Steel Cut Oats are a hearty and easy to customize breakfast. They offer slower digestion than traditional oats, extra nutrients, twice the fiber, and a nutty flavor.
This easy recipe walks you through how to make Steel Cut Oats in the Instant Pot, Crockpot, and right on the stovetop.
I like any recipe that I can make in multiple ways. It’s great to have the option to make these on the stove top or in the slow cooker if my Instant Pot is tied up doing something else.
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If you’d like to skip over the detailed recipe ingredients and instructions, diet information, and freezing and meal prep tips, simply scroll straight down to the printable recipe for these Steel Cut Oats.
Ingredients:
- Coconut oil: You can use any oil, but I prefer the unrefined and cold pressed oils.
- Steel cut oats: While all oats are naturally gluten free, it’s important to know if the oats were grown on land that was previously used for a crop containing gluten. If you’re gluten free, look for the oats package to say gluten free.
- Unsweetened/unflavored almond milk You can use any plant based milk for this recipe. If you’re using the stovetop, you can use regular milk as well.
- Maple syrup I use 100% maple syrup, as it has no added sugar and no artificial sweeteners.
- Salt This helps to control the foam that the oatmeal makes. Especially important for the Instant Pot.
Optional Toppings:
- Fresh Blueberries
- Sliced almonds
- Unsweetened coconut
- Lemon zest
- Diced apples
- Coconut Sugar (or brown sugar) and Syrup
Steel Cut Oats Nutrition
While steel cut oats are filling and delicious, there are a lot of health benefits to eating them. Here’s a little about the nutrition aspect of steel cut oats:
- One half cup of steel cut oats (cooked) has 112 calories, 18 carbs, 4 grams of protein, and 3 grams of fiber
- Steel cuts oats have a low glycemic index, which means that it can help stabilize your blood sugar level
- Steel cut oats are a whole grain food–they’re made by chopping hulled groats (which are oat grains) into very small pieces with a steel blade
- Steel cut oats are considered a healthy breakfast because the whole grains make them filling and slower to digest.
How to make Instant Pot Steel Cut Oats:
Time needed: 27 minutes.
This recipe takes about 17 minutes to make in the Instant Pot or any electric pressure cooker, but that doesn’t include the time it takes for your pot to come to pressure. I don’t include that, as each pot can vary so much.
- Prepare the pot
Spray the Instant Pot with nonstick cooking spray or oil. I prefer olive or coconut oil.
- Add the ingredients
Add the steel cut oats, almond milk, salt, and water to the pot and mix well. If you’d like, you can add the maple syrup to the pot now, or you can add it to each serving after it’s cooked.
Remember that when pressure cooking, you’ll always want to add at least 1 cup of water of liquid to your pot.
It’s not advised to use dairy milk when cooking in the Instant Pot. It can burn and curdle. - Set the pot
Close the lid of the Instant Pot and move your pressure release valve to Sealing. Using the Manual function, set your pot to cook for 12 minutes on high pressure.
- Natural Pressure Release
When the oats are finished cooking, allow the pressure to naturally release. This means that you should leave the pressure valve in the Sealing position and sit back and relax for 15 minutes or so while the pressure slowly releases on its own.
If you have a Keep Warm button, go ahead and turn that off. Allowing the pot to naturally cool for a bit will keep the oats from sticking to the bottom of the pot. - Remove the lid and Stir
After the pressure has naturally release for 15 minutes, remove the lid and stir the oatmeal. It will be very hot, so it’s best to leave the lid off and allow it to cool for a few minutes before eating.
The oatmeal will thicken as it cools. - Time to eat!
Add your favorite toppings to your bowl–blueberries, bananas, almonds, maple syrup–the sky is the limit!
If you feel that the oats are a bit dry, add more almond milk to your bowl.
Crockpot Instructions:
- Spray or grease the slow cooker insert with oil, including the bottom and sides.
- Add steel cut oats, almond milk, maple syrup, salt, and water to the slow cooker. Just a reminder that it’s not recommended to use dairy milk when cooking in the Crockpot.
- Add the lid to the crockpot and cook for 2-3 hours on high or 5-6 hours on low.
- Stir, serve, and top with your favorite toppings.
