Perfect Steel-Cut Oats
Learn how to make the most delicious steel-cut oats here! These oats are ready in under 40 minutes and reheat beautifully. Find topping suggestions, too.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 29, 2024
Have you seen the prices that restaurants are charging for bowls of steel-cut oats these days? Six dollars! Eight dollars! Twelve dollars in New York! My goodness. Apparently steel-cut oats are the new overpriced grandpa cardigans of the food scene.
Today, I’m sharing my tricks for making the creamiest, dreamiest steel-cut oats at home. Your bowl will taste like a million bucks. Or, at least ten dollars. I’m concerned that my photos don’t do this oatmeal justice (it’s not easy to make porridge look sexy), but trust me here. We’ll talk toppings later so you can make yours however you’d like.
Steel-cut oats shine in the texture and flavor departments. They are exceptionally creamy and delicious, especially if you toast them beforehand as instructed in my recipe below.
Steel-cut oats are also a fun way to change up your morning oatmeal routine. Unlike old-fashioned or instant oats, they reheat beautifully, so you can make one big batch that lasts all week.
All About Steel-Cut Oats
Steel-cut oats are a less refined version of the old-fashioned and quick-cooking oats you already know. All oats start out the same, as an oat groat.
Steel-cut oats are oat groats that have been sliced into smaller pieces, whereas old-fashioned oats are oat groats that have been flattened. They all contain the same pieces and parts, but the difference between slicing and flattening explains why steel-cut oats take longer to cook (around 30 minutes).
Nutritionally speaking, they are pretty much the exact same and share all of the health benefits of oats, so don’t split hairs there. Oats lower bad cholesterol, help stabilize blood sugar levels and on and on.
Steel-Cut Oat Topping Ideas
- Peanut butter, almond butter or pecan butter
- Homemade chia jam or your favorite jelly/jam
- Applesauce, preferably the chunky homemade variety, or grated fresh apple
- Coconut whipped cream or regular whipped cream
- Yogurt or a splash of cream
- Sliced bananas, apples, strawberries, pears, mangos…
- Fresh or frozen blueberries, raspberries, blackberries or pomegranate arils
- Dried fruit, like dried cranberries, cherries, blueberries, raisins, chopped dates or apricots…
- Toasted chopped nuts like walnuts, pecans, almonds…
- Toasted pepitas or sunflower seeds
- Flaxseed or chia seeds
- Toasted or raw shredded coconut
- Dark chocolate, either chopped or mini chocolate chips
You’ll find my go-to steel-cut oat cooking method below. The only hard part is deciding what to mix in and how to top your oatmeal. Looking for inspiration? Here are my official variations: Apple Steel-Cut Oatmeal, Morning Glory Oatmeal and Cranberry Orange Steel Cut Oats.
If you find yourself on a steel-cut oats kick, you might want to check out the overnight oats cooking method or this individual serving freezer option. I haven’t tried either, but I’m intrigued.
Please let me know how your oats turn out in the comments! I’m always so eager to hear from you.
Watch How to Cook Steel Cut Oats
Perfect Steel-Cut Oats
Learn how to make the most delicious steel-cut oats here! These ultra creamy, toasted steel-cut oats are ready in under 40 minutes and reheat beautifully for the rest of the week. I suggest doubling the recipe if you’d like to make breakfast for the whole week. Recipe as written below yields 4 modest servings (about 3 cups total, or ¾ cup per serving).
Ingredients
- 3 cups water
- 1 cup milk of choice: almond milk, cow’s milk, coconut milk, etc.
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil or unsalted butter
- 1 cup steel-cut oats (choose certified gluten-free oats if necessary)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Optional mix-ins: ground spices like cinnamon, dried fruit like cranberries or chopped dates, toasted chopped nuts like walnuts, lemon or orange zest, etc.
Instructions
- In a large saucepan, combine the water and milk. Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat. In the meantime, melt the coconut oil (or butter) in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat. Once shimmering, add the oats and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden and fragrant, around 2 minutes. This toasting step greatly enhances the flavor of the oats.
