Everyone seems to be losing their minds over the ongoing Oatly shortage so I thought I’d show you how easy and cheap it is to just make it yourself. All you need is oats, a neutral oil, salt, and water.
Soak 1 cup oats in water for a 3-4 hours, until it’s soft like overnight oats. Rinse in a mesh sieve and toss in your blender.
(If you’re looking for gluten-free oats, Bob’s Red Mill is a good brand you can find at the grocery store, but I usually buy this giant 41oz bag of oats on Amazon.)
Add 2 tbsp of a neutral-tasting oil to the blender. Oatly uses rapeseed oil, aka canola oil, but I prefer to avoid this in homemade goods because it’s pro-inflammatory (the way it’s processed in the US). Plus, vegetables don’t make oil. (See comments for discussions on this.)
I used walnut oil, but you can do avocado oil or something similar that’s liquid at room temperature. Oil isn’t required but it’s what Oatly uses. When we blend it up, it will emulsify and help add to the creaminess.
Add 3-4 cups of water (3 will be super creamy, 4 will thin it out a bit more, it’s up to your desired texture), a pinch of salt, and maybe even a little vanilla extract if you wanna get fancy.
Blend it on high, strain it through a mesh bag (this is the one I use), pour in your coffee, and stop harassing the poor barista who has no idea when the next shipment is coming in!!!!!
I don’t usually share calorie info but am doing so just for comparison to Oatly’s product. If you do 4 cups, this comes out to 54 calories per 100 ml (that’s almost 1/4 cup), which is about the same as Oatly (57 cals for them). Enjoy!
(April 2020 quarantine edit: If you’re looking for more recipes that rely on non-perishable foods, here’s a recipe book of 20 pantry meals and snacks!)
(December 2020 bored-in-quarantine recipe-development edit: Try this Blueberry Lavender Oat Milk version!)
(April 2021 Oatly: The New Coke update: These are my thoughts on that article. Long story short, homemade is still preferred for me!)
- 1 cup oats, soaked 3-4 hours
- 2 tbsp walnut or avocado oil
- 3-4 cups water
- Pinch of salt
- Optional: Vanilla extract, cinnamon, turmeric - whatever flavorings you like
- Rinse soaked oats for about 30 seconds and add to blender with oil, water, salt, and vanilla extract, if using. 3 cups water will be creamy, 4 cups water will be thinner.
- Blend on high for about 30 seconds. Pour into a bowl through a mesh bag (or fine mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth) and squeeze it all out. Store in a glass jar in the fridge.
If you’re looking for more guidance on how to make healthy eating an easier part of your life, see how I work with clients here.
I had never heard of Oatly, so I googled it. Now I am intrigued! Question: What kind of oats? Thick, quick, old fashioned? I am looking forward to trying this!
Hi Ruth, I used old-fashioned rolled oats for this recipe.
I had the same question. Tried instant and old fashioned was best. Made a great smoothie!
All I can smell and taste is the avocado oil. Ah I doing something wrong?
Hi, I also wanted to ask you about the oats. Can I use pinhead oats (not rolled)? Im looking forward to trying your recipe. I live in Germany, no shortage of oatly oat milk here, but I don’t buy it because of the rapeseed oil and other ingredients. Plus buying vegan milks in disposable containers really bugs me. It creates far too much waste. I made a quick mini batch of oat milk today using another recipe. It tastes quite good, but I’m looking for something that will hold up well for lattes. (I’m my own barista! 😉)
Is it worth soaking in to reduce the phylic acid?
Okay, so I tried this recipe, but I wasn’t sure how long I should be rinsing my oats. Should we be rinsing it like rice, like putting the soaked oats into a bowl of water and swirling the oats around, pouring out the water and repeating it til clear? Or did you run them under a tap/filtered water in a strainer til the water ran clear? (And I used old-fashioned oats, as well.) My batch turned out well, but just wanted to check for any tips/ tricks.
