Instant Pot Oatmeal: How to cook old fashioned oats perfectly in the pressure cooker. Ideas for toppings, and flavor combinations as well.
If you asked my kids what they eat most often, they would tell you hands down oatmeal.
Since they were babies, oatmeal has been a staple at our house. I have always loved oatmeal and even have a whole list of recipes made with oats.
Oats are a great source of fiber, whole grains and help to regulate blood sugar.
When we were gluten-free, dairy-free, and egg-free due to food allergies, oats were our “safe” go whole grain choice.
And bottom line, we LOVE oatmeal–whether Overnight Banana Peanut Butter Oatmeal, Hot Cocoa Oatmeal, or Apple Pie Oatmeal.
I love to make a large batch of overnight slow cooker oats like Strawberries and Cream Oatmeal or Maple Cinnamon Oatmeal and have breakfast waiting for us.
But I have found a new way of making oatmeal that is quickly becoming the preferred method at our house and that is with my Instant Pot.
Instant Pot Oatmeal
While waking up to a slow cooker full of steel cut oats is dreamy, and grabbing a jar of overnight oatmeal from the refrigerator is a great start to a hot summer morning, I am in love with Instant Pot Oatmeal for a few reasons.
In less than 25 minutes from start to finish, I can make a large batch of oatmeal that can be customized a million different ways to please everyone in my family–so the person who doesn’t like bananas can have raisins and walnuts instead.
And yes, 20ish minutes may seem like a long time when you can boil old fashioned oats on the stove and cook in 5 minutes, but remember you still have to bring the water to a boil and then you have to constantly stir your oats while cooking.
In the Instant Pot, making homemade oatmeal with old fashioned oats is COMPLETELY hands off.
So I can set everything up for oatmeal in the pressure cooker when I wake up and by the time I have gotten my kids out of bed and dressed, breakfast is ready to be served.
I also love making Instant Pot Oatmeal on a Sunday while meal prepping and then letting cool and refrigerating to reheat portions on busy school mornings.
How to Cook Old Fashioned Oats in the Instant Pot
Making old fashioned oats in the Instant Pot is incredibly simple.
RIDICULOUSLY SIMPLE.
Step One: Place your trivet in your inner pot of your pressure cooker and pour in 1 cup cold water.
Step Two: In a heat safe bowl (I use a 7 cup pyrex glass dish), mix your oats and liquid together with a bit of flax seed. The flax seed is optional but adds omega fatty acids and fiber.
- I choose to use half water and half dairy of any kind (coconut milk, cows milk, almond milk, etc). You can use all water or all dairy. In my experience all water is incredibly bland and using all dairy/non-dairy as your liquid doesn’t result in oats breaking down into a creamy texture.
- It is important to note if you are using a high fat dairy (like coconut cream or whole milk) you MUST use only half full fat dairy product with half water so the fat in your dairy will not separate.
- Another important thing to remember when cooking oats in your instant pot, much like rice, you will NOT need as much liquid as you do when cooking on the stove top. This is because, when you cook oats on the stove, liquid is evaporated (even if your pan has a tight fitting lid, but in the pressure cooker, no liquid is evaporated.
Step Three: Put the lid on your instant pot, turn your valve to “sealed” and set your pressure cooker to cook on high pressure for 8 minutes. I have found it takes anywhere from 5-10 minutes to come to pressure.
Step Four: Allow your oatmeal to sit in the Instant Pot for at least 5 minutes before doing a quick release of remaining pressure–see my tips on doing a quick release in my Instant Pot 101.
I would not release pressure right away, because this may cause your oatmeal to spill out of your pot in pot.
Step Five: Serve warm with any desired toppings.
Flavor Varieties for Instant Pot Old Fashioned Oatmeal:
There are as about as many varieties of oatmeal as there are people.
One of the main reasons I love to make a big batch of plain Instant Pot Oatmeal is so that each person can flavor their oatmeal exactly as they desire.
Here are a few of my favorite Instant Pot Oatmeal serving ideas. Each recipe is for one serving of oatmeal.
- Vanilla Maple: 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1/2 tablespoon maple syrup
- Chocolate Peanut Butter: 1 tablespoon cocoa powder, 1 tablespoons peanut butter, and 1/2 tablespoon maple syrup.
- Almond Joy: use coconut milk as your dairy or top cooked oatmeal with a bit of coconut milk before serving and top with mini chocolate chips, shredded coconut and toasted almonds
- Pumpkin Pie: mix in 2-3 tablespoons pumpkin puree, 1/2 tablespoon maple syrup, 1/2 teaspoon each of cinnamon, nutmeg and 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger.
- Raisin Nut: top oatmeal with a dash of cinnamon and 1-2 tablespoons each of raisins and chopped walnuts.