- Stir the oats into the simmering liquid. Reduce the heat to medium-low, adjusting as necessary to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is very thick.
- Stir in the salt. Continue to simmer the mixture, stirring occasionally and reducing heat as necessary to prevent scorching on the bottom, until almost all of the liquid is absorbed, about 10 minutes. (If you doubled the recipe, your oatmeal might need an extra 5 minutes cooking time here.) The oatmeal will be very creamy when it’s done.
- Remove from heat and stir in any mix-ins that you’d like. Let the oatmeal rest for 5 minutes before serving so it has more time to thicken up and cool down a palatable temperature.
- Portion oatmeal into bowls and add any toppings you’d like to portions that you intend to serve immediately. Let any extra oatmeal cool completely before covering and refrigerating for future breakfasts.
Notes
Recipe adapted from The America’s Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook.
Make it dairy free/vegan: Use coconut oil or vegan butter instead of regular butter, and choose a dairy-free milk (or substitute water for the milk).
Make it gluten free: Use certified gluten-free oats and make sure your mix-ins/toppings are gluten free, too.
Make it nut free: Easy. Use nut-free milk and don’t add nuts.
Update 10/18/2016: I finally got around to taking better photos of this recipe, so it might look a little different, but the recipe is the same!
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Delicious!! I made several batches with regular steel cut oatmeal. I am wondering how to modify the recipe if I use quick cook steel cut oatmeal?
Hi, I haven’t tried it so I’m not sure the adjustments.
Hi I have been making this with regular oats for years.
I use a dry pan to toast, then use very hot water(almost boiling)pouring carefully onto oats until I get the desired consistency. I make mine on the dry side like wet rice.
I followed the recipe above modifying to use the proportions listed on the side of my quick oats container and watched carefully. I don’t remember the timing, but hovered over the pot stirring frequently. I used the1 c. of milk from above and supplemented the rest of the liquid (as calculated using the oats container) with water. Still toasted my oats as suggested in this recipe. They came out quite good and saved me a trip to the store to find full steel cut oats.
This recipe is fantastic. I love that it uses mostly water and only one cup of milk. To me this gives it the perfect consistency. I decided to try it with some protein powder added in at the end and it is super good this way! Extra protein is nice especially if you are vegetarian like me. I just whisk the powder in with a couple tablespoons of water on the side and then pour the mixture in at the end. Raw nutrition’s vanilla oatmeal cookie protein powder is perfect but any brand and flavor works. Thank you so much for this recipe! I have it saved under my favorites.
Hi, first of all, I absolutely love this recipe. One of my friends is a big foodie and I made this for him and even he was impressed!
Second, I was wondering if you’ve experimented with cooking this overnight in a slow cooker? I’d love to set it the night before and have it be freshly finished and extra creamy when I wake up! Figured I’d ask before experimenting on my own!
Thanks so much.
Hi Julia, I haven’t tried these in a slow cooker. Sorry!
We just made this in the crockpot on low for 8 hours. Absolutely delicious!!
It would seem impossible to remove any chaff and hulls if prepared this way. Do you have a method for removing before adding to the oil and toasting? Can you do this recipe with oats after having been put in water and allowed to settle a minute to permit chaff and hulls to rise to the surface and be removed?
Hi J, Evon, you don’t have hulls to remove for steel cut oats. Maybe you are thinking of a different type of oat?
Are we supposed to cover the oats while cooking?
Hi! No need to cover. Thank you for your review!
Thanks for the recipe, Kate. I might add that *no-lid* / *uncovered* bit to the main instructions somewhere bc it’s a pretty different animal in terms of time, texture, and overall outcome if you leave the lid on. Cheers.
The British topping Marmite is yummy and a different, tangy taste to go with any kind of porridge or oats.
Unfortunately Your steel oat cooking instructions didn’t provide enough information.
Hi Adam, What do you feel is missing?
She provided a more than adequate recipe. The recipe was clear, the ingredients provided and gave notes for tweaking the recipe. I have a family of 6 and cook a hot breakfast every morning and recently switched to steel cut oats. This recipe was perfect. Perhaps it’s not her recipe but your cooking skills that need updating.
