How to make oat milk: Quick, easy, cheap!
Do you want to know how to make oat milk in a quick, easy, and cheap way? You only need 2 ingredients and 20 minutes in total!
Table of Contents
Before Learning how to make oat milk
Oat milk is a creamy plant-based dairy-free milks with the right amount of sweetness. How to make oat milk is quite easy – blend rolled oats and water together then strained. But there’s one drawback: homemade oat milk is a bit slimy. You can solve the issue by straining it several times.
However, commercial brands like Oatly are processed heavily and contained added oils or thickening agents like xantham gum (also as preservative). So if you want to avoid these additives, it’s time to make homemade oat milk at home.
What is oats?
Oats (Avena sativa) are a whole-grain cereal.
They’re most commonly rolled or crushed and can be consumed as oatmeal (porridge) or used in baked goods, bread, muesli, and granola.
Whole-grain oats/oat groats are most commonly rolled or crushed into flat flakes and lightly toasted to produce oatmeal. Instant oatmeal is made up of thinly rolled or cut oats to cook faster.
The bran, or fiber-rich outer layer of the grain, is often consumed separately as a cereal, with muesli, or in breads.
Health benefits of making oat milk
- Special diet-friendly: Vegan, dairy-free, soy-free, nut-free and gluten-free if you use certified gluten-free oats
- Lowers your cholesterol level: Studies show that oat milk has cholesterol-reducing properties.
- Fight cancer: oat milk may contain anti-cancer properties.
- Naturally thick and creamy: Kids tend to prefer it over other plant-based milks, because it’s neutral and creamy with a touch of natural sweetness
- Eco-friendly choice: oats are very sustainable
- Great source for fiber: Especially beta-glucan.
- High in antioxidants: Whole oats are the only food source of avenanthramides, a unique group of antioxidants to protect against heart disease.
- High in vitamins, minerals: iron, magnesium, and B vitamins
- High in protein
- Quick and easy to make: nuts takes a lot longer to prep
- Cheap to make: Nut-based milk can get pretty expensive to make and buy
Drawback
- Homemade oat milk is known to be a bit slimy. But this post will cover how to make not-so-slimy oat milk.
- Store-bought oat milk is often added sugar.
Oat milk vs cow’s milk?
Store-bought oat milk often has a similar amount of vitamins and minerals as traditional cow’s milk. That’s because the FDA permits fortifying milk and non-dairy substitutes with vitamin D and vitamin
A 1 cup of fortified milk – either oat or cow – provides about 20% of your daily value for each. Manufacturers may also add vitamin B12, calcium, and riboflavin to oat milk to provide some nutrients found naturally in cow’s milk.
The 2 kinds also contain a similar number of calories (90-150) in a 1 cup serving, but oat milk has more carbs (15-20g vs 12g) and fiber (2-4g vs 0g) and less protein (2g vs 8g). The additional protein in cow’s milk may keep you fuller, longer, since it prolongs the digestion and absorption process in your GI tract.
However, always check labels before you swap out a dairy-based option for a plant-based one, since marketing claims can make “vegan,” “lactose-free,” or “non-dairy” food products appear more nutritious than they actually are. Even oat milk labeled as “Plain” or “Original” can contain added sugar.
How to make oat milk (Quick&Not slimy)
A lot of vegan milk is nut-based. And nuts are more expensive and take a little more time to make than oat milk: you have to soak the nuts for at least a few hours or overnight before making the milk. Making oat milk is super quick and easy. You only need to soak the oats for about 15 minutes and make it. 20 minutes are all you need.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 4 cup of water
- Pinch of salt
- 1 blender
How to make oat milk:
Step 1: Add the oats to a large bowl and cover with water
Step 2: Soak for 15 minutes
Step 3: Drain them through a sieve over a container for watering your plants or discard the soaking water in the sink
*Why do you dump the soaking water and rinse the oats?
Oats become slimy when they get wet. By dumping the soaking water and rinsing them well, you wash off the slime.
Step 4: Rinse the oats very well under running water
Step 5: Add the oat to a blender with the optional vanilla, dates and salt.
If you add it to flavored recipes, don’t add the optional ingredients. If not, you can add maple syrup rather than a date. Because the blend time is so short for date to blend well completely.
Step 6: Cover with around 3 cups / 720 mls water
Use ice-cold water: Heat can make the oats slimy. So, use ice-cold water or swap a cup of water for ice cubes when blending.
Step 7: Blend all the ingredients for 20-30 seconds
Don’t over-blend, if you have a high powered blender like a Vitamix or Blendtec. Because they produce heat. The heat makes the milk to turn slimy.
