Steel cut overnight oats fail :-(

DJ2120
DJ2120 Posts: 407 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Tried making overnight oats with steel cut oatmeal last night, this morning it had barely absorbed any of the water. Not sure what went wrong. Luckily I had made a batch with regular oatmeal as well so I was able to eat that instead. Any tips on how to make this with steel cut oatmeal? Should I maybe have used hot water instead of cold?
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Replies

  • tequilasunris3
    tequilasunris3 Posts: 197
    Use rolled oats :) and milk! not water x
  • mowu
    mowu Posts: 245 Member
    For steel-cut oats I would definitely recommend hot (or even boiling) water/milk instead of cold, and you might even still have to give them a boil-up in the morning.
  • DJ2120
    DJ2120 Posts: 407 Member
    Use rolled oats :) and milk! not water x

    I was curious about this. What's is the difference when you use milk vs. water?
  • DJ2120
    DJ2120 Posts: 407 Member
    For steel-cut oats I would definitely recommend hot (or even boiling) water/milk instead of cold, and you might even still have to give them a boil-up in the morning.

    Gotcha, thanks for the tip!
  • tequilasunris3
    tequilasunris3 Posts: 197
    Use rolled oats :) and milk! not water x

    I was curious about this. What's is the difference when you use milk vs. water?

    I've never tried it with water tbh, just can't imagine it would taste nice. I made one last night with rolled oats, milk, natural yoghurt, a whole mashed up banana and a tsp of peanut butter. I like using banana because it makes it sweet enough not to add sugar/sweetners.
  • inkandsheep
    inkandsheep Posts: 101 Member
    I use oat or almond milk with mine, not water!
    And chia seeds are important - they'll absorb most of the liquid.
    Then just add whatever fruit you like - I've been using 1/2 banana and a large handful of blueberries recently.
  • sjcook23
    sjcook23 Posts: 87 Member
    My friend says she mixes the steel oats in a glass container, then sets it in the crock pot filled with some water on low overnight. She says they come out perfect.
  • DJ2120
    DJ2120 Posts: 407 Member
    My friend says she mixes the steel oats in a glass container, then sets it in the crock pot filled with some water on low overnight. She says they come out perfect.

    I bet it must be amazing! I really want to invest in a crock pot.
  • Polly758
    Polly758 Posts: 623 Member
    For steel cut oats, I make it on the stovetop with water at night, bring it to a boil, then turn it off and cover it.

    It's perfect in the morning, just add some milk, smash it around, and reheat for a few minutes on the stove.
  • tcunbeliever
    tcunbeliever Posts: 8,219 Member
    I make them in the crock pot on low overnight...I think you definitely need heat to get them to cook.
  • JLand918
    JLand918 Posts: 156
    Dont bother with them at all , grains and the like are hindering actual weightloss, reality is the current modern food pyramid is false. The only reason they want you to eat so many whole grains,wheat etc is it helps keep farms in business. If you reallly want to get fit,healthy,lose weight go with Eating only plants,animals,no sugars. You would be amazed at how much better you feel when you get rid of those other foods you dont really need.
  • MassiveDelta
    MassiveDelta Posts: 3,271 Member
    Tried making overnight oats with steel cut oatmeal last night, this morning it had barely absorbed any of the water. Not sure what went wrong. Luckily I had made a batch with regular oatmeal as well so I was able to eat that instead. Any tips on how to make this with steel cut oatmeal? Should I maybe have used hot water instead of cold?

    I use John McCanns Steel cut oats and Ive never had trouble.
    Boil the appropriate amount of water.
    dump in the oats
    Boil covered for 3 minutes
    Turn off burner
    Go to sleep
    Wake up
    Turn on burner
    stir
    heat and eat

    *milk makes no difference other than additional calories and fat use it if you wish instead of water
  • MassiveDelta
    MassiveDelta Posts: 3,271 Member
    Dont bother with them at all , grains and the like are hindering actual weightloss, reality is the current modern food pyramid is false. The only reason they want you to eat so many whole grains,wheat etc is it helps keep farms in business. If you reallly want to get fit,healthy,lose weight go with Eating only plants,animals,no sugars. You would be amazed at how much better you feel when you get rid of those other foods you dont really need.

