The world hasn’t been cute for 16 months. Constant lockdowns due to a global you-know-what were instantly followed by a plague of cicadas —effectively keeping us on lockdown. And now, there is a shortage of Oatly. Wake us up in mid-2022. Until then, we’ve learned how to make oat milk. (DIY to the rescue!)
It’s hard to know why our treasured, holy-grail oat milk is nearly impossible to find. Is it because Starbucks gets it first? Or a reported delay in the opening of an Oatly factory? Or are they just screwing with our fragile psyches? OUR COFFEE IS CURDLING, and we need answers NOW.
Some of our friends told us, “Just try another oat milk.” We moved them to the “acquaintance” category, because they do not understand. Heck, we don’t even fully understand it. We don’t want to take away from any other oat milk brand but …
Let’s just say that our Oatly obsession has clouded our rational thought.
A brief primer: Oat milk has been on the U.S. market since the ‘90s. Ah, the ‘90s. A lot of things were good about them (from TLC to Tamagotchis) but oat milk wasn’t one. It was so not cool (i.e., shelf stable). Eventually it hit the fridge like cow’s milk, so it was certainly no longer weird —but still not very popular.
Then Oatly arrived in the U.S. with not just a great product but an AMAZING marketing team. Its breezy, tongue-in-cheek attitude endeared both oat milk pros and novices alike. Right around this time, this formerly niche genre’s growth exploded into the mainstream. Oatly straight up changed the game and made people notice —including a group of investors including Oprah Winfrey, who invested $200 million in it. Today, the company isvalued at somewhere between $10 and $13 billion. With a B.
Still, now it’s hard to get, and, well, we’re not mad; we’re just disappointed. No wait, we’re mad. But our therapist told us to channel our anger in productive ways. So we decided to make our own oat milk. The first few batches were discouraging, but we finally found the right proportions, and we’re excited to share them with you, so you can make your own oat milk too before Oatly decides to twirl down from the holy heavens and bless us with the precious droplets of its golden soul-salve again.
‘Til then, Oatly tribe, we will get through this together.
How to Make Oat Milk at Home
Ingredients: 4 cup cold water 1 cup rolled oats 1-2 tablespoons maple syrup 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional) Pinch of salt (optional)
Add oats, water, and any additional ingredients to a high powered blender.
Get your ingredients together. | Brittney Chung for LIVEKINDLY
Blend for 20-30 seconds. Make sure to not over-blend.
Blend it real good. | Brittney Chung for LIVEKINDLY
Place a nut milk bag or thin towel over a large mixing bowl or pitcher and pour in the mixture.
Grab a nut milk bag. | Brittney Chung for LIVEKINDLY
Strain the mixture. Double strain if needed to remove all sediments.
Strain the mixture. | Brittney Chung for LIVEKINDLY
Transfer the oat milk to a sealed container and store in the fridge or enjoy immediately.
Enjoy! | Brittney Chung for LIVEKINDLY
LIVEKINDLY is here to help you navigate the growing marketplace of sustainable products that promote a kinder planet. All of our selections are curated by the editorial team. If you buy something we link to on our site, LIVEKINDLY may earn a commission.
To make oat milk simply add 1 cup rolled oats + 4 cups water to a high-speed blender and blend on high for 30-45 seconds. Then strain through a clean t-shirt or towel for best results. We found nut milk bags let too much pulp through. Fine mesh strainers also let too much pulp through, so we don't recommend using them.
To make oat milk simply add 1 cup rolled oats + 4 cups water to a high-speed blender and blend on high for 30-45 seconds. Then strain through a clean t-shirt or towel for best results. We found nut milk bags let too much pulp through. Fine mesh strainers also let too much pulp through, so we don't recommend using them.
Making your own oat milk can cost as little as $0.70 for the same amount. Of course, this is dependent upon which oats you're using, and which brands you'd typically buy. But it can be much cheaper to make your own oat milk, if you're interested in saving some money!
Vogue recently published a hit piece called "Goodbye Oat Milk," and people have slammed the drink as “starch juice." Its ingredients have once again been brought into question, including Oatly's addition of rapeseed oil. Critics warn that it will raise your blood sugar.
So when it comes to choosing the healthiest milk, it's not just about looking at the sugar content but the entire composition. Similar to fruit juice, most of the plant fiber is filtered out of oat milk when it's produced, so it contains little to no fiber, while all the natural sugars remain.
Oat milk isn't as nutritious as whole oats, and commercial oat milk is often enriched with nutrients like calcium, potassium, iron, B vitamins, and vitamins A and D. As such, store-bought versions typically offer more nutrients than homemade ones.
To summarise, if you're consuming a large quantity of oat milk without any fibre, fat or protein to combat it, then it will likely raise blood sugar. “People are too obsessed with spiking blood sugar levels,” says Shah. “Food is meant to spike blood sugar levels,” she continues.
Homemade oat milk has a wonderful fresh oat flavor. But the biggest difference between the homemade stuff and Oatly Original Oat Milk—our favorite brand for drinking straight—is in the texture. The homemade version is thick, extra-rich, and creamy, while Oatly's original blend is more milky and clean.
There are many factors at play here, adding up costs that get passed to the consumer at the grocery store: Labor, oat crop shortages, cost of fuel and fertilizer, as well as additives for taste, mouthfeel, and stability.
Do not blend any longer than 45 seconds or you run the risk of warming the oat milk which will make it slimy. If you are gluten-free make sure to use certified gluten-free oats. Line a large bowl with a nut milk bag and strain the milk through the bag.
In recent years, the oat milk market has struggled against headwinds, grappling with a decline in sales. This has been attributed to market saturation and heightened competition within the plant-based beverage sector.
The drop has been attributed in part to price hikes related to inflation but also rising consumer perceptions that plant-based milks are high in sugar and made with long lists of unfamiliar ingredients that don't fit into the growing “clean” food movement.
Oatly Inc.'s stock fell 10% Thursday to hover close to its all-time low, after the oat-milk maker's fourth-quarter loss more than doubled from a year prior and its revenue fell far short of analyst estimates.
Following allegations that a private equity firm who owns a stake in Oatly has contributed to deforestation in the Amazon, fans of the milk substitute began boycotting the brand on social media. Oatly inked a $200 million (£149 million) investment deal led by the firm Blackstone in July.
Oat milk may cause side effects like gas and bloat. Additionally, it may also interact with medications used for diabetes and may cause the blood sugar levels to go too low.
Beta-glucan fiber in oat milk provides prebiotics too, which fuel your body's probiotics and help these friendly cultures of bacteria survive and thrive in the long run. Over time, consuming foods like oat milk that beta-glucan has also been connected to enhanced gut health and immunity.
Oat milk contains a good quantity of fatty acids, protein, minerals, vitamins, dietary fiber, and a variety of micronutrients and provides several health benefits, as it reduces blood sugar, lowers cholesterol, and prevents cancer (Jeske et al., 2018). Therefore, oats are a promising alternative to traditional milk.
In fact, you could make it at home for just $1. Epicurious broke it all down: if you buy a half gallon of Oatly every week, you're spending about $20 on oat milk each month, while making it at home would only cost you about $4.
Ultimately, cow's milk is the healthiest to drink if you can tolerate it. It has the most nutritional value. Cow's milk has many health benefits, such as helping to improve muscle mass and bone health. For regular milk drinkers, three cups per day is the standard.
Introduction: My name is Carlyn Walter, I am a lively, glamorous, healthy, clean, powerful, calm, combative person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.