What is in oat milk?

• Its consistency is thicker, like cow's milk.
• It makes the best coffee creamer and steamed milk.
• It's the best for baking.
• It's more sustainable.
• It may contain gluten.
• Higher in carbohydrates.
• It's higher in calories.
• It contains healthy fats.

Oat milk likely originated in Sweden, with 27-year-old company Oatly leading the way. Oat milk comes from oats that have been soaked in water, blended, and strained. Many of the nutrients from the oats remain in the milk, and the fine particles give the liquid a creamy texture. Unflavored oat milk retains a faint oat-y flavor.

Commercial oat milk is made by combining oats with water before milling the mixture into a fine consistency. Enzymes are added to break down the oat starch. Then, the bran solids are separated out, leaving behind the liquid base. Additional flavorings and ingredients are added, and it's heat-treated to increase its shelf life before packaging. Oat milk can also be made at home with the help of a cheesecloth or nut milk bag for straining.

Oil (usually sunflower oil or canola/rapeseed oil) is added to commercial oat milk to increase the fat content and mouthfeel. Sugar or flavorings are also sometimes added. The milk is further fortified with nutrients and vitamins to boost its nutritional profile.

Oat milk is great for those with a gluten intolerance or soy or tree-nut allergies. Just read the label to make sure it hasn't been processed on the same equipment as these allergens. Lower in calories than soy and cow's milk, oat milk is also a better source of fiber and, surprisingly, has more calcium than cow's milk!

Here's how their nutritional values stack up:

With its creamy consistency, oat milk is perfect for smoothies and coffee. It even froths when used in specialty coffee drinks like lattes. Look for versions like Oatly Barista Edition that contain an acidity regulator, which helps prevent the milk from separating in coffee.

You can also replace cow's milk with unsweetened, unflavored oat milk in many recipes. Like cow's milk, unsweetened oat milk tastes naturally sweet. Try it in quiche, mashed potatoes, muffins, pancakes, and creamy sauces. You can also use it in any recipe that already calls for a plant-based milk like soy or almond milk, such as this Chocolate Pudding recipe.

You'll notice many brands of oat milk in supermarkets today, whether on shelves or refrigerated in the dairy case. You can find flavors like chocolate, vanilla, and blueberry, or thicker, higher-fat versions ideal for use as a coffee creamer. Popular brands include Silk, Oatly, Califia Farms, Elmhurst, Pacific Foods, and Quaker.

To really maximize the health benefits of oat milk, look for one that doesn't contain carrageenan, a thickening agent thought to cause inflammation and digestive issues, or artificial colors and flavors. And remember to opt for an unsweetened, unflavored version to cut extra sugar.

Related:

Oat milk is a plant milk derived from whole oat (Avena spp.) grains[1] by extracting the plant material with water.[2] Oat milk has a creamy texture and mild oatmeal-like flavor,[3] and is manufactured in various flavors, such as sweetened, unsweetened, vanilla, and chocolate.

Unlike other plant milks having origins as early as the 13th century,[4] oat milk was developed in the 1990s by the Swedish scientist Rickard Öste.[5][6] Over 2017–2019, oat milk sales in the United States increased 10 fold,[3] and one major manufacturer, Oatly, reported a three-fold increase in worldwide sales.[7] As of late 2020, the oat milk market became second-largest among plant milks in the United States, following the leader, almond milk, but exceeding the sales of soy milk.[8][9]

By 2020, oat milk products included coffee creamer, yogurt alternatives, ice cream, and chocolate.[7][9][10] Oat milk may be consumed to replace dairy in vegan diets, or in cases of medical conditions where dairy is incompatible, such as lactose intolerance or an allergy to cow milk.[5][11] Compared to milk and other plant-based beverages, oat milk has relatively low environmental impact due to its comparatively low land and water needs for production.[12][11][13]

Soy milk and almond milk predate all other alternative milks, including oat milk, both as cultural and commercial products.[4] Since the early 20th century, soy milk made its way from Asia to European and American grocery stores, initially as a dairy substitute due to lactose intolerance.[2] The increase in consumption of soy milk since its global distribution created a large market for plant-based beverages like oat milk.[1] The first recorded instance of an oat-based plant beverage was in the early 1990s, when Rickard Öste developed oat milk.[5][6] Öste was working as a food scientist at Lund University in Lund, Sweden, researching lactose intolerance and sustainable food systems, when he invented the drink.[5][6] Soon after, Öste founded Oatly, the first commercial manufacturer of oat milk.[5]