    This is out right False and not sound dietary advice
  • MassiveDelta
    MassiveDelta Posts: 3,271 Member
    Use rolled oats :) and milk! not water x

    Avoid rolled outs its more processed...those steel rollers squish all the nutrients out of the oat...Less processed food equals better whole food.
  • Diary_Queen
    Diary_Queen Posts: 1,314 Member
    I make steel cut oats as overnight oats all the time. 1/4 cup of mccanns steel cut oats (not bob's brand), 1/2 cup unsweetned almond milk, 1 packet stevia, 1 tbsp of unsalted nutbutter (i use cashew quite often), 1/2 cup of greek yogurt. I had trouble with them at first.

    I eat grains, I eat carbs... I do my best. I dont believe in eliminating an entire food group.... thats my opinion and im sticking to it.
  • JLand918
    JLand918 Posts: 156
    Dont bother with them at all , grains and the like are hindering actual weightloss, reality is the current modern food pyramid is false. The only reason they want you to eat so many whole grains,wheat etc is it helps keep farms in business. If you reallly want to get fit,healthy,lose weight go with Eating only plants,animals,no sugars. You would be amazed at how much better you feel when you get rid of those other foods you dont really need.

    This is out right False and not sound dietary advice

    Actually it is sound advice but its for a lifestyle change not a short term diet, you also reduce carbs big time that is the bodies number 1 killer of diets. Just google Primal Blueprint, their actual claims etc are backed by true actual scientific,medical testing and not just testing on a group of 50 people to see if it worked. A bowl of oatmeal a week wont destroy you but thinking oatmeal is the best thing for you, your kidding yourself.
  • denezy
    denezy Posts: 573 Member
    I make steel cut oats as overnight oats all the time. 1/4 cup of mccanns steel cut oats (not bob's brand), 1/2 cup unsweetned almond milk, 1 packet stevia, 1 tbsp of unsalted nutbutter (i use cashew quite often), 1/2 cup of greek yogurt. I had trouble with them at first.

    I eat grains, I eat carbs... I do my best. I dont believe in eliminating an entire food group.... thats my opinion and im sticking to it.

    How do you cook this? It sounds delish!
  • lawkat
    lawkat Posts: 538 Member
    I usually cook them for about 2 minutes, then once it has cooled, stick them in the fridge. It is the cooking at night that helps make them soft in the morning. Pretty much all you are doing is just heating them up. Personally I eat cream of wheat. Has more iron than oats and quicker to make in the morning.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    I see these posts about overnight oats quite often. Why are you cooking them overnight? The package I have says to cook for 10-20 min.

    I've even soaked them in cold water for 30-40 min like you would bulgar wheat and they are soft.
  • AnninStPaul
    AnninStPaul Posts: 1,372 Member
    My friend says she mixes the steel oats in a glass container, then sets it in the crock pot filled with some water on low overnight. She says they come out perfect.

    I bet it must be amazing! I really want to invest in a crock pot.

    We do this every weekday. Get a small crock pot - 1 1/2 qt or so - and a lamp timer. For 2 servings, use 1/2 c steel cut oats and 13oz of water, cook 2 hours on low (set the timer to turn on two hours before you want to eat breakfast). For 3 servings, 3/4 c oats and 18oz water, 2 1/2 hours on low.

    DO NOT use milk for this method, it will curdle.
  • newcs
    newcs Posts: 717 Member
    I cook mine once a week. I cook them pretty much as directed on the package and use water...I actually didn't like the consistency with milk. I can't stand the mushy consistency of rolled oats but have read there's little nutritional difference.

