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Instant Pot Oatmeal is the ultimate breakfast--fast, hands-off, and completely customizable! In less than 20 minutes, you can enjoy creamy, perfectly cooked rolled oats, prepared effortlessly right in your Instant Pot.
Effortless 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, Instant Pot Oatmeal is my hands-down favorite way to effortlessly prepare oatmeal!
It takes minutes to prepare, is always super creamy, and packs in a nice serving of whole grains and fiber into breakfast. Serve it with any toppings you like for a wholesome breakfast you will never tire of eating.
Happy Cooking! xo Kristen
How to Make Instant Pot Oatmeal
If you are unfamiliar with cooking in an Instant Pot or the functions of your Instant Pot, be sure to start with my guide for using an Instant Pot for the best results on this and future recipes. You will find the full recipe in detail in the recipe card below.
- Pour in 1.5 cups of cold tap water into the inner pot of an Instant Pot and add a metal trivet.
- In a stainless steel bowl or deep 7x4-inch cake pan (I find the cake pans easiest to find), combine the rolled oats with water and/or milk of choice. If desired, add in flaxseed, ground cinnamon, etc.
- Secure the lid on the Instant Pot, be sure the vent knob is pointed towards sealed, and set the cooking time using the Pressure Cook or Manual button to high pressure for following times:
- Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats: 3 minutes
- Quick-Cook Rolled Oats: 1 minute
- Once the cooking time has elapsed, let pressure release naturally for 10 minutes and then release any remaining pressure if needed by using a long utensil to knock the steam release knob from sealed to venting--be sure to stand back to protect your face.
- Open the Instant Pot and serve your oatmeal as desired.
Kristen's Key Tips
- Use Rolled Oats, Not Steel Cut Oats. If you have steel-cut oats follow my recipe for Instant Pot Steel Cut Oats.
- Cook Pot-In Pot. Use a stainless steel bowl or cake pan for easy clean-up and allows you the ability to add milk or non-dairy milk to your oats without causing a burn notice.
- Flavor it Your Way! Add flaxseed for fiber, protein powder, top with fresh fruit, stir in nut butter--the options are endless!
Not Adding Dairy?
Skip the Pot-in-Pot Method
If you are not adding dairy or non-dairy milk, you can prepare oatmeal directly in the inner pot.
- Combine 2 cups of rolled oats with 3 cups of water directly inside the inner pot.
- Cook on HIGH pressure for 1 minute for old-fashioned rolled oats or 0 minutes for quick-cooking rolled oats.
- Let pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then serve as desired.
Ideas for Toppings
One of the main reasons I love to make a big batch of plain Instant Pot Oatmeal is so that each person can flavor/top their oatmeal exactly as they desire. Here are a few of my favorite Instant Pot Oatmeal variations.
- Maple Syrup & Berries: Drizzle oatmeal with maple syrup and top with any berries you like. Add nuts if desired.
- Peanut Butter & Banana: Top oatmeal with sliced banana and drizzle with peanut butter.
- Almond Joy: Top oatmeal with mini chocolate chips, shredded coconut, and toasted almonds.
- Pumpkin Pie: Mix in 2-3 tablespoons pumpkin puree, ½ tablespoon maple syrup, and ½ teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice.
- Raisin Nut: Top oatmeal with a dash of cinnamon and 1-2 tablespoons each of raisins and chopped walnuts.
- Apple Pie: Top with freshly chopped apple, cinnamon, and a drizzle of honey or maple syrup.
- Savory: Top oatmeal with cooked breakfast sausage or baked bacon, shredded cheese, and/or a fried egg.
- Berries and Cream: Top oatmeal with ¼ cup of fresh berries and up to ½ cup of yogurt.
Storage Instructions
- Refrigerate: Allow the oatmeal to cool slightly and store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- Reheat: Reheat individual servings in a heat-safe bowl in 60-second intervals in the microwave.
FAQs on Instant Pot Oatmeal
For oats to cook properly, you need to use a ratio of 3:2 liquid to oats. When cooking oats in your instant pot, much like rice, you will NOT need as much liquid as you do when cooking on the stovetop. This is because, when you cook oats on the stove, some of the liquid is evaporated, but in the pressure cooker, no liquid is evaporated.
