Homemade condensed oat milk is so easy and more affordable than specialty products! All you need are 3 ingredients and 15 minutes. It's sweet, thick, rich, and perfect for sweetening coffee, tea, milkshakes, and creamy cocktails. It's also great for vegan and dairy-free baking.
Drizzle condensed oat milk on cake, scones, biscotti, and more. It's gluten-free, contains no gums, and can be made with or without oil.
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This condensed oat milk recipe is the happy result of some recent kitchen experiments. While figuring out a way to make vegan key lime pie without coconut milk or commercial vegan condensed milks, it occurred to me to take advantage of the extra creamy nature of oat milk.
Truth be told, oats are OFTEN the secret ingredient I turn to during recipe creation. It's sort of my thing.
From blending oats into ice cream, to using it as an egg replacer in pecan pie, oats and oat milk can do so many surprising things.
As far as I know, Nature's Charm condensed oat milk is the only brand of commercially available oat condensed milk. There are also a few brands of vegan condensed milk that are made from coconut milk.
But those specialty products are pricey and not always easy to find. So it's nice to have options! Plus, this homemade condensed oat milk is a fat-free option. How wild is that?
And I think you'll be surprised by how easy it is to make.
Ingredient Notes
- rolled oats - to make oat milk look for regular old fashioned rolled oats. Choose certified gluten-free oats, if needed.
- sugar - in the U.S., selecting organic cane sugar is the easiest way to make sure your sugar is vegan and has not been processed with bone char.
- vanilla - adds sweet aroma and flavor
- water and a pinch of salt
See the recipe card below for quantities and full instructions.
How to Make Condensed Oat Milk
- Place oats in a strainer and rinse briefly under cold water. Combine the oats and cold water in a blender. Turn on the blender, and quickly increase to high speed. If using a high-speed blender like a Vitamix, blend for exactly 30 seconds. In a regular blender, you may need to blend longer, about 1 minute.
- Strain through a nut milk bag. I like to use two bags, one inside the other. Otherwise, strain once, rinse out the bag, and strain again.
- In a medium-large saucepan, whisk together the oat milk and sugar. Turn on the burner to medium heat, and slowly heat the mixture while whisking frequently.
- Once it's steamy and hot, slightly thickened, and just about to bubble, reduce the heat to low and cook for another 3 minutes (but not longer). It should look glossy and thickened but still somewhat thin. Turn off the heat, and whisk in the vanilla and salt. Set aside to cool.
Tip! It's important to NOT cook the oat milk too long. If over-cooked it will be very thick (almost gelatinous) once chilled.
Equipment Notes
- blender - any full size blender should work
- nut milk bag(s) - I use basic nylon nut milk bags; to strain oat milk I like to place one bag inside another for double filtering.
- medium-large saucepan
- whisk and silicone spatula - these are very helpful while heating the oat milk
Ways to Use Condensed Oat Milk
- Stir it into hot or iced coffee and tea.
- Make creamy non-dairy cocktails.
- Add a spoonful to smoothies and vegan milkshakes.
- Drizzle it on muffins, fresh fruit, cake, and cupcakes.
- Incorporate into creamy pie fillings like this vegan key lime pie.
- And use it in your favorite baked goods like brownies and blondies!
FAQs
Commercial oat milk is produced in a way that breaks down the starches into sugars. Because of this process, store-bought milks (and even this homemade oat milk), don't thicken when heated. See the photos above for a comparison. To use commercial oat milk for this recipe, you'll need to add a teaspoon of arrowroot or corn starch per cup of oat milk, and simmer it longer, until creamy and reduced.
Maple syrup may be used instead of cane sugar, similar to this cashew condensed milk recipe. However, I'm not sure if non-caloric sugar substitutes will create similar results.
Unfortunately, that's impossible to know or test. It will likely depend on the purpose condensed milk serves in the recipe. But I do think it will work in most cases.
I hope you enjoy this dairy-free condensed oat milk. If you try the recipe I would love to hear from you! Comment below and let us know how you like to use it.
More Oat Milk Recipes
📖 Recipe
Sweetened Condensed Oat Milk
Ingredients
- ½ cup rolled oats - see Note 1
- 2 cups ice cold water
- ½ cup organic cane sugar - see Note 2
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract - real or clear/imitation vanilla
- pinch of salt
Optional addition:
- 1 to 2 tablespoons vegan butter, optional - for a richer flavor and mouthfeel
Instructions
- Place oats in a strainer and rinse briefly under cold water. Combine the oats and 2 cups cold water in a blender. Start on low speed and quickly increase to high. If using a high-speed blender like a Vitamix, blend for just 30 seconds. In a regular blender, you may need to blend longer, closer to 1 minute. Strain the oat milk twice. I like to use two nut milk bags, one inside the other, and strain it once through the double layer.
- In a medium-large saucepan, whisk together the oat milk and sugar. Turn on the burner to medium heat, and slowly heat the mixture while whisking frequently. It should take about 5 minutes for the milk to get steamy and hot. Reduce the heat as needed so it doesn't reach a full boil.
- Once the milk is hot, slightly thickened, and close to a simmer, reduce the heat to low and cook for another 2 ½ to 3 minutes (not longer). It should look glossy and thickened yet still somewhat thin. Turn off the heat, and whisk in the vanilla and salt. Set aside to cool.
- Option: if you prefer a richer condensed milk, whisk in the vegan butter now. (The batch in the photos did not include vegan butter.)
- Pour the condensed oat milk into a lidded jar or container, and store in the refrigerator for up to 6 days or freezer for up to 2 months.
Notes
Estimated Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition information is an estimate and will vary depending on the exact amounts and specific products and ingredients used. We calculate this information using the online calculator cronometer.com.
Eboni
Mine didn’t thicken up like the picture. I used store bought oat milk but followed the note and added 2 tsp of cornstarch. It’s still pretty runny even after cooking. Is there any way to thicken it up now?
Lori Rasmussen
Did you also include the sugar? What you can do now is add more starch and simmer it longer, actually letting it condense. It should thicken up.
Cristina
I made this because I wanted a pumpkin pie syrup for teas/coffees. On it's own, it tasted delicious and thickened up beautifully. I followed the recipe almost exactly as written. Two changes: 1) only used one mesh bag 2) used slightly less sugar (1/3 cup). While it was hot, I added some canned pureed pumpkin + pumpkin pie spice. 🙂 thanks for the recipe!
Bill
Is it possible to make unsweetened condensed milk?
Lori
Hi Bill,
Good question! Without the added sugar I worry the consistency won't be quite right. It might be better in that case to simply make a rich and creamy oat milk. And depending on how you plan to use it there are some other additions that can improve the consistency. I'm working on a homemade oat creamer now. Hope to share that soon. Maybe that recipe will be more what you're looking for.
susan
Is this recipe worth trying without a bag, and using a fine mesh strainer as a stand in?
Thank you
Susan in Bellingham 🙂
Lori
Hi Susan,
The strainer alone won't be enough to filter out all of the pulp. If you happen to have cheesecloth, you could try a double or triple layer of that inside the mesh strainer. I'm not sure how well even that would work, but could be worth experimenting until you're able to get bags.
pj brown
I'm excited to find this recipe as regular sweetened condensed milk is chokingly sweet. Is it okay to use turbinado/brown sugar?
Lori
Hey PJ, absolutely. Turbinado or a regular light/dark brown sugar will be delicious.