Overnight Steel-Cut Oats (or Rolled!) in the Instant Pot

Having warm oatmeal ready for us every morning is such a wonderful thing.  Knowing all we have to do is open the Instant Pot, give it a quick stir and add whatever toppings we are in the mood for is amazing.  It’s almost faster than pulling out a box of cereal and so, so much better for you! We have been doing hot cereal for about 7 years now and though there were a few seasons when the cold cereal was coming out regularly, we have easily eaten more than 1000 pounds of oats. 

I bought a programmable rice cooker at Costco 7 years ago for $30, and it was life-changing. I think I convinced at least 6 family members they needed one too.  Mine may have been used more than all of theirs put together, as I have used it at least once, often twice a day for most of that time.

Although well-worn and the smart steam setting was a little on the fritz, we used the rice cooker daily until a few weeks ago, when we began using the Instant Pot we received from my in-laws for Christmas. Both have worked well, I will may review the pros and cons of using each in the future.

The thing I love about both is that we put the oats and water in the appliance the night before, set the delay timer and it is ready when we wake up. Clean up is quick and easy and I love starting our days with such a hearty and healthy breakfast.

Recently we ran out of Steel Cut Oats, they were not on sale at Sprouts (I try to only buy them when they go on sale 2 lbs/$1) and I had a lot of old-fashioned oats we needed to eat so it was time to do some experimenting. I wasn’t going to give up our overnight routine and thankfully haven’t had to!

LEFTOVERS: Sometimes we accumulate several days leftovers.  I reheat these in the Instant Pot. Just cover with water and cook on high pressure for one minute.

DISCLAIMER! The Instant Pot users manual does not recommend cooking oats in the pot because they can foam and block the pressure release. Having cooked a lot of oats though, I knew it was a matter of getting the recipe right and foaming would not be a problem.  If you are concerned about this, start with 1/2 cup less liquid and test your results. I live at 6000 feet above sea level so you may need less water at a lower elevation.

Print Recipe

Instant Pot Steel Cut Oats (or Rolled!)

Prep Time

2 minutes

Cook Time

20 minutes

Passive Time

20 minutes

Servings

servings

Ingredients

• 2 cups Steel Cut Oats
• 5 cups water
• pinch salt optional

Prep Time 2 minutes Cook Time 20 minutes Passive Time 20 minutes Servings servings Ingredients 2 cups Steel Cut Oats 5 cups water pinch salt optional

Instructions

Steel Cut Oats in Instant Pot

1. Add Steel Cut Oats and Water to Instant Pot. Close lid and turn valve to Sealing
2. Select Manual Pressure and set to 4 minutes. Set delay timer to the amount of time until you want it to start cooking, keeping in mind you will need 25-30 minutes for it to run the entire process. So if I want my oatmeal ready at 7:00 AM, I set the timer for the number of hours until 6:30.
3. Allow pressure to release naturally for at least 10 minutes before serving. Stir and top as desired!

Instant Pot Rolled Oats

1. To use old-fashioned rolled oats, simply use 3 cups rolled oats and 5 cups water, and cook on high pressure for 1 minute.

Recipe Notes

I have not yet tried this with quick oats, however I suspect they will work fine with pressure set to 2 minutes.