Instant Pot Oatmeal

By Alexandra Caspero on March 6, 2024
Steel cut oats made in the Instant Pot!
Makes 2 big bowls

 This instant pot oatmeal recipe is the BEST; super creamy and delicious! If you like oatmeal, you’ve gotta try this steel cut oatmeal recipe. 

These instant pot oats are one of the best ways to enjoy oatmeal! In fact, it’s this instant pot oatmeal recipe that finally made me love oatmeal.

For years now, if I’m eating oats they are usually baked oatmeal or cold as overnight oats. But, with two young kids, I wanted a way to get a creamy bowl of oats ready for breakfast, fast.

Even if you think you don’t love oatmeal, you’ve gotta try these instant pot oats. Made with steel cut oats for extra nutrition, they are incredibly creamy and perfectly sweet. If I had known that regular oatmeal could taste this amazing, I wouldn’t have wasted so many years not eating them.

Instant Pot Oatmeal

Ingredient Notes

  • Light coconut milk: This is essential to creating the creamy flavor of the oats. You can sub in other milks, but I highly recommend using the coconut milk for best results.
  • Uncooked steel-cut oats: Regular oats won’t work the same way and can’t be substituted.
  • Ground cinnamon, Vanilla and Nutmeg: The cinnamon and nutmeg provide flavor, especially with only a small amount of sweetener. I don’t recommend skipping, but you can sub in almond extract or other extracts for the vanilla, if desired. Nutmeg gives a warm taste and I love it with cinnamon.
  • Maple syrup: Just a touch provides sweetness. You can omit, but I think it’s a nice touch for the instant pot oats.
Steel Cut Oatmeal Recipe

How to Make Instant Pot Oatmeal

Combine All Ingredients in the Instant Pot

Add the canned coconut milk, water, oats, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, maple syrup and a pinch of salt.

Cook and Serve

Cook for 7 minutes, then let naturally release for 10 minutes. Divide into two big bowls, or 4 smaller ones, and serve.

Why this Recipe works

The secret is that the Instant Pot cooks the oats without stirring them, letting them soak up all the yummy spiced milk and then getting stirred together at the very end. I used coconut milk for extra richness, but any milk option would work here.

We’ve been playing with lots of different variations and they are all great- almond with a little pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice, soy with peanut butter powder. Everything seems to have been a hit so far!

I used to believe that oats needed a lot of sweeteners to be palatable. Perhaps that’s from my instant oat days, where my flavor options would rotate between Peaches and Cream, Strawberries and Cream, or Brown Sugar. When you make them this way, you don’t need much sweetener at all!

A little maple syrup goes a long way, especially with fresh, sweet berries. Some mornings, I skip the syrup all together and mash half a ripe banana into the oats for extra fiber and flavor, and it’s delicious. A drizzle of nut butter, some seeds… oh my… this instant pot oatmeal is just so, so good.

Healthy Instant Pot Oatmeal

Do you have to use Steel Cut Oats?

Yes, you do. I haven’t tried this with regular oats, but once you see how much more flavorful steel cut oats are you won’t want to go back. Denser than regular oats, they create the creamiest bowl of oatmeal when cooked this way. Using the Instant Pot also cuts down a lot on stove-top cooking time!

If you prefer to use instant oats, then I recommend considering my other oatmeal recipes, or my overnight oatmeal recipes.

What are the health benefits of Steel Cut Oats?

Oats are a whole grain, therefore full of vitamins, minerals, and soluble fiber. Just like a wheat kernel, an oat kernel contains all the parts of a whole grain: the fiber-rich bran, the nutrient-rich germ, and the endosperm. 

Steel-cut oats are roughly chopped whole oat kernels that have a chewier, heartier texture than rolled oats. If you don’t love regular oatmeal (like me!), then you’ll definitely want to try steel-cut oats instead. 

The image below is a bag of steel-cut oats– check out all that yummy texture! 

Steel Cut Oats

More Oatmeal Recipes

Instant Pot Oatmeal Recipe

If you love this steel cut oatmeal recipe, then you’ll love these other healthy breakfast recipes: overnight muesli, vegan egg Benedict, fluffy vegan pancakes, vegan baked oatmeal with fresh berries

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Instant Pot Oatmeal

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Instant Pot Oatmeal

Instant Pot Oatmeal (using steel cut oats)

  • Author: Alex Caspero
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: 4 1/2 cup servings 1x
  • Category: breakfast
  • Method: Instant Pot
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Vegan

Description

Instant Pot Oatmeal with Steel Cut Oats! This instant pot oatmeal recipe is the BEST; super creamy and delicious! If you like oatmeal, you’ve gotta try this instant pot steel cut oatmeal recipe. 


  • Author: Alex Caspero
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: 4 1/2 cup servings 1x
  • Category: breakfast
  • Method: Instant Pot
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Vegan
  • Author: Alex Caspero
  • Prep Time: 5 minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 minutes
  • Total Time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: 4 1/2 cup servings 1x
  • Category: breakfast
  • Method: Instant Pot
  • Cuisine: American
  • Diet: Vegan
Scale

Ingredients

  • 1 (14 ounce) can light coconut milk
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 cup uncooked steel-cut oats
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1 tablespoon 100% maple syrup
  • pinch salt
  • Fruit and chopped nuts, for serving

Instructions

  1. Add the can of light coconut milk, 1 cup water, 1 cup steel cut oats, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg, 1 tablespoon maple syrup and a pinch of salt to the base of an Instant Pot. Stir to combine.
  2. Add the lid and secure, checking that the steam release handle is pointed to the “sealing” position.
  3. Press the “manual” button and set the cook time to 7 minutes on high pressure. Let the pressure come down naturally for 10 minutes, then quick release to remove any other pressure.
  4. Open the lid and stir the oatmeal, adding in more water if needed to achieve desired texture. Divide into bowls and serve with fresh fruit and chopped nuts. Makes 4 normal-ish bowls and 2 large ones.

did you make this?

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Meet Alex Caspero

Alex Caspero is a Registered Dietitian, New York Times Bestselling Chef, and mom of two. She aims to cut through the nutrition noise by providing real-life, nourishing tips for body and mind. Learn more about Alex.

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    1. CD
      February 15, 2023 AT 10:58 pm

      I really enjoyed the flavors of this recipe! Haven’t found one like it. And love that it cooks steel cut oats quickly. My only question, and this may be a user error, but why do I always get the burn signal from my instant pot midway through? I’ve tried pouring the liquids first before the oats and stirring really well to prevent settling at the bottom, but I still seem to get the burn signal. Could this mean that I need a new pot for my instant pot?






      1. Alex
        February 17, 2023 AT 8:27 pm

        Hi Charlene– this is a good troubleshooting checklist for why it happens– but there should be enough liquid in this recipe to avoid the burn error. I have an older model instant pot that doesn’t have this burn error message– but I know it’s more common with newer models. https://www.insider.com/guides/kitchen/instant-pot-burn-message

    2. Julia Levison
      February 23, 2021 AT 8:56 am

      In Covid recovery. Was plant based but lost appetite. Now slowly coming back. Any light soup/broth you can recommend. Need nutrition but not much else during reentry






    3. Denise
      December 2, 2020 AT 7:35 pm

      Can you reheat leftovers or does the texture get to thick and chewy. I’m looking for steel cut oats that can be .are the night before.

      1. Alex
        December 3, 2020 AT 1:38 pm

        You can reheat them (I do often) but they will get a little chewier– to prevent this, make sure to add in additional liquid as you reheat.

    4. Ferrice
      December 17, 2019 AT 4:32 pm

      So delicious! Woke up to a dreary, rainy day and made this for breakfast with almond milk. Great recipe – thank you.

      1. Alex
        December 17, 2019 AT 4:34 pm

        So glad you liked it!

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