The pioneer in commercial oat milk, Oatly, had its products in 7,000 coffee shops and grocery stores, as of 2019,[7] but was not the only prominent oat milk producer.[5][14] Oat milk can be found under brand names Oatly (Sweden), Pureharvest (Australia), Alpro (UK), Bioavena (Italy), Simpli (Finland), Vitasoy (Hong Kong), and Pacific (USA), among others.[15] In 2018, global sales of plant milks, including oat milk, were US$1.6 billion, with a forecast of $41 billion by 2025.[3]

In 2018, there were numerous oat milk shortages from unprecedented demand in Europe and North America, highlighting the strong consumer demand for this product.[3][16] To meet the American demand, Oatly opened a new factory in New Jersey in April 2019, producing 750,000 US gallons (2,800,000 l; 620,000 imp gal) per month of oat milk base, and announced plans for a Utah-based factory three times larger to open in early 2020.[7] In 2019, retail sales of oat milk in the United States were $29 million, up from $4.4 million in 2017.[7] During 2020, oat milk sales in the United States increased to $213 million, becoming the second most consumed plant milk after almond milk ($1.5 billion in 2020 sales).[8]

Oat milk ice cream, yogurt-like products, and coffee creamers, were common in 2019,[7] with expanded uses in coffee shops, such as Starbucks,[3][10] and growth into new markets, such as China.[17] Growth in the oat milk market is partly attributed to its relatively low environmental impact, low land and water needs, and rising vegan dietary practices in developed countries.[3][7][11]

From 2019 to 2020 in the United States, oat milk sales increased 303% to US$213 million, with refrigerated oat milk having nearly ten times the sales of shelf-stable oat milk.[8] Consumer analysis of the growth in oat milk consumption indicates its market growth derives from the dairy-like taste, health perception, and environmental sustainability, which contrasts with the high water demand of growing almonds.[9][11][13] Oat milk foams and mixes in other beverages, like coffee, in ways similar to milk.[9] Over 2020-21, oat milk sales increased 151%, with it becoming the second-most consumed plant milk after almond milk.[18] On 20 May 2021, Oatly – the world's largest oat milk manufacturer – became a publicly traded company on the NASDAQ exchange, having a market value of US$13 billion on that day.[19]

The production of oat milk is similar to that of most other plant milks.[2] Unprocessed cereal grains, like oats, are indigestible due to their hard, outer hull; processing is also necessary to change the dry grains into a liquid.[7][20][a]

The procedure starts by measuring and milling the oat grains to break apart their outer hull. Then the grains are stirred in warm water and ground into a slurry.[5][7] The slurry is treated with enzymes and heat to create a thick liquid oat base.[7]

Soaking and subsequently extracting nutrients from the oats have the most direct implications on the final milk product. Increasing the yield in this step may be assisted by chemical catalysts, enzymes, or an increase in temperature, all in order to remove nutrient molecules from the solid byproduct and incorporate them into the liquid.[2] Chemical catalysts increase the pH of the mixture, enzymatic catalysts induce partial hydrolysis of proteins and polysaccharides, and higher temperatures increase reaction rates.[2] Separating the liquid from the solid byproduct is a simple step achieved through decanting, filtration, and spinning in a centrifuge.[2]

Once the liquid product is separated, adding other ingredients, such as fortifying vitamins and minerals, or sweeteners, flavorings, salts, oils, and similar ingredients, forms the final product.[2][b] Since unfortified oat milk is lower in calcium, iron, and vitamin A than milk, these nutrients must be added in order for the end product to be a nutritional substitute of milk.[2] Homogenization and heat-treatments such as pasteurization or ultra-high temperature (UHT) treatments are used to extend the product's shelf life.[2]

Oat milk, like most plant-based milks, is made of disintegrated and hydrolyzed plant materials, resulting in non-uniform particle sizes in comparison to bovine milk.[21] Decreasing particle size and narrowing the distribution through physical processing like homogenization, and using stabilizers, such as hydrocolloids in combination with other emulsifiers, are common ways to improve product quality.[2][21][22]

Another problem posed by the natural composition of oats is their high starch content. The starch content (50–60%) is challenging during ultra-high temperature treatments because of the relatively low gelatinization temperature of starch.[1][15] To overcome this, producers use an enzymatic hydrolysis of starch by alpha- and beta-amylase, which break down the starch into smaller polysaccharides without the previous gelatinization behavior.[1][15]

Fortifying oat milk with essential micronutrients may include vitamin D, vitamin A, vitamin B12, riboflavin, and calcium.[23]

Since around 2015, interest for plant-based foods, in combination with concerns for animal welfare and low environmental impact, propelled consumption of oat milk.[3][7][10][11] Compared to milk and other plant-based milks, the oat milk manufacturing process produces small amounts of carbon dioxide and no methane (low greenhouse gas emissions), and requires relatively low use of water and land.[11] Oat milk production requires 1/15th the amount of water of milk production and 1/8th the water of almond milk.[11]

