final cooked matter to dust and did not need to filter it.
All in all it was delicious!!
Thank you for the oat milk tip on this page!!!
Great to hear, thanks for reporting back!
I noticed a few postings that commedt on the "slimyness" of the final product. Just a heads-up to everyone ---beta-sitosterol is primarly responsible for this texture. It is a very important property of oats, and one of the main reasons that oats will lower cholesterol.
I suspect it is one of the reasons skin feels soft after you soak with an oat-sox.
Thanks so much for this, WLJ, so interesting!
What a wonderful idea, and thoughtful for those who have dairy allergies or sensitivities. My husband is allergic to milk and milk products. I have tried using various flavors of soy milk and almond milk in my cooking. Your oat recipe is wonderful, and incorporates welcome levels of nutrients too.
Hello all, I too started making my own oat milk and use it in place of regular milk for the delicious cold and hot cereals I eat! But I'm not sure about the nutritional facts of the oat milk I make and could not find anything online (that's how I stumbled on this blog).
Basically I'd like to know the calories and macros of the oat milk I am eating as I'm into sports and athletics and very health concious/obsessed so I like to keep track of how much I take in everyday. It's kind of difficult to figure out in this case when you consider that the pulp of the oats is discarded. Do the bulk of the calories contained in the oats stay in the pulp that's filtered out?
My recipe is very simple: I just soak the oats overnight in the fridge, and blend and strain well before using...
I use about 60g raw oat flakes per 1.5 cups water.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Merci, merci, merci! Meesa loves you, moey moey!
I've been bothered by how expensive non-dairy milks are, looking for solutions like this that don't require a $100+ "maker"... and you come through with an outstanding article that provides all the info I needed. AWESOME!
Sérieusement, beaucoup de mercis!
Glad to be of help, do report back when you try it!
I've made two versions now, Clotilde, both with standard oatmeal (which is cheaper yet, and easier to find than groats.
The first time, I did the non-cook, used half a cup of oats, doubled everything, and it was tasty, fresh/natural.
The second time, I followed the cooked version, adding 1/8 cup of sugar at the end, and thinning to suit with filtered city water.
For a filter, I used one of those permanent coffee filters. That would be the slow part, and I imagine a sieve with a slightly larger set of holes would make it go faster and easier.
The result? Delicious! The cooked method IS smoother/creamier, owing to the "gel" that oatmeal develops when cooked. If I wanted to flavor it, I think I might at a dusting of cinnamon.
Right now, it's in the fridge, reusing two well-rinsed 1/2 gallon cardboard containers (the kind with the plastic caps). Because of the larger batch size, I ended up setting the filter over the coffeepot and putting the results into a large stainless bowl. When it was all drained through, I put the sugar in and thinned it with a bit more water. Then it was funneled into the carton.
This may SOUND like a lot of steps, but I did it while taking care of other things about the house today, so it wasn't really a bother... and a few cents of oatmeal became $6.00 worth of mylk. No cattle were abused, no calves killed, no carbon footprint from Pasturizing, homogenizing, cooling, keeping it cool, trucking it all over the place... There's a LOT to be said for making such things at home!
P.S. The hommus recipe works well without tahini too! :)
Merci encore!
Thanks so much for the detailed report, JT, I appreciate reading about your experiences and tips!
Hello,
tried your uncooked oat milk version and found the processes to be very easy although the end result is quite flavourless and watery, not sure why as everyone on here is raving about it but in comparison to store bought it just tasted like water :( Any ideas? followed recipe to the letter although only left it for about 7 hours for sprouting process and omitted salt
any help would be greatfull as this would really save the £'s as i go through oat milk like a hot knife through butter
I agree. Even though it's wonderful to have the receipe I also think that compared to Oatly (which I find delicious) it tastes like water and was wondering what the extra ingredients in the Oatly drink are that make it so palatable and moreish.
My hunch is that it comes from the blenders they use, which emulsify the milk like no home blender/mixer can (except perhaps a vitamix).
Hi Clotilde, just discovered your site and already i'm in love with it!
I want to try making my own oatmilk but I'm using rolled oats instead. Just wondering do they still need to be soaked overnight? And should i use the same cooking method?
I've never tried it with rolled oats, but if I were to, I wouldn't soak them and I would shorten the cooking time to 15-20 minutes. Let us know how it turns out!
care to share the recipe for oatmilk pastry cream? do you make any modifications to the standard procedure due to the lack of fat in the oat milk? or is it just standard eggs flour and sugar procedure?
love the idea!
I just use the standard procedure, and simply replace dairy milk with oat milk. Let me know if you try it!