Here is a fail-proof recipe to make Instant Pot Steel Cut Oats and 4 ways to top your oats! Add any milk you want to make it high fat, low fat, vegan, vegetarian, whichever way you like.
I couldn’t be happier with the result of multiple recipe tests. I LOVE LOVE LOVE steel cut oats, just as much as I love Instant Pot brown rice. Both taste so much better than their more processed cousins. They are obviously also healthier than their cousins.
However, they used to have one disadvantage that was so dominant, that I didn’t make them much: they take forever to cook in a regular pot! Ever since I own a Pressure Cooker I can’t get enough of brown rice and steel cut oats. YUM!!!
This amazing Instant Pot does ALL the work without assistance or supervision and it does the work much faster than a regular pot. ALSO, it just cooks stuff so much better. Quinoa, rice, oats…they simply come out perrrrfect!
My absolute favorite part about having a pressure cooker now though is probably that I can cook complete meals in it such as Peruvian-Style Chicken and Rice.
Now to the basics of How to cook Steel Cut Oats in a Pressure Cooker though:
How to cook the best Instant Pot Steel Cut Oats
I’ve tried all kinds of combinations of high pressure, low pressure, long cooking with manual pressure release, short cooking with natural pressure release, cow’s milk, almond milk, loads of water, very little water and the magical formula, in my opinion, is this:
1 part oats to 2 parts water (e.g. 1.5 cups oats to 3 cups water) + a pinch of salt
3 minutes on high pressure
natural pressure release until the pin drops (between 16-18 minutes in my case)
add milk of choice (and sweetener of choice) and stir well
Best liquid to add to Instant Pot Steel Cut Oats
Hands down water!! For many reasons. Cooking milk under high pressure kind of end ups super weird.
The best advantage of cooking steel cut oats in water, however, is that they will taste “neutral”. They are low fat, vegan and basically tasteless. They just have an amazing texture with which you can now work to transform into your favorite breakfast bowl.
Besides, if you add cold milk it helps speed up the cooling process. There is no harder thing to do in life than sit in front of a boiling hot bowl of oats unable to eat them despite blowing and blowing on them until you feel like you’re going to faint. Add ice cold milk, give it a quick stir and it’s ready to eat!
Pressure Cooker Steel Cut Oats Time
Let’s talk about timing! And let’s get into the details of quick pressure release and natural pressure release here.
After extensive testing, I figured out 3 minutes on high pressure breaks down the grain but it needs natural pressure release to get silky smooth without falling apart.
Imagine boiling your steel cut oats in constantly boiling water and eventually when it’s cooked take it out of the water, just like you would cook pasta. Ever tried? Why not? Nobody suggests doing that, right? Because it simply doesn’t turn out well. The oats overcook and absorb way too much water that way. They become a big mush tasting like absolutely nothing because it’s full of water.
You have to “steam” oats but they also need to absorb enough water so they break down.
So the magic formula is 3 minutes of pressure cooking to break down the oats and 16-18 minutes natural pressure release to “steam” them so they can absorb the exact amount of water necessary.
In case you’re wondering about timing for rolled oats as well, I recommend you read through this Instant Pot Oatmeal Jars post which goes into all the details about rolled oats and also, how amazing do they look?!?!
Best ways to top the best Instant Pot Steel Cut Oats
How does strawberry, hazelnut, and dark chocolate sound? I thought so. This one was gobbled up in less than 3 seconds by my daughter.
She’s inherited the nuts and chocolate love from her dad. She literally couldn’t believe her luck when I served her this bowl for dinner. Haha! Yes, for dinner because that’s when I was finally finished photographing these gorgeous bowls :P
This almond butter and cherry bowl I chose for myself because the combination of nut butter + cherry is UNBEATABLE in my opinion.
It’s absolutely amazing and I’m always looking for ways to add healthy fats to my diet. Nut butters are an extraordinary healthy fat and taste soooo good mixed into steel cut oats!
My son immediately pointed at the raspberry, white chocolate, chia bowl. He’s not a chocolate fan with exception of white chocolate and how couldn’t he? It’s the best tasting chocolate ever :P
Raspberries mixed into steel cut oats taste uh-mazing. The slight sourness and at the same time sweetness offer a feast for your senses.
It was super hard to leave the peach, pecan, blueberry bowl for my husband. We saved it for his breakfast the best day but only after each of us giving it a small (ok, who am I kidding?) BIG bite to try how it tastes.
OMG!!! Sooooo goood!!! Pecans and peaches and instant oats were probably married in their past life. Seriously!
Now tell me, which Instant Pot Steel Cut Oats Bowl will you try first? Which one do you think will be your favorite and which one ended up really being your favorite? You know what? I tried them all and I can’t make up my mind!!!
