Make-Ahead Steel Cut Oatmeal

EASY Â· DELICIOUS Â· BEAUTIFUL

What if you could have this for breakfast every morning in less than 3 minutes? What if you could make this for all the kids in less than 10 minutes? And what if I promised you that it didn’t come in one of those little packets full of preservatives and sugar? With my make-ahead steel cut oatmeal plan, all of this is true. Prepping my family’s breakfasts for the week has changed my family’s life! My husband has something healthy to eat as he’s running out the door, I am not scrambling for food while my kids are climbing the pantry shelves looking for the granola bars I hid, and we all have protein to eat before school. It’s a win win situation and I will NEVER go back!

This recipe is for 6 portions. I will prepare this on Sunday for my husband to eat each morning. He has his own tupperware container stashed in the fridge, separate from what the kids and I use. Start with 6 cups of water and bring it to a boil. Once boiling, add 1 1/2 cups of steel cut oats. They must be steel cut oats because quick cooking oats will go mushy and regular oats will grow a film by the end of the week. Turn the heat to low and let them simmer for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Once the steel cut oatmeal has cooled but are still warm, pour them into the container you want to use.

There is the option of adding fresh fruit to the oatmeal each morning, like blueberries and bananas. That’s what the kids and I do. But for my husband, who is running out the door while it is still dark, I make sandwich bags of toppings to take. I chop up a cup of raw, unsalted almonds using my handy dandy little chopper. This gadget is pretty awesome because cutting almonds by hand is no easy task. The chopper dices everything up evenly in just a few pumps.

Then I add a handful of raisins and dried cranberries.

dried fruit topping for steel cut oatmeal

I mix it all together and then separate it into 5 sandwich bags, 1 for each day of the week.

steel cut oatmeal and toppings

I pop the steel cut oats and all the toppings into the fridge and then Dan pulls them out as needed each morning. He scoops out the amount he wants to eat, adds a couple tablespoons of water or milk, and then heats it in the microwave for 1:00-1:30 minutes. This sure beats skipping breakfast or spending money every morning at McDonalds.

steel cut oats with blueberries and bananas

I do the same thing with my steel cut oatmeal except that I add a little cold milk after it is heated through. I throw a handful of blueberries, half of a banana, and a tablespoon of brown sugar on top. And don’t forget the coffee! Oh dear Lord, thank you for creating coffee! If only I could drink an entire cup before it was cold! My kids don’t understand the concept of “slow and easy like a Sunday morning.” Then again, whoever said that didn’t have three small children they were wrangling into church clothes and trying to get out the door before 9 am. Wasn’t there a meme about that?

Anyway, I hope these make-ahead steel cut oats can bring a little more sanity and ease to your hectic mornings. You may also like to try make-ahead Avocado and Turkey Bacon Breakfast Sandwiches for another healthy, easy breakfast. For even more idea, check out my Recipe Index or follow my Bright-Eyed Breakfast board on Pinterest. Happy cooking my friends!

Make-Ahead Steel Cut Oatmeal

Heidi Davison
Make-ahead steel cut oats are the perfect breakfast to make on a Sunday afternoon and eat throughout the week.
3 from 1 vote
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 25 minutes
Course Breakfast
Cuisine American
Servings 6

Ingredients
  

  • 6 cups water
  • 1 1/2 cups steel cut oats
  • 1 cup almonds chopped
  • 1/2 cup each raisins and cranberries
  • Optional: brown sugar blueberries, and bananas for toppings

Instructions
 

  • Boil the water in a medium sized saucepan.
  • Once boiling, add the steel cut oats and stir.
  • Turn the heat to low and simmer 25-30 minutes or until the oats have soaked up the water.
  • Pour the oats into a large tupperware and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
  • Separate almonds, cranberries, and raisins into individual bags for transportable toppings.
  • To warm, heat desired portion in the microwave for 1-1:30 minutes and add desired toppings.
  • Optional: add brown sugar, fruit, and milk when warmed each morning.

 

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  • Healthy and easy! My little ones can reheat this on their own!

    • heidishomecooking@gmail.com says:

      Yes! My thoughts exactly!

  • Tonya Hobbs says:

    You are fabulous! So organized and thorough!!

    • heidishomecooking@gmail.com says:

      Well thank you! Although most of the time it is organized chaos around here!

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