If you’re looking for a healthy, easy, and relatively inexpensive way to feed yourself and others in the mornings, this is a great recipe!
Start with organic steel-cut oats (sometimes called groats). Now, I know this can be expensive if you purchase the small bags of steel-cut oats that major grocery stores sell. Instead of this, try to find a bulk food grocery store in your area (if possible). I’ve been able to find several such stores in Ohio and Pennsylvania, where I’ve lived recently.
- If the bulk store doesn’t sell organic groats, ask them if they would be willing to order them for you.
- If they give discounts for larger purchases, you might consider buying 20-30 pounds of organic steel-cut oats all at once.
If you’re concerned about not being able to eat the oats before they go rancid:
- You could place the oats in airtight bags and put them in a freezer.
- You could place them in a large airtight container in a cupboard or pantry.
- Your local hardware store might sell food grade HDPE buckets with screw-top lids. These can keep mice out and reduce exposure to oxygen (which can cause the oats to go rancid).
- My family of four eats 25 pounds of these oats in about 2-3 months, so we aren’t too concerned about the oats going bad before we eat them. We store them in a food grade bucket in a closet. For daily use, we put the oats in a gallon sized Mason jar.
Recipe
- Rice Cooker, Crockpot, or Instant Pot
- 2 cups steel-cut oats
- 1 Tbsp molasses (optional)
- 4+ cups water
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar (optional)
- 1-2 tsp cinnamon (optional)
- Milk, soymilk, oatmilk (optional)
- Raisins, other dried or fresh fruit, or nuts (optional)
Instructions
Before going to bed:
- Pour 2 cups steel-cut oats in a cooker that allows you to set a delay timer
- Pour in 4 cups water
- Stir in 1 tablespoon molasses
Instructions
Continued . . .
- Set cooker appropriately
- If you’re using a rice cooker, set delay timer so that your oatmeal is ready when you’d like to eat in the morning. My rice cooker has a “white rice” cooking option. This setting works great for us.
- If you’re using an Instant Pot, set the pressure on high for 4 minutes and the delay timer for about 25 minutes before you’d like to eat. The machine will naturally release the pressure.
- If you’re using a slow cooker, you’ll need to experiment a bit. I’m sorry I don’t have specific cooking instructions. You might be able to find them on the web. If you figure it out, please share your suggestions in a comment below!
Instructions
In the morning:
- When the cooker has finished its cooking cycle, open the machine carefully. Stir the oatmeal. You may want to add water to bring it to the consistency you like.
- Add sugar, cinnamon, and / or nuts (optional) to entire pot.
- Dish out desired amount of oatmeal into serving bowls, add fruit and / or milk.
- Place remaining oatmeal into a heat-proof (preferably glass) container and put in refrigerator for tomorrow’s breakfast!
Enjoy!
Additional Information:
- You can increase or decrease the oats and water proportionately.
- If you’re using Bob’s Red Mill Quick-cooking Steel-Cut Oats, you’ll probably find that this process overcooks the oats (makes them too mushy). You’ll probably want to skip soaking through the night and decrease the cooking time.
- If we increase the amount of oats to 3 c and water to 6 c, my family of four can eat the batch for at least two mornings. We just reheat in the microwave (sometimes with a bit of extra water in the oatmeal), add milk and raisins, and nourish our bodies!
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