Apple Cinnamon Steel-Cut Oatmeal
November 6th, 2007
Stumble it!
I really loved the apple and brown sugar flavor of those instant oatmeal packets when I was little. (I might even still like it now, but I’ve done my best to eliminate anything labeled “instant” from my diet.) We had an insta-hot faucet, so I could dump the powdered, sugary oats into a bowl and turn it into a snack as quickly as I could stir. This recipe is the adult version, using a fresh apple and steel-cut oats. There’s also a little dash of nutmeg, and little dashes of nutmeg remind me of donuts, which is never a bad thing in my opinion.
So let’s talk about oats.
Steel-cut oats are the less processed version of the oats we’re more familiar with, rolled oats. At least, rolled oats are the oats I’m most familiar with. While rolled oats are just as much a whole grain as steel-cut, they have been steamed, flattened, steamed again and then toasted dry. A steel-cut oat is simply cut into three or four pieces and then dried. Some people say the rolled oat, being more processed, has less nutrition and less flavor than the steel-cut variety, but I haven’t found any conclusive proof of that (in three minutes of googling).
There is a clear difference between the two; steel-cut oats take much, much longer to cook than rolled oats. It can take steel cut oats up to 40 minutes to cook, compared to rolled oats which finish up in a mere 5 minutes. Steel-cut retain their texture better after cooking, resulting in a chewier breakfast than standard rolled oats provide. Some people who are really into their oats insist that the steel-cut version has a nuttier, fuller flavor. You’ll find many people willing to invest the time in steel-cut oats just for their toothsome texture and full flavor.
Keep in mind oats come in more than these two versions. You can find whole oat groats (Wow. Oat groat? That’s really the term for it?), which are the least processed and take the longest to cook. The next step down from the whole oat groat is steel-cut, then rolled oats, quick-cooking oats, and instant oats. Generally, avoiding both ends of the spectrum is the best advice. Whole oat groats take forever to cook (I think pre-soaking is even recommended) and instant oats are so mushy and formless, they’re not worthwhile when you can make quick cooking and even rolled oats in under 5 minutes.
While I’m geeking out about oats, I should mention that quick cooking oats are generally preferred for making oatmeal cookies. I read that rolled oats can be used, but the dough should be refrigerated for 20 minutes to let the oats soften up by absorbing some moisture before baking. I’ve definitely used rolled oats in cookies without doing the refrigeration trick, so feel free to ignore this paragraph entirely if you’ve got a cookie recipe that works for you.
Apple Cinnamon Steel-Cut Oatmeal
Serves One Hearty Breakfast Portion, Two Petite Portions
2 tsp Non-Hydrogenated Vegan Margarine
1/2 Cup Steel Cut Oats
1 1/2 Cups Hot water
1/4 tsp Cinnamon
1 Pinch Salt
1/2 Cooking Apple, diced
1/4 Cup Soy, Oat, or Nut Milk
1-2 tsp Brown Sugar (or regular sugar with a small drizzle of molasses)
1 Tiny Pinch Nutmeg, optional
Heat margarine in a small sauce pot that has a tight fitting lid. Add oats and toast them for 1-2 minutes, until fragrant. Add cinnamon and salt, stir well. Stir in hot water and bring to a brisk boil. Cover and turn down heat. After 15 minutes, add apple, milk, and sugar and stir. Cook for another 5 minutes uncovered, stirring occasionally.
If after 5 minutes you’d prefer your oatmeal to be thicker, cover and turn off heat and let sit for an additional 5-10 minutes. This gives the oats a chance to absorb more liquid without running the risk of burning the oatmeal. Also, the oatmeal at this point is approximately the temperature of magma, so you might as well let it cool down a bit before you dig in.
If you feel like dressing up your oatmeal, drizzle it with a small amount of molasses and a pinch of nutmeg, or sprinkle it with additional brown sugar, or add a fresh apple slice or two to the top.
24 Comments Add your own
1. kat | November 6th, 2007 at 2:15 pm
Yum! Oatmeal is absolutely my favourite breakfast food! I eat it every morning (rolled oats kind). I make it with 1 cup soy milk (replacement for water) and then I add nutmeg and brown sugar. When it’s ready I fold in some flaxmeal, sliced mango and kiwi slices. SUPER GOOD!!!
2. Mike | November 6th, 2007 at 2:15 pm
My favorite was always the Strawberry packets! Maybe next spring we’ll see a berry flavored version!
3. Allie | November 6th, 2007 at 2:19 pm
Hey lolo. I put my steel cut oats in a microwaveable bowl (or in my stainless small pot depending on how much room is available in the fridge) with some water before bed. They only need to be warmed up in the morning. It makes breakfast nearly instant.
4. appifanie | November 6th, 2007 at 2:46 pm
awesome idea! i love the instants too, despite the fact they’re clearly not so healthy.
mike - i loved the strawberry ones too!
5. Robyn | November 6th, 2007 at 3:43 pm
Yay for your oatmeal post! I really appreciate it because I eat oatmeal several times a week for breakfast — sometimes knowing I’m about to eat some oatmeal is what helps me roll out of bed! I just use the quick-cooking oats for time’s sake, but then you can dress them up any way I want and still feel like you’re having a totally different breakfast every morning! I like oatmeal with almond butter and dried figs; goji berries, cashew butter, and pumpkin pie spice; bananas and walnuts; or even sometimes with flax oil (after cooking) or nutritional yeast!
By the way, what do you mean by “Cooking Apple” in your ingredient list? Also, kudos on your oatmeal pic! It looks gorgeous — I know oatmeal doesn’t photograph too well but you did an awesome job! Mmm… I’ll have to try oatmeal with soy margarine or with molasses per your suggestion. I’ve never done that before!
