Perfect Steel-Cut Oats
Total Time
40 minutes
Cook Time
40 mins
Rating
4.9 out of 5 stars
(332)
Ingredients
4 servings
- 3 cups water
- 1 cup milk of choice: almond milk, cow’s milk, coconut milk, etc.
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil or unsalted butter
- 1 cup steel-cut oats (choose certified gluten-free oats if necessary)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Optional mix-ins: ground spices like cinnamon, dried fruit like cranberries or chopped dates, toasted chopped nuts like walnuts, lemon or orange zest, etc.
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Preparation
Step 1
In a large saucepan, combine the water and milk. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat. In the meantime, melt the coconut oil (or butter) in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Once shimmering, add the oats and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden and fragrant, around 2 minutes. This toasting step greatly enhances the flavor of the oats.
Step 2
Stir the oats into the simmering liquid. Reduce the heat to medium-low, adjusting as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is very thick.
Step 3
Stir in the salt. Continue to simmer the mixture, stirring occasionally and reducing heat as necessary to prevent scorching on the bottom, until almost all of the liquid is absorbed, about 10 minutes. (If you doubled the recipe, your oatmeal might need an extra 5 minutes cooking time here.) The oatmeal will be very creamy when it’s done.
Step 4
Remove from heat and stir in any mix-ins that you’d like. Let the oatmeal rest for 5 minutes before serving so it has more time to thicken up and cool down to a palatable temperature.
Step 5
Portion oatmeal into bowls and add any toppings you’d like to portions that you intend to serve immediately. Let any extra oatmeal cool completely before covering and refrigerating for future breakfasts.
Step 6
Save recipe for the next time?
Chef's notes
Recipe adapted from The America’s Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook.
Make it dairy free/vegan:
Use coconut oil or vegan butter instead of regular butter, and choose a dairy-free milk (or substitute water for the milk).
Make it gluten free:
Use certified gluten-free oats and make sure your mix-ins/toppings are gluten free, too.
Make it nut free:
Easy. Use nut-free milk and don’t add nuts.
Update 10/18/2016:
Finally got around to taking better photos of this recipe, so it might look a little different, but the recipe is the same!