- Apple Pie: top oatmeal with chopped fresh apple, cinnamon, and honey or maple syrup.
- Honey Nut: stir in 1 tablespoon honey and top with toasted nuts of any variety.
- Pina Colada: top oatmeal with pineapple chunks, toasted coconut and sliced bananas. Serve with a splash of coconut milk.
- Savory Sausage and Cheese: add in 1/4 cup cooked crumbled sausage and 1/4 cup shredded cheese.
- Savory Bacon and Egg: top oatmeal crumbled bacon and a fried egg
- Berries and Cream: stir in 1/4 cup fresh berries. 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and 1/4 cup yogurt
Tips on Instant Pot Oats:
- In order to make gluten-free oatmeal be sure to use certified gluten-free oats.
- In order to make these Instant Pot Oats vegan use non-dairy milk.
- If you want to use quick-cooking or instant oats in place old fashioned oats, adjust cooking time to 5 minutes on high pressure and decrease liquid by 1/2 cup in oatmeal mixture.
- If I am planning on serving a sweet variety of Instant Pot oatmeal, I will often add in up to 1/2 cup liquid I have leftover from soaking dates for Homemade Chewy Granola Bars or the juice from canned fruit in 100% juice. It is a frugal tip to add sweetness naturally to your morning oatmeal (for as much liquid as you add, take that much water away from the recipe. If I were to use 1/2 cup juice, I would only use 1/2 cups water instead of 1 cup of water.)
- Do you have to cook this oatmeal using the pot in pot method? No, you don’t have to. I would grease your inner pot with butter or coconut oil and then use only water–no milk or non-dairy milk or you may have the milk burn on the bottom of the inner pot of your pressure cooker.
More Instant Pot Breakfast Recipes
- Instant Pot Steel Cut Oats
- Instant Pot Breakfast Casserole
- Instant Pot Yogurt
- Perfect Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs
How to make Instant Pot Oatmeal
Instant Pot Oatmeal
Ingredients
- 2 cups old fashioned oats
- 2 cups water DIVIDED
- 2 cups dairy of choice
- 1 tablespoon flaxseed
Instructions
- Insert steamer rack inside inner pot of Instant Pot. Add in 1 cup of water to inner pot.
- Inside a 7 cup heat safe bowl, mix together the oats, 1 cup water, dairy and flax seed.
- Place bowl on top of steaming rack and put lid on Instant pot.
- Set Valve to "sealed" and set manual or time to 8 minutes on high pressure.
- Allow to naturally release for 5 minutes before carefully releasing any addtional steam by using a wooden spoon to turn valve to vent.
- Remove bowl carefully from pressure cooker and then serve with desired toppings or allow to cool and store in fridge to reheat as needed.
Notes
You May Need the following to make Instant Pot Oatmeal
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Kristen Chidsey
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My new favorite way to make oatmeal! Delicious!
I am so glad you enjoyed Stephanie! IP oatmeal is so creamy.
Hello. I was browsing the web looking for how others cook their oatmeal in the IP, as I have been doing it for a few weeks (rolled oats, not quick or instant) and, while tolerable, is way too pasty. I use pot-in-pot for 3 minutes and it is way too paste-like for me. We add ground flax and oat bran, so I tried waiting to add that until the end, and it is still paste. I even adjusted the pressure to “low” but with the same result. Hmmm….. any thoughts?? (p.s. I use same proportion of oats to water (I don’t use milk or soymilk in my oats)
The best advice I can give you is to follow my recipe as written. Which is 1 part oats to 3 parts liquid (water is fine) and 8 minutes high pressure. My oats do not turn out gummy and this recipe has been tested many, many times. Your oats will get very pasty without enough liquid. Hope that helps.
Favorite basic recipe for oatmeal. Works with even a halfcup of oatmeal with appropriate proportions.
I am so glad you have found a great go to recipe here Joe!
I was looking for an oatmeal recipe to try in my Nina Foodie and yours looked the easiest. I put apples, cranberries, raisins and brown sugar in with the oatmeal and will be adding cinnamon and walnuts. Just heard the beep that it’s done cooking. The foodie didn’t take 10 min to pressurize. Can’t wait to see how it turned out.
I hope you enjoy Dawn! I love cranberries with apples 🙂
I also tried half the recipe, and while it came out great, it must have blown a bubble up and out, because there was oatmeal all over the inside, including the cover.
Oh dear…I bet a bubble did form. I make this weekly and have never had that happen. But I am glad it turned out.
I halved this recipe (1 cup oats, 1/2 cup water, 1 cup milk, 1/2 tbsp milled flaxseed, plus a dash of salt). I still added 1 cup of water to the pot for steaming. After cooking, I added chopped strawberries and xylitol sweetener. It turned out PERFECTLY. So yummy! Thank you!
