This is a post on how to make steel-cut oats. 

What are oats, and how are they made?

Many famous dietitians have claimed that oats are one of the healthiest meals on Earth, which can be made and consumed by anyone who knows its correct recipe.

Oats are gluten-free, which makes them helpful for easing digestive symptoms, reducing chronic inflammation, increasing energy, and they also help in reducing one’s body weight.

Oats are usually consumed during breakfast, and many people commonly refer to them as common oats/oatmeal or steel-cut oatmeal.

Many nations produce Oats. Russia stands first for producing 4.42 million tonnes of oats every year, and Canada secures the second position for producing 4.24 million tonnes of oats annually.

Oats are grown/planted during the first few days of the spring season and also when the cold season is just about to begin. Oats are obtained from healthy plants as they remain unaffected by extreme cold conditions and grow well despite such climatic conditions.

They usually grow well on sandy grounds or huge clayey grounds with a good drainage system for better water circulation. These crops are cultivated through various processes, and all the processes have different benefits and disadvantages. Animals are fed with fodder oats, whereas humans consume rolled oats, crushed oats, or steel-cut oats.

Since the topic of this blog is based on steel-cut oats, we are going to learn more about steel-cut oats and their different recipes.

This oats category has derived its name from their manufacturing and cultivation process, where whole oat groats are cut into small pieces using steel in a steel Buhr mill.

Steel-cut oats can also be referred to as Irish oats, Pinhead oats, or Scottish oats. In this article, we will introduce you to the two best recipes for steel-cut oats, but before that, let’s brush up your knowledge on some interesting facts about oats. 

Fascinating facts about oats:

1. Oats comes in three different types

Did you know that oats can be found in sliced, chopped, and flattened varieties? In addition to that, there are three major types of oats: steel-cut oats, old-fashioned oats, and instant oatmeal.

2. Oatmeal is both a place and a celebration

Have you heard of the place oatmeal? It’s in Texas. And there’s also an annual oatmeal festival celebrated in Bertram.

3. Oats are beneficial for your gut

The beta-glucan, polyphenols, and resistant starch present in oats boost bifidobacteria, the healthy gut bacteria.

4. Oats helps maintain cholesterol levels

Oats help lower the total cholesterol as well as the LDL levels.

5. It is a natural beauty product

Now, this might leave you amused. But, it’s true. An oatmeal bath has been used for several years to aid inflamed skin. It helps with skin conditions like skin burns, eczema, and chickenpox.

Enough of interesting facts on oats; let’s get started with steel-cut oats recipes.

Top 2 Recipes For Steel-Cut Oats

Recipe 1- Spicy and fresh steel-cut oats dish

Ingredients for the 1st recipe:-

1. Uncooked steel-cut oats

2. Water

3. 2-3 cups of vegetables of your choice

4. 1 small onion

5. 2-3 cloves of garlic

6. A tbs of cumin seeds

7. 1/2table spoon of an Indian aromatic mixture of ground spices called Garam Masala along with red Chilli powder (1/2 tablespoon)

8. 2 cups of boiled or cooked white chickpeas and black chickpeas.

9. 2 tablespoons of edible oil of your choice.

The steps you need to follow to mix the above ingredients to cook steel-cut oats are provided below-

1. Grab 2 cups of steel-cut oats and place them in a container of your choice that you can use for cooking/heating. Add 4 cups of water over the oats in the same container.
2. Heat the water inside the container for 20 minutes, and when the water starts getting heated up, add 2 more cups of steel-cut oats to it.
3. While the steel-cut oats are getting heated up, grab the small onion mentioned in the ingredients list and chop it into small pieces.
4. Now you will have to fry the rest of the ingredients (vegetables) required for the cooking process of steel-cut oats. So you can start by frying the small onions that you chopped. Use a separate pan for the frying process and pour 2 tablespoons of oil over the chopped onion after placing it in the pan (Any edible oil of your choice).
5. Add 2-3 cloves of garlic, 1-2 spoons of cinnamon powder (optional) on top of the chopped onion that is being fried. Later add a little bit of oil and let the pan heat for some more time.
6. After the pan starts to heat a little, add the following ingredients to the previous ones that you placed in the pan.

Add these ingredients in the given order-

• chopped garlic over the chopped onion,
• and cumin seeds for the flavoring of the oatmeal.
• Add the Indian spice called Garam Masala and the Red chili powder for taste.
• Stir the previously added ingredients well for a few seconds.
• Add 2 cups of the vegetables of your choice.
• Add a little bit of salt.
• Add the White and Black Chickpeas to the Pan.

7. Stir the Vegetables well so that they don’t burn at the bottom.

8. By now, the steel-cut oats may have heated up enough, so you must add the vegetables that you just fried to the steel-cut oats that are getting cooked/heated in another vessel.

9. After performing the 7th step, keep stirring the oats well for a few seconds so that no burning is caused and the steel-cut oats are cooked well.

10. After stirring for a few seconds, your steel-cut oats are ready, and you can eat/serve them with any sauce of your choice or yogurt.

