Since going dairy free I have spent a pretty penny on dairy free milks and not only that but the waste! Oh the waste. I wanted to find a simple alternative and have settled on home made oat milk as I generally consume oat milk as opposed to other alternatives. Home made oat milk is quick, easy and cheap. Plus the leftover pulp can be used again in smoothies and baking; I like this as it means I have less waste at the end of the day.
Your home made oat milk can be very basic and just use two ingredients: oats and water, or you can add some salt, cinnamon or dates to up the flavour profile.
Home Made Oat Milk Recipe
1 cup oats, I used rolled oats
3 cups water
Optional:
1 pinch salt
1 pinch cinnamon
Soak the oats for 20 minutes then strain off. Add the soaked oats to the fresh 3 cups of water and the optional ingredients. Blend on high for 45 seconds. Strain the oat milk twice just to get any bits out. If you use a nut milk bag or special towel you will need to knead the pulp to get out all of the oat milk. Store the home made oat milk in a sealed glass jar in the fridge. It can keep for up to five days if stored properly. Just make sure to shake before using it as there will still be some sediment (don’t worry, it is good sediment).
Now what to do with the leftover pulp? Throw it is some smoothies, add it to cookies or bread in place of flour (hello, oatmeal cookies), perhaps you can even mix it in your quinoa salad. Of course you can always compost it but why not try something else?
What kind of home made milks have you made and what is your preference? Have you had any experiments gone wrong or even better any great surprises?
Note
This morning I added a generous splash of home made oat milk to my Lavender London Fog and it worked really well. No weird bits, not separation and no odd taste. I also used it in cold granola and it also worked well. Maybe later I will try a hot chocolate. Will keep you updated!
Update #2 I did use it to make hot chocolate but there was something interesting about the consistency. Maybe it gets better if you strain multiple time while making the oatmilk or just strain your hot chocolate while pouring it into the mug.
I haven’t had the chance to try any homemade “milks” like this one. But this one will definitely go on my “To Try” list. I’m going Vegan in 2018 and this could be really helpful.
Best to start with simple things like replacing milk. All the best on your journey!
This sounds interesting, I wonder if it would work with gluten-free oats?
Hi Elle, oats are naturally gluten free. When you buy oats that say “gluten free” on them it indicates that they are processed in a facility that is also gluten free 🙂 This means there cannot be any cross contamination which is important for people with celiac disease.
This is amazing – I never thought oat milk would be so easy to make!
I often use oats when I’m baking bread… I think I’m going to make oat milk tomorrow, and use the leftover pulp in my next bread-baking experiment (instead of the whole oats).
Thank you for the inspiration!
Hi Sandrine, glad I could help. I also used the pulp in a smoothie 🙂