Name: Spiced Oat Milk Latte
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 15 min
Ingredients: 1 ½ cups oat milk; 2 cinnamon sticks, (broken in half); 6 cardamom pods, (smashed); 10 whole cloves, (smashed); 1 inch piece ginger, (halved); 1/16 teaspoon salt; ½ cup freshly brewed hot espresso coffee; Ground cinnamon for serving ((optional))

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How to make a vegan and dairy-free Oat Milk Latte spiced with cinnamon and warming winter spices.

Oat Milk Latte in white mug with blue napkin and spices.

There's just nothing better than a warm latte on a cold morning. Sipping on one easily makes my top five simple-joys-of-life list.

I'll take a latte with any type of milk. Cow's, soy, coconut, almond, or cashew. As long as there are freshly brewed beans and warm, frothed milk, I'm content.

If I have my pick of milk varieties, though, I'm going with oat.

Oat milk is my favorite because it has a delicious, creamy texture and a neutral flavor. It works well in lattes of all types. Oat milk is also an environmentally friendly option, which is another bonus.

To celebrate oat milk in all of its glory, and to bump up the coziness factor of this latte, SPICES.

Cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, and gingerroot. Warm flavors that play off of the espresso and oat milk to create a comforting morning beverage that's ideal for cool winter mornings.

Cinnamon Latte in white mugs with blue napkin.

Instructions

First, heat up the oat milk with whole spices and brew the espresso.

Pour the oat milk into a small saucepan. Use your hands to break the cinnamon sticks in half and add them to the pot. Use a rolling pin to smash the cardamom pods and whole cloves and add those, too. Give it a stir and cook on low-medium heat for about 10 minutes.

In the meantime, brew the espresso or dark coffee.

Next, strain oat milk through a fine-mesh strainer and froth.

Once the oat milk is warm and just starting to bubble, remove the saucepan from the heat.

Place a small, fine-mesh strainer over a liquid measuring cup (as pictured). Then, pour the oat milk through the strainer to separate the spices.

Straining whole spices from oat milk with a fine mess strainer.

Remove the strainer and vigorously whisk the milk until it's frothy and has bubbles. If you have an automatic milk frother, feel free to use it here instead of frothing by hand.

Pour the hot brewed espresso into the mug first. Then, pour in the warm, frothed milk.

Finally, dust with ground cinnamon. Use as much or as little as you want. To create the swirl design in the photos, I gently stirred the cinnamon into the latte at the end.

Dairy-free spiced oat milk latte on wood tray.

Can you make a latte without an espresso machine?

I use a stovetop espresso maker for this recipe. If you don't have espresso beans, you can also use regular brewed coffee. Just brew it like normal, but on the stronger side.

Is this recipe vegan, dairy-free, and gluten-free?

The recipe itself is vegan, dairy-free, and gluten-free. For gluten-free, just be sure to check the package or use certified gluten-free oats if you're making your own oat milk.

How do you make oat milk from scratch?

You can make oat milk at home much like you'd make almond or other types of nut milk.

First, rinse the oats, then add them to the blender container with water, and blend. Before chilling, strain the milk through cheesecloth or a nut milk bag.

Want to give it a try? Omit the strawberries from this Homemade Oat Milk recipe.

Cinnamon latte in white mug on wood tray with spices.

Can you substitute a different type of milk?

You can use any type of milk for this recipe. Feel free to substitute with cow's, soy, almond, coconut, or cashew milk.

How to Make a No-Added-Sugar Latte

It depends on the type of milk you use. The recipe itself does not have any added sugars.

If you prefer your lattes to be sweeter, add a little sugar when you mix the spices with the milk. You could also use maple syrup if preferred.

Scaling the Recipe

As written, the recipe makes one 16-ounce latte. Adjust the quantities as needed to make more. Just note it'll take longer to heat larger quantities of milk, so the cooking time will increase alongside the total number of servings.