Instant Pot Steel Cut Oats Video
Instant Pot Steel Cut Oats 4 Ways
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp coconut oil
- 1.5 cups steel cut oats
- 3 cups water
- 1 pinch Salt
- 1/2-1 cup milk of choice (my favorite are cow's milk and canned coconut milk)
- 1/4-1/3 cup maple syrup (or honey or agave nectar)
Instructions
- Preheat instant pot by pressing the "saute" button. Once hot, add coconut oil and once melted steel cut oats in order to toast them for a little (about 2 minutes) while constantly stirring.
- Add a pinch of salt and water, give it a quick stir and cover with lid and seal.
- Press, "cancel" then "manual" and adjust time to 3 minutes and pressure to "high pressure".
- Go take a shower or do whatever else you have to do for the next 20-ish minutes. The pot will take about 3-5 minutes to get to pressure, 3 minutes for cooking and 16-18 minutes for natural pressure release).
- Once the pin dropped (if it doesn't drop after 20 minutes manually release left over pressure, there should be close to nothing in it anymore), open the lid, add maple syrup and your milk of choice a little at a time while stirring until you reach desired consistency and wetness of your oats. Some like it drier others swimming in milk.
- Top with your favorite topping combo (see notes or photos) and dig in!
Notes
Strawberry, hazelnut, dark chocolate
Almond Butter, cherry
Raspberry, white chocolate, chia
Peach, blueberry, pecan
OPTIONAL: edible flowers for decoration You can store the steel cut oats with milk and sweetener but without toppings in an air tight container in the fridge for up to 3 days without a problem.
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Rafi says
You should try peach and tahini :) I have a nutbutter + fruit combination for every day of the week. I food prep on Sundays for the entire week.
Diane says
I have been following your recipe for the last week and a half in the cafeteria that I am managing. I bought an 8 quart Instant Pot for the express purpose of making whole grain hot cereals in the morning. The problem I have been having part of the time is that I get the burn food sign coming on. It isn’t exactly burned, but it is sticking, so I have to take the oats out of the pot, clean the pot and put the oats back in. The problem is that I have to figure out the fool proof system before I can delegate it to a student and feel like the cereal will be made with success and no problems.
Lorena says
Diane, I’ve heard from many people that the 8-quart is a lot trickier because of exactly this reason. It seems to get the burn warning all the time. How much are you making in them? The amount I suggest here or double? I would start the troubleshooting process by doubling the recipe as the surface of the 8-quart is bigger.
Rachel R Blackmer says
My Instant Pot Duo doesn’t have “manual” on it. Should I push “Pressure Cook?” And do I set the knob on the top to “sealing” or “venting?”
Lorena says
Yes, Pressure Cook and Manual are the same button just new and old model. The knob has to be on sealing. Otherwise, it will never come to pressure.
Rachel says
I’d like to add quinoa to my steel cut oats so that I stay full longer. Could I use this same recipe and just replace some of the parts with quinoa?
Lorena says
Hi Rachel, yes, you can do that. Quinoa takes 1 minute + NPR so it will definitely cook through during the 3 minutes + NPR. No problem at all.
jasper says
typos: nut butters + *cheery; 3-5 *minutest to get to pressure
love the recipe!
Lorena says
Awesome!! Thank you so much. Just corrected them :D
Shirley Ikemeier says
Hi! Would I need to change anything to make this in my 8 quart IPot? I love Stell Cut Oats and your recipes look great!
Lorena says
Hi, you just have to check what the minimum liquid requirements are for your instant pot. I believe it’s 2 cups so you should be fine. I think your can follow the recipe as is.
Beth says
I’ve used your method several times with 100% success. Thank you!!!
Do you think a pot in pot method would work for a smaller batch? Would I put the 1/2 ratio in the smaller pot and a cup of water in the inner pot as well? I don’t like experimenting if it might cause a waste of food.
Lorena says
Hi Beth, do you have a 6qt like me? I’ve successfully made this recipe with as little as 1/2 cup steel cut oats and 1 cup water because the 6qt only needs a minimum of 1 cup water to get to pressure. I sometimes help it a little when it’s about to get to pressure I press down the lid so it seals faster and the pin jumps up before too much water evaporates through the pin hole. Otherwise yes, I think the pot in pot method should work. Put 1 cup water in the bottom, then the trivet, then your pot with oats (no need for a lid), add as little oats as you want, double amount of water and then proceed as instructed here.
Christa says
Thank you for this post. It was really helpful. My oats came out perfectly.
Lorena says
I’m soooo happy to read that!!!
