How to Make the Best Oatmeal
The trick to making the best oatmeal? Toast it in the pot first. This oatmeal recipe is flavorful, fluffy and truly delicious! Learn how here.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 29, 2024
What if I told you thereโs a better way to make oatmeal? Forget the instructions on the back of the bag. Itโs about time I highlighted my go-to method for homemade oatmeal.
This oatmeal is extra flavorful and fluffy, not mushy. Itโs miles better than packets of instant oatmeal or standard stovetop oatmeal. I really look forward to these oats in the morning, and they make great leftovers.
The trick is to toast old-fashioned oats in the pot first, before adding any liquid. This brings out their inherent nuttiness. Youโll find the rest of the details below, but itโs very simple to do and absolutely worth the extra few minutes.
Youโve heard me talk about what a difference toasting oats makes in my steel-cut oat recipe and toasted muesli recipe. Now weโre applying the same principle to rolled oats. Try this delicious and healthy oatmeal for breakfast!
How to Make Oatmeal
This basic oatmeal recipe yields extraordinary results. Itโs quick, too!
Youโll find the full recipe below, but hereโs the gist:
- Melt butter or coconut oil in a saucepan. Technically, you can toast the oats in a dry skillet, but a little butter or coconut oil makes the final result taste even nicer.
- Add old-fashioned oats and cook, while stirring, until they smell wonderfully toasty. Old-fashioned oats, otherwise known as rolled oats, are key here. Quick-cooking oats turn to mush, and steel-cut oats require much longer on the stove.
- Pour in milk and water, plus some cinnamon and salt. Use your milk of choice (non-dairy milks work just as well), or replace it with an equal amount of water for simplicityโs sake. The cinnamon is optional but adds complementary flavor. Salt simply enhances all of the other flavorsโoatmeal without salt will taste bland, and oatmeal neednโt be bland.
- Stir and cook for several minutes, then turn off the heat (yes, turn off the heat!), cover, and let the mixture rest for 7 minutes. During that time, it will magically transform into the best oatmeal youโve ever had!
Watch How to Make Oatmeal
Favorite Oatmeal Toppings
- Fruit: Sliced ripe banana, fresh or defrosted berries (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries), or fresh pomegranate
- Chia jam or fruit compote
- Applesauce
- Drizzle of maple syrup or honey
- Pat of butter or drizzle of heavy cream
- Sprinkle of whole chia seeds, flax seeds or ground flaxseed
- Pinch of warming spices, such as extra cinnamon, ground ginger or pumpkin spice
- Greek yogurt
- Nut butter, such as peanut butter, almond butter or pecan butter
To feel full longer, add a generous dollop of nut butter or Greek yogurt to your oatmeal. They both offer some delicious creaminess in addition to healthy protein and fat.
Oatmeal Benefits
Old-fashioned oats are a heart-healthy whole grain offering a variety of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. According to my nutrition breakdown, which you can view in full underneath the recipe, one serving of this oatmeal offers a good source of potassium, phosphorus, magnesium and thiamin (vitamin B1).
Oats also contain beta-glucan, a type of soluble fiber that offers a range of benefits. Beta-glucan fiber is known to reduce LDL and total cholesterol levels, encourage the growth of good bacteria in the digestive tract, and reduce blood sugar and insulin response. Beta-glucan is why you feel so full after eating a bowl of oatmeal. Read more about the health benefits of oats here.
More Wholesome Oat Recipes to Try
If you enjoy this oatmeal, be sure to try these recipes throughout the seasons:
- Apple Steel-Cut Oatmeal
- Blueberry Baked Oatmeal
- Muesli
- Homemade Bircher Muesli
- Overnight Oats (Recipe & Tips)
Please let me know how you like this oatmeal in the comments. I love hearing from you.