Recipe 2- Fruity and sweet steel-cut oats dish:-

Ingredients for the second recipe-

1) 2 and a half cups of water

2) 1 cup of milk if you want the oats to be creamier (Optional)

3) Pinch of salt

4) Uncooked steel cut oats

5) Fruits of your choice

Follow the steps given below for cooking the steel-cut oats:-

1. Add 2 cups of water to a container/pan and heat it a little bit.
2. Add 1 cup of milk to the same container if you want the steel-cut oats to be ultra-creamy (optional step to obtain a softer texture).
3. Add a pinch of salt to the container for the flavor.
4. Add steel-cut oats to the container.
5. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer (medium heat) and stir it for about 20 minutes but don’t leave it standing as it can spoil your oats. Cook for at least 10 more minutes so that the oats are soft, but if you want it to be a little firm or you want it to have a chewy texture, then cook for an additional 5-7 minutes.
6. During these 30 minutes, please keep checking the oats from time to time and keep stirring them occasionally to avoid any damage to the oats.
7. After 30 minutes are over, your cooked oats will be ready to be served in a bowl so you can decorate it with fruits of your choice by sprinkling them on the oats. People who love steel-cut oats usually prefer any fresh fruit like banana slices to be sprinkled over them.
8. You can add chia seeds, flax seeds, or nuts (to obtain a nutty flavor) as per your choice. Some people like to add a drop or a tablespoon of Peanut butter/Almond butter/edible coconut oil or even some honey as per their choice.

However, if you have any nut allergies, please ensure that you don’t use nuts and use the best steel-cut oats commercially available with nut-free certification.

Now that you know how to cook steel-cut oats, you must also know its disadvantages and benefits; hence read the points given below to know more about them.

The benefits of steel-cut oats are:-

1. Steel-cut oats consist of many vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that provide important health benefits. Moreover, the soluble fiber present in steel-cut oats helps reduce cholesterol and digest food efficiently in the consumer’s body.
2. They have a lot of Vitamin B and Iron in them, which provides energy.
3. It helps in controlling Diabetes which means that it helps control blood sugar levels and helps stabilize blood sugar levels.
4. It is naturally gluten-free and has a low amount of saturated fat.
5. It helps control cholesterol and maintains lower cholesterol levels.
6. It has a very good shelf life which allows you to store your perfectly cooked oatmeal for at least 3 months in an airtight container by freezing them. This way, the leftover steel-cut oatmeal never goes wasted. However, if steel-cut oats are already cooked with added vegetables, you have to serve them immediately as they can’t be stored for a long time after being mixed with other ingredients.
7. It helps in losing weight as it is made out of whole grain, which makes it healthy.

Even though steel-cut oats don’t have many ill effects or drawbacks, a few points could be mentioned in this case.

The drawbacks of the steel-cut oats are given as follows:-

1. The cooking process for steel-cut oats is very time-consuming, and a lot of effort is supposed to be made while cooking them; hence people don’t prefer it because the recipes for oats or steel-cut oats don’t feature any quick-cooking method.
2. Everyone does not like it, and many people find oats bland.

There are a few points that you need to keep in mind while cooking or buying steel-cut oats, and there are a few things that you need to know to solve any doubts or queries that may occur to you after reading this article.

Would you please read the points given below to know the important things?

Things to keep in mind:

#1. Purchase the best steel-cut oats for yourself: Make sure to check the expiry dates of the oats before purchasing and that the oats you’ve chosen are certified gluten-free. Do check the packaging for any unwanted damages to avoid low-quality products.

#2. You may come across fake or copied products from non-certified brands that sell fake instant oatmeal /steel-cut oatmeal at extremely low rates with a copied logo of a famous brand to scam the consumers.

Such scams are very common in Asian countries and Africa; hence we request all the readers belonging to those areas to check their products before purchasing.

#3. You can also scan the barcode behind the packet of the instant oats that you wish to purchase to check some additional information about it.

#4. Adding sugar to oats is unnecessary because many people consume oats due to blood-sugar-related reasons, and if sugar is added to it, it could make the oats useless.

However, if anyone wishes to add sugar for taste despite its effects, one can add a little brown sugar as it is a healthy alternative.

#5. Adding milk or unsweetened almond milk during the cooking process is completely your choice. You can add such substances to make your steel-cut oats extra creamy.

#6. The type of container used during the cooking process and the mode of heating the container is completely your choice. 

#7. If you don’t want to put in a lot of time in the cooking process of these oats, then you can buy a packet of instant oats heat them, and then pour them into a bowl full of milk (temperature as per your comfort). You can then add any topping of your choice, such as sliced fruits, to it and then consume it.

Please make sure that you don’t have any allergies to the ingredients stated in this article. 

The recipe provided in this article is inspired by the usual recipes used in every regular household.

Do try out these healthy recipes for steel-cut oats. A bowl of oats makes up for a perfectly healthy breakfast when topped with fruits or vegetables.

Oats go well with both fruits and vegetables so you can give it both the salty and sweet taste as per your preference.

Do let us know which steel-cut oats recipe you tried and enjoyed the most. Connect with us in the comment section.

Last Updated on March 18, 2024 by Namita Soren