Well said, Amy! This is a super-simple, extremely clear recipe that has my whole kitchen smelling like the best breakfast! I added some nutmeg and cinnamon at the end, and it was *chef’s kiss*
Yum! I made this using oat milk and loved it! It’s a keeper. Thanks Kate.
You’re welcome, Sharon! Thank you for your review.
Making this for the second time tonight, for breakfasts this week. It’s so good heated up the next day! The first time I cooked it, I was too cautious with the heat and it took about twice as long. This time I turned it up and it’s coming along nicely. I’ll top with apples, pecans, and brown sugar.
Perfect! Thanks, I never really knew how to prepare them.
These are the best steel cut oatmeal recipe ever! I love the health benefits from it but it was always too hard to eat for me unlike rolled oats. Toasting it gives it a nutty flavor. Love it. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
This is way to runny!
I found I added about another 10 minutes of simmering, but maybe that was due to the temperature during the rest of the cook time. It does say to simmer until most of the liquid is absorbed.
Too salty, had to rinse out the parts to eat it.
I’m sorry you didn’t love this recipe.
I don’t know how a quarter-teaspoon of salt in 4 cups of liquid can be too salty…did you accidentally put in a quarter cup of salt?
I love the idea of toasting my steel-cut oats. (My preferred oats!)
Here’s a suggestion, in return:
Cook oatmeal in an enamel-lined cast-iron lidded pot.* (My “oatmeal pot” is a small Le Creuset I’ve had for about 45 years!)
When the oats are added (using your recipe), make sure the liquid has returned to a full simmer. Stir for a minute, put the lid on, and TURN OFF THE HEAT, and go take a shower, wash your hair, get dressed — get the kids dressed, water your plants, whatever your morning routine is. The oats will wait. …and I have much better things to do with 20 minutes in the morning that stir oats! Just don’t take the lid off.
After about 30 minutes, the oatmeal will be ready. There may still be some liquid on top, but I just stir that in. (If the kitchen is cold, this may require reheating, stirring for a minute or two.)
*This will only work in a heavy lidded pot which maintains the heat.
Fantastic recipe, Kate! Also love P.Grace’s suggestion of a minimal supervision version. Arthritis makes it hard to stand there stirring so I really appreciate the recommendation.
Great recipe, easy and always turns out great.
I dry toast the oats in a cast iron skillet instead of using fat. I make extra to freeze in single or double servings.
Great to hear, Danette! I appreciate your review.
Thanks for this review. I was looking for exactly this information before I experiment as I made 13 portions and I’d like to freeze. I also wondered about cutting out the fat and dry roasting.
Wonderful recipe!
I’ve made this multiple times and my whole family loves it! I serve it with a little drizzle of real maple syrup on top and my kids eat it up in less than 5 mins. I make triple batches (adds roughly 20 mins to cook time listed above) following the recipe exactly and freeze the extra in individual portions – it thaws and reheats beautifully! The coconut oil and toasting really sets this recipe apart. One time I did dry toast the oats (ran out of coconut oil) and it was still good, but we prefer with the coco oil.
The only ‘trick’ to this recipe, which the author hints at, is watching the oats and adjusting the cook time accordingly, especially towards the end, to make sure the oats aren’t too thin.
Thanks so much for an easy, delicious, healthy recipe!! :)
You’re welcome, Brittany!
my go to recipe. I add honey and vanilla at the end. Nice and creamy.
The oatmeal was perfect. I was so nervous about cooking steel cooked oats because I typically use rolled oats.
I’m glad you loved it!
Excellent recipe! Threw in some very dried-out raisins at some point to rehydrate, served with brown sugar and pecans. Creamy and yummy.
I’m glad you love it, Mara! I appreciate your review.
A bit of a lengthy cooking process, but so worth it. Deliciously creamy and flavorful! I use soy milk and vegan butter or olive oil for toasting and it’s great. Thanks for the recipe!
I’m glad you enjoyed it!