How to Make the Best Oatmeal
The trick to making the best oatmeal? Toast it in the pot first. This oatmeal is flavorful, fluffy and truly delicious! Recipe yields 4 bowls of oatmeal and leftovers keep well for about 4 days.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter or coconut oil
- 2 cups old-fashionedย rolled oats
- 1 ยฝ cups water
- ยฝ cup milk of choice or additional water
- Generous pinch of fine salt
- Pinch of ground cinnamon (optional)
Instructions
- Melt the butter in a medium-to-large saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, add the oats and stir to coat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the oats smell toasty and some are starting to turn lightly golden, about 4 to 6 minutes.
- Pour the water and milk into the pot, being careful to avoid splatters. Add the salt and cinnamon, if desired. Stir to evenly incorporate the oats, then watch the pot until the mixture is bubbling rapidly around the edges. Continue cooking until the bubbles expand a couple of inches toward the center of the pot, about 3 minutes in total.
- Cover the pot and turn off the heat. If using an electric cooktop, move the pot to a cool burner. If using a gas cooktop, leave it be. Either way, let the covered pot rest for 7 minutes.
- When the timerโs up, remove the lid to check on the oats. The oats are done when they appear slightly dry and separated on top, with very little moisture remaining at the bottom of the pot. If itโs still too wet, recover the pot and let it rest for 1 to 2 minutes more. Serve as desired.
- Leftover oatmeal will keep for about 4 days. Let the oats cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Megan Gordanโs cookbook, Whole-Grain Mornings, also featured in my recipe forย Toasted Oatmeal with Strawberry Chia Jam and Coconut Whipped Cream.
Change it up: This recipe is very flexible. You can reduce or omit the butter, if desired (just toast the oats in the dry pot). Use all water and no milk, if you prefer. Omit the cinnamon or play with your own spices, to taste. Pumpkin pie spice blend would be nice, or ground ginger.
Make it gluten free: Be sure to buy certified gluten-free oats.
Make it dairy free/vegan: Use coconut oil or vegan butter (or omit and toast the oats in a dry pot). Choose a dairy-free milk or use water instead.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionistโs advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Itโs not uncommon for my family to hear โoooh Cookie & Kate!โ excitedly coming from the kitchen when weโre looking for an impromptu recipe to tryโฆ. Always a winner, and this oatmeal recipe is no exception. 9yr old emphatically approves.
I love to hear that! Thank you for sharing, Michelle.
I like quick oats best. old fashioned rolled oats are too gummy. steel cut oats are like razor blades on your gums. quick oats are just right. I find the texture to be ideal.
It was ok for me, I wonโt make it again. I didnโt like the flavour or the texture.
Iโm sorry to hear you didnโt love this, Wendy. I appreciate your review.
Hi! I always enjoyed overnight oats but hadnโt found a warm oatmeal I liked, but here it is!
Question, Iโd like to use this for meal prep, whatโs the best way to reheat the oats so the texture doesnโt get weird?
You can reheat in a convection oven if you have one, microwave or even on the stove top.
Iโm so confused. You donโt put any sweetener in it at all?
Hi! You can when you serve it, if you prefer.
Iโm often in a rush in the morning. Can I toast a few batches of oatmeal ahead of time, and then continue the rest of the steps in the morning? Thanks!
I havenโt tried it, sorry! You can have this leftover. Although itโs best right away.
Oh, man these were good on this cold morning! Since I was just cooking for myself, I halved the recipe (planning to save half of that). Otherwise, I made this exactly as described. I did need a to turn the heat back up for a few minutes after the 7 minute โrestโ โ it was still quite soupy. (in hindsight, I probably shouldโve simmered them a little longer before covering).
I. Ate. The. Entire. Recipe. 500+ calories for breakfast, oooops! Such comforting, delicious oatmeal!
This is indeed the best oatmeal
Toasting absolutely eliminates the mush. Thanks I can enjoy regular oatmeal again
This recipe is now my go-to for oatmeal making. SO delicious!! Thank you for sharing! โฅ๏ธ
Hello Kate,
I have written to you before to thank you for some of your muffin recipes Iโve made and a few minor modifications I tried.
I want to thank you for your approach to making outstanding oatmeal โ steel cut and thick rolled oats. Roasting the oats before cooking is fantastic! And letting them sit after mostly baked gives the final product such delicious texture.