Hi Jared,
I just pour the bowl into a mesh sieve and then rinse the oats under water for maybe 30 seconds. I’m glad your batch turned out well, thank you for letting me know!
Why do you add oil to your recipe?
Hi Bethany,
Oatly uses oil in their recipe and I was trying to make it like theirs. It’s not necessary, but it helps make it creamier!
Their Organic version doesn’t have oil but is still much tastier than the one I make at home (using a very similar recipe to yours). Any idea how they do it? They talk about an enzyme process which creates maltose which gives the milk its sweetness.
Try using malted oat flakes, the kind brewers use.
Yes, that is what some people on Youtube say too. I have tried about 10 different recepies for oat milk, even the ones with enzymes which I bought particulary, and they were all disappointing. Now I learned that the enzymes should have body tempereatur to release the Amylase which breaks down the sugar in the oats and gives it that special taste. To stop that process though you have to heat the milk afterwards to higher temperature or your milk becomes to sweet.
The whole process took my like 30 minutes instead of 5!
The oil also helps keep the milk from separating and getting slimy when heating.
Oats do not have any natural oils in like nuts so. The oil helps to emulsify the milk and also makes it creamier.
I suspect Oatly also use a heat treatment which of course thickens the milk.
Oil will help it act like barista type oat milk – ie it will help it froth up. If you don’t want it for lattes and just as a beverage you can skip the oil too!
Are you able to heat this up without clumping? On other recipes (without oil) they don’t recommend heating up or steaming homemade oat milk since it clumps up.
I had only had it cold until you asked this, so I just tried it! No clumping, just make sure you stir frequently otherwise you’ll burn it and have to scrape off the bottom of the pan, but that’s with any other milk too. I have also stirred it into a hot drink with no problems too.
Thank you so much!
Great recipe, thank you! How long does the milk keep for in the fridge?
I haven’t kept it longer than a week and it was fine then, but I would try to stay within a week!
Does it come out slimy? Or is to the same watery consistency as oatly? I tried a recipe but the oat milk came out slimy.
Other recipes I’ve read mentioned not blending it longer than 45 seconds, or it will become slimy. This recipe recommends 30 seconds
Mine was a bit slimy too, some recipes say don’t soak if you have a high speed blender.
Hi do you know if this is Foam able?
You’ll have to add an emulsifier and thickening agent, like lecithin and guar gum respectively, to create barista-quality foam.
Can this be heated?
Yes, it can 🙂
thanks for the recipe. anyone here try steaming this for a latte?
interested in frothing behavior.
I haven’t tried frothing it, would love to see if anyone else is able to do it!
I froth with it every morning! It’s the most like milk in terms of foam.
Hi Karl, a bit late on answering, but I tried steaming this recipe for a latte, and it was a failure. The foam wasn’t tight enough and disappeared quickly. I’m going to experiment with adding some protein powder to it with my next batch and see how that goes as it’s the protein in milk which allows it to foam.
Hi Martin, how did the addition of protein powder go?
Any updates on your recipe? Did you make it good enough for lattes?
Thanks in advance
Mine did not foam at all. Not even a tiny bit. I’m also tasting what smells like burnt toast in the coffee. Very strange, as it tastes fine before heating.
Hi! I was thinking about trying out this recipe because I’m a huge fan of homemade plant-based milks and I’m also searching for more environmentally friendly milks to use. Have you had any experience with steaming these milks for lattes and cappuccinos?
Hi Andrea,
I haven’t tried this as I don’t have a steamer wand, but please let me know if you try it! I’d love to know how to turns out.
Hey! I saw someone used a milk frother successfully on another website!
Hi Kristen
I am desperate to create an oat milk like Oatly Barista, or their new ranges for tea and coffee. I have made some other recipes (without oil) and when added to coffee/tea it tends to seperate and sink to the bottom (unlike Oatly). How does yours work in Coffee?
