Creamy Homemade Oat Milk

This Creamy Homemade Oat Milk is quick, easy, non-slimy and cheaper than store-bought oat milk. It works in smoothies, protein shakes and over granola and cereal. Or add a dash to coffee or tea like regular milk or creamer. Plus there are no added oils, stabilisers or preservatives.

For the best homemade oat milk that is creamy, but not slimy, there are a few key tips to follow. I go through them all below. Then you will have a lovely bottle of healthy oat milk in your fridge in a matter of minutes.

How to make oat milk that is not slimy

Making creamy oat milk with the least amount of sliminess depends on the degree to which you break down the oats while blending, and how much pulp you strain out of the milk. Here are my top tips for the best results:

Use old-fashioned rolled oats. Quick oats will break down too much giving a slimier texture. Steel cut oats won’t break down enough so the oat milk won’t be creamy. Rolled oats are therefore my preferred option.

Do not blend for too long. Only blend the oat and water mixture for 20 seconds. Blending for too long creates a finer pulp that will get through your strainer, giving a slimy texture.

Use a fine mesh sieve to strain the oat milk. This is the kind of sieve used for dusting desserts with icing sugar. The fine mesh holes are no wider than the tip of a toothpick. You can also use a muslin or cotton cheesecloth if you prefer.

Do not push the oat milk through the sieve. Let it drain naturally until it stops flowing through. You can swirl it gently to speed up the process (like I do in the recipe video below). Pressing, squeezing or forcing the oat milk through the sieve will push the pulp into the oat milk.

Double strain the oat milk. Pass the oat milk through the sieve twice to remove as much pulp as possible. I strain the oat milk from the blender cup into a bowl, rinse out the sieve and blender cup, then strain it back into the blender cup. I do this because it’s easier to pour the oat milk from the blender cup into my glass storage bottle. However, if your storage bottle or jar has a wide opening, you could just do the second strain straight into the bottle or jar.

How to make oat milk without a blender

If you don’t have a blender, you can make oat milk with a food processor instead. In fact, less fancy food processors and blenders can actually be an advantage when making oat milk.

This is because they aren’t as powerful. They won’t break the oats down too much, therefore avoiding a slimy texture.

Can I heat this oat milk?

Please DO NOT try and heat up this oat milk. I made this mistake. Heating homemade oat milk that doesn’t contain stabilisers and oils will turn it into a thick gel. This is because the water evaporates and the remaining oat pulp cooks and thickens like oatmeal.

However, you can add the cold oat milk to hot tea or coffee. Adding a dash of cold oat milk will help to cool your hot drink slightly and take the edge off any bitterness. The oat milk also works really well in low sugar smoothies, vegan milkshakes or poured over crunchy granola and cereal.

How long does homemade oat milk last

Homemade oat milk should last up to 5 days in the refrigerator. Make sure you store it in a clean, sealed container. I store mine in a glass bottle or jar with a screw lid.

Since no stabilisers are added, some separation will occur while the oat milk sits in the fridge. This is because the creamy part naturally settles at the bottom of the container. However, you can just give it a shake before using.

More oats recipes

These Easy Baked Oatmeal Breakfast Bars are one of my favorite oaty snacks. I love them studded with dried figs and chunks of dark chocolate.

For a protein hit, these Peanut Butter Oat Protein Bars can be made with a range of protein powders and they taste like dessert.

For a quick breakfast or snack, these No Bake Peanut Butter Oat Energy Balls are ready in only 5 minutes.

You can find more oat recipe ideas on the Oats Recipes page.

Creamy Homemade Oat Milk Recipe