6. Sharon | November 6th, 2007 at 3:48 pm
I found the oat-geeking-outage adorable and fascinating. Miss you lots, friend.
7. Lolo | November 6th, 2007 at 4:14 pm
I’m so happy to see all this oatmeal love!
Robyn - A cooking apple is just an apple that doesn’t totally dissolve into mush when you cook it. Any kind of an apple that you’d use for pie would work just fine in this oatmeal.
8. Megan | November 6th, 2007 at 5:08 pm
I’m addicted to oatmeal in all flavors. This looks YUMMY. :3
9. Kayla | November 6th, 2007 at 5:35 pm
Mmm, this just sounds so hearty and delicious. I haven’t tried steel cut oats in a long time. Now that it’s getting cold, this would make a perfect warming meal. Oh, and I used to love the peaches n cream packets. I would like to recreate that sometime.
10. Mike | November 6th, 2007 at 5:45 pm
I never knew there were so many oats! I thought it was just rolled oats! Thank you for the enlightenment.
11. cherie | November 6th, 2007 at 9:45 pm
I like oatmeal a lot, too, esp. with cinnamon and raisins and/or apples. I love your comment about hot as magma. So true!
12. Syrie | November 6th, 2007 at 11:12 pm
This looks like the perfect winter brekkie! thanks for sharing.
13. lindsay | November 7th, 2007 at 12:25 am
love love LOVE the steel cut oats - i discovered them a few years ago and haven’t been able to go back to anything that takes less than 20 min to cook (unless it’s for the purpose of cookie making).
i haven’t, however, tried to toast the oats at the beginning before adding liquids - i’m looking forward to trying that!
cheers!
14. Clare | November 7th, 2007 at 4:13 am
How do steel-cut oats fit in with the Scots oatmeal? I’m used to pinhead, medium and fine ground. This sounds most like pinhead. I have medium oatmeal everyday for breakfast. Either soaked in milk in the fridge over night and with some of whatever fruit is in the house added, or microwaved for about 3 minutes as hot porridge. I might try adding apple and nutmeg to the microwaved version tomorrow - that sounds really good.
Thanks
15. Suzie | November 7th, 2007 at 9:48 am
I loved maple and brown sugar oatmeal growing up. To this day, it’s the only flavour I will eat. I think I’ll give this recipe a try, though. It looks promising.
Usually when I make homemade oatmeal, it tastes… kinda… slimy. So wish me luck! haha
16. Scott Carlson | November 7th, 2007 at 9:57 am
I’ve been using a different method recently. The night before I boil 1 qt water, and add that to 1 C steel-cut oats. stir, and go to sleep. When I get up, I cook them for maybe 3-5 minutes. I add some maple syrup, cinnamon, and raw sugar. Scoop into a bowl with some soy milk and raisins. The rest goes in the refrigerator for breakfast the rest of the week.
The first time I added the raisins the night before for the soak. Whoops. I ended up with grapes again. Not an enjoyable mouth feel.
17. sarah | November 7th, 2007 at 11:05 am
I was under the (false) impression that steel cut oats were WAY better for you than rolled oats. So this post made me happy - I can make oatmeal cookies without feeling guilty for using the “less healthy” kind. I’m not even sure where I got that idea.
But I LOVE the flavor of steel cut oats - the brand I use (McCann’s) makes a “quick and easy” kind, that’s just chopped a litle smaller, so cooking takes only 10-15 minutes. I recommend it!
18. VeggieGirl | November 7th, 2007 at 3:02 pm
This looks so comforting and scrumptious, Lolo - I LOVE steel-cut oats, and always add either fresh fruit (in the summer months - yes, I eat oatmeal all year round, not just in the winter) or dried fruit. Have you ever tried the oatmeal with DRIED apples? I find the flavor to be stronger (in a good way) than when using fresh apples; and there’s less chopping involved! :0)
19. VeganMoFo: Pumpkin Steel-&hellip | November 10th, 2007 at 9:04 am
[…] from Lolo’s Apple Cinnamon Steel-Cut Oatmeal recipe since I had no apples. NO. apples. what is wrong with […]
20. I love breakfast. «&hellip | November 13th, 2007 at 5:55 pm
[…] week, lolo and celine both blogged about very delicious looking bowls of oatmeal. So I decided to try […]
21. Brose | November 27th, 2007 at 2:55 pm
I’ve been experimenting with my rice cooker and discovered, lo and behold, you can make this in it with as much ease as making rice. I just toss everything in the night before - I like the steel cut oats with crasins, and then with some light cream and a bit of sugar on top for breakfast - and set the timer for when you want it ready. It totally eliminates the 40-odd minutes of cook time steel cut will need. They’re just as easy as rolled or instant, and so much more tasty!
22. Meera Subbarao | December 4th, 2007 at 10:14 am
Hi Lolo,
We are vegetarians, and I stumbled on your post yesterday. I showed your web site to my family and my daughter was saying I should buy your book.
Your site and all the recipes are awesome.
Please let me know where I can buy your book.
Thanks.
Meera
23. Carrie | January 25th, 2008 at 3:57 pm
Wow!! I love all the suggestions here for making this a more “instant” dish…from soaking overnight in the refrigerator, to the rice cooker with a timer on it. I might let my dad try that one, seeing as how he’s got the rice cooker….
All I can say is, this was a great recipe. I used coconut oil to toast the oats in and it adds such a nice flavor component. Also, a 1/4 tsp of blackstrap molasses and 1 T of maple syrup.
Yummmmm…
This was a hit!!
24. Jim Christy | February 10th, 2008 at 11:10 pm
Never done the toasting thing, look forward to trying that.
Personally, I’m a big fan of bananas in my oatmeal, just added at the end. Other thing I do give is grate in some sweet potato. Healthy and adds an nice texture. Couple drops of vanilla are good too…
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