NO! When I first wrote this post, I suggested using an oven-safe glass dish, since then Pyrex has come out to say that their dishes are not safe in the Instant Pot, therefore I no longer recommend using any glass heat-safe dish. Stainless steel is the way to go to be safe!
More Staple Easy Instant Pot Recipes
- Instant Pot Yogurt
- Instant Pot Hard Boiled Eggs
- Instant Pot Baked Potatoes
- Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes
- Instant Pot Jasmine Rice
- Instant Pot Chicken Stock
Did you make this recipe?
If you enjoyed this recipe, please leave a comment with a 5-star review at the bottom of the post. Thank you!
Instant Pot Oatmeal
Video
Ingredients
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 1 cup water, plus water for inside inner pot
- 2 cups milk, any variety
- 1 tablespoon flaxseed, optional
Instructions
- Pour in 1-½ cups of cold tap water into the inner pot and add a metal trivet.
- Inside a 7-cup heat-safe bowl or 7x4-inch cake pan, mix together the 2 cups of rolled oats with 1 cup water, 2 cups milk of choice, and 1 tablespoon flaxseed, if using. Place the bowl or pan inside the inner pot on the trivet.
- Place the lid on the Instant pot and ensure the pressure valve is set to "sealed." To set the cooking time, hit Manual or Pressure Cook and set to cook on HIGH Pressure for 3 minutes for old-fashioned rolled oats and 1 minute for quick-cooking oats.
- Once the cooking time has elapsed, allow the pressure to naturally release for 10 minutes before carefully releasing any additional steam by using a wooden spoon to turn steam valve to vent.
- Remove the bowl carefully from the pressure cooker and then serve with desired toppings or allow to cool and store in fridge to reheat as needed.
Notes
- You need a total of 3 cups liquid to 2 cups oats for oats to cook properly. If you want your oats to be really loose, use an additional ½ cup of dairy or water.
- 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 products with half water so the fat in your dairy will not separate while cooking under pressure.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This recipe was originally published in 2017, updated in 2025.
Hi, your recipe says to do a 10 minute natural release but under Notes it says a 5 minute natural release. Is it 5 or 10? TIA
Hi MaryAnn. 5 minutes minimum, but I recommend a full 10 minutes. Enjoy!
This is a wonderful recipe...
I couldn’t find my trivet so I used mason jar rings... works like a charm!
What a great solution thanks for sharing! And glad you enjoyed the oatmeal.
Fantastic! So easy and I don't have to watch and stir a pot on the stove! I made it just like the recipe (with unsweetened almond milk), but I also added raisins and a heaping amount of cinnamon and 1/8 tsp. salt. So good!
Served with more almond milk and pure maple syrup.
Yum! I love the additions you made Wendy! So glad you enjoyed this simple recipe.
Why can't you cook the oatmeal in the pot versus using trivet and a bowl?
Hi Teresa! If you use only water you can certainly cook in the pot. Using milk can cause a burn notice. To do this mix together 3 cups water with 2 cups oat and cook for 1 minute.
Hey you should or i ably edit this post at the beginning to clarify that you can’t use Pyrex. I followed all the steps up to putting my Pyrex bowl full of water milk and oats into the instant pot only to then find your disclaimer at the bottom. That was a bit frustrating and it was a mask and I end up having to make the food on the stove. It would help if in the top of the post you mentioned what Pyrex said so that early on we know if we have the right equipment to do the recipe.
Hi Shay! I am so sorry for that hassle. I mentioned the issue in the body of the post as well, but just updated to include this not in the 2nd step of the recipe. Great feedback.
Thanks for creating this recipe and posting it. Great idea to add in a tablespoon of flax seed. I found that it's easy to remove the bowl from the instapot pot after cooking if I place the instapot pot in the sink and remove a generous amount of the cooked oats from the bowl. Then I tip the pot at a 45 degree angle so I can slip my fingers between the now cooled pot and bowl and lift out the bowl without spilling any contents.
Thanks for the tip Karen! That is a great one!
Turned out really well, thanks mindfullmom!
I am so glad to hear this!!
Hi Kristen,
Oatmeal was a staple when I was growing up in Scotland, so it's great to see a modern recipe. One thing though, in Step 3 you say high pressure for 8 minutes, but in the printed recipe it's 3 minutes. Can you clarify please?
Hi Jim! It is 3 minutes cook time. Sorry for any confusion.