You don’t have to search anymore. The recipe is absolutely perfect! The recipe calls for more liquid than other recipes I’ve tried. Makes a huge difference imo.
Delicious and easy to make. I think my oats were stale as I had to cook for almost an hour to get it thick enough and liquid absorbed. I ate it plain!
Great to hear, Jackie!
How do you reheat them?
You can gently reheat on the stove or in the microwave.
This is the best recipe for Steel Cut oats. Toasting the oats brings out the nutty flavor.
Thank you Kate!
You’re welcome, Tracy!
Hi Kate,
Greetings from Sydney, Australia. I had never made steel cut oats as I was worried that they were complicated. I just make your steel oats and OMG, I’m savouring every mouthful. I’m glad I made a double batch so I’ll have plenty to enjoy. Thank you!!!
Hooray! Thank you for sharing, Mia.
Hi. I am what you call the dumbest cook in the world. I made a batch added yogurt and I could have eaten all the serves there and then. Magnificent. Thank you.
Now the dumb part. Re heat in the microwave or on a low stove heat. Do I need to add any water etc
Hi, I’m glad you loved this! No need to add anything when you reheat, unless you want to.
Hi Kate
I am from the UK and came across steel cut oats by watching the Motivationaldoc, Dr Alan Mandell. I am a diabetic and this looked good for reducing blood sugars.
I found your recipe really helpful and delicious. Thank you so much
Annie x
Which toppings would you suggest for a diabetic? I don’t want to add a topping that will spike my sugar.
I can’t give specifics to your dietary needs as I’m not a registered dietitian.
Best oatmeal I ever had. Kate does it again!
Thank you, Kevin! I’m glad you love it.
So delicious! I followed the instructions precisely. I used grass fed cow’s milk, organic virgin coconut oil and Bob’s Organic steel cut oats. I was inspired to make this after having a delightful bowl in a restaurant. The oatmeal was so good I did not need any toppings. However I did top it with maple syrup, walnuts and banana slices. I was in heaven. The recipe was easy to follow.
Best steel cut oats recipe! I’ve been making a big batch of this every week and am loving it! Perfect proportions, lots of different variations based on toppings you add. Thanks, Kate!
You’re welcome, Katie! Thank you for your review.
How long can you keep leftovers in fridge?
Hi Joanne! They should last 4-5 days.
I discovered this recipe years ago when my children were young and have been making it ever since. We all absolutely love it even after all this time, it’s so good, healthy and an easy breakfast to reach for if you make a big badge. Even though I’ve had this recipe for years , I just realized you have different versions of cooking the oatmeal, one which includes cooking the oatmeal with apples. I am really looking forward to trying that version next time I cook steel cut oats. Thank you !
Hooray! I’m glad you have been making this for so long.
I agree with another commenter, you can stop your search for the perfect steel cut oats, this is it. Everyone I make this for loves it, and it is one of my kids favorite breakfasts. I’m a seasoned cook, but for some reason had no idea how to make steel cut oats until now! We’re a bit pressed for time during the week so I’m going to try to toast the oats, add the water and soak them overnight, then add the milk and cook them in the morning, I’ll let you know if it works out!
Hi Sara, any chance you remember how it panned out? I’m trying the same thing tonight, fingers crossed for tomorrow morning!
I forgot to respond! But it’s become the new way we make these oats. In my experience, it does not cut the cooking time by too much, like I expected, but it saves you valuable time in the morning in that your recipe is ready to go, you just need to start cooking it. It takes 5 minutes the night before and probably saves you 20 minutes in the am. I just toast the oats and add all the water the night before. Such a good recipe, everyone always asks how I make these when I prepare it for my extended family.
I have been making and loving your granola for a few years now without commenting, but I had to let you know how much I love this delicious easy recipe for steel cut oatmeal! I follow it to the letter and it turns out beautifully each time. Today I topped it with the cranberry orange version of your granola, plus sliced almonds, fresh blueberries and a drizzle of honey and it’s heaven. Thank you!!