Non-human milks are fortified

In comparison to cow's milk, oat milk is similar in total calories per liquid volume (per cup serving, 120 vs 149 calories for cow's milk), has 40% the protein content, 63% of the fat, but only about 10% of the saturated fat content, and about 1.5 times the total carbohydrate (although simple sugars are half that of cow's milk). Cow's milk has no fiber, but oat milk has 2 g dietary fiber per serving. Calcium and potassium contents are comparable, although oat milk – as for all plant-based milks – may be fortified with specific nutrients during manufacturing.[23] It has a glycemic index of 60; cow's milk is 47.[29]

Oat milk is used as a substitute for milk in custom coffee preparation,[3][7][10] and in fermented products similar to yogurt and kefir.[10][30][31] Baristas claim that oat milk needs less steam than cow milk, froths favorably, is tasteful, rich, and creamy like cow milk, and effectively balances the acidity of espresso coffee.[3][5][10][23][32] It has growing applications in coffee preparation at major coffee shops.[10]

"Almost all non-dairy beverages may be 'hot' right now because of the interest in plant-based diets," says Keri Gans, M.S., R.D.N., C.L.T., author of The Small Change Diet. Oat milk is particularly accessible, as it's cheaper to make than nut milk and may be more environmentally friendly, explains registered dietitian Kelly R. Jones M.S., L.D.N. But what is oat milk exactly? And is oat milk good for you? Keep reading for those answers and more about this dairy-free beverage.

Oat milk consists of steel-cut oats or whole groats that are soaked in water, blended, and then strained with a cheesecloth or a special nut milk bag. "While the leftover oat pulp has the bulk of the fiber and most of the protein in the oats, the liquid or 'milk' that results does have some of the nutrients in oats," says Jones.

"Because oats absorb water more easily than nuts, when blended well enough, more of the food itself winds up passing through the cheesecloth, giving a creamier texture than nut milk without added ingredients," adds Jones. (Fan of oats? Then you've got to try these high-protein oatmeal recipes for breakfast, stat.)

Is oat milk healthy, though? Here's how oat milk's nutrition measures up to other varieties of dairy and plant-based milk: A one-cup serving of oat milk — for example, Oatly Oat Milk (Buy It, $5, amazon.com) — provides about:

Plus, "oat milk contains 35 percent of the recommended daily allowance (RDA) for calcium, and 25 percent for vitamin D. Compared to cow's milk and soy milk, it has less protein; however, compared to other plant-based beverages, i.e. almond, cashew, coconut, and rice, it has more protein," explains Gans.

Oat milk has less sugar than cow's milk (12.5 grams per cup), but more than unsweetened nut milks such as unsweetened almond milk or cashew milk, which only have 1–2 grams of sugar per cup.

Plus, oat milk is the clear winner when it comes to fiber. "Cow's milk has 0 grams fiber, almond and soy have 1 gram of fiber per serving — so oat milk with 2 grams of fiber is the highest," adds Gans. Oats contain a type of soluble fiber known as beta-glucan, which can help lower your blood levels of LDL cholesterol and, in turn, reduce your risk of heart disease, according to a 2018 review. Research has also found that beta-glucan can help slow digestion and increase satiety.

"Oats also contain the B vitamins thiamine and folate; the minerals magnesium, manganese, phosphorus, zinc, and copper; as well as a variety of other vitamins and minerals in trace amounts," says Jones. Oat milk does tend to be higher in carbohydrates, but that's fine since it's providing energy through these carbs and fiber as opposed to fat, which can typically be the case with most nut milks, she explains.

Of course, oat milk is also a good choice for anyone who's allergic or intolerant to dairy and/or nuts, according to Jones. Oat milk tends to be safe even for people who have a gluten intolerance — but, to be sure, you must read the labels. "If you have a gluten sensitivity or celiac disease, you'll want to be sure it was made with certified gluten-free oats. While oats are gluten-free in nature, they're often processed on the same equipment as gluten-containing grains, which contaminates the oats with gluten enough to cause a reaction in those with celiac or a serious intolerance," explains Gans.

What is oat milk? Oat milk is a nondairy, lactose-free and vegan-friendly alternative to cow's milk. It's made from oats that have been soaked in water, blended and then strained. The milk that results can be consumed as is or you can add natural sweeteners such as vanilla, dates or cinnamon for extra flavor.

Description Oat milk is a plant milk derived from whole oat grains by extracting the plant material with water. Oat milk has a creamy texture and mild oatmeal-like flavor, and is manufactured in various flavors, such as sweetened, unsweetened, vanilla, and chocolate. Wikipedia