From what i can see on the oatly page – it’s the dipotassium phosphate that help to balance the ph in the acidic coffee – this is why oatly doesnt separate like this…..
Did you work out how to make a barista style one? I’d love to cut down on packaging. 🙂
I would like to know the benefit of soaking and then getting rid of that original water
Soaking softens the oats, making them easier to blend and easier to digest. I suppose you could keep the original water, and just add to it to get the right amount.
Irene, I wonder if you tried this recipe whilst keeping the original soaking water?
Original water may contain phytates, which bind calcium. Replacing (high in calcium) dairy milk with something which actually lowers calcium availability would be undesirable.
Hi Mat, You are right that oat milk is not nutritionally comparable to dairy milk, but functionally it is a suitable replacement. Not everyone can tolerate dairy or wants to have it in their diet. Calcium is plentiful in many other foods like sesame seeds, kale, spinach, collard greens, almonds, etc. so we can still get it elsewhere!
Is it all right to soak the oats longer than 3 – 4 hours, or does it have a bad effect?
You can do overnight if you want to. I wouldn’t do it any longer than that unless it’s in the fridge otherwise it could start to ferment.
Hi!!! I have just made this for the first time, popped it in the fridge and the oil has separated and now it looks pretty gross 🤣. Before I popped it in the fridge it was a great consistency. Do you know if there’s something I can do to stop this happening? This is what always happened with my homemade mayo so I stopped making it after a while!
Hi Laura! Since there are no stabilizers or anything in there, it’s going to separate, and that’s natural. The oil should act as an emulsifier so it doesn’t do it as much, but it’s fine. Just shake it up before using!
Hello. Can you use coconut oil?
I wouldn’t. Coconut oil is a solid at room temperature
thank you very much 🙂 It came out well but the consistency is a bit goey…
The oats themselves are naturally a bit gooey, it happens with or without the added oil. If you blend it up it should have a better consistency and you won’t notice it!
Do you think virgin olive oil would work in this recipe?
Hi Babs, I wouldn’t use it unless you’d like it more savory. Olive oil has a pretty distinct flavor.
Hi, do you know if Almond Oil will work? I have loads of it and have just got into Oat milk making but didn’t know about adding oil until reading this 🙂
I don’t see why not! I’ve never actually had almond oil – is it a neutral flavor? If so it’ll be just the same, but if it has a strong almond taste just take that into account with whatever you’re using the oat milk for. I think it sounds good either way 🙂
Do you think using whole walnuts would be ok rather than adding oil? Just trying to avoid oil, but think it might help when steaming for coffee. Thanks in advance.
You don’t have to add oil at all, it’ll be creamy enough on its own. I added it to this recipe to make it like Oatly’s ingredients list, but I don’t really think it’s required honestly.
my oat milk turns out with disgusting slimy texture is that normal? how do I get the same consistency as oatly oat milk?
Oat milk naturally gets a little slimy especially as it warms up. Use *cold* water and don’t overblend.
I’m curious as to how you heated your oat milk without it coming out slimy.
Don’t heat it too long! Just like oatmeal, the longer it cooks the more it’ll gel. Heat it slowly/gently.
I just made this today and it worked very well! I also heated it very slowly and gently and it did not get clumpy (like my first attempt without following a recipe haha.) I’m pretty happy with it but unfortunately it doesn’t taste like Oatly just yet. Will have to see how to make it taste like Oatly without adding too much other random ingredients that Oatly doesn’t have. Let me know if you’ve gotten yours to taste like it!
I actually had a friend who mentioned that she had better luck when she didn’t soak her oats ahead of time, but just put the oats and water together and blended immediately (and, as she mentions, never more than 30-45 seconds). I haven’t had a chance to try either technique yet, so I can’t personally speak much to it, but it might be worth playing around with. Sliminess seems to be a common issue with oat milk.
From all the research I have done, plus making it myself, I think soaking oats is not necessary! I read that soaking is what makes it slimier in consistency when heating.
