Let’s start with breakfast. You have probably  seen steel cut oats here and there, maybe you’ve  read about them on your favorite food site or seen them on a shelf in your local grocery store. Whatever the case, this steel cut oat health trend is the real deal. Steel cut oatmeal makes a healthy and hearty breakfast, touting more nutrition and taste than your average packet of  instant oatmeal. And even though they take much longer to make, the resulting bowl of creamy hearty oatmeal is worth every minute.

I confess I’m usually not one to sit down and make a big breakfast, let alone something that takes 30-40 minutes to make. But, a bowl of steel cut oatmeal complete with brown sugar, cinnamon and blueberries has turned me into a breakfast convert. Something about the creamy wholesome texture and the freedom to top it with whatever I’m in the mood for, not to mention the added nutrition sold me out to loving breakfast. If it weren’t for my brother and sister in law, I personally probably wouldn’t have had the patience to give it  a try.

But if you plan ahead, you can make this lengthier breakfast recipe work in your daily routine. For example: make a big batch of steel cut oatmeal on Sunday and measure out individual portions for the week.

What makes steel cut oats better than the other stuff?

By definition, steel cut oats are the groats (insides of whole grain oats) chopped into 2 or 3 pieces per groat. Compared to regular oats known as rolled oats, they have typically undergone less processing and therefore have retained more of their nutrition and texture. Rolled oats have been steamed and toasted and resteamed before they hit your pot to be cooked once again whereas steel cut oats have only been cut and still have a layer of bran.

The Recipe

The original recipe ( from Alton Brown of the Food Network) called for using whole milk and buttermilk but after making the entire recipe with just 2 percent – I assure you the final product is still very tasty. So here’s my brother’s version of the recipe, step by step. To see the full text recipe, click here.

Melt butter in saucepan and stir in steel cut oats. Let cook until oats are toasted, giving off a nutty scent, about 3 minutes.

Pour in hot boiling water.

Let bubble, cover and cook for 30 minutes on medium heat.

Uncover, stir and add milk.

Stir until you reach a creamy consistency.

Ah, that’s what it should look like. Yum!

Now add some toppings to your own individual bowls! Our topping choices included blueberries, brown sugar, cinnamon, pancake syrup and raisins. I topped mine with brown sugar, cinnamon and blueberries which turned out to be perfect. But…

…here’s a bowl with the works!

Steel Cut Oatmeal

Take the time to make this hearty breakfast. It’s good for you AND tasty!

Ingredients

1 1/2 Tbs. butter
1 C. steel cut oats
3 C. boiling water
1 C. 2-percent milk

Topping Ideas:
cinnamon
brown sugar
blueberries
raisins
pancake syrup

Directions

Melt butter in medium saucepan. Stir in steel cut oats. Cook until oats give off a nutty toasty appearance and scent, about 3 minutes. Add hot water to hot oats. Cover and let cook for 30 minutes. Do not stir. When done, open the cover and stir in milk. Stir until the mixture reaches a creamy consistency. Serve with desired toppings such as blueberries, raisins, brown sugar, cinnamon or pancake syrup.

More Oatmeal Recipes:
Maple Oatmeal
Swiss Oats (Cold Oatmeal)
Deluxe Crockpot Oatmeal
Ultimate High Fiber Oatmeal
Oatmeal with Dates

For even more hearty breakfast recipes, check out the Breakfast Recipe Section on Recipe4Living!

Tags: breakfast recipes, healthy breakfast, steel cut oatmeal, steel cut oats, step by step recipe

Posted by Hillary, 11:44 AM

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 28th, 2009 at 11:44 am and is filed under breakfast, Step by Step. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.