Is it Cheaper to make or buy Oat Milk?
Oat Milk is a very popular alternative to dairy milk because of allergies and if you are trying to lower blood cholesterol levels. Oat Milk is also very popular among those following a vegan or vegetarian diet.
Due to the rise in Oat Milk being trendy, the prices at the stores have been going up as well. So, this made me wonder if it was cheaper to make Oat Milk at home or to buy it at the grocery store. Let’s find out!
How much does it cost to make homemade oat milk?
Thankfully making your own Oat Milk is not very difficult. All you really need a high-powered blender or food processor and something to strain with like cheesecloth.
The ingredients needed are fairly inexpensive, so really the biggest cost is your time. From start to finish, it will probably take you less an hour to make your own Oat Milk.
For this recipe cost breakdown, I am using the simple recipe by Downshiftology, click here for full recipe.
| Homemade Oat Milk Ingredients | Cost |
| 1 cup rolled oats | $0.26 |
| 4 cups ice water | $0.00 |
| pinch of salt | $0.00 |
| Optional: 1 tsp vanilla extract | $0.43 |
| Optional: 1-2 tbsp Maple Syrup | $0.66 |
| Total Cost for Oat Milk: $1.35 (Recipe makes approx. 2.5cups) | Cost per Oz: 6.75 cents |
The total cost to make homemade Oat Milk is about $1.35 or 6.75 cents per ounce.
All prices listed are based on my local Walmart, so where you are and where you shop, may make this cost a little different.
Now we can take this recipe a little further and make it cheaper. Instead of using “pure” vanilla extract, we can use imitation or a blend and save some money.
Instead of using “maple syrup” we can use pancake syrup and bring this cost down as well.
If we used a vanilla extract blend and pancake syrup, our total cost would be $0.37 a batch and a cost per ounce of 1.8 cents.
How much does oat milk cost at grocery store?
Now let’s head over to a couple of grocery stores, to find out how much Oat Milk costs on average.
| Brand & Size | Store & Price | Cost per Ounce |
| Oatly Oatmilk , 64oz | Ralph’s, $6.29 | 9.8 cents |
| Planet Oat, 52oz | Sprout’s, $4.79 | 9.2 cents |
| Silk Original, 64oz | Vons, $6.39 | 9.9 cents |
| Chobani Oat, 32oz | Aldi, $4.39 | 13.7 cents |
| Califia Farms, 48oz | Albertsons, $6.89 | 14.3 cents |
| Great Value, 59oz | Walmart, $3.78 | 6.4 cents |
| Silk 3 pack (3x64oz=192oz) | Costco, $12.43 | 6.4 cents |
| Ripple Oatmilk + Protein, 48oz | Grocery Outlet, $2.29 | 4.7 cents |
| Simple Truth, 64oz | Food 4 Less, $3.99 | 6.2 cents |
| Pacific Foods Organic, 32oz | Sprouts, $3.49 | 10.9 cents |
| Oatsome, 33.8oz | Rite-Aid, $2.99 | 8.8 cents |
| Average Cost per Ounce: | 9.1 cents |
Buying oat milk at the grocery store had an average cost of 9.1 cents per ounce. This was significantly higher than the 6.75 per ounce of homemade Oat Milk.
Some brands did come in cheaper like Great Value at Walmart (6.4 cents), Silk at Costco (6.4 cents), Ripple at Grocery Outlet (4.7 cents), and Simple Truth at Food 4 Less.
Overall, it will come down to what brand you typically buy to determine if the homemade Oat Milk comes out cheaper.
Is it worth it to make your own oat milk?
Now that we know that homemade Oat Milk is cheaper to make with a cost of 6.75 cents per ounce, we need to find out if it is worth it.
There are two main parts of this answer: storage and leftover oatmeal.
1. Oat Milk Storage:
On average, homemade Oat Milk is good for a bout 5 days. The kind bought at the grocery store can be shelf stable or refrigerated. The shelf stable kind can last about a year, whereas the refrigerated kind lasts about 6 weeks.
So, the store-bought oat milk, will definitely last longer than homemade. If you use a lot of oat milk and have the time to make it every few days, then it can definitely be worth it to you.
2. Leftover Oatmeal:
When you make Oat Milk at home, you drain the “milk” away from the oatmeal and are left with a wet oatmeal mush. I am not a huge fan of waste, so I would use these leftover oats in baking.
Unfortunately, if you drink oat milk regularly you will end up with a lot of leftover oatmeal mush. I feel like this will end up being a fairly large amount of food waste that gets thrown out.
Even if you could get over the short storage time and the possible food waste that comes with making homemade Oat Milk, you will then have to deal with possible texture issues.
Some people noted that their homemade Oat Milk had a slimy texture that they could not get over. Others have said that they use digestive enzymes to help combat the slimy texture, but that will just add to the cost.
Even though making the Oat Milk with pancake syrup and imitation vanilla lowered the cost, I feel like it also lowered that quality of the milk. Basically, adding more processed sugar and additives to a pretty healthy drink.
Personally, I feel that if I just wanted a little oat milk, I would probably use up some rolled oats at home. If I was to regularly drink oat milk and did not have a lot of time, then it would be worth it to buy it at the grocery store.
For more cost breakdowns of buying vs making, check out “Is it cheaper to make or buy Cream of Chicken Soup?” and “Is it Cheaper to Make or Buy Chocolate Milk?“