Michelle Stafford says
These all look delicious!! I am yet to use the timer function on my Ipot & over here in the UK people on Facebook have been raving about coming downstairs in the morning to ready cooked oats after preparing the night before & setting the timer for it to be ready for breakfast time! So, my question to you is have you tried to do your oats this way and if yes what timings did you use? Many thanks for your recipes, I just stumbled upon your page by accident but from what I’ve seen so far I’m going to be here A LOT so you’re in my saved favourites :-D
Lorena says
Hi Michelle, I haven’t used the time yet either. The thing is it works so fast I’ve never really needed it. Coming to pressure plus 3 minutes high pressure plus natural pressure release comes to maybe 20-25 minutes with my Instant Pot. I always get up 45 minutes before I have to leave the house so that’s plenty of time. I wonder if by using the timer you’d have to reduce the cooking time because the oats would have been soaking in the water all night. Hmmm. I would try add ingredients the latest possible and then set timer so everything is ready by the time you want to have breakfast and I’d reduce high pressure cooking time to maybe 1 minute only. Should “in theory” be enough. But I’ve obviously never tried. Thank you for your lovely comment and I hope you enjoy my page now that you found it :D
Michelle says
Hi Lorena, had a busy couple of weeks so not had chance yet to try any of your recipes BUT I have been doing porridge oats every evening using the timer function! Took me a few attempts at getting the water/oats ratio just right for my liking but I’ve about perfected it! Using your methods as a rough guide I have been using 40g oats with 200-300mls of water, depending on what time I set them for, so the later I set the timer the less water I need. I also stir in a teaspoon of green tea powder when I prepare the oats for a morning boost. Timer finishes at 6am so by the time I come downstairs at 6.30 my oats are lovely & thick ready to stir in some homemade Instant Pot yoghurt & top with blueberries or raspberries (or both!) and that’s me good to go for the day! Now to convert your Peruvian Green Rice recipe for the Pot, I have a huge bunch of coriander to use, it’s my favourite herb (and basil!!).
Michelle :-D
Lorena says
OMG, your oats sound absolutely AMAZING Michelle!!! For the Peruvian Green Rice check out these two posts: Instant Pot Rice and Instant Pot Chicken and Rice. I’m sure you’ll get it perfect the very first time ;)
Kate says
If the oats sit in water at room temperature onite then bacteria can grow very quickly. Not necessarily destroyed by cooking so can cause food poisoning. I would like to set it overnight too but not worth the risk, there’s bacteria waiting for the right conditions even in dry oats
Lydia says
If I make a batch of it how long do you think it will last in the fridge? I’m hopong to make it on Sunday and divided it throughout the week for a quick breakfast. Thank you!
Zubalea says
I make it on the weekend and freeze the oats in microwaveable containers sized by breakfast portions. (I make enough for 5 portions). I take out the frozen portion the night before otherwise they take forever to reheat. I also put my toppings in a separate container. In the morning, I reheat the oats in the microwave (stopping every minute to stir. Usually takes 2 to 3 minutes). I then add the toppings. Quick Breakfast!!
Lorena says
Zubalea’s methods works really well if you like. I just keep it in the fridge for up to 5 days as oats/water mixture only. I don’t add milk and maple syrup when keeping in fridge, I add milk and maple syrup and fruits/nuts etc right before serving. Also, I love just bringing the milk to an almost boil and then add to the fridge-cold oats to warm up to my favorite temperature. I hate sitting in front of oats that are too hot and I can’t eat them. By adding hot milk to cold oats I get the perfect temperature to gobble up right away :P
Kate says
That’s a good suggestion, to add hot milk to cold oats as refrigerated oats form a clump that’s a pain to mash down into water to reheat
Lindsay says
Hi Lorena,
What is the purpose of the coconut oil in this recipe? I am wondering if it Is necessary or if there are alternatives I could use instead?
Lorena says
Hi Lindsay, I use it to toast the steel cut oats in it and so they get kind of “infused” with the oil. If you don’t like coconut oil you can use any other flavorless oil or even no oil at all. It’ll work either way :)
Christy Maurer says
These look so good! Thanks for sharing!
Lorena says
Thank you for coming back and rating and commenting Christy :D
Kim says
How should I adjust the recipe for the quicker-cooking kind of steel cut oats? Less time under pressure, or quicker release time?
Lorena says
Hi Kim, I’ve never cooked other oats in the Instant Pot unfortunately so I couldn’t tell. You’ll have to give it a try. I would guess it’s just 1 minute high pressure and then natural pressure release but I can’t say for sure.
Rachel L says
I’m getting an Instant Pot for Christmas and will have to try steel cut oats. I like to eat savory oats for dinner with roasted veggies, goat cheese, and either a poached egg or smoked salmon. It’s so good!
Lorena says
Oh wow!! I would never have thought of eating oats this way!! Thank you for the inspiration!!
lindsay Cotter says
This is so good! Love my instant pot. ANother great recipe!
Lorena says
Thank you so much Lindsay!! :D
Rachel says
What if I don’t have an instant pot, would the pats still come out good on the stove?
Lorena says
Hi Rachel, you can absolutely make these on the stove in a regular pot. Simply add more water because the water will evaporate and cook for about 20-30 minutes, stirring often.