Oatmeal can be a delicious, hearty, and nutritious breakfast, as long as you don’t make mushy oatmeal. Win every morning with this easy recipe for Not Mushy Oatmeal.
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Children learn what they live.
My mom had that on a plaque at our house growing up. And I’m finding it very true in many instances of life, particularly in food choices.
You see, my parents did not like oatmeal as children. Or liver. As a result, those are two foods I was never required to eat. Neither of them liked it, so why force their kids to eat it? Instead they fed us cream of wheat.
Which I think is nasty and will never subject my children to. You see, I learned early on not to feed my kids things that I didn’t like. Ha!
Children learn what they live — or they go the other way.
Unlike my parents, I love oatmeal. But, I don’t like oatmeal prepared according to package directions. Too mushy. Too soggy. Too much like what prompted poor Oliver Twist to say, “Please sir, could I have some more?”
Uh, no thanks.
Instead, I make my oatmeal to be more like rice with very little moisture left behind. If you don’t care for regular oatmeal, you might like it my way!
(Be sure to check out these other great oats recipes that aren’t mushy at all!)
The method is pretty simple. Instead of a 2-1 ratio of water to oats that most manufacturer’s recommend, use a 1-1 ratio. Equal parts of oats and water will allow the oats to absorb all the liquid and be slightly al dente. No mush.
Serve with a spoonful of dark brown sugar and a tablespoon of real cream. Or if you want to gild the lily, add to those toppings a handful of toasted nuts and a handful of dried cranberries or raisins or cherries.
The result? A hot breakfast with texture! Something to sink your teeth into.
Please, sir, could I have some more?
This ranks high on my list of whole grain recipes. Whole grains is what we’re working in at our house to improve our family’s diet.
(I also did a series on whole grains several years ago on Good Cheap Eats. If you haven’t visited already, pop over to learn some basics about grains, find some great whole grain recipes, and learn about whole grain storage.)
How I make this good:
Whenever possible, I like to cook with plain old ingredients. While the convenience of mixes and canned sauces is nice, I feel better about feeding my family just whole foods whenever possible.
This recipe has no processed ingredients, just real food. I like that. You can use gluten-free oats if you like. I usually try to buy non-GMO oats when I can. If not, I buy them in bulk from Costco or Sprouts.
How to make this cheap:
Here are some of the strategies you can use to make this recipe more economical:
- Stock up on ingredients when they are on sale. Since oats are the main ingredient in this dish, it goes without saying, keep track of the price of oats at your stores and load up when you see a great deal.
(If you don’t already do so, consider following Good Cheap Eats, my food blog, where I regularly share money-saving tips and budget-friendly recipes.)
Tools I use to make this recipe easy:
This is a pretty straight-forward dish. You don’t need any fancy equipment. However, having some good basic kitchen tools can really make your time in the kitchen more enjoyable. Over time, I’ve honed my collection so that they are perfect for my needs. Here are the tools that I like to use in this recipe.
- pot with lid – I have this “chili pot” which is great for making a bulk batch of Not Mushy Oatmeal
- Bob’s Red Mill old fashioned oats – This is a favorite brand of ours.
More Oat Recipes
Tell us what you think!
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Not Mushy Oatmeal
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- pinch salt
- 1 cup rolled oats
- toppings for hot cereal , such as: cream, brown sugar, toasted nuts, dried fruit
Instructions
- Bring 1 cup water and a pinch of salt to boil in a pan. Stir in 1 cup old fashioned oats. Do not use quick oats — too mushy! Reduce heat to low and cook 5 minutes, covered. The oats will absorb all the liquid and be slightly al dente. No mush.
- Serve with desired toppings.
Notes
Nutrition
Brenda
Thank you so much for posting this! I don’t like mushy oatmeal either, I made this kind this morning, added a bit of butter, brown sugar, dates and walnuts and I’m loving it!
Jessica Fisher
@Brenda, so glad you liked it! Thanks for letting us know. Here’s another one won over to oatmeal. 😉
Self Sagacity
I love that you added the cranberries too, it looks delicious. I am glad to have found you tonight, as you’re food on a Thursday. This is my first time, so great to meet you. Thank you for hosting!
Jessica Fisher
Welcome! I think I’m going to go make some right now.
nanajan
OOOPs. if barley isnt a whole grain, what is it? sorry about the previous entry. but it is good to eat.
