Ready in minutes, these Instant Pot steel cut oats are a quick, warming, and filling breakfast. Serve them topped with fresh fruit, berries, or a drizzle of honey. You can enjoy these steel cut oats immediately or divide them into containers and refrigerate for breakfast all week long.
Easy Instant Pot Steel Cut Oats
They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and these Instant Pot steel cut oats are the perfect way to start the morning. Finished with blueberries, bananas, and cinnamon, and lightly sweetened with pure maple syrup or honey, this easy oatmeal recipe is super filling and so tasty. The Instant Pot does all the work here, just as it does in my Instant Pot Baked Oatmeal recipe, so the hands-on time is just a few minutes.
Love blueberries with your oats? You may also love my Baked Oatmeal with Blueberries!
Why You’ll Love This Steel Cut Oats Recipe
The question I get asked most often when I share my Overnight Oats recipe is, “Can you use steel cut oats?” In this case, you cannot, as steel cut oats are whole-grain oats and need to be cooked first. Luckily, the Instant Pot makes quick work of cooking steel cut oats that come out perfectly every time!
- Quick and easy. This recipe comes together in under 30 minutes,, but the hands-on time is literally just a few seconds as you add the ingredients to the pressure cooker.
- Great for meal prep. If you want a filling breakfast for busy mornings, make a big batch of these oats and warm them up throughout the week.
- Easy to customize. Feel free to replace the bananas and blueberries in this recipe with your favorite fruit or add other toppings like nut butters and seeds.
Steel Cut Oats vs. Regular Oats
Steel cut oats are less processed than rolled oats or quick oats. The name comes from the fact that the oats are cut with steel blades, which creates a chewier, coarser texture. Because of this, steel cut oats take longer to cook than instant, ground, or rolled oats. Slow Cooker Steel Cut Oats. However, using the Instant Pot reduces the cooking time for a breakfast oatmeal that’s nuttier in flavor and chewier in texture.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Here are the ingredients needed for this Instant Pot oats recipe. See the recipe card below for the exact measurements.
- Steel cut oats: You can find gluten-free steel cut oats if needed. You’ll cook the oats in water.
- Cinnamon sticks add a warm flavor to the oats.
- Fruit: I used bananas and blueberries. Fresh or frozen berries will both work.
- Milk: Any milk you prefer will work, whether it’s nut, soy, or skim.
- Pure maple syrup or honey to sweeten the oats.
- Ground cinnamon for topping the oatmeal.
Watch How to Make It
How To Cook Steel Cut Oats In the Instant Pot
Cooking steel cut oats in the Instant Pot requires just seconds of hands-on time. Here’s how to do it, step-by-step.
- Combine the ingredients. Stir the oats and water together in the pressure cooker. Toss in the cinnamon sticks.
- Cook. Cover and cook on high pressure for 6 minutes. Afterward, let the pressure naturally release.
- Add the blueberries. Remove the cinnamon sticks from the oats. Then, stir the blueberries.
- Serve. Pour a cup of oats into each bowl, then top with milk, half of a banana, and a drizzle of honey or maple syrup. Finish with a pinch of cinnamon. Enjoy warm!
Optional Toppings
Once you prepare your steel cut oats, there are endless ways to garnish them. Here are a few alternatives (or additions) to the bananas and blueberries in this recipe:
- Other berries (fresh or frozen)
- Peaches
- Apples (you can add these before cooking as well)
- Pumpkin puree (added before cooking)
- Chia seeds or flax seeds
- Nut butter
- Nuts
- A fried egg and Hash, for Savory Steel Cut Oats.
Make-Ahead and Storage
- Refrigerate. Steel cut oats are great for meal prep, as you can make them ahead and refrigerate them for the week. Prepare as directed above, but leave the fruit and milk out. Refrigerate the cooked oats in small containers.
- Reheat. Microwave for about a minute or reheat on the stove with a little liquid to loosen it up. Then stir in your milk and desired toppings.
- Freeze. The best way to freeze cooked oats is in a muffin tin. Once frozen, transfer the individual servings into a ziploc bag. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw the portions overnight in the fridge, then reheat as directed above.
More Oatmeal Recipes
Instant Pot Steel Cut Oats
Ingredients
- 2 cups steel cut oats, gluten-free, if necessary
- 6 cups water
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 4 medium ripe bananas
- 2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries
- 1 cup milk of your choice, nut, soy or skim
- 8 teaspoons pure maple syrup or honey
- ground cinnamon, for topping
Instructions
- Combine the steel cut oats and water in the bowl of your pressure cooker and stir.
- Add the cinnamon sticks, cover and cook 6 minutes on high pressure.
- Allow the pressure to naturally release.
- Remove the cinnamon sticks and discard and stir in blueberries.
- To serve, pour 1 cup of oats in each bowl, and top each with 2 tablespoons milk, 1/2 sliced banana, drizzle with 1 teaspoon honey or maple syrup and finish with a pinch of cinnamon.
- Leftovers can be refrigerated in glass or plastic containers. To reheat, microwave for 2 to 3 minutes, until warm then add toppings.