Wahoo!! I am so glad you enjoyed it.
Really good. I made this with 1% milk and topped it with just raw brown sugar. Next time I think I will try full fat milk or 1% plus a little half-and-half for a bit more creaminess.
I am so glad you enjoyed! Ans yes, full fat milk or half and half will certainly make this creamier!
Perfect! Pre-made a batch for my toddler. The consistency was much better than the microwave or stove, and very soft. I stirred in some frozen blueberries and cinnamon after cooked.
YAY!! I am actually eating some of my IP oatmeal right now–with cinnamon and banana 🙂 I hope your toddler enjoys!
I made the oatmeal in the pressure cooker, with 1C water and 2C almond milk. I don’t have a burn warning on my pressure cooker.
The time it took to push the button and I turned it off was about 18 minutes. It didn’t burn, but was a little browned on the bottom in one spot.
I am so glad it worked out for you! Using dairy may cause a burn notice and that is why I recommend pot in pot for this recipe.
Thank you yummy. I had no idea it was so easy!
Just an FYI, I’ve done some reading/research on using Pyrex in general:
“new pyrex”(1998 and later when Corning sold it) should not be used in the instant pot as they can shatter, because they’re making them with a different material.(they can also shatter during normal oven use) Stainless steel is the best bet.
Thank you for that info! And so glad you enjoyed the oatmeal.
Thanks so much x
This is the best oatmeal. The kind that just sticks to your ribs.
So much better then “Instant Oatmea’>
Thank you for a great and versatile recipe.
I am so glad you love this recipe Werra!
Tried your recipe today in my Instant Pot and it turned out really well! So much easier than standing there by the stove and stirring, stirring, stirring. Thank you for taking the time to work it out and share it.
I used all water for the liquid so I can share some oatmeal with my dogs.
And I have to tell you about these pots! I’ve been looking for pots or bowls to use in my Instant Pot for pot-in-pot cooking. Found a set of bowls that are practically perfect. Stainless steel, the have lids, and they have handles!
They come in a set of three. The medium and small bowls fit in the Instant Pot DUO60 6 Qt 7-in-1.
KINDEN Mixing Bowl Stainless Steel -12mm Composite Bottom Nesting Bowls with Handle and Lids for Pressure Cooker, Food Preparation, Fruit, Salad, Camping, Storage, Durable 3 Piece Set,2QT,3QT &4QT
https://amzn.to/2CMiq0F
I love that you are sharing your oatmeal with you dogs so sweet! And those bowls are great!! Thank you for sharing that as well.
I’ve been looking for a recipe to make oatmeal for the entire week of breakfasts – how do you reheat this recipe? In the microwave? Do you add liquid in before heating?
Hi Molly–that is exactly what I do for the week myself. Once it is done cooking in the pressure cooker, I let it cool and then cover and store in fridge. In mornings, I dish out oatmeal into bowls and add a bit extra milk (if needed) and reheat individual servings in microwave. This works best for my family as on school days breakfast is at different times for each of us. Hope that helps!
HELP! I have tried 3 times and 3 times I have got the BURNT signal.
I put 1 cup of old fashioned oats with 3 cups of skimmed milk. Then only 1 min on high pressure and half way it says it is burnt. Why??????
🙁
Hi Alicia, I am so sorry for your frustration. You can not put dairy into your instant pot, unless you are using the pot in pot method. Dairy will cause your Instant Pot to get a burn notice. My directions state you need to place your oats and milk in an oven safe bowl. Then pour 1 cup water into the inner pot. Place trivet inside your instant pot and then place your oven safe bowl on trivet and proceed with cooking. If you do not want to use pot in pot you need to use only water to cook your oatmeal.
Third time I have used my insta pot. I didn’t have a glass bowl that fit in my 6 qrt .instapot. I put ingredients into pot directly and I also used 2 cups if 1% milk for the liquid. Added raisins and cinnamon. Turned out perfect. Pot doesn’t look to hard to clean up.
YAY! So glad this was easy for you to follow!
I have the 8 quart instant pot. I like to use Pot in Pot so I am trying your recipe now. Should the pip be covered? With something like aluminum foil? How would it turn out if it was or wasn’t covered?
Hi Jane, there is no need to cover your pot in pot, unless the recipe states to do so. (In that case you would use foil) But this works perfectly uncovered. Enjoy!
sooo i don’t want 6 servings, can i do 1 cup oats and 1 cup water and 1 cup almond milk
Hi Annee! I have tried doubling this recipe and cutting in half with fabulous results. But I have not tried with only 1 cup oats. However, I think it will work PERFECTLY. Just be sure to use pot in pot method and pour 1 cup of water under trivet in Instant Pot.
