This Homemade Oat Milk Takes 5 Minutes to Make

For the best at-home lattes, try this delightfully fresh, homemade oat milk. Laura Rege/TNS

Easy, homemade, and as flavorful as anything you can buy in a store, our basic oat milk recipe can be prepared in any blender. Even without a fancy high-speed appliance, this recipe is done in five minutes flat!

Homemade oat milk doesn’t have added oils and stabilizers like most of the store-bought brands, yet it remains perfectly creamy and rich. Use it as a stand-in for your favorite coffee drinks and recipes. It’s vegan (assuming you don’t sweeten it with honey), but if you are watching your gluten, make sure the oats are certified gluten-free.

Keys to Homemade Oat Milk

Don’t over-blend. Blend just until the oats are pureed and the milk turns a rich white color. Over-blending (which would take several minutes) can cause the oats to become gluey, making it difficult to strain.

Strain through a fine-mesh sieve. For the smoothest oat milk, prevent bits of oats from getting through the strainer by using a fine-mesh sieve. If you have a regular sieve such as a pasta strainer, cover the bottom in a few layers of cheesecloth.

Stir when straining. Sometimes the sieve gets backed up with oat bits, so it’s important to use a spoon or spatula to stir the mixture in the sieve to keep things moving. You don’t want to miss out on any good milk.

Shake before enjoying. Store-bought oat milks are thickened and kept homogeneous with stabilizers. One bonus of making your own oat milk is not having to consume these additives, but yes, that means you have to shake! The oat milk will separate as it sits, but it’s still just as good. Just store the oat milk in a container with a tight-fitting lid and shake to bring it back together.

Sweetener is optional. If you are using the oat milk for a more savory recipe, leave the sweetener and vanilla out. If you love sweetness, feel free to adjust and add more. This recipe was created with just the right amount to complement the oats and enrich their flavor, not to provide you with a sweet cup of milk.

Oat Milk

Makes 3 cups

• 3 cups water, preferably filtered
• 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 2 teaspoons maple syrup (optional)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

Place the water, old-fashioned rolled oats, maple syrup (if using), vanilla extract, and kosher salt in a blender. Blend until the oats are finely chopped and the liquid is cloudy, about 30 seconds.

Fit a fine-mesh strainer over a medium bowl or pitcher. Strain the oats, stirring and pressing on the solids as needed to ensure all the liquid is strained. Use immediately or refrigerate in an airtight container for up to five days. Shake or stir well before serving.

Recipe Notes

Swap maple syrup with your favorite sweetener such as honey or agave.

Add in other flavored extracts or spices such as ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, or almond extract.