Iโm grateful that you share your recipes.
Kind of the opposite of overnight oats. Toasting them is a game-changer! Thanks, Kate!
The first time I made this recipe it came out PERFECT!! Nice toasted, not soggy and delicious. The next two times they are overly soggy despite letting sit another 3-5 minutes. What am I doing wrong that I previously did right?!?!?
Hi Courtney, Iโm sorry you had trouble. Did you measure your liquid accurately? Stir and cook for several minutes, then turn off the heat (yes, turn off the heat!), cover, and let the mixture rest for 7 minutes and you should get great results.
Oh geeโฆ..I had written before but didnโt see it posted so just re-commented again and THEN noticed your response to my last one! Apologies. I did measure accurately with a liquid measuring cup. I will stick with it, maybe use less liquid next time. Thanks!
I LOVE this recipe! The first time I made them, they came out perfect, exactly as pictured above in your recipe. Dry isnโt the wordโฆ..but toasted, not mushy and no excess liquid. Every time Iโve made them since, they just havenโt come out quite right. Not as โdryโ and more wet, despite letting it sit longer. They are still delicious from the pre toasting in butterโฆ.but what am I doing wrong???
Delicious! I add a heaping tablespoon of milk powder once the butter is melted and let it brown for a bit before adding the oats. The oats and the milk powder toast/brown together and then I add the water and milk mixture.
I also add some nutmeg and a tsp of vanilla bean paste.
Sadly this became the worst oatmeal Iโve had. Iโm not a oatmeal lover, in fact I only eat it because I have medical reasons to do so, so I might be biased against it, but the toasted flavor of the oatmeal made the meal very unpleasant, although the texture was indeed better, but really not a flavor for me.
Iโll resign myself to keep eating the mushy disgusting oatmeal for the foreseeable future.
Hi Lina, Iโm sorry it didnโt work for you! Have you tried overnight oats? You may like the texture better, adn youโll still get the health benefits.
This is my ABSOLUTE FAVORITE GO-TO oatmeal recipe! While itโs summer where I live today the weather and chilly. What hit the spot (as always) is this oatmeal. Thank you so much for sharing with us Cookie & Kate!
I definitely couldnโt say that was delicious, it was pretty bland. But, it definitely cooked the oats perfectly! So all I had to do was add brown sugar, and a little milk, and it was perfect.
Hi Mel, Iโm glad you thought the oats cooked perfectly. Once you master the technique, you can add flavor enhancers to customize.
I like the recipe :) thank you for the inspiration, Kate!
I have the feeling that I did something wrong and wanted to ask for help. I used โfine oatsโ, thinking they were the same as rolled oats (I live in the EU) but they turned out very mushy and after 10 min waiting with the lid on, still were a bit โcement-likeโ. So maybe I should look for bigger ones. :) I also used a small saucepan, so maybe the water evaporated too quickly (I didnโt see the bubbling, it was all taken up immediately). That could also be an explanation. What do you think changes the most, to get more loose, dry, separate oats?
Hi Hanna, yes those were likely quick cooking oats. Youโll want rolled oats or old-fashioned oats in order to use this method. Best of luck next time!
Love this. Stick to your ribs. I added brown sugar and nuts for toppings.
Helloโฆ.Iโm going to try this method but want to confirm: you suggest equal parts oats to liquid??? Preparing the stove top method (without toasting) Iโve always measured 2 parts liquid to 1 part oats.
Hi Carol, yes equal parts liquid and oats, when using old-fashioned rolled oats. I hope this helps.
I was looking for a new oatmeal recipe this morning, and yours popped up first in my search. It is delicious! And so easy to prepare, too. I down-scaled the amounts for just one serving and added peanut butter and a splash of Grandmaโs Molasses at the end. Very hearty and satisfying! Iโll be making this regularly, with different flavorings. I will be trying more of your recipes, as well.
Hi Sherry, Iโm so glad you enjoyed it! Welcome to the site and I hope you find many more recipes to try.