What Are Steel Cut Oats? Explore A New World of Oats and Make Them Taste Great

Maybe you are new to the world of steel cut oats… or maybe you have been using them for a very long time. If you are like me only a few months ago, you may not even know what steel cut oats look like. Let alone know how to properly cook them!

Are You New to the World of Oats?

I had it in my mind that maybe steel cut oats were a little fancier or healthier than “regular” oatmeal. Honestly, I didn’t even realize my trusty “Old Fashioned” oats that I bought from the store were even called rolled oats. I thought it was just regular old oatmeal, no big difference in steel cut or old fashioned or rolled or whatever!

I was an oat newbie.

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Oat Education 101

Here’s a breakdown of what I have been learning about oats in general:

Straight from the field, the oats are attached to a stalk and have hulls surrounding the “groats”. The groat is the kernel, or the oat that we are familiar with.

After the hull and the stalks are removed, we are left with the whole oat groat, or the kernel. Here’s a stock photo from Google that shows you the whole kernel:

Next, when these whole groats are cut into two or three pieces by a blade, they are called steel cut oats.

Further down the process, we have rolled oats. This is our familiar old fashioned oats that Quaker sells us from the store, that I always bought! They are steamed, then rolled by a machine into the flat flakes, and dried. Evidently, they store longer when they’ve been rolled. They also cook faster than steel cut.

Next, we have the quick cook oats, or instant oats. They cook even quicker than rolled oats because they are steamed longer and rolled even thinner than old fashioned oats. So if you’re looking for a majorly quick breakfast, this is your winner.

You may have also heard of oat bran and oat flour.

Oat bran is just the outer coating of the whole oat groat. The endosperm and the germ are left out, so it isn’t necessarily a whole grain! It is a soluble fiber and has many health benefits.

Oat flour is basically ground up rolled oats. It’s in a nice powdery form and can be used in baking. I’ve made pancakes and other treats with it numerous times. You can make it with your blender.

Finally, you may have seen a product called oat fiber. Trim Healthy Mama sells this product, and it is both gluten free and zero calorie. I’ve been using it for years, yet I had no clue what it actually was! Oat fiber is the outer hull of the oat that is usually not even in our oatmeal products at all! The hull is separated from the oat groat so we never even see it. It is an insoluble fiber, which is made from grinding up the outer shell of the oat groat. So interesting!

Which Oat is Healthiest?

As I was researching, I found some conflicting info on this topic. Some sources say that the steel cut oats are the healthiest, because they have been processed the least. This makes good sense.

Steel cut oats are also lower on the glycemic index. Interesting!

Yet another source said that rolled oats, because of the steaming process, holds more nutrients for a longer period.

Either way, rolled or steel cut, you have an extremely healthy breakfast option full fiber that is beneficial to your digestive system!

You Should Love Steel Cut as Much as I Do

How did I stumble upon the humble steel cut oat?

I was making my first order with Azure Standard, a company that sells bulk organic goodies, and saw steel cut oats on their website. I mentioned earlier that I didn’t know the difference between rolled and steel cut. So I just hit the order button with no thought whatsoever that there would be a difference than my usual morning bowl of oats.

But then I opened the bag. Things certainly looked different and I got concerned. My husband knew the difference, and asked me how I got so mixed up. Well, I was just ignorant!

I panicked just a little because my goodness, I bought a 25 lb sack of this stuff but I have no clue how to cook it!

How to Cook Steel Cut Oats

No Frills Steel Cut Oat Cooking

Steel cut oats take longer to cook than rolled oats, no question about that.

To every cup of steel cut oats, you will need 3 cups of liquid. (I usually like half water, half milk or almond milk in my oats, rolled or steel cut.) Steel cut requires more liquid than rolled, because obviously, they need to soften considerably more than a flat surfaced rolled oat. (Rolled oats are usually one cup oats to two cups liquid.)

If you cook them simply on the stovetop in a covered saucepan, they will need to cook anywhere from 20-30 minutes. The more they are cooked, the mushier they will become. So the time limit is up to your preference of chewiness.

Another Way: Soaking the Night Before

If you want to cut some time out of your morning cooking, soak the steel cut oats the night before. (And soaking is arguably a better way for your stomach to handle digesting the oats.) All you have to do is fill the saucepan with water until the oats are covered well. Fill an inch over the oats, because they will soak up the liquid.

Then, in the morning, add more water to ensure the oats are still covered well, and cook! They will not need to cook as long, since soaking has softened them. So keep an eye on them and test them for the level of chewiness and doneness you prefer, possibly 10-15 minutes.

Yet Another Way to Soak: Fermentation

If you are wanting to add another delicious, supremely nutritious step to your steel cut oat game, you can soak and ferment the grains.

I really love to do it this way. It adds the characteristic tang of fermented foods, and is super delicious.

To my cup or two of steel cut oats, I will add the water as described above. Then, I will add 1/2 cup of my sourdough starter. Cover this, and let it sit at room temperature at least 12 hours, even longer is even better.

Then, they can be stored in the fridge for a week. If I have precooked the oats, then all they need is to be reheated for breakfast! A little prep work makes breakfast really easy.

Finally, the Easiest Way of All

Can you guess the easiest method of cooking steel cut oats?

Instant Pot, of course!

Just as the steel cut oats in the first method, you will need around 3 cups of water to 1 cup of the oats.

Pour everything into the instant pot or pressure cooker, (I use this Ninja Foodi!) and stir well.

Cook for 4 minutes. Let it naturally release the pressure for at least 10-15 minutes. (Honestly, I get caught up in my morning routine and forget about the oats for more like 20 minutes. The longer they steam, the softer they will get, so it’s totally ok.)

How Do I Make them Taste Good?

Okay, so if you just follow these instructions and leave it at that, the oats may be a little…bland. Always be sure to add salt and sweetener, in my opinion!

Recipe for Blueberry Almond Oats

Here’s a fun recipe I put together one morning:

Blueberry Almond Steel Cut Oats

1 cup of cooked steel cut oats, cooked in the pressure cooker.

Dash of almond extract

2 pinches of salt

1/2 cup frozen blueberries

Drizzle of honey for sweetness

Stir it all together! A delicious nutritious breakfast!

I also used the soaked steel cut oats in an apple cinnamon oatmeal bake. The texture was quite a bit chewier than the rolled oat type of baked oatmeal, but it was good. So they are definitely interchangeable in baking.

You Are Now Left with A Choice…

So. Will you start buying, or at least give steel cut oats a try? I think you should!

(I also think you should sign up for Azure Standard, where buying these, or any other healthy food product, in bulk is so easy and kinda fun, too! See my post on Azure here. Or use my referral code here!)

Have you been using steel cut oats for years and have your favorite way of cooking them? I’d love to know!

As with any oatmeal recipe, the possibilities are basically limitless. My little boys like their oatmeal either with blueberries and maple syrup, or just a little salt and brown sugar.

Oatmeal in any form is a cheap, nutritious start to the day and I hope you enjoy it in whatever form you choose!

Need more Farm Fresh Recipes? Healthy meals are vital in our home! I hope you enjoy!