Oat milk that is cheaper and better quality
Whilst I love the convenience and prevalence of plant milks in the supermarket these days, they are pretty expensive here in Australia (around $5 for 1L), and the ingredients lists leave much to be desired (for me personally).
Fortunately, making oat milk is really simple—once you know how. But if you try and make oat milk the same way you do nut milk, you will most likely end up with an unpleasant slimy product that’s not too appealing.
I’ve learnt through trial and error to create something I like and here are the tips and tricks I use to make creamy oat milk for a fraction of the cost of purchasing. You also get to control the quality of the ingredients—so if, like me, you don’t want oil, thickeners, or any other undesirables in your oat milk, here’s your solution!
Easy creamy oat milk recipe
Ingredients
1½ cup rolled oats, dry (do not soak them first)
6 cups filtered water
A smallish handful of cashew or macadamia nuts (soaked overnight and drained before use)
Method
- Add your cashews (or maca’s if you want a fully raw product) with one cup of water to a high-speed blender and blend on high for about 45 seconds to a minute until blended completely
- Add your dry oats and the remaining 5 cups of water to the blender and turn to high immediately—blend for no more than 10 seconds and quickly shut the blender down again (as fast as you can, depending on your blender)
- Add the blended contents to your nut milk bag and DO NOT SQUEEZE it but just let the milk drain through. Be patient. I do this over a bowl for simplicity; you can even hang the nut milk bag over the bowl if you have a way to do this, but it doesn’t take that long.
- The most important thing is to NEVER EVER squeeze out the oat milk as you would for nut milk—this will give you a slimy mess that oozes through the bag.
- When it’s drained enough and only some drips remain, it’s time to decant your creamy milk into a glass bottle or other similar container, put the lid on, and pop it in the fridge.
Use within 5 days and stir it or give it a bit of a shake before use as oaty sediment settles at the bottom of the bottle over time.
A note on cashews: cashews are not a raw product as they are boiled as part of their initial processing after harvesting, but they add a nice touch of creaminess to the finished product. Macadamias will also give a creaminess to your oat milk if you prefer to use these instead.
Adding a few nuts helps the milk behave more optimally if heating to add to coffee (my husband prefers it this way hence my experimentation), but it is optional if you avoid nuts.
Enjoy!
Feature image by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash
