My go-to oatmeal recipe! Make it a healthy oatmeal bowl with your favorite toppings or add more milk and make it into oats porridge; either way, it’s easy and a healthy breakfast option.
If you notice my weekly meal planners, I would have oatmeal atleast once a week for breakfast. Sometimes I make it more than once too. It’s my go-to breakfast option, and we all love it. Ok, I am not talking about the oatmeal made with an instant oats packet. We love our oatmeal made from scratch with old-fashioned rolled oats.
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Oatmeal with rolled oats
Unlike instant packet oats, homemade ones are not loaded with sugar. You can customize it with toppings and flavors of your choice. And it’s not too difficult to make either. While you can make this recipe in Instant Pot, I went with the traditional open-pot method. All you need is a saucepan for making this oatmeal. I will soon share the IP version too.
You might all wonder why I am using oatmeal and oats porridge in the title. Oatmeal is a type of porridge – a porridge made with oats. Sometimes I add more milk to my cooked oats and make it a thin porridge which I drink leisurely. For a savory version, I add buttermilk and salt. Yes, you can make sweet and savory porridge with oats, but today, let’s focus on the sweet one.
Ingredients required
Rolled oats: It’s the key ingredient, and I won’t recommend instant oats variety for sure. I have explained the different types of oats in my oats platter post. Please do check it out.
Coconut sugar: While you can use regular sugar, I went with coconut sugar for this recipe, hence the brown color.
Milk: Milk adds creaminess to the oatmeal, and you can use milk of your choice. I have tried almond milk and dairy milk, and for this recipe, I used dairy milk.
Water: We need water to cook the oats. I tried cooking the oats with milk, but we felt it was too creamy and a little heavy, so I always cooked them in water and added a little milk.
Flavors: I love cinnamon in my oats, which I have added here as well. But you can use vanilla essence or other flavorings of your choice.
Toppings: The sky is the limit when it comes to the toppings. More than nuts, I love to top our oatmeal with chia seeds and hemp seeds for that added protein. You can add fresh fruits, nuts, and seeds of your choice.
Dietary specifications
This oatmeal is a nut-free, vegetarian oatmeal. Make sure to use gluten-free labeled oats for a gluten-free version. Use plant-based milk for a vegan version. You can also skip the milk.
I love to serve my oatmeal with fresh fruits. I have never batch-cooked my oats and made the required amount as needed.
Now without further ado, let’s see how to make this oatmeal/oats porridge.
Oatmeal recipe with step-wise pictures
- Combine the water and oats in a saucepan and let it soak for at least 15 to 20 minutes.
- Gently mash the oats and add the sugar. Mix well; now, bring this mixture to a gentle boil over medium heat.
- When the oats mixture becomes frothy, add the cinnamon and mix.
- Cook until the oatmeal is thick (semi-solid) and the oats are soft and done. It usually takes about 7 to 10 minutes.
- Let it cool for 5 minutes. Now add the milk and mix. Divide equally between two bowls. Add the chia seeds and hemp seeds and serve warm with fruits of your choice. The oatmeal will thicken as it cools down.
Recipe notes
- If you want thin consistency porridge, add more milk and adjust sugar accordingly.
- You can use the sweetener/flavors of your choice. This oats porridge is a basic recipe; you can customize the toppings to your taste and preference.
- Soaking the oats is optional, but it reduces the cooking time.
Explore more oats recipes
Loved this recipe?
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📖 Recipe
Easy Oatmeal Recipe | Oats Porridge
Equipment
- saucepan
Ingredients
Measurement Details: 1 cup = 240ml; 1 tbsp = 15ml; 1 tsp = 5ml;
- ½ cup rolled oats
- 2 cups water
- ½ cup milk
- 3 to 4 tsp coconut sugar or to taste
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
Toppings
- 1 tbsp chia seeds divided
- 1 tbsp hemp seeds divided
- 1 cup fruits fresh fruits of your choice
Instructions
- Combine the water and oats in a saucepan and let it soak for at least 15 to 20 minutes.
- Gently mash the oats and add the sugar. Mix well; now bring this mixture to a gentle boil over medium heat.
- When the oats mixture becomes frothy, add the cinnamon and mix.
- Cook until the oatmeal is thick (semi-solid) and the oats are soft and done. It usually takes about 7 to 10 minutes.
- Let it cool for 5 minutes. Now add the milk and mix. Divide equally between two bowls. Add the chia seeds and hemp seeds and serve warm with fruits of your choice. The oatmeal will thicken as it cools down.
Notes
- If you want thin consistency porridge, add more milk and adjust sugar accordingly.
- You can use the sweetener/flavors of your choice. This oats porridge is a basic recipe; you can customize the toppings to your taste and preference.
- Soaking the oats is optional, but it reduces the cooking time.
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It varies depending upon the product types or brands.
Update notes: Earlier posted in 2015. Now I have updated with new pictures, recipe card with nutrition information.
Simple and healthy breakfast.
Healthy way to kick start the day.
I usually add some fruits to my oatmeal and love to have it for breakfast everyday!
That’s one healthy and nutritious breakfast.
even my favorite breakfast
Such a healthy way to start the day.
Oats porridge looks so filling.
Whenever i feel lazy to cook our breakfast, i’ll go immediately for oats porridge, our family favourite.
Busy morning calls for a healthy Nd tasty oats kanji
yup. Thanks pa
On my search I found oats porridge as one of the most popular breakfasts across globe…nice choice.
I prefer oats with milk as well..addition of dates and raisins would make it very tasty :)
Yup true.
Quite quick and easy to make..
Simple, healthy and hearty… love it!
:-) Thanks
I am very lazy to make oats from scratch. I use instant oatmeal. Oats porridge with a bowl of fruit is a healthy way to start the day.