The best thing to do is blend other ingredients first (like a date, if you use for sweetness) and then the oats last! You only blend oats for 30 seconds. Works like a dream. I have had the best oat milk since I followed that advice. The 2 tbsp of oil (I use sunflower oil) make it taste exactly like Oatly.
I found that after a day or two in the fridge, it tastes and has the same consistency. You just need to shake the bottle so that the oil blends into the whole container evenly, but otherwise, I think it is amazing and so much better for your body!!
What about coconut oil? Could this also add to the creamyness?
I wouldn’t use coconut oil because it will harden if you refrigerate it, best to use oils that are liquid at room temp.
Thank you. I can’t get Oatly where I live. Talk about a goldmine. The guy is raking it in. Good for him.
Might sound silly, but do you pour out the water you soaked the oats in? I only ask because the other recipes I’ve seen use the water the oats were soaked in, so I’m unsure here…
I toss the soaking water and blend with fresh
Hi Kristen,
I will try your recipe with a bit of oil, sounds great. I use a little aquafaba (chickpea water) to help it froth.
I’d love to know how it turns out with the aquafaba!
Rapeseed oil and canola oil are NOT exactly the same. Canola is derived from a variety of the rapeseed plant. A cold pressed rapeseed oil is not the worst thing in the world.
Canola oil is heat extracted, they use a chemical called hexane to extract as well.
Hi Kristy,
Thanks for your reply. I’m not sure where you’re located, but in the US most grocery stores aren’t selling cold-pressed rapeseed oil, we typically have the inflammatory version on the shelves. Neither are my top choice, but if you have access to the non-heat processed version, great!
I followed this recipe and the milk still sank to the bottom of my coffee..? I’ve tried loads of barista oat milk recipes and haven’t been successful yet, any tips?
Hm, I haven’t had it sink to the bottom. Do you have a milk frother you can try it with?
Oo I can probably find one. Thanks I’ll try that.
I wonder if it’s a bit too processed and what’s going to the bottom are bits of oat which have come through the strainer, as opposed to the oaty milk? I’ve had it happen to me and I suspect that’s why.
Hi thanks for the recipe! Just wondering how long it will last? Can I store it in the cupboard as well or can it only be kept in the fridge? Thanks!
Hi Tanya, I’d keep this in the fridge for no more than 5-7 days. Once it’s off you’ll be able to smell it!
Hello,
Thanks so much for the recipe. I can’t get hold of oatly so gonna give this a whirl.
Can I ask two questions please?
In the UK we have oatly whole, assume you guys have it too, are there any tricks or tips to make this? Is it just the case of putting less water in?
Lastly, what quantity does your recipe make?
Many thanks
Hi Trystan,
I haven’t tried Oatly Whole so I’m not sure, but it looks like they just add more fat. But reducing the water content will definitely make it creamier too. Experiment with it! The recipe yield depends on how much water you’re using (since I leave it up to you depending how creamy you want it) — water content = recipe quantity.
Hi. The article says rapeseed is used, and that’s a bad thing because vegetables don’t produce oil. Seeds and nuts do (avocado, hemp, sunflower, coconut, etc). Rapeseed is 44% oil.
That’s not exactly what I said. It’s inflammatory because of the way it’s processed, and vegetable oil is a complete misnomer as there are no vegetables involved. Yes, the nuts and seeds you mentioned do produce oil, but vegetable oil is not usually a pure oil like that.
Hi.
Just to let you know canola or rapeseed is a seed, not a vegetable. In Australia we call it canola and the crop produces bright yellow flowers tha then turn into small black seeds that look like mustard seeds and are naturally very high in oil.
