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How to Make Vegan Oat Milk (That’s Not Slimy!)

Name: How to Make Vegan Oat Milk (That’s Not Slimy!)
Prep time: 10 min
Total time: 10 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: Worldwide
Ingredients: ¼ cup (30 g) cashew nuts; 1 cup (80 – 100 g) oats (see Tips 1 & 2); 1 date (see Tip 2); 4 cups distilled water (if possible); ½ tsp vanilla essence

Skip the store-bought oat milk and make your own creamy, non-slimy version at home 🥛✨ With just a few ingredients and some pro tips, you’ll have the perfect, smooth oat milk ready to pour over your cereal, into your coffee, or straight up on ice. Budget-friendly, customisable, and oh-so-delicious 💚

Prep Time: 10 Mins | Total Time: 10 Mins | Servings: Adjustable

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I won’t lie. I love oat milk… and I’ve long been a part of the rave surrounding it. It’s my absolute favourite on the market, and word on the street is that it's actually one of the most nutritious and sustainable options out there. The best part? You don’t have to spend hundreds of quid or bucks of your monthly budget purchasing cartons of oat milk. There’s a super simple recipe to make it right at home—scroll down for the details!

Why This Recipe Works

Tastes Amazing

There are a ton of different kinds of plant-based milks. What makes oat milk so special? Why does it deserve its own homemade recipe and blog post? You’ll get the answers when you try it yourself. So creamy. So tasteful. So nutritious. Why would it NOT be a favourite?

Versatile

Whenever a recipe demands a plant-based milk, I nearly always use oat milk. And it’s 100% safe to say… I’m always so happy with the results, regardless of the dish. Could be a fancy sauce, like mushroom stroganoff. A quick lemon dijon salad dressing. A delicious bowl of easy overnight pumpkin oats. A post-workout exotic smoothie. A hearty lunch of tomato basil soup.

Quick (and customisable)

Oats + water in a blender = oat milk. I like to add cashews (soaked), a date, and vanilla essence to enhance the flavours. You can change up these add-ons however you like.

Recipe Ingredient Notes

Oats. I used old-fashioned organic rolled oats because they give the creamiest texture. Steel-cut oats can be used at a pinch, but the consistency might not be as good (and they also require extra straining). But never go for instant oats. They make the milk so slimy 🤢 See Tips 1 and 2👇🏼

Distilled water. The base of the drink. Make sure to use cold water. It prevents that slimy texture. Distilled is preferred to keep the final product free of any sediments. You can also use regular drinking water, though, preferably filtered.

Cashew nuts. For that ultra-creamy texture. I use this ingredient in so many of my recipes. Vegan pasta, vegan lasagna, plant-based dips, and, of course, this delicious oat milk recipe.

Date. To sweeten the milk naturally. Medjool dates are best because they are plump and blend easily. If using a different variety, make sure to soak before for a smooth texture.

Vanilla essence. Really rounds up the flavours with a hint of warmth. See Tip 3👇🏼

Helpful Equipment

Nut milk bag
High-speed blender
Glass jar

How to Make Plant-Based Oat Milk

Prep the ingredients. There’s not much to be done here, honestly. You just have to soak the cashews overnight. But if you too, like me, have the memory of a fish, like Dory, you will most probably forget to soak the nuts at night 😆 You can put the cashews in warm water for about 15 minutes before blending. It’s really helpful if you don’t have a high-speed blender.

Blend. Add all the ingredients (except the vanilla essence) to a blender and blitz for about 50 seconds. AVOID overblending here. See Tip 4👇🏼

Strain. Pour the blended mixture through a muslin or nut milk bag into the bowl, squeezing out all the milk from the pulp. See Tips 5, 6 and 7👇🏼

Store & enjoy. Chill it, or use it immediately. Enjoy it alone, or pair it with sides. Tastes amazing either way 😋 🤍

Variations, Ideas & Notes

📑 Substitutions

Clean, filtered water instead of distilled.
Soaked almonds instead of cashews (or sunflower seeds for a nut-free option).
Maple syrup (or agave syrup) instead of date.
Cinnamon powder instead of vanilla extract.

🥛 Optional Add-ons

Banana
Peanut butter
Tahini
Mint
Coconut extract
Cocoa powder

Note: Optional add-ons may alter the authentic oat milk flavour, but they taste yummy!

Notes

All weights are approximate due to variations in brands and ingredients.
Adjust quantities and method if you’re scaling the recipe.
The total yield from this recipe is 1 ¾ pints / 830 ml. Each portion equals ½ cup / 104 g.
Recipes are guidelines—taste and adjust to your preference!

Pro Tips for Making Vegan Oat Milk

If you don’t have a high-speed blender, blend the oats first before adding the other ingredients.
No need to soak oats; it helps prevent sliminess.
Add the vanilla extract after blending (and straining) the rest of the ingredients.
Avoid over-blending. The oats release excess starch, and the cashews release excess fibre. Both contribute to a slimy texture. Also, blending for too long can heat up the contents (and make the milk too gummy).
Don’t discard the pulp! Use it to make cookies, brownies, muffins, banana bread, pancakes, or even hummus. You can also freeze it for later.
If you've made other types of plant-based milks, a word to the wise: it is NOT the same as the process of almond milk, where you wring out as much milk as possible. The goal here is to squeeze and press the mixture as little as possible. Otherwise, it will end up slimy.
If you don’t have a nut milk bag, you can strain the milk through a clean t-shirt or tea towel.
Like all homemade plant-based milks, oat milk will separate when stored in the refrigerator. So make sure to give it a quick shake or stir before using it.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to use vegan oat milk?

Use it the same way you would use any other dairy or plant-based milk. I like to drink it on its own chilled with ice. It also tastes great in brunch/breakfast oat-y recipes like…

…or even in savoury dishes like…

You can even use it in plant-based sauces

Is it cheaper to buy or make oat milk?

I’ve done the maths (you can thank me later 😜). Buying oat milk ranges from £2 to even £5 (organic) per gallon. Making it at home can go as low as £0.5. Of course, this depends on the brand of oats you’re using. But all in all, it’s way cheaper to use homemade oat milk instead of store-bought.

How do I prevent homemade oat milk from being slimy?

Avoid soaking oats, use cold water, blend briefly, and strain gently without squeezing too hard.

How to store homemade oat milk?

I use smaller milk jugs and large glass containers to store all the oat milk. It lasts 5 to 6 days in the refrigerator, so prepare a quantity that will be used up within that time.

It’s also possible to freeze oat milk, but it will become grainy. If you’re going to add it to a smoothie or bake with it, then it will probably be fine.

How do you make your oat milk not slimy?

Do's...

Rinse the oats
Use cold water
Blend briefly
Strain well

Don'ts...

Over-blending
Soaking the oats
Heating the oat milk again and again
Squeezing too hard when straining
Adding thickeners, like chia seeds.

Did You Love the Recipe as Much as I Do?

Leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating on the recipe card—and don’t forget to tag me @vegan.susy on Instagram to show me your 👩🏻‍🍳MasterChef creation 🤗

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