Homemade milks are a beautiful thing. They are fresh and light in a way that no store-bought milk can be, no matter how good the quality of a brand may be. Your own milk also will not contain unnecessary ingredients. The best part is, they’re not difficult to make.

The latest thing right now is oat milk, and it’s probably the easiest of all homemade milks to make. You just dump all the ingredients in a blender and go. If you have a Vitamix, or other high-powered blender, now’s a great time to use it!

Oat milk tends to be a little flat in its purest form, so many people add a sweetener to it. I chose to add honey, but you can add whatever you like, or omit it altogether. I also chose to add a pinch of salt to enhance the flavor of the milk.

If you have a nut milk bag, you can use that instead of cheesecloth. You may choose to not strain the milk at all, and that’s perfectly fine. It will just be thicker and have bits of oats in it, which may even be exactly what you want.

Homemade Oat Milk

Makes approximately 2¾ cups.

1 cup organic old-fashioned rolled oats
3 cups filtered or purified water
1½ teaspoons almond or vanilla extract
1 teaspoon honey
Pinch sea salt

Line a fine sieve with cheesecloth and place it over a bowl. Set it aside.Place all the ingredients in a blender. Blend on high until the liquid is smooth. This should take a couple of minutes.Pour the oat milk into the cheesecloth and stir it around with a spoon, forcing it through the sieve. When the liquid has gone down, collect the cheesecloth together and squeeze it with your hand to extract as much liquid as possible.Pour in a glass jar and seal tightly. Keep refrigerated Do not try to heat this up—it will curdle. This should last 2 to 3 days. Use it with cereal, in a smoothie, or in anything you would use other nondairy milks in.