Quick Breakfast: Hearty Steel-Cut Oats

Like most people, I usually don't have time in the morning to cook a fresh, healthy breakfast. I either eat a quick bowl of cereal or nothing at all. Until I found out about steel-cut oats. Unlike instant oatmeal, steel-cut oats take about 30 minutes to cook, but the difference in flavor makes up for the extra cooking time. The oats are a little puffy and they pop right in your mouth. I usually make a large batch of oats on the weekend, and then pop it into the microwave for a good, quick breakfast during the rest of the week.


To start with, I add four cups of milk to a pot and heat over medium heat (to prevent burning the milk on the bottom) until boiling. Don't turn your back on the milk or you'll end up running over to the stove to prevent the milk from foaming up and boiling over the edge of the pot (as seen on my wooden spoon). The recipe on the box says that you can either use milk or water, but I use milk to add some protein and make my breakfast more filling.

Next, I add one cup of the steel-cut oats, turn down the heat to low, and let the oats and milk simmer for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Since I used milk, I really had to scrape the bottom of the pot to prevent the milk from scalding on the bottom. But even if it does, it's no big deal. You just end up with funny looking orange chunks of milk in the oatmeal when you're done (but they're perfectly edible).

After 30 minutes, the oatmeal will have thickened and will be deliciously creamy. I didn't add any sugar or anything else to the oats, because I like to leave them in the fridge as they are and add sugar right before I reheat my bowl of oats. My favorite ingredient to add to my oats is a ripe, mushed up banana. Andy likes to add brown sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla. I tried adding a little jam once, but it made it too sweet for my tastes.

This dish is perfect for all of the lazy weekday cooks like me. I never have enough time in the morning for anything, but at least I can still have a hot, healthy breakfast.