Thank you for this pip recipe. It came out perfectly creamy and delicious. I added 3/4 T of pure maple syrup, 2 T chia seeds and 2 cups vanilla almond cashew (25 calorie ea. cup) “milk” with the 1 cup of water mixed into the oats. I put in 1cup HOT water into the pot so that it would come to pressure faster, which it did (2 minutes to pressure). The entire time was 15 minutes. When I opened the lid I thought that there was too much liquid but then I remembered that stirring it several times would make the liquid get more incorporated into the oats. My other suggestion is to make aluminum foil packets (foil folded into thirds lengthwise and wrapped around the trivet handles to act like long handles) to make taking out the bowl with the oats in it easier. I just finished my last spoonful with banana and cinnamon. DELICIOUS! Thanks again, Judy
Yay!!! I am so glad you enjoyed this Judy! And love the tip for the aluminum foil trivets.
Thank you for posting this recipe! I’m a newbie to IP cooking and this is my first PIP attempt. It turned out great. I used 3 cups of unsweetened vanilla almond milk with my 2 cups oatmeal. So creamy. Going in as a breakfast rotation.
YAY!! I am so glad you enjoyed! This Instant Pot can be overwhelming, so I am glad you found my explanations helpful.
Is the 1 cup of water in the bottom of the pot our of the 2 cups in the recipe? so 1 cup in the bottom and 1 cup in the oatmeal with 2 cups of dairy?
That is correct Matt! Enjoy!
Is the bowl placed inside the pressure cooker in order to make it easier to clean?
I reduced the water to 1c, and made it without the bowl and rack. (I couldn’t find the rack.)
I am making the oatmeal now. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Hi Erica. The pot in pot method is NECESSARY if cooking your oatmeal with dairy. You can not pour dairy directly into your pressure cooker and not get the burn warning. If you are using all water, you will be fine–just a bit messier to clean up.
Thank you so much for asking this question …. I was confused too and I was hoping someone had asked. I love things cooked in the instant pot and I think my husband will really enjoy this … plus I don’t have to worry about getting distracted and burning my oatmeal. Win/Win
I am glad you ask questions too!! It helps me better write posts in the future 🙂 I hope you love this oatmeal Kathleen!
Can steel cut be substituted? And would the water and or almond milk amounts change?
Hi Bill, the directions would be different. Here are my directions for Instant Pot Steel Cut Oats.
Kristen, This is a 10 star recipe!
Thank you so much for sharing!!
I used vanilla flavor almond milk (next time trying coconut milk). I also added 1 Tbsp of chia seeds to your recipe. When done, I stirred in some blueberries & I used stevia for my sweeter.
WAHOO!!! I am so happy you shared your success with us all Connie! We love this recipe and grateful that others are finding it a success in their homes as well.
i use 2 cups of water and 2 cups of oatmeal even when not using the extra bowl right?
Hi Christa, If you are only using water, you would use 2 cups oatmeal and 4 cups of wate or 3 1/2 cups for thick oatmeal and then NO milk. Hope you enjoy!
trying your receipe as I type…..really enjoy creamy oatmeal so I cannot image the instant pot doing anythning but at high pressure cook. sadly no bananas at hand at the moment but my 100% Canadian maple syrup is standing by. thanks so much.
I hope you enjoy Freddie! The IP makes the most creamy oatmeal in my opinion. And I have to say, I am partial to Canadian Maple Syrup, so I don’t think you will be disappointed.
This is amazing.Thank you for sharing recipe! Came out perfect!
WAHOO!!! Thanks for sharing your success Jenny!
I’ve never made instant pot before, but I’m definitely going to try it. Must be delicious!
Oatmeal in your instant pot is spectacular.
We normally love doing banana and peanut butter oatmeal. Do you think u could add a mashed banana and some peanut butter to the oats and then do the high pressure? (using quick oats so 5 mins)
I LOVE peanut butter and banana together. I would definetely add 1-2 bananas sliced to the oatmeal and up to 1/4 cup peanut butter. As long as you are making this using the pot in pot method, there will be no issues at all adding the banana and peanut butter. If you are making this just in your inner pot–just add the peanut butter and banana on top of the oats and don’t mix in until after it is finished cooking. And yes, 5 minutes for quick oats! Enjoy!
Thanks so much for the recipe! Other recipes I’ve found for oatmeal in the instant pot use all water, and my kids did not go for it. We have oatmeal at least once a week for breakfast–I’m going to try this next time!
YAY!!! I totally understand–my kids would not do just plain milk either! Enjoy!
Thanks much for the recipe. My first try with oatmeal. Mine has chia seed, apples, & cinnamon in it. Hoping for a good batch cause I’ll make it every week. I love old fashioned oats like my mom used to make! Yum!
I hope it turns out perfectly for you Juliana!