This is my family’s favorite steel cut oats recipe! I make it on the stovetop, but I have also included tips for cooking steel cut oats in a slow cooker or pressure cooker (like an Instant Pot).
My family often eats oatmeal for breakfast. We love it almost any way we can get it, like this easy oatmeal recipe with rolled oats, our baked oatmeal, and even turned into energy balls with peanut butter and honey. We call steel cut oats “fancy oats” in our home and absolutely love them.
Steel cut oats are whole oat groats cut into small bits (instead of rolled into flat discs like with rolled oats). They take slightly longer to cook than rolled oats but are delicious. My method for cooking them is super simple, too! I can’t wait for you to try it.
How to Make Steel Cut Oats
I love cooking steel cut oats on the stovetop. However, if you prefer a hands-off approach, you can absolutely make them in a slow cooker or Instant Pot! You’ll find detailed instructions for those methods in the recipe below. (Just a heads up: we don’t recommend cooking steel cut oats in the microwave. If you need a super quick oatmeal recipe, check out our easy oatmeal with tips for microwave cooking.)
When cooking steel cut oats on the stovetop, I stick to a simple ratio: one part oats to three parts liquid, guaranteeing perfectly cooked, creamy oats every time. Keep in mind that the liquid ratio might vary slightly when using a slow cooker or pressure cooker. You’ll find specific tips for those appliances in the recipe below.
To make steel cut oats, start by toasting them in a tablespoon of butter, coconut oil, or vegan butter for about 2 minutes, adding a lovely nutty flavor to the oats. Then, pour in the water and bring it to a gentle simmer, uncovered. Cook for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the oats are tender and have absorbed most of the water.
For extra creaminess, stir in 1/2 to 1 cup of milk. Finally, customize your bowl with spices, a pat of butter, and a touch of sweetness like maple syrup or honey. More topping suggestions are below!
How to Serve Steel Cut Oats
You can stir just about anything you love into cooked oatmeal, but here’s a bit of extra inspiration for you:
- Mashed or sliced fruit. I love bananas, strawberries, and blueberries
- 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, milk, buttermilk, yogurt, or non-dairy milk (like homemade oat milk)
- Vanilla extract or spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, or pumpkin pie spice
- Brown sugar, honey, or maple syrup
- Dried fruit like cranberries, mulberries, or raisins
- Sautéed spinach or kale and a poached egg or soft boiled egg
Easy Steel Cut Oats
- PREP
- COOK
- TOTAL
Steel cut oats are whole oat groats cut into small bits (instead of rolled into flat discs like with rolled oats). They take slightly longer to cook than other oat varieties but are delicious. When cooked, steel cut oats have a creamy, chewy texture. We love them topped with fruit and nut butter, but take a look at our article above for topping suggestions.
For a quicker cooking time, consider soaking the oats in water the night before you plan to make them. Soaking them will reduce the cooking time by about half.
You Will Need
2 tablespoons butter or vegan butter
1 cup steel cut oats
3 cups water
Pinch salt
1/2 to 1 cup milk, dairy or non-dairy
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon sweetener like brown sugar, honey, or maple syrup
Optional oatmeal toppings like nut butter, fruit, nuts, and seeds
Directions
- Stovetop Steel Cut Oats
1Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in the bottom of a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the oats and stir them in the butter for a minute or two or until they smell nutty.
2Combine the oats with the water and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat so that the water is just barely simmering. Cook for about 20 minutes, stirring once or twice to lift any oats stuck to the bottom of the pan.
3Stir in the milk, butter, cinnamon, and honey. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes or until the oats are soft with a slight chew. If the oatmeal seems dry, add a splash of more water or milk. Serve with your favorite oatmeal toppings.
- Slow Cooker Steel Cut Oats
1Slow cooker steel cut oats are much creamier than when cooked using other methods (think creamy, delicious oatmeal pudding). To cook steel cut oats in the slow cooker, combine 1 cup steel cut oats with 4 cups water. Add whatever seasonings you love (I add 1 tablespoon butter, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, and a pinch of salt). Cover the slow cooker and cook on LOW for 7 to 8 hours or on HIGH for 3 to 4 hours. Stir the oats before serving. For extra creamy oatmeal, stir in 1/2 to 1 cup of milk.
- Instant Pot Steel Cut Oats
1To cook steel cut oats in a pressure cooker like an Instant Pot, combine 1 cup steel cut oats with 3 cups water, a pinch of salt, 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, and 1 tablespoon butter (or vegan butter). Stir the oats, secure the lid, and then cook on the manual or pressure cooker setting for 3 minutes at high pressure. When the cooking time is complete, allow the cooker to naturally release the pressure. Stir well before serving. For creamier oats, add 1/2 to 1 cup milk.
Adam and Joanne's Tips
- Storing: Store cooked steel cut oats in the refrigerator for up to 5 days and freeze for up to 3 months. Steel cut oats thicken as they sit, so you might need to add a splash of water or milk when reheating them to achieve the perfect consistency again.
- Soaking steel cut oats: You do not need to soak steel cut oats before cooking them. However, if you soak steel cut oats in water (usually 8 hours or overnight), they will soften slightly. Since the oats are softer, they cook quicker the following day. Soaking also may help unlock some of the nutrients in the oats, making them more available to us to absorb. If you plan on soaking steel cut oats, the stovetop cook time will be reduced by about half.
- For gluten-free oatmeal, make sure that the oats and any toppings that you plan to use are certified gluten-free.
- The nutrition facts provided below are estimates. We did not include any toppings in the calculations. We assumed whole milk in the calculations.
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A question regarding the instant pot method: Should the keep warm function be on or off? Looking forward to trying this recipe.
If you are making it ahead and would like to keep it warm for a while after cooking, you can turn it on. Otherwise, I turn it off.
I hated oatmeal as a child. Now that I’m in the prime of my life + some; I love it ( steel cut oats only, though). I toast the oats in a dry pan, then add water and follow the rest of your recipe adding pumpkin pie spice, chopped apples and sometimes organic raisins or chopped figs. In my humble opinion,it needs no sugar making it with apples and or figs/raisins. Yummy!
Have had no problem cooking steel cut oats in a microwave. Usually first soak overnight in the fridge.
Made the recipe using a bit of vegan butter to brown the oats. We concluded the results are worth the wait of stovetop simmering. Delicious!
I have been cooking steel cut oats for years. I add almond milk, some natural nut butter, and blueberries. It is one of the healthier parts of my diet. Your recipe with one tablespoon (!) or more of added butter seems to take away from the common reasons why people have this dish… to reduce cholesterol and eat healthy.
Hi Chris, Your version sounds lovely. The butter is optional so feel free to leave it out.
I use a slow cooker and sometimes they are good but not consistently. Am hoping that we will have better consistency with be your recipe.
Hi Robert, That’s interesting and I think I know what you mean. We’ve definitely found that using a slow cooker makes the oatmeal much creamier, almost pudding-like. I’ve also had some overcooking/sticking happen to me, which is why we recommend checking on the oatmeal around the 7 hour mark. Let us know what you think when you try our recipe, we’d love to read your thoughts.