This was delicious and so easy. I skipped the toasting step and used oatmilk. It was creamy and satisfying. I topped my cup of oatmeal with vegan yogurt and banana. This will be my go-to recipe even though I made some mods. Thanks!
Great to hear, Tina! I appreciate your review.
I’ve made this several times and it turns out perfect each time.
Thank you for your review, Monique!
i make this every week, adding vanilla, cinnamon, flax, walnuts, a dash of maple, and pepitas then add fresh blueberries or bananas when eating.
My family really loved this recipe! I did use a cup of apple juice for one of the cups of water but followed the rest of the recipe, adding in a little brown sugar, maple syrup, a shredded granny smith apple, and cinnamon/ginger/nutmeg at the end. I also added dried cranberries and chia seeds to mine. I will definitely make this again, in a bigger batch, to freeze portions for easy good breakfasts on school mornings! Thanks so much!
Perfect!
Happy you enjoyed this recipe!
I’ve made this several times and 3x or 4x the recipe. I’ve made it with oat milk, soy milk, almond milk and 2% cow’s milk (and sometimes a mix)… the results are always consistent. I keep 4-5 portions in the fridge at a time. Rest will be frozen for later use. I often add maple syrup and/or a bit of brown sugar on top in true Canadian fashion. Delish!
OMG!!! These are spectacular! I used 2 cups of water and two cups of almond milk…we’ll, because I don’t listen very well…lol! I topped it with poached eggs! I wanted some sautéed greens too, but I was too hungry to wait!! Oh so good!! Thanks for another AMAZING recipe!
Great to hear you enjoyed it, Karen!
Ok wow! I just finished making this recipe and it is amazing. I really didn’t know how good steel cut oats could be, but I loved it!!! I sprinkled cinnamon, coconut, chia seeds and brown sugar on top. It’s so creamy and has such a nice flavor. I’ll definitely be making this again. Thank you for such a great recipe!
Very good. Got thicker as it sat! Will make again.
Love this! I tried with brown sugar, toasted almonds and coconut.
Is your name Cookie or Kate? ;)
Love steel cut oats and your add in ideas! I was taught a quicker way of making steel cut oats that I have yet to come across online. For two servings use 1 and a half cups of liquid and 2/3 cup oats. A pinch of salt, the liquid and oats all go in at once and then heat on high stirring constantly until the liquid starts boiling. Turn off the heat and cover tightly. In about 10 minutes the oatmeal should be ready. If it hasn’t absorbed enough liquid then wait a little longer. I find this method faster and easier than the usual way. The only drawback is the oatmeal isn’t as hot as it would be if cooked the usual way, but you can always turn the burner back on and warm it up before serving.
This is a terrific recipe! I made it exactly as described and after the first time, I’ve been doubling the recipe ever since. It’s great to have it ready to take to work every morning. I just heat it up, add a little turbinado sugar and some toasted chopped pecans. Perfection!
It’s -20 outside today which called for a hot breakfast. I mixed in peanut butter, chocolate, and topped with banana and my toddler and husband both loved it Will definitely make again!
I love to hear that, Kelly! Thank you for your review.
Hi and thank you! I love this recipe for so many reasons. First, the idea of toasting the oats first ups the flavor, the toasty taste so lovely. Second, the endless possibilities of add-ins and toppings make it such a playful way to cook – the basic oatmeal being a blank canvas and the other ingredients a big palette of colors and flavors. It also encourages using up bits and bobs of things in the refrigerator or pantry. This morning’s version was cocoa nibs, chopped up crystallized ginger, walnuts and pomegranate arils. And a dollop of coconut yogurt on top. Okay, and a splash of maple syrup :-) Lastly, how well it stands up to refrigerating, freezing and re-heating makes it a perfect addition to my life and needs. Yay!!!
You’re welcome, Suzanne! I’m glad you enjoy this recipe so much. Thank you for sharing your variations.
Perfectly cooked! Delicious!
Great to hear, E!
Perfection! This is my winter breakfast go-to, I love it. Portion into individual jars to prep for the week. Each day i reheat with a little milk and toppings and I’ve got a quick warm breakfast in minutes!