You only need 2 ingredients to make your own delicious oat milk at home

Grocery shopping right now is reminiscent of an episode of Supermarket Sweep circa 1994; it’s a fight to get the staples you need. Case in point: the difficulty of staying stocked up on oat milk (which is one of the most popular items that people are stockpiling right now). It’s seriously giving me flashbacks of The Great Oat Milk Shortage of 2018. But then one of my colleagues told me how darn simple it was to make your own at home.

“I make my own oat milk using just rolled oats and water,” Nora Grenfell, Well+Good’s senior director of audience development tells me, adding that it takes less than five minutes. I guess I thought it took special equipment, skills, and maybe a bit of magic to turn a pile of oats into the creamy latte-ready bev, but apparently not! Grenfell says that the only specialty item needed is a cheapo cheese cloth in order to strain the blended liquid.

A big benefit to making your own oat milk (besides not having to throw elbows at the store) is that you know all of the ingredients that go into it. When you make it at home, you can ensure that it doesn’t have any gums, fillers, or added sugars if those things are not your jam.

Wondering if oat milk is even healthy? Here’s what a registered dietitian has to say:

Here, Grenfell shares her easy, peasy recipe which she says is practically foolproof. But she offers up a few tips before getting started. “The key to getting the texture just right is not to over-blend it,” she says. Also, if your texture comes out a little slimy, she says not to get freaked out. “It will taste fine,” Grenfell says. (Her pro tip on avoiding a sliminess is not squeezing the cheese cloth when you’re straining.)

Okay, ready to make your own? Keep reading for the recipe.

2-ingredient easy oat milk recipe

Makes 4 cups

Ingredients
1 cup rolled oats4 cups water

1. Soak the oats in water for an hour or more.

2. Drain the oats and rinse them.

3. Combine the oats and water in a blender. Blend until smooth.

4. Use the cheese cloth to strain the oat milk. Store the oat milk in a glass bottle in the fridge for up to a week.

When you’re done, you’ll be left with your oats and Grenfell offers up some tips on what to do with those, too. “You can use the oats in baked goods, or you can compost them if you don’t want to reuse them in recipes,” she says.

And there you have it: Oat milk free of any weird additives or sugar, homemade in just five minutes. If only it were that easy to make your own chickpea pasta…