Batch Cooking Oats for Quick Meal Prep

Healthy Breakfast Made Easy

Oats have been known to help lower cholesterol, keep us regular, and provide numerous other health benefits. To reap those benefits, we need to consume them regularly. Batch cooking steel cut oats makes it so easy to have a quick, satiating breakfast ready to go each morning. I cook up a batch once each week so breakfast is ready for at least 5 days.

I like to cook the oats plain for two main reasons. First, to reduce smells from spices that can linger in your Instant Pot sealing ring. And second, so you can mix and match what toppings you use each day. This way breakfast is never boring! Simply scoop out a portion, add different fruits, nuts, seeds, and spices, and reheat. Stay tuned all week for 5 days of no repeat oatmeal recipes featuring my favorite combos!

I recommend using organic oats whenever possible, especially if you are eating them every day. Oats are routinely sprayed with glyphosate-containing products like Roundup as a desiccant. This means it is used to dry out the plant to make it easier to harvest. To be certified organic, glyphosate cannot be used.

Considering glyphosate is patented as an antibiotic, and we are well aware of the negative effects of the overuse of antibiotics, I’d prefer to limit the amount I’m consuming. While organic may still contain trace amounts, it greatly reduces exposure. Now on to the preparation!

Preparation and Tips on Quantities

Using a 6 quart Instant Pot, place the inner liner in the Instant Pot and add 2 cups of dry steel cut oats.

Add at least 5 cups of liquid. Much less than this, and your oats might start to stick and burn on the bottom of your Instant Pot. On the other hand, you can add more if you like your oats a little soupier. But I recommend starting here because as the cooked oats sit in the fridge all week, they will soak up any excess liquid and become very mushy. You can always add more liquid each morning to reheat.

This can be all water or a combination of water and plant-based milk. I don’t use a lot of plant-based milk in general, so I like using all water, which I’ve done here. It turns out really creamy even with no milk. Otherwise, 4 cups of water with 1 cup of plant-based milk is a good ratio. You can play around with this proportion and add more milk if you like.

Oats can get very frothy when pressure cooking. I recommend staying below the half mark rather than filling all the way to the max line. If you’re using a 3 quart pot, be mindful of that especially when releasing the pressure, and try only 1 cup of the oats with about 2 ½ to 3 cups of liquid.

Cooking Directions

Secure the Instant Pot lid. Select “Pressure Cook” or “Manual” on the high pressure setting. Press to de-select the “Keep Warm” setting. Adjust the time to 8 minutes. Depending on your Instant Pot model, you may have to press start, otherwise it will automatically start after a few seconds.

Like with the amount of liquid, feel free to play around with timing, too. I’ve done as little as 6 minutes for chewier oats. And you could go longer if you want very soft oats. But again, keep in mind, the longer you cook them to start, the mushier they will be after sitting in the fridge.

It takes about 10 minutes to come up to pressure before the timer will set for 8 minutes of cook time. Once the cook time is complete, allow the pot to natural release for at least 10 to 15 minutes and then do a quick release of any remaining pressure.

When you open the Instant Pot it will look similar to how you started and may seem like a lot of liquid still.

Once you stir, it should be a creamy consistency. You can add toppings now and feed a crowd, or let it cool and store in an air-tight container in the fridge for 4 or 5 days. Technically this is about 8 servings, but it feeds me for 5 days. So depending on how much you eat you’ll be able to feed 1 or 2 people for a few days.

Reheating

Scoop out individual portions and add different toppings each morning. Please note, the oats will be very firm after they cool in the fridge. I like to break the oats up into chunks with a spoon and add a little liquid before reheating.

The simplest way to enjoy this is with my Go-To Oatmeal Spice Blend and some fruit. This week I will be sharing some of my favorite oatmeal toppings to show you how oatmeal doesn’t have to be boring!

Printable Recipe

Instant Pot Steel Cut Oats

Servings

5-8

servings

Prep time

5

minutes

Cooking time

30

minutes

Make a week’s worth of oats to store in the fridge so you can have breakfast in a flash!

Ingredients

• 2 cups dry steel cut oats

• 4 cups water

• 1 cup plant-based milk

Directions

• Add all ingredients to inner liner of your Instant Pot. Secure the lid and make sure the valve is set to “sealing.”
• Select “Pressure Cook” or “Manual” on the high pressure setting. Press to de-select the “Keep Warm” setting. Adjust the time to 8 minutes. Depending on your Instant Pot model you may have to press start, otherwise it will automatically start after a few seconds.
• It takes about 10 minutes to come up to pressure before the timer will set for 8 minutes of cook time. Once the cook time is complete, allow the pot to natural release for at least 10 to 15 minutes and then do a quick release of any remaining pressure.
• Open the Instant Pot and give the oats a stir. It will look like a lot of liquid at first, but once you stir it should be a creamy consistency.
• Store in an air-tight container in the fridge for 4 or 5 days to enjoy each morning for breakfast!

Notes

• This recipe is designed for a 6 quart Instant Pot, but you could definitely use a different size, just be sure to stay below the halfway mark as oats tend to be quite frothy and could splatter when releasing pressure. Cook times may also vary. When I use the 3 quart, I use 1 cup of steel cut oats with about 2 ½ to 3 cups of liquid for 8 minutes at high pressure.
• You can adjust the cook time depending on how you like your oats. I’ve done as little as 6 minutes and it works out great since the oats continue to soften as they sit in your fridge.
• Please note the leftover cold oats will soak up any remaining liquid and become very firm. So to reheat individual portions, add more water or plant milk to loosen it up. Add whatever other toppings you like in your oats, and microwave.
• Feel free to use all water or any ratio of water and plant milk. Add more liquid if you like creamier oats. This ratio of 4 cups of water and 1 cup of plant milk is pretty creamy. But I usually do all water, and it is still very creamy.