I love breakfast. On the weekend, I’ll sleep in and then
enjoy pancakes, poached eggs over homemade bread, or omelets stuffed with
veggies and cheese. But during the week I need something that can be prepped in
advance, and something that will keep me full until lunch.
Lately I’ve been loving steel cut oats. They feel more
substantial than regular rolled oats, have a nice chew and a nutty flavor, and
have some added nutritional benefits. I cook up a big batch on the weekends and
portion it into containers so I can have an easy breakfast every day of the
week. I top the oats with some homemade fruit compote, fresh berries, and stir
in some greek yogurt.
You can make steel cut oats on the stove or in an Instant Pot. Since we got our Instant Pot as a wedding gift, we have been using it for
everything! It makes perfect steel cut oats and brown rice. We have even made
homemade greek yogurt using the yogurt setting! However, if you don’t have an
Instant Pot, no problem! I made steel cut oats on the stove for years. I am
including modified ingredients and instructions for the stove-top version at
the bottom.
I am also including a very simple recipe for fruit compote.
You can put ANY kind of fruit you like! The best part is that you can use fresh
or frozen fruit – it will just take a little longer to cook if it is frozen. I
usually use ½ cup of chopped strawberries and ½ cup of frozen mixed berries.
The strawberries are typically from what is about to go bad from our fresh
berries. The cartons never last the whole week! If I don’t need to make compote
right away, I’ll just wash and chop the strawberries and throw them in the
freezer in ½ cup portions. I like getting frozen berries in bulk. We get a 3 lb
bag at Sam’s Club. The latest kind they had was under $8 and included
raspberries, blackberries and blueberries. My favorite version included
strawberries and sweet cherries as well, but it isn’t currently in stock.
Steel Cut Oats Ingredients (Stove-top version)
Steel Cut Oats Ingredients (Instant Pot version)
1.5 tablespoons butter (unsalted or
salted is fine)
1.5 cups steel cut oats (not quick cook)
Zest of one orange
Pinch of salt (omit if using salted butter)
4 cups water
1 ¼ cup milk (I always use unsweetened almond milk)
Juice of ½ orange (about ¼ cup of juice)
1.5 cups steel cut oats (not quick cook)
Zest of one orange
Pinch of salt (omit if using salted butter)
4 cups water
1 ¼ cup milk (I always use unsweetened almond milk)
Juice of ½ orange (about ¼ cup of juice)
Steel Cut Oats Instructions (Instant Pot version)
Plug in your Instant Pot. Press Saute and make sure it
lights up below “Normal.” Press the plus or minus keys if you need to change
the setting.
Add the butter to the pot and let it melt.
Add the oats and orange zest and stir well. Sauté for 3
minutes, stirring occasionally, or until slightly golden and the oats smell
toasty.
Press Keep Warm/Cancel to stop sautéing.
Pour in the water and milk and stir well.
Put the lid on your pot, make sure to lock it properly, and
set the lid to “Sealing.”
Press Manual and then hit the plus or minus buttons until
the display reads “3.”
It will take ~5-10 minutes to come up to pressure, depending
on how cold your ingredients are. Then it will count down the 3 minutes to
cook. The machine will beep once the 3 minutes are up. Do not open the lid
right away! You need to let the pressure come back down first. I always wait
10-20 minutes to let it mostly naturally release. Then, protecting my hand with
an oven mitt or towel, I quickly flip the valve from “sealing” to “venting” and
move my hand out of the way. Unless the pressure has already naturally
released, quite a bit of steam will come out of the valve.
Once you have the lid off, use oven mitts to pull out the
inner pot. Give everything a good stir (it will look too liquidy at first, but
it all mixes in). Add in the orange juice and stir again.
Let cool and portion into containers, or serve immediately
with greek yogurt, fruit compote, and fresh berries.
To reheat:
Spoon some compote on top of the oats. Microwave for 1
minute 15 seconds (adjust as necessary depending on the power of your
microwave). Stir in cut up fresh berries* and greek yogurt or milk to achieve
desired consistency.
* I like putting the berries on top before microwaving so
they get cooked down a little.
Fruit Compote Ingredients:
1 heaping cup of chopped fruit (fresh or frozen)
¼ cup fresh orange juice (from ~1/2 orange)
2 tablespoons white sugar
1.5 teaspoons cornstarch
¼ cup fresh orange juice (from ~1/2 orange)
2 tablespoons white sugar
1.5 teaspoons cornstarch
Fruit Compote Instructions:
Add all ingredients to a small pot, stir well. Cook over
medium heat, stirring occasionally, until it starts to boil. Reduce heat to
medium-low and cook, stirring frequently, until berries pop and juices have
thickened.
Steel Cut Oats Ingredients (Stove-top version)
Adapted slightly from Cookie and Kate
4 ½ cups water
1 ½ cups milk (I always use unsweetened almond milk)
1.5 tablespoons butter (unsalted or salted is fine)
1.5 cups steel cut oats (not quick cook)
Zest of one orange
Pinch of salt (omit if using salted butter)
Juice of ½ orange (about ¼ cup of juice)
1 ½ cups milk (I always use unsweetened almond milk)
1.5 tablespoons butter (unsalted or salted is fine)
1.5 cups steel cut oats (not quick cook)
Zest of one orange
Pinch of salt (omit if using salted butter)
Juice of ½ orange (about ¼ cup of juice)
Steel Cut Oats Instructions (Stove-top version)
Heat milk and water in a large pot over medium heat.
Melt butter in a large pan over medium heat. Add oats and
orange zest and cook 2-3 minutes or until golden and they smell nutty, stirring
occasionally.
Stir the oats into the milk and water (carefully, to avoid
splashes). Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer gently for 20 minutes. The
mixture should have thickened slightly.
Stir in salt and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally,
until very thick. Stir in the orange juice.
Let cool and portion into containers, or serve immediately
with greek yogurt, fruit compote, and fresh berries.
