Best Everyday Oatmeal

I use this delicious oatmeal recipe almost every morning! Learn how to make my favorite oatmeal, plus lots of suggestions for serving it!

Adam and I eat oatmeal most mornings, so we’ve pretty much perfected our oatmeal recipe! Oatmeal is easy to make, heart-healthy, and filling.

I’m sharing how I make it on the stove (my favorite method) and how to make oatmeal in the microwave for when you are short on time. When I’m not making these rolled oats, I make our favorite steel cut oats, this incredible baked oatmeal, or I prep these easy overnight oats a day or two before.

Key Ingredients

• Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats: Our family uses a lot of rolled oats, which look like flat, roundish discs. I love their texture for oatmeal and use them to make granola bars, oatmeal cookies, and baked oatmeal. Quick oats become more mushy after cooking them, so I skip them for this recipe. If you have steel cut oats, take a look at our easy steel cut oats.
• Water or Milk: Most often, I use water to make my oatmeal, but for a creamier consistency, you can use milk or your favorite non-dairy milk.
• Salt: For the best oatmeal, add a pinch of salt to your saucepan while the oats cook.
• Flaxseed Meal (Optional): Just as my oatmeal finishes on the stove, I love to stir in a tablespoon or two of flaxseed meal. It bumps up the nutrients and makes the oats more creamy.

How to Make Oatmeal

My favorite way to cook oatmeal is on the stove. It takes about 10 minutes. If you are short on time or only making one serving, check the recipe for our microwave method.

My preferred oatmeal ratio is one part oats to two parts liquid. In other words, use twice as much liquid as oats. If, as you are cooking, your oatmeal is too dry, add an extra splash of water or milk, and it will loosen up for you.

To make oatmeal, you’ll bring your water (or milk) to a simmer, stir in the oats, and then turn the heat down to a low simmer. Cook them this way until most of the liquid is absorbed. Then, if you are adding it, stir in some flaxseed meal.

In general, the cooking time will be 5 to 10 minutes. However, I usually buy extra-thick rolled oats, so my cooking time is closer to ten minutes (maybe a minute or two more). Then, you can serve your oatmeal however you like.

You can see the three oatmeal recipes we love most in the photos. We rotate through these during the week.

1. Oatmeal with Blueberries and Peanut Butter: Here’s Adam’s favorite. After cooking our oatmeal, we pile on fresh or thawed frozen blueberries and add a big dollop of peanut butter. The oats, berries, and nut butter keep us full until lunchtime.
2. Oatmeal with Strawberries, Almonds, and Ground Flaxseed: Our son loves strawberries, so this is his favorite. Consider swapping the almonds for a dollop of almond butter for even more sticking power.
3. Oatmeal with Sliced Bananas, Walnuts, and Honey: Here’s my favorite of the three options shown. I love banana muffins, and this bowl of oats reminds me of them. If you don’t eat honey, swap it for maple syrup or another sweetener like coconut sugar.

More Oatmeal Toppings:

• Toasted nuts and seeds like walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, or roasted pumpkin seeds
• Nut butter like peanut butter, almond butter, or cashew butter
• Chia seeds, hemp seeds, or ground flax
• Splash of cream or non-dairy milk
• Brown sugar, honey, or maple syrup
• Dried fruit (like cranberries, mulberries, or raisins)
• Fresh fruit like berries, bananas, or apples (try these stovetop cinnamon apples)
• Pumpkin butter, homemade applesauce, or apple butter
• Baking spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, or pumpkin pie spice
• Sautéed spinach or kale and a poached egg or soft boiled egg