11 Ways to Use Oat Milk and Homemade Oat Milk Recipe (2024)
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Move over, almond milk – there’s a new dairy-free milk alternative on the block. Oat milk’s popularity has skyrocketed and has quickly overtaken other non-dairy options at grocery stores and coffee shops. Oat milk is sweet, tasty and versatile. If you haven’t tried it yet, there are many ways to use it in recipes and you can even make it yourself.
Why Is Oat Milk Popular?
Global oat milk sales reached $360 million in 2019. By 2026–27, forecasters predict the oat milk market may reach anywhere from $995 million to $2.2 billion. That’s a lot of oats!
Oat milk is in demand for a number of reasons.
It Has a Neutral Flavour
Oat milk has a sweet, slightly nutty flavour that melds well in recipes, especially for coffee and elixirs. It definitely tastes like oats, which many find comforting and familiar.
It Has a ‘Frothable’ Texture
Its starchy, sturdy texture makes oat milk easier to whip up and froth for foam or latte art (again, it’s very much associated with coffee lovers).
Oat milk is free of many common allergens: it’s soy-free, nut-free, seed-free and dairy-free, making it a good school-safe option or work-friendly choice.
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Homemade Oat Milk Recipe
We have an entire post dedicated to making nut/seed milk, so why create a new post with an oat milk recipe? Here’s the reason: the process for making milk with oats is a little different than traditional nut and seed milks. Homemade oat milk can turn sticky, gloopy and slimy, but we have a few key tips and tricks to prevent that from happening.
Don’t Soak Your Oats in Advance
With almost all other dairy-free milks (nuts, seeds, coconut, or rice), we recommend soaking the ingredients in water first. This helps soften them up for blending, especially with larger and hardier nuts. Do not soak your oats first.
If you’ve ever cooked a pot of oatmeal, you know how thick and sticky it can get (again, this is due to the beta-glucan content). Warm or hot water will make your oat milk gluey.
Don’t Overblend Your Oat Milk
When making homemade oat milk, you want to use just enough power to break them down (especially if you’re using a high-speed blender). We blitz ours for about 30 seconds using a high-speed blender. Excessive blending will create heat, which in turn activates that soluble fibre component and you’ll end up with slimy oat milk.
When straining your milk, let gravity do the work. Pressing your blended oats through a strainer, or wringing it out with a nut milk bag, will force more of that gooey soluble fibre into the final product. We like to use a fine mesh strainer over a bowl, and let the milk separate naturally from the solids (we will often leave the bowl for 10–15 minutes while it strains). If needed, you can gently press the pulp with a back of a spoon – but don’t overdo it.
Best Types of Oats to Use
We like to use gluten-free rolled oats for oat milk. Opt for oat with a thinner texture: rolled/old fashioned oats or quick oats. Beefier oat types, like steel-cut oats or whole oat groats, don’t break down easily when dry and that can mean longer blending times (and slimier oat milk).
Blend for about 30 seconds, until the oats are broken down. Don’t overblend.
Place a fine mesh strainer over a bowl. Pour the milk through the strainer. Wait 10 minutes for the liquid to strain through. The leftover pulp will be very sticky.
Add in a pinch of salt.
Seal in a container in the fridge and use within 3-4 days. Shake before using, as the milk will separate.
Oat milk is an all-purpose dairy-free alternative you can incorporate into multiple recipes, and it can be swapped in 1:1 for other nut or seed milks. You are also welcome to try mixing and matching with half oat milk and half of another milk alternative.
Smoothies
Toss your milk into your blender to use as the base liquid in your favourite smoothie recipe (or use it in a smoothie bowl).
Pour your milk into ice cube trays, then pop them into a large bag, jar or container. Use the cubes for smoothies, or defrost a few when you’re making an elixir or a recipe that calls for only a small amount.
Milk for Cereal and Granola
You won’t regret pouring oat milk over your bowl.
Dairy-Free Cheese Sauce
Oat milk offers a thick, creamy texture to dairy-free, cheese sauces. Hello, vegan mac and cheese!
Well sealed in the refrigerator, oat milk should last about 5 days. You'll know it's gone bad when it smells funny. Why did my oat milk separate? Separation is totally normal with oat milk and many other dairy-free milks.
However, the lower carbohydrate content in almond milk makes it a better option because fewer carbs lead to fewer blood sugar spikes. Better for Sensitive Stomachs: Oat milk's higher fiber content may irritate sensitive stomachs.
The answer is a resounding YES! You can absolutely freeze oat milk for up to 3 months. You might find that the oat milk settles in the freezing process, so it will come out grainy when it defrosts. However, it will still be fine to use for cooking or smoothies.
That's great news because fiber "is good for digestion and heart health," Ferrari says. Specifically, oat milk contains soluble fiber, which absorbs water in the gut, forming a gel-like substance that slows down digestion.
To fortify homemade oat milk, you can blend supplements or vitamin powder (like vitamin D, B2, B12) into the milk. Alternatively, you can purchase the vitamin/s as drops (which will impact the flavor less but cost more).
Before each use, give it a good shake to ensure the oats are evenly distributed. If you notice that your oat milk has become too thin, don't worry—simply blend it again to restore that creamy texture.
Making your own oat milk is not only infinitely cheaper, but it's just as delicious (if not more-so) than the store-bought versions! Plus, some of the more conventional ingredients have added ingredients, like canola oil or refined sugars, which, if you ask me, is truly not necessary.
Making your own oat milk is easy, but homemade oat milk generally doesn't last as long as store-bought. James says a realistic estimate is three to five days in the fridge.
That said, because the abundance of nutrients in plant milk supplies microorganisms with a feast fit for a king, once oat milk has been opened and bacteria are reintroduced, spoilage still tends to occur within a week or so.
They agree that, if consumed in excess, oat milk can lead to weight gain because popular brands are made with canola oil, fats, and sugar and often provide little to no protein.
While some studies indicate that oat milk has a gentler impact on blood sugar levels than cow's milk, individual responses vary. Oat milk's potential to cause a spike in blood sugar levels is often lower than other sweetened plant-based alternatives, making it a diabetes-friendly choice.
Another human study showed that constituents like beta-glucans, dietary fibres, and avenanthramides might regulate blood pressure. Therefore, oat milk may reduce the risk of hypertension and might improve heart health.
Oat milk contains a good quantity of fatty acids, protein, minerals, vitamins, dietary fiber, and a variety of micronutrients and provides several health benefits, as it reduces blood sugar, lowers cholesterol, and prevents cancer (Jeske et al., 2018). Therefore, oats are a promising alternative to traditional milk.
Cooking: make your soups, curries and stews creamy and smooth with a little bit of unsweetened oat milk. This also works great in mashed potatoes. 4. For Instagram-worthy Smoothie Bowls: oat milk's consistency lends itself perfectly to thick, wholesome smoothies.
Compared to other nondairy options like almond and rice milk, oat milk has more fiber (about 2 grams per cup) and protein (3 grams).But it's also higher in calories (120 per cup) and carbs (16 grams). If you prefer a lower-carb milk alternative, almond milk may be a better choice.
Short answer – yes! Oat milk officially overtook other milk alternatives as the UK's favourite plant milk in 2020, with use in coffee a key part of that. Lots of oat milks are available in a barista version, like MOMA Barista oat, and are made specifically with coffee in mind.
Introduction: My name is Corie Satterfield, I am a fancy, perfect, spotless, quaint, fantastic, funny, lucky person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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