Look like a great recipe. Thanks for sharing 🙂
Hi Kate,
I know that a seed is not a vegetable. In the US, the food industry refers to canola oil as “vegetable oil” which, as you’ve pointed out, is a misleading name and also why I said vegetables don’t make oil. Regardless, in our country it’s very highly processed and the result is pro-inflammatory, which is why I suggest avoiding it. I imagine the Australian version isn’t treated the same way since the US tends to ruin everything 🙂 (plus I never imagined anyone outside the US would ever read this! Thanks for being here!).
Hi Kristen,
Just wondering what the added benefit is to soak the oats for a few hours? Some recipes say to just blend, Is there anything in particular that soaking adds to the recipe?
I made this for the first time yesterday and used groundnut oil and it wasn’t slimy and tastes good but it tends to separate in tea leaving a thicker sludge at the bottom. Any suggestions?
How much water do I soak these oats in?
The exact amount doesn’t matter because you’ll strain it, but enough to keep them covered.
I just made a double quantity of this, and I’m afraid I wish I hadn’t. Although I did not over-blend it, it still ended up slimy. I used avocado oil, which left a layer of yellow oil in my coffee and tea. I tried this oat milk in my frothing machine – no, it did not froth.Tried to tweak the flavour with date syrup, as it tasted bland, without success.This recipe will not make anything that resembles Oatly!
Why do you rinse the soaked oats? What happens if you don’t?
I’ve made oat milk before and this is the first recipe I’ve seen where you soak the oats. Does that really make a difference? I typically just measure my oats and put them in the blender right away – without soaking or rinsing.
I see a few mentions of slimy oatmilk, especially if warmed up. I want to use this oatmilk with a steamer and one idea I have in mind is make the soak step a bit acidic (eg. with ascorbic acid aka Vitamin C), since starches break down to glucose if water and acid is present. less starch means less slime… Has anyone tried adding a bit of acidic agent that break down starched? I saw on other sites that digestive enzimes are recommended because of their amylase content which, with water present, breaks down starched to sacharoze.
I haven’t tried that, I imagine ascorbic acid would make it taste tangy, no? Try it and report back!
Actually it should make it taste it sweeter, since the acid is used up in the process. At least that’s the chemistry behind, I have no idea how it works out irl in the kitchen 🙂 but I just started two half batches to test it out, one with and one without ascorbic acid. Fingers crossed 🙂
Update: I did half cup rolled oats, 1.5 cups water, 1tbsp sunflower oil, pinch of salt, 30sec blending, filtering through a baby muslin cloth (like those bamboo/cotton swaddles,just not as giant)
batch 1 soaked 3hrs in 1 cup plain water, batch 2 soaked 3hrs in 1 cup water + 400mg ascorbic acid.
Batch 1 tasted very startchy and oat-like when cold, we haven’t yet tried steaming it.
Batch 2 resulted in a creamier, sweeter oatmilk, not so startchy and not so oat-y when cold, as expected! No sourness remained. We steamed it for coffee, until 40 degrees Celsius (that’s how we do with the storebought oatmilk as well) it froths well, didn’t get slimy but the result is a bit too watery, it didn’t add enough milk-ness to the coffee.
I’ll try to double the oat for a creamier result and will be back with updates.
Wow, thank you for taking the time to experiment and sharing your results!
What happened to Virag’s update?
What is the expiration of the oat milk?
Buying on Amazon doesn’t really go along with the whole ethos expressed here. Amazon is a giant exploiter of its workers, of civic resources, of its vendors, and of its customers. It is too big and has too much power over prices, retail commerce and labor. Gazillionaire Besos believes he can dictate public policy and rules to benefit his pocket. Anything you can get on Amazon you can get elsewhere, directly from producers or other retail sites. There aren’t any big retailers with 100% clean hands with respect to the environment or labor or economic power, but it’s possible to avoid the worst. Just saying: if the whole make your own oat milk ethos appeals to you, you might give Amazon a pass. Just a suggestion.
Not everyone has access to the same things where they live. I link to Amazon to show what I’m talking about, you’re free to purchase wherever suits your needs and values.