The T-Shirt Hack That Creates A Velvety Homemade Oat Milk

From serving as the base for tasty coffee creations to standing in as a simple swap for your morning cereal, oat milk is everywhere, and its meteoric rise in popularity isn't slowing down anytime soon. In its most basic form, comprised of only rolled oats and water, oat milk is the perfect go-to whether you're lactose intolerant or simply avoiding dairy. With such a simple and inexpensive list of ingredients, it makes sense for the oat milk lover to skip the refrigerated aisle in favor of mixing it up in their own kitchen. And if you're new to whipping it up yourself, there's no need to be intimidated; you don't even need any special equipment. A simple t-shirt is the perfect material for straining the pulp from your oat milk.

The trouble with using traditional mesh strainers for your homemade oat milk is that even the really fine ones still let way too much pulp through to your pitcher. On the other hand, the fibers in a t-shirt are tight enough to block the blended oats, only letting the smooth and creamy milk through to your prep bowl. As an added bonus, the process for making homemade oat milk with a t-shirt is just as straightforward as the ingredients list; just make sure the shirt you're using is clean!

To make your oat milk you'll want to start with a ratio of 1 cup of rolled oats to 4 cups of cold water. Add any sweeteners or flavorings and blend these ingredients together for only about 30 seconds. Less is more when it comes to blending. If you overblend the mixture, you run the risk of slimy oat milk, which is just as unappetizing as the chunky variety. Once your oats are sufficiently broken down, it's time to separate the pulp. There are products specifically made for milk straining, but a T-shirt works wonders for filtering out the oats.

Simply drape a clean t-shirt in a single layer over a large bowl, cup, or pitcher, and pour your blended oats over it. Allow the oat milk to strain through the shirt, and gently help it through with the back of a spoon, being careful to not apply enough pressure to push the excess starch from the oats through to the milk. From this point, you can transfer the oat milk to a bottle for storage in your refrigerator. Then, you can live out your perfectly velvety oat milk chai latte dreams, whenever the mood strikes. Be sure to check out our tips for baking with oat milk to make sure your recipes go as smoothly as your oat filtering process!