Instant Pot Steel Cut Oats: How to cook steel cut oats perfectly in the pressure cooker. Ideas for toppings, and flavor combinations as well.
I adore oatmeal any way that I can get it, which is surprising because I grew up not eating oatmeal.
My mom happened to hate Oatmeal. Well, oatmeal made with old fashioned oats. However, give her steel cut oats and she was happy.
She loves my Carrot Cake Baked Oatmeal and Slow Cooker Strawberries and Cream Oatmeal, because both of those are made with steel cut oats. But she is notorious for waiting until she is rushing around getting ready for work to think about what she is having for breakfast.
In her rush, the same rush most of us face in the mornings, she does not have time to make steel cut oats.
Well, until I gave her an Instant Pot last year to make healthy, easy Instant Pot Recipes. Now Steel Cut Oats in the morning is a reality for her thanks to the Instant Pot.
Instant Pot Steel Cut Oats
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 30 minutes from start to finish, I can make a large batch of steel cut oatmeal–which is perfect for those mornings I forget to prep breakfast the night before.
And yes, 30ish minutes may seem like a long time for busy mornings, but because cooking the Instant Pot is hands-off, you can wake up, start these steel cut oats in your electric pressure cooker and by the time you blow dry your hair, or drag your kids out of bed, breakfast is ready for you.
And if you are your game, you can even set everything up for steel cut oats in the pressure cooker, set my timer button to delay cook time, and wake up to piping hot steel cut oats ready to be served.
May I also suggest making Instant Pot Steel Cut Oatmeal on a Sunday while meal prepping and then letting cool and refrigerating to reheat portions on busy school mornings, that is of course you aren’t using your Instant Pot to meal prep chicken breasts.
More delicious Breakfast Recipes
How to Cook Steel Cut Oats in the Instant Pot
Making steel cut oats in the Instant Pot is incredibly simple.
Cooking Steel Cut Oats Pot-In-Pot (My preferred method)
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 dosen’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 4 minutes. I have found it takes anywhere from 5-10 minutes to come to pressure.
Step Four: Allow the instant pot to release pressure naturally (about 15-20 minutes).
I would not recommend doing a quick release when cooking Steel Cut Oats in your pressure cooker, because this may cause your oatmeal to spill out of your pot in pot or liquid to clog your instant pot valve. Plus, one trick to making the BEST Steel Cut Oatmeal is allowing the oats to absorb the liquid and become tender.
Step Five: Serve warm with any desired toppings.
Cooking Steel Cut Oats without Pot In Pot Method
Do you have to cook steel cut oatmeal using the pot in pot method? No, as long as you do NOT use dairy products. The dairy will cause the oats to possibly burn.
To Make Instant Pot Steel Cut Oats with Water:
- Grease your inner pot with butter or coconut oil
- Pour in 2 cups of steel cut oats and 4 cups water.
- Cook on High Pressure for 4 minutes and allow pressure to release naturally.
Flavor Varieties for Pressure Cooker Steel Cut Oatmeal:
There are as about as many varieties of oatmeal as there are people, I have already shared with you my Strawberries and Cream Steel Cut Oats, Maple Cinnamon Steel Cut Oats, Carrot Cake Steel Cut Oats, and Peanut Butter and Jelly Oatmeal, along with many other more oatmeal recipes.
One of the main reasons I love to make a big batch of plain Instant Pot Steel Cut Oatmeal is so that each person can flavor their oatmeal exactly as they desire.
Here are a few of my favorite Instant Pot Steel Cut 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 steel cut oatmeal with a dash of cinnamon and 1-2 tablespoons each of raisins and chopped walnuts.
- Apple Pie: top steel cut oats 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 steel cut oats 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 sauasage and 1/4 cup shredded cheese.
- Savory Bacon and Egg: top steel cut 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
- Banana Chia Almond (pictured): top steel cut oats with sliced banana, 2 teaspoons chia seeds, and chopped almonds.
Tips on Instant Pot Steel Cut Oatmeal:
- In order to make gluten-free steel cut oatmeal be sure to use certified gluten-free steel cut oats.
- In order to make these Instant Pot Steel Cut Oats vegan use non-dairy milk.
- Leftover steel cut oats can be stored in the fridge for up to a week.
- Cooked steel cut oats can also be frozen in individual containers for up to 3 months, and reheated as needed.
How to make Instant Pot Steel Cut Oatmeal
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Instant Pot Steel Cut Oatmeal
How to cook steel cut oats in your pressure cooker for creamy, perfectly cooked oatmeal. Vegan, gluten-free, and full of protein and fiber for a healthy breakfast.
Ingredients
- 2 cups steel cut oats
- 2 cups water divided
- 2 cups milk your favorite variety
- dash salt
- 1/4 cup flax seed optional
Instructions
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Insert steamer rack inside inner pot of Instant Pot. Add in 1 cup of water to inner pot.
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Inside a 7 cup heat safe bowl, mix together the oats, 1 cup water, dairy and flax seed.
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Place bowl on top of steaming rack and put lid on Instant pot.
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Set Valve to "sealed" and set manual or time to 4 minutes on high pressure.
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Allow pressure to naturally release.
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Remove bowl carefully from pressure cooker and then serve with desired toppings or allow to cool and store in fridge to reheat as needed.
Recipe Notes
- Use gluten-free steel cut oats for gluten free oatmeal.
- Coconut milk, almond milk, or soy milk for vegan steel cut oatmeal.
You May Need the following to make Instant Pot Steel Cut Oats
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