Oat milk is a form of vegan milk made from rolled oats. It is gluten-free milk because oats are gluten-free; however, some commercial oat brands are contaminated by gluten-containing products as well as their oats. Today, I will be showing you how to make oat milk at home.
Table of Contents
What is oat milk?
It is milk made from rolled oats after they have been frozen and blended with some ingredients and then the water content is then strained. It contains many benefits and nutrition as mentioned below.
Ingredients
- 1 cup of gluten free rolled oats
- One teaspoon of vanilla essence for flavoring
- 2 tablespoons of maple syrup or honey as a sweetener
Steps on How to Make Oat milk at Home
- Firstly, you need to freeze your rolled oats for about an hour in the freeze or refrigerate for about 2 hours. The reason for this is to make the oat milk to be less slimy. Simply making oat milk without freezing makes it slimy which you may not like.
- After an hour of freezing, bring it into the blender and add 4 cups (1 Liter) of ice-cold water. The ice-cold water also helps to reduce slime in the oat milk recipe.
- Flavor with your favorite flavoring; I prefer Vanilla extract, which I am using 1 teaspoon.
- Add any sweetener of choice. I added 2 tablespoons of maple syrup. You can use honey or even sugar as well. If you need it unsweetened, no need of adding any sweetener. It makes it more versatile as you can use the unsweetened oat milk for a variety of recipes.
- Blend into a smooth paste and strain using a fine strainer; depending on the smoothness you want to get. You can use cheesecloth folded twice over another strainer or sieve to strain the blended milk.
- When straining, do not squeeze too hard on the paste of the blended oats because it makes it slimy. This is the best way to make oats milk at home.
- Once you are done, you can enjoy it right away or store it in a jar, bottle, or container and refrigerate it.
Oats milk can be used as a substitute for dairy milk in making all recipes that call for milk; from ice cream, latte, or yogurt.
Oat Milk Nutrition
It has many nutrients, ranging from vitamins to minerals and it has fiber. 1 cup (250 ml) of Oatly brand of oat milk that is unsweetened but fortified contains 120 calories; it also has 3 grams of protein and 16 grams of carbs.
Fats are about 5 grams with dietary fiber being 2 grams. It contains vitamin B12 and Vitamin B2 (riboflavin). Other vitamins include Vitamins A and D.
Other nutrients are minerals such as calcium, phosphorus, potassium, and iron. It needs to be fortified because lots of nutrients are lost when strained compared to eating oat such as oatmeal.
Oat milk Vs Almond and other forms of milk
When compared with almond milk, oat milk has more fiber and calories as well as more carbs. It has more even when compared with soy milk, or cow’s milk, but has less protein than soy and dairy milk. Almond milk has more added vitamin E compared to oats milk which has more vitamin B.
Benefits
- A great substitute for dairy milk, soy milk (for those with soybean allergies), or almond milk.
- It contains lots of nutrients that are healthy
- Pure oats are gluten free because oats are gluten-free. Please note that some oats may be contaminated with gluten during production. It is always good to check the brand of oat you are buying to ensure you buy gluten-free oats.
Oat milk dangers
- It may contain gluten during production but pure oats are gluten-free
- May be high in sugar content because most brands are sweetened. Making homemade gets rid of this if you want it unsweetened.
- When made at home, it may have fewer nutrients unless it is fortified with some vitamin supplements.
What does oat milk taste like?
Unsweetened oats milk does not taste sweet or creamy like dairy milk or almond milk. It tastes bland and has this powdery feeling on the tongue that makes it feels like dissolved cornstarch in water. It is not the best of milk in terms of taste but it has lots of health benefits.
How long does oat milk last?
Homemade oats milk can last for about 5 to 7 days in the refrigerator. If you need it to last longer, it is better you make it as needed.
Uses
- For making oat milk creamer
- Coffee
- Milk Latte
- Ice cream
- Yogurt