Creamy, Toasty Steel-Cut Oats
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Yield About 4 cups | Prep & cook time 20 minutes
I haven’t found any of the time-saving tricks for steel-cut oats—soaking overnight, using a pressure cooker, baking, etc—to actually save me very much time. Instead I think it’s good to remember that steel-cut oats reheat beautifully, and can be batch cooked in advance.
Plant-based butter and milk work well here. You can also toast the oats in a dry pan and replace the milk with water, though the milk and butter add unmistakable richness.
Here’s a video tutorial. And be sure to explore the #28daysofoatmeal tag on Instagram for hundreds of ways to keep your daily oats interesting.
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup steel-cut or cracked oats
3 cups water
1 cup milk
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
1. Place a saucepan over medium heat. Once hot, melt the butter and stir in the oats. Toast them, stirring or swirling the pan often, until fragrant and darkened a shade, 3 to 5 minutes.
2. Pour in 3 cups of water followed by the milk. Bring to a boil, add the salt, then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer, partially cover the pan, and cook for 15 to 20 minutes, until the grains are tender and the liquid has thickened. Know that oats continue to thicken quickly when taken off the heat, so don’t be discouraged if they look a bit soupy.
3. Serve immediately, or transfer to a storage container and allow them to cool before sealing and keeping in the fridge for up to 3 days. To reheat, stir in a splash of water and rewarm in a saucepan or in the microwave.