No exaggeration, for the past two months (at least) I’ve been having gourmet hot oats for breakfast every. day. Growing up, my experience with oatmeal was those single-serve portions from a brown paper bag that you ripped open at a hotel continental breakfast and added luke-warm water to, the freeze-dried fruits inflating just a little bit from the heat and moisture, but the flavor long gone. No thank you. I’ve found the secret steps to making yummy oatmeal deserving of the comforting word ‘porridge’ that I’ve read about in storybooks but never quite knew what it tasted like. Read on for a step-by-step of how I make my current breakfast obsession.
First things first. When we are talking about oats, what I mean is ‘old-fashioned rolled oats’. When I make oats for my husband, toddler and I, I usually do 4 cups water and 2 cups dried oats. If I’m making it just for me, I’ll do 2 cups water and 1 cup dried oats. The ratio is 2:1, more water than oats. I always use filtered water from our pitcher in the fridge. Normally oats are just cooked in water and then maybe given some butter and sugar once they’re done. I say that’s not good enough. My oats get a lotta love while they are cooking, which I call it the ‘base’, then the yummy toppings come later. The base is so yummy in and of itself, that you could eat it this way without any toppings (but who would want to do that!). However, if you do, it will still be yummier than the single-serve brown packet that has the audacity to call itself oatmeal.
THE 6-INGREDIENT OATMEAL BASE
SALT: I always salt the water before it boils. I just eyeball it, keeping in mind that however much salt I add to the water, that’s how much will end up in the cooked dish, since all the water is going to be absorbed into the oats. So, you don’t want to get too crazy here, but you want some taste so don’t be afraid to give that salt shaker a good go (I’m lookin at you, mom).
VANILLA EXTRACT: Get the real stuff! We don’t want any of this imitation vanilla nonsense. Splurge, if you can, and get the real deal. I fill up the cap from the bottle two times and dump that in. It probably ends up being about a tsp of vanilla.
HONEY (or coconut sugar): If you’re using honey, try and get it local and raw. Filtered commercial honey has all of the good enzymes removed and possible harmful additives. If you don’t have honey, try and get a better sweetener other than processed white sugar, such as coconut sugar or agave.
GROUND FLAX: Because if you can add more of this type of goodness to your diet, do it.
CINNAMON: This isn’t necessary, I just like some spice to my oats.
MILK OF CHOICE: I always splash in some of our raw milk that we get from a local farm near Billings, since it is not pasteurized or homogenized and therefore it doesn’t upset my stomach. So whichever milk you decide to splash in (whether it’s cow’s milk, nut milk, seed milk or another plant-based milk) make sure the oats end up with a creamy texture and color.
*Note: I don’t add any butter to my oats base, because the yummy toppings add some fat and butter-like texture. However, if you wanted to add butter (or a vegan substitute) or coconut oil, by all means do so!
DIRECTIONS
1. Pour required water into a medium saucepan, add desired amount of salt. Bring water to a boil.
2. Once the water boils, add dried oats. Cover with a lid and wait for the boil to return. Once boil has returned, turn the heat to low.
3. At this point, you will have to stand next to the pot and lift the lid every time the bubbles rise up as to make sure it doesn’t boil over. After doing this 2 or 3 times, the starches and bubbles will settle down and it will stay under the lid.
Bubbles rising to the surface as my oats are just starting to cook.
This is what we’re trying to avoid: the dreaded boil-over. I didn’t get to this one fast enough.
4. Once the oats look like the picture below, where the starches have settled down but the water is not completely gone yet, I start to add in all my base ingredients (except the salt, which you’ve already added). I’ve found that adding in the base ingredients while there is still water in the pot allows for a much easier distribution. I’ve tried to add the base ingredients after the water has absorbed, but the mixture is just too sticky at this point that no matter how much stirring I do, I can’t get the ingredients to mix in thoroughly, so it’s best to do it before it gets that way.
When the oats look like this, add your base ingredients.
5. Dump in your vanilla, honey (or other desired sweetener), flax seed, cinnamon and milk of choice. I never measure it out. Depending on how I feel I might want more sweetener one day but more milk another. Experiment with the amounts to dial in the taste you like the best. See the picture below for the visual amounts of how much I add.
Visual of my splash of milk.
6. Once all your base ingredients have been added, stir them all together, put the lid back on and simmer on low, continuing to stir occasionally. Simmer until your oats have reached the thickness level you desire. I like mine sticky so I simmer a bit longer to achieve this.
The starchy gooey-ness working its magic on simmer.
7. Ok, here’s where it gets really fun: THE TOPPINGS! Oooo there are so many different directions to go with this. You can dump almost whatever you’d like on top, or you can come up with certain “recipes” of things that taste well together. Lately I’ve been loving a “peanut butter and jelly” inspired bowl. I have been using tahini as the butter, and this really amazing local jam out of Bozeman, MT.
A typical gourmet oats bowl that I make myself for breakfast.
8. If you’ve stayed with me so far, you’re really in for a treat. This next and final step is by far THE BEST PART. This next ingredient up’d my oatmeal game so much I don’t even know how I got along without it. Ready? Califia brand’s Coconut Cream and Almond Milk Half n Half. This little creamy elixir will change the game for you on so many things, not just oatmeal. If you are reading this and you have no where you need to be in the next 30 minutes, get your tooshy into your car and drive to the store and buy this! You don’t want to make your oats without it, I promise. Anyway, I digress. I got caught up in a moment. Once my oats are all covered with pretty toppings, I lovingly pour some of this califia cream onto the oats. Then just sit for a second and look at the beauty.
Ahhhhh, ain’t she a beaut? Califia, if you’re reading this can I be a sponsor for you?!
There you go! It might seem like a lot of steps or a lot of pictures, but it’s really quite simple. It’s just giving a little more love and attention to making oatmeal than you might have done before. Pour yourself a nice cup of coffee and sit down to a comforting breakfast full of fiber and nutrients that is sure to keep you full until lunch!
TOPPINGS TO CONSIDER:
TAHINI
PEANUT BUTTER
JAM
FROZEN OR FRESH BERRIES (frozen berries will cool your oats down faster and add a fun swirl of color as they melt and stain the oats)
HEMP HEARTS
CHIA SEEDS
SESAME SEEDS (if you are breastfeeding, black sesame seeds are a powerhouse milk-maker!)
RAISINS
CHOPPED DATES
SLICED BANANAS
COCONUT
NUTS OF CHOICE
SUNFLOWER SEEDS
MACA POWDER (if I have this on hand I will also add it to the ‘oat base’ so that everyone gets a good dose of this superfood)
DARK CHOCOLATE SHAVINGS