How to Make Oatmeal

Here’s how to make oatmeal in less than 10 minutes with just 5 simple ingredients. It’s heart-healthy and so delicious.

Over the years I’ve shared so many oatmeal recipes and even today it’s still one of my all-time favorite breakfasts! It’s so warm, comforting and healthy. As a volume eater I love the fact that with oatmeal I get to eat a huge bowl in the morning and the fact that it takes less than 10 minutes to whip up.

What You Need to Make the Perfect Bowl of Oatmeal

• old fashioned rolled oats – rolled oats make for such a creamy bowl of oatmeal. I use Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free rolled oats
• water or milk – water works great, but you can use milk if desired. I usually do a 1:2 ratio of oats to liquid. I typically use water for the liquid, but sometimes I’d do half water and half almond milk for creamier oats. 
• dash of salt – this helps bring out the flavors
• pinch of ground cinnamon – optional, but I love adding it!
• vanilla extract – another optional ingredient, but vanilla adds a lovely flavor to oatmeal
• Toppings – This is where the magic happens! The key to making really good oatmeal is the mix-ins and toppings. I share lots of ideas below.

Different Types of Oats Explained

There are a few different oat options at the store and although they’re nutritionally all about the same, there are some differences in processing and cooking.

Steel cut oats: these are the least processed type of oats. The oat groat (the full oat “grain”) is simply cut into two or three parts to get steel cut oats. Because they are less processed, they absorb more liquid and take longer to cook. Here’s my go-to cooking method for steel cut oatmeal.

Old fashioned rolled oats: for this type of oat, the oat groats have been steamed and then rolled. This bit of processing speeds up the cook time for all of us at home. Rolled oats make for a super creamy bowl of oatmeal and are my personal favorite!

Quick or instant oats: these are the most processed of all the oat varieties. They are pre-cooked, dried, and rolled and pressed slightly thinner than rolled oats. They cook faster than steel cut or rolled oats, but they also lose a bit of texture in the cooking process so they tend to be mushy and less voluminous.

Nutritional Differences

While steel cut oats are less processed than regular rolled oats, there are only minor differences nutritionally. Steel cut, old fashioned/rolled, and quick oats all have approximately the same amount of fiber, protein, calories, and other nutrients. I personally don’t view one type of oatmeal better than the other. I tend to prefer steel cut oats and rolled oats for breakfast recipes, but I’ll occasionally use quick oats for baking. Quick oats work great for my healthy no bake cookies and these lactation cookies.

How To Make Make Oatmeal

There are so many ways to cook oats. You can bake them, cook them on the stove top, make them in the slow cooker, make overnight oats or even make oatmeal in the microwave. 

For this post, we’re going to focus on my basic recipe for making stovetop oatmeal.

Combine ingredients – Add ½ cup rolled oats, 1 cup water or milk and a dash of salt to a pot and heat over medium/high heat.

Simmer – Bring the mixture to a boil, reduce heat and cook for about 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Serve – The oatmeal is ready when the oats have soaked up most of the liquid and are creamy. See photo above!

Add toppings and enjoy – Transfer oats to a bowl and add your favorite toppings. 

Best Oatmeal Toppings

• Fresh fruit – banana, berries, chopped apples, etc
• Dried fruit – raisins, cranberries, dates
• Nuts and seeds – almonds, pecans, walnuts, sunflower seeds, chia seeds and flaxseed
• Nut butter – almond butter, peanut butter, cashew butter
• Chia jam – try my chia jam recipe
• Granola – love the crunch this adds
• Maple syrup or honey – for a little sweetness
• Greek yogurt – try a dollop on top or my Greek yogurt oatmeal

Flavor Variations

Once you’ve mastered the base recipe, it’s time to get creative with variations! Here are four delicious ideas to get you started:

• Apple Cinnamon – Top oats with 1/2 cup of chopped apples and a sprinkle of extra cinnamon. You can also add some chopped apples to the oats while they’re cooking for even more apple flavor or make cooked cinnamon apples like I do for my apple overnight oats. 
• Maple Brown Sugar – Top oats with 1/2 tablespoon of maple syrup and 1-2 tablespoons of brown sugar. Stir into the oats and add splash of milk if you’d like. 
• Banana Nut – Top oats with banana slices, 2 tablespoons of toasted walnuts, 1/2 tablespoon of peanut butter and 1/4 teaspoon chia seeds. You can also add the banana slices during the cooking process. The banana will add a ton of flavor to the oatmeal and a bit of sweetness. I use this method for my banana chia oatmeal and my baby oatmeal recipe.
• Berry Almond – Top cooked oatmeal with 1/4 cup fresh berries, 2 tablespoons of chopped roasted almonds and 1 tablespoon of chocolate chips. You can also add berries to the oats while they’re cooking if you’d like!

How to Cook Oatmeal in the Microwave

I prefer to cook my oatmeal on the stovetop, but you can also microwave it!

Just add ½ cup rolled oats with 1 cup water or milk and a dash of salt into a microwave safe bowl with plenty of room for the oats to bubble up. Microwave for 1 minute, stir and then microwave at 30 seconds increments, stirring between each one.

Cook until the oatmeal is the consistency you like – I typically cook mine for about 3 minutes but you’ll know it’s ready when most of the liquid is absorbed and the oats are hot.

Skip the Instant Oatmeal Packages

I know it can be tempting to purchase the little packages of instant oatmeal out of convenience, but you should skip them. They often have a lot of sugar in them, they’re more expensive and they honestly don’t taste as good as rolled oats cooked on the stove. That said, it’s best just to make your own!

I love mixing in fruit, nut butter and a variety of textures to take my oatmeal to the next level. No more boring bowls of oats!

Oatmeal FAQ

More Stove Top Oatmeal Recipes

• Peanut Butter Banana Chia Oatmeal – my favorite oatmeal combo ever!
• Tropical Oatmeal – the perfect bowl of oatmeal if you love all things coconut
• Blueberry Peach Oatmeal – this recipe is such a classic for summer months when both blueberries and peaches are in season
• Banana Bread Oatmeal – the caramelized bananas truly take this bowl of oatmeal to the next level

More Popular Oatmeal Recipes

• Banana Bread Oatmeal
• Peanut Butter Banana Oatmeal
• Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal
• Banana Nut Oatmeal
• Maple Brown Sugar Oatmeal
• Blueberry Peach Oatmeal