Step 8: Adjust the thickness/thinness of the milk by increasing or reducing the water
If you are using it as a coffee creamer, keep it thick. For other things, it’s better to be thinner.
Step 9: Strain it with a towel over a bowl.
Step 10: Pour into a bottle or mason jar (sealed)
Step 11: Store the oat milk in the fridge for 3 – 4 days
The separation will occur during storage, but don’t worry. That is normal because there is no emulsifier in your homemade oak milk. Just shake well before using it.
What to do with leftover oat pulp
- Add to smoothies
- Add to oatmeal
- Add to granola
- Make oatmeal cookies
- Use a dehydrator or spread out thinly on a baking tray and bake in a low oven until completely dry then use in granola recipes.
What type of oats are best for making oat milk?
Rolled oats are the best. But always buy certified organic, gluten-free oats. Many commercial oats like Quick oats are processed in facilities that are contaminated by grains like wheat, barley, or rye. Non-organic oats have been tested to have unsafe levels of glyphosate.
If you use steel-cut oats, soak them for 1 hour instead of 15 minutes. They do produce slightly less creamy milk.
Oat milk usage guide
This milk doesn’t curdle. It works well when it is added to hot drinks. Remember, heat makes it very thick.
- Tea, matcha
- Coffee
- Smoothies
- Cereal
- Oats
- Baked goods
- Granola
How to make oat milk creamers
Vanilla: Add 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract or 1 tsp vanilla bean paste to the base recipe
Chocolate: Add 2 tbsp cocoa powder or cacao with optional dates and vanilla (¼ tsp)
Mint chocolate: Use the chocolate flavor above, then add 1/8 tsp or more pure peppermint extract.
Mocha: Use coffee instead of water to make the oat milk. Add 2 tbsp of cocoa powder and 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract.
Pumpkin spice: Add ¼ to ½ a tsp of ground cinnamon or pumpkin spice with the date and vanilla.
Berries: Add 1 cup of fresh or frozen berries with 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract.
Peanut butter / Nutella: Blend in 2 tbsp Nutella, almond or peanut butter.
Turmeric & Ginger: Add 1 tsp of turmeric, ¼ teaspoon ground ginger, ¼ tsp of cinnamon, and a pinch of black pepper, plus a couple of dates or a dash of maple syrup for sweetness.
Chai tea: Use cold chai tea instead of water to make the milk. If wanted, add a dash of maple syrup or a couple of dates to sweeten.
Other flavors: Whatever you like! Caramel, matcha green tea, maple, mango, coconut etc.
Other dairy-free milk options
- Almond milk
- Cashew milk
- Macadamia milk
- Peanut milk
- Walnut milk
- Hemp milk
- Banana milk
- Soy milk
- Pea milk
- Rice milk
- Flax milk
- Quinoa milk
- Coconut milk
Tips for choosing a cow’s milk alternative
Allergies: Make sure to check labels since some people have allergies or intolerance to certain ingredients used in plant-based milks, such as gluten, nuts and soy.
Cost: Non Dairy milks like nuts milk are often more expensive than cow’s milk. So, make plant-based milk at home.
Calcium content: Cow’s milk is rich in calcium for bones. Most non-dairy milks are fortified with it, so pick the one that contains 120 mg of calcium per 3.4 oz (100 ml) at least.
Vitamin B12: Vitamin B12 is naturally found in animal products and is vital for a healthy brain and immune system. Vegan and vegetarians should choose milk that is fortified with B12.
Added sugar: Sugar is often added to enhance flavor and texture for milk at stores. Choose unsweetened varieties over flavored ones, and try to avoid brands that list sugar as one of the first three ingredients.
Additives: Some nondairy milk may contain additives such as carrageenan and vegetable gums to achieve a thick and smooth texture. While these additives aren’t necessarily unhealthy, some people prefer to avoid them.
Oat milk calories vs other nondairy milk
Oat milk is actually quite high in calories when compared to other dairy substitutes. You can see calorie counts for one eight-ounce serving of the following types:
- Almond milk: 35 calories
- Coconut milk: 50 calories
- Rice milk: 120 calories
- Soy milk: 90 calories
The only type of milk that contains more calories than oat milk is the dairy kind. Whole cow’s milk contains 150 calories per eight-ounce serving. Even 1% and skim milk contain less, at 110 and 80 calories, respectively.
More Resources
List of foods with gluten
Almond, hemp, oat, soy, and cow’s milk: Which is best?
Very well fit
Conclusion: Super easy, quick and healthy dairy free milk with little calories. Why not stop drinking cow milk and switch for your better health?
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