All oats come from the same form of grain but they are processed very differently. Steel cut oats are the least processed and include the entire oat grain. Rolled oats are steamed and then flattened. Instant oats are highly processed.
Steel cut oats are less processed and keep you full for longer than traditional oats. They’re made with oat groats (the full oat grain) and cook in about 30 minutes. Cooked steel cut oats keep you fuller for longer than regular oats.
Stovetop Instructions:
- In a large sauce pan bring the water, almond milk, and coconut oil to a boil on the stove. When the liquid is boiling add in the steel cut oats, maple syrup, and salt.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and allow the oatmeal to simmer for 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally until the oats are thick and no longer crunchy. I like to place a wooden spoon over the top of the pan to prevent the oatmeal from boiling over.
- Remove the oatmeal from heat and let cool for 5-10 minutes. Serve with your favorite toppings.
Healthy Eating Plans
Don’t forget to add your toppings to this information! Each serving of this oatmeal is 1/2 cup.
Weight Watchers: 4 Blue Plan Points | 4 Green Plan Points | 1 Purple Plan Point
21 Day Fix/Ultimate Portion Fix: 1 yellow container, 1/4 sweetener teaspoon per serving for the base recipe.
2B Mindset: This is a great FFC breakfast when paired with 50% of your plate as protein.
More healthy Instant Pot recipes:
Breakfast:
Lunch & Dinner:
How to Make Steel Cut Oats
Equipment
Ingredients
Steel Cut Oats:
- 1 tsp coconut oil
- 1 cup steel cut oats
- 1/2 cup almond milk unsweetened
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp salt this keeps the oatmeal from foaming too much
- 3 cups water
Optional Toppings:
- blueberries
- almonds sliced
- unsweetened coconut
- lemon zest
Instructions
Instant Pot Steel Cut Oats
- Spray or grease the Instant Pot insert with oil. Make sure to grease both the bottom and sides to prevent the oatmeal from sticking to the pan.
- Add oats, almond milk, salt, and water to the pot and mix well. Close the lid and turn the pressure release valve to sealing.
- Using the manual function, cook the oatmeal on high pressure for 12 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally.
- Remove the lid and stir the oatmeal. Let the oatmeal cool for 5-10 minutes. The oatmeal will thicken as it cools. Top with your favorite toppings and serve.
Crockpot Steel Cut Oats
- Grease the slow cooker insert with oil, including the bottom and sides.
- Combine the oats, almond milk, water, and salt in the slow cooker.
- Add the lid and cook for 2-3 hours on high or 5-6 hours on low.
- Remove the lid and stir. Serve and top with your favorite toppings.
Stove Top Steel Cut Oats
- In a large sauce pan bring the water, almond milk, and coconut oil to a boil on the stove. When the liquid is boiling add in the steel cut oats, maple syrup, and salt.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low and allow the oatmeal to simmer for 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally until the oats are thick and no longer crunchy. I like to place a wooden spoon over the top of the pan to prevent the oatmeal from boiling over.
- Remove the oatmeal from heat and let cool for 5-10 minutes. Serve with your favorite toppings.
I know the Instant Pot is very forgiving so there are many ways to cook each dish, but for people who want to save a few calories and minutes, I make this weekly using no oil to prep my pot and have no issues with sticking. I also set my Instant Pot for only 4 minutes. After natural release or how ever long it takes me to get back to the kitchen, they just need a good stir and are perfect. I happen to make mine with 1 C oatmilk and 2 C water (so I may gain calories in oatmilk that I lost in not oiling the inner pan), but if you like it with 1/2 cup plant-based milk and 3 C water, I still think it’s worth considering skipping the pan prep and the extra 8 minutes under pressure. My favorite recipe is to also add a 1/2 C of pumpkin puree, a generous dash or two of salt, and whatever spices (cinnamon, cardamom, allspice, nutmeg, clove, and fresh ginger) I’m in the mood for.
Thanks for your tips!
I’m sorry if this is a silly question, but can this be refrigerated and microwaved later as a part of meal prepping? If so, would I need to add more liquid when microwaving it?
This isn’t silly at all! I often make enough for the week and then heat it later. I usually wait until after heating to add more milk or liquid. I’m sure you could add it before heating, though!