You wouldn’t know it from the plethora of steel-cut oatmeal recipes I have on the blog (one), but steel-cut oats are actually my favourite way to enjoy oatmeal.
The only problem is I’m usually too hungry to wait 30 minutes to eat breakfast. Hence, my obsession with quick breakfasts like Vegan overnight oats, Green Monsters, and rolled oatmeal.
Oats in review:
Instant Oats have been cooked, dried and rolled and are the most processed way to eat oats. Instant oats are very thin and need only hot liquid to soften. They are ready in about 60 seconds. While they are the most convenient (although some might argue that overnight oats are the most convenient!), they often have a lot of added salt, sugar, and other strange ingredients.
Quick-cooking oats are simply rolled oats that have been cut into smaller pieces. They cook in about 3-4 minutes.
Rolled oats are also known as Old-Fashioned Oats. They have been steamed, pressed with a roller, and dried. Cooking time is between 5-10 minutes. These are the oats that I use in my oatmeal recipes and in some baking recipes.
Steel-cut oats are also known as pinhead oats (pinhead…ha), coarse-cut oats, Irish oats, or Scotch oats. They are oat groats (the inner portion of the oat kernel) that have been cut into 2-3 pieces rather than being steamed and rolled. Steel-cut oats are coarse in texture and remain chewy even after cooking and re-heating. They generally take about 20-25 minutes to cook, although there is a quick-cook overnight method too.
Because steel-cut oats retain their chewy texture after cooking (while rolled oats tend to get mushy), they are the perfect breakfast cereal to make ahead of time and quickly reheat in the morning.
Many of you said you like to make a big batch of steel-cut oats and then enjoy it all week long for quick and easy breakfasts. Once I wrapped my head around actually making the oatmeal at night (I tend to forget!), it occurred to me how much time it can save in the morning. And steel-cut oats reheat very, very well. I actually think that my make-ahead batch tasted better the next morning after the flavours developed a bit more.
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Make-Ahead Steel Cut Oatmeal
With a little forethought at night or on the weekend, you can make steel-cut oats for 4 breakfasts (or more if you need!). I made this batch with mashed banana for a natural sweetener (it also does a great job of adding volume), but you can add any sweetener/fruit you prefer if you aren’t into bananas.
Yield: 4 servings or 3.5-4 cups
Ingredients:
- 2 cups water
- 2 cups almond milk (or other non-dairy milk)
- 1 cup uncooked steel-cut oats
- 2 large bananas, mashed (1 cup mashed)
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- Pinch of salt
- 1 tbsp ground flax + 1 tbsp chia seeds (or seeds of choice)
- 2-3 tsp vanilla extract
1. In a medium-sized pot, bring the water and almond milk to a boil. Add in steel-cut oats and a pinch of salt and reduce heat to low.
2. Stir in the mashed banana (mashing it helps disperse the sweetness throughout), ground flax, and chia seeds. Simmer on low, uncovered, for 20-25 minutes, stirring every 5 mins or so.
3. When the oats are creamy and tender, remove from heat and stir in cinnamon to taste and pure vanilla extract. Serve immediately or allow to cool before transferring into air tight containers in the fridge. In the morning, add a splash of milk and reheat in the micro or on the stove-top.
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I was feeling inspired after my post on my 5 favourite oatmeal recipes, so I put on my creative oatmeal thinking cap and went to town!
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Berry Almond Bliss Steel-Cut Oatmeal
Cherries, blueberries, and blackberries combine with a lovely cinnamon spiced almond butter sauce. I like to keep a bag of mixed frozen berries on hand for oatmeal and Green Monsters throughout the Fall and Winter. This bag of frozen berries I picked up is by President’s Choice. Place the berries on top if you don’t want them to bleed and turn your oatmeal purple.
Yield: 1 serving
Ingredients:
- 1 serving make-ahead steel-cut oats (see above), approx. 3/4-1 cup cooked
- 1/2 cup mixed berries (I thawed frozen cherries, blueberries, and blackberries from President’s Choice)
- 1 tbsp chopped almonds, toasted if preferred
- Cinnamon Almond Butter Sauce (whisk together: 1 tbsp almond butter, 1 tbsp almond milk, 1 tsp maple syrup, & 1/4 tsp cinnamon)
- Sprinkle of Sucanat, brown sugar, or maple syrup, to taste
1. Reheat steel-cut oats with a splash of milk either in the micro or the stove-top.
2. Add mixed berries and chopped almonds on top.
3. In a small bowl or mug, whisk together the almond butter sauce. Drizzle over top and sprinkle with sweetener.
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Cinnamon Peanut Butter Swirl Steel-Cut Oatmeal
Inspired by one of my favourite pancake recipes- cinnamon peanut butter swirl pancakes! The applesauce mixed with the peanut butter gives you much more volume and it adds a bit of sweetness too. Plus, who doesn’t want to eat something swirly? I rest my case.
Yield: 1 serving
Ingredients:
- 1 serving make-ahead steel-cut oats (see above), approx. 3/4-1 cup cooked
- 1 tbsp roasted peanuts
- Cinnamon Peanut Butter Swirl (whisk together: 1 tbsp peanut butter, 2 tbsp applesauce, & 1/4 tsp cinnamon)
- garnish with cinnamon
1. Reheat steel-cut oats with a splash of milk either in the micro or the stove-top.
2. Stir in roasted peanuts.
3. In a small bowl or mug, whisk together the cinnamon PB swirl sauce. For swirl: Add mixture into a baggie and cut the very end of the corner out. Now, “pipe” the sauce around in a swirl. Garnish with cinnamon.
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Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Glazed Steel-Cut Oatmeal
Cashew butter, almond milk, and maple syrup combine to make a delicious & decadent cookie dough flavoured glaze to pour on top of your oatmeal. This bowl is inspired by my cookie dough glazed doughnuts.
Yield: 1 serving
Ingredients:
- 1 serving make-ahead steel-cut oats (see above), approx. 3/4-1 cup cooked
- 1-2 tbsp cacao nibs (or sub nuts)
- 1 tbsp dark chocolate chips
- Cookie dough glaze (whisk together: 1 tbsp cashew butter, 2 tbsp almond milk, 1 tsp maple syrup)
1. Reheat steel-cut oats with a splash of milk either in the micro or the stove-top. Stir in 1 tsp cacao nibs if desired.
2. In a small bowl or mug, whisk together the cookie dough glaze. Stir in 1/2 tsp chopped chocolate chips into the glaze if desired.
3. Spoon glaze on top of oats. Garnish with chopped chocolate chips and cacao nibs (or nuts).
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Fall Spice Steel-Cut Oatmeal
All the flavours of Fall in one bowl of oatmeal. This was the first time I’ve ever had a fresh prune and I absolutely loved them!
Yield: 1 serving
Ingredients:
- 1 serving make-ahead steel-cut oats (see above), approx. 3/4-1 cup cooked
- spices: 1/4 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ginger, pinch nutmeg
- 2 fresh prune pums (or dried), pitted and chopped
- 2 tbsp currants
- 1/2 tbsp walnuts
- 1 tsp pure maple syrup & cinnamon, or other sweetener to garnish
1. Reheat steel-cut oats with a splash of milk either in the micro or the stove-top. Stir in spices and 1 tbsp currants.
2. Add chopped prunes, nuts, and remaining currants on top.
3. Drizzle on sweetener to taste and sprinkle with cinnamon.
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You are all cordially invited for a steel-cut oatmeal party.
Just don’t be alarmed when you see the bomb that went off in my kitchen…
