How to Make Plant-Based Milk: 2 Simple Recipes to Try
When you are starting out with a yogic diet, all of the new plant-based substitutions can seem overwhelming. Don’t panic – everyone has been there! Get a few easy recipes under your belt and it will soon all begin to fall into place.
Milk substitution is really easy and nutritious, and you can even make your own plant-based milk at home. These two plant-based milk recipes for oat milk and coconut milk take very little time, require minimal equipment and no fancy ingredients, and they are full of vitamins and nutrients.
Once you have the basics of plant-based milk down, you can start experimenting with more flavours, different consistencies, and including them in your own home cooking and baking.
Easy Oat Milk
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of oats
- Water
- Optional: a pinch of salt, a date, vanilla extract
Equipment:
- A sieve or nut bag
- A blender
- An airtight container
Directions:
- Soak the oats in a bowl of cold water for around ten minutes.
- Strain and then rinse the oats under cold running water thoroughly.
- Add the oats to a blender with approximately four cups of water and other optional ingredients for sweetness.
- Blend the mixture until smooth.
- Strain through a sieve or nut bag, and pour into your airtight container of choice.
Refrigerate for up to 3 to 4 days.
Pro Tip: Adjust the amount of water to get the consistency you prefer — you can experiment each time you make this milk. Be sure to shake your oat milk thoroughly before serving.
Simple Coconut Milk
Ingredients:
- 4 cups of unsweetened shredded coconut
- Water
- 1 ½ teaspoons of agave nectar
- Optional: pinch of salt, vanilla extract
Equipment:
- Blender
- Mixing bowl
- Nut bag or cheesecloth
- Colander
- Airtight container
Directions:
- Start by boiling four cups of water.
- Carefully add the boiled water to the shredded coconut in a blender.
- Blend for around five minutes, until the mixture is smooth but very thick.
- Set up your colander in a mixing bowl, lined with layers of cheesecloth or the nut bag.
- Pour the blended coconut into the cheesecloth and allow to strain.
- Once this is cool enough to handle, gather the cloth and squeeze to remove as much liquid as possible.
- Boil a further two cups of water.
- Put the coconut from the cheesecloth back into the blender with the two cups of boiled water.
- Blend for another five minutes, then repeating the process with the colander and cheesecloth or nut bag.
- Mix the two lots of milk in the mixing bowl.
- At this point, taste the milk. Add your sweetener, and vanilla or salt if desired, and stir thoroughly.
- Allow to cool before decanting into your airtight container and refrigerating for up to 3 to 4 days.
Pro Tip: Dry the remaining coconut pulp at room temperature for 24 hours before blending thoroughly to create a gluten-free coconut flour!
Find More Plant-Based Recipes!
Now you have two easy plant-based milk at your fingertips, why not branch out and try some other recipes? We have a few simple and delicious plant-based recipes to get you started, so give them a go and continue your plant-based journey!
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