Jessica Fisher
@nanajan, we’re going to let barley come to the party. I think some would say that “pearl barley” isn’t whole since its bran has been removed. Kind of like white rice, I think. But, we’re gonna let it wear the whole grain hat. 😉
nanajan
something I never considered until a few years ago beyond a soup ingredient , was cooking with Barley. a young gal from Czech Republic who stayed one summer with us, prepared it for us, check out any website for Czech Food and enter the words Barley, she made it with Onions and Cheese and baked it in the oven. Apparently they eat it on Christmas Day, the dish in their language is in reference to St John. it is delicious and I have made it many times, my vegetarian friends love it too as a main dish. Sorry I dont have the exact recipe but look it up on the internet. enjoy!
Marj M.
MMM, This is how I’m going to make oatmeal tomorrow morn. Just never thought about reducing the water. Thank you so very much.
Jessica Fisher
@Marj M., let me know how you like it!
Keli
yum! I am going to try this. I love oatmeal – but only dry. The cooked stuff is way too mushy. LOL. Thanks for the recipe!
Marylouise
I have tried & tried to eat oatmeal( because it`s so good for you) but could never get past the texture.I will definitely try this one…Thanks!
Sarah @ Mum In Bloom
I can’t wait to check out everyone’s links. Mine included pearl barley but I guess that’s not a whole grain 🙁 Ooops! Thanks for sharing your yummy recipes everyone 🙂
Jessica Fisher
@Sarah @ Mum In Bloom, pearl barley is close enough, in my book. But, I get ya. I hope no one hassled you on that point!
Linda
I love toasted pecans in anything. I can’t believe I forgot about URS today. Better late than never.
Iowa Mom Life
I’ve wanted to “like” oatmeal but just couldn’t stand the mushy gross texture. I’ll have to try your version and see if it can convert me 🙂
Bonni
I’m excited to try the new recipes that I’ve found on your blog!!
Mrs. Mordecai
That’s just how I like my oatmeal, too. Simple, not mushy, al dente. Yum! I always serve it with boiled eggs.
Tina
Whole Wheat Oatmeal Cookies
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups oats
beat butter, sugars and eggs, when blended add the rest of the ingredients except oats. When well blended, add oats and stir until mixed.
Preheat oven to 350. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto greased baking sheets. Bake for 8-10 mins. Cool on baking sheet for 5 mins, then move to baking rack.
Recipe can be easily doubled, this recipe makes approx two dozen 2″ cookies.
Susie's Homemade
We need more whole grains in our diet!!
Katie @ Kitchen Stewardship
Awesome, important topic! I have tons of whole grain recipes; it was so hard to choose what to enter! If you need cornbread, biscuits, tortillas, or breadmaker bread, check out my recipes tab. I’m actually in the middle of a whole grains series, too, including sourdough. You would hate my oatmeal, though – it’s “soaked”, so it’s definitely soggy. 😉 Katie
Sheri
I totally agree! I can’t stand mushy oatmeal. It reminds me of something you would feed someone without teeth, you just need to mush it with your tongue, yuck! I like slightly undercooked steel cut oats. they have a good bite to them!
Kimberly
I’m going to have to try these. I’ve never liked oatmeal ’cause its too mushy, totally a texture thing. I’ll have to try this.
jenna Food WIth Kid Appeal
i am so with you! hated oatmeal until i made steel cut oats, which have a texture more similar to brown rice. next time i have a run out and the only thing left is rolled oats, i’ll try cooking them with less water as you suggest!
Liz@HoosierHomemade
I agree, yuck, Cream of Wheat. I’ve been adding a spoonful of peanut butter to my oatmeal, it makes it really creamy and adds some extra protein.
Thanks for hosting!
~Liz
randy
Me too with a little bit of cinnamon, brown sugar, white sugar, butter, vanilla coffee cream and top it off with either pineapple or strawberry…
Sharon @ UnfinishedMom
Oooh. I never thought about pecans and cranberries in oatmeal. I’ll bet it’s delicious.
Hannah
If you want some oats with texture, definitely try making muesli, and use steel-cut oats. It’s a really nice breakfast during the summer when hot oatmeal isn’t as appealing. And you can keep it inexpensive by using any kind of juice – lately I’ve been using orange juice and just adding chopped apples in the morning.