    I cook mine, let it cool, split into 8oz wide mouth mason jars, top with 1tsp brown sugar per serving and a little bit of raisins. I have the plastic mason jar lids (which are dishwasher safe and plastic so they won't rust) and I just pull a jar of oats out of the fridge each morning, microwave 1min, stir & eat. Just add a little water or milk when you reheat if you don't like the consistency (I'm fine with it but it's a little different from just-cooked).
  • danwood2
    danwood2 Posts: 291 Member
    I am having some steel cut overnight oats misery as well. But I made it pretty good earlier this week. I used 1/2 cup of Skim Milk with 1/2 cup steel oats... with other stuff. I think that I put in a spoon full of peanut butter and a banana this time. But I put it in the fridge much earlier in the evening then what I was before.

    So instead, I put it in the fridge around 5:30 pm instead of 10ish... It came out much MUCH better. I eat it at my desk around 7(ish) in the office.

    Hope this helps and you don't waste your money on the steel cut oats.
  • patbelford
    patbelford Posts: 8 Member
    Invest in a rice cooker. Soak the oats overnight in the cooker with as much water as you'd use for the same amount of white rice. When you wake up, turn on the rice cooker and in 20 minutes they will be done. They can be quite starchy so they probably will bubble over a bit, but they clean up easy. If you are worried about sugars, try sweetening them with a 1/3 of a cup of unsweetened apple sauce. I have done this with both McCann's oats and the bulk variety.
  • KLD05
    KLD05 Posts: 4
    I have used steel cut oats for an overnight. It worked ok - I did use milk and yogurt instead of water, and also added some chia seeds and fresh fruit. Banana and cinnamon tastes good!
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    Dont bother with them at all , grains and the like are hindering actual weightloss, reality is the current modern food pyramid is false. The only reason they want you to eat so many whole grains,wheat etc is it helps keep farms in business. If you reallly want to get fit,healthy,lose weight go with Eating only plants,animals,no sugars. You would be amazed at how much better you feel when you get rid of those other foods you dont really need.

    What is the "current modern food pyramid"?? And aren't most food animals and plants raised on farms?
  • kezoo
    kezoo Posts: 1
    I see these posts about overnight oats quite often. Why are you cooking them overnight? The package I have says to cook for 10-20 min.

    I've even soaked them in cold water for 30-40 min like you would bulgar wheat and they are soft.

    She was talking about steel cut oats, not rolled oats. Steel cut takes much longer to cook & soften up. Getting them started at night & letting them soak overnight will result in ready to go first thing in the morning oats. :) For people w/ small children, sometimes even 10-20 minutes is too long to wait on a busy weekday morning!
  • redheaddee
    redheaddee Posts: 2,005 Member
    Dont bother with them at all , grains and the like are hindering actual weightloss, reality is the current modern food pyramid is false. The only reason they want you to eat so many whole grains,wheat etc is it helps keep farms in business. If you reallly want to get fit,healthy,lose weight go with Eating only plants,animals,no sugars. You would be amazed at how much better you feel when you get rid of those other foods you dont really need.

    This did not answer her question, but thanks for playing! SMH

    For the record, we are omnivores by nature. How do you know? We have CANINES, and their purpose is tearing meat.

    And GOD FORBID we should support farmers...

    This bit of sarcasm brought to you by your friendly Black Angus cattle farmer, owner, and eater.

    BTW OP, steel cut oats take so much longer because they are cut less and left more in their natural state. I would be interested to see how long it would take to get them to soak...maybe put a little cup aside and see how long it takes? Perhaps overnight oats with steel cut should be 4 day oats instead =)
  • jessc4343
    jessc4343 Posts: 214 Member
    Tried making overnight oats with steel cut oatmeal last night, this morning it had barely absorbed any of the water. Not sure what went wrong. Luckily I had made a batch with regular oatmeal as well so I was able to eat that instead. Any tips on how to make this with steel cut oatmeal? Should I maybe have used hot water instead of cold?

    I use John McCanns Steel cut oats and Ive never had trouble.
    Boil the appropriate amount of water.
    dump in the oats
    Boil covered for 3 minutes
    Turn off burner
    Go to sleep
    Wake up
    Turn on burner
    stir
    heat and eat

    *milk makes no difference other than additional calories and fat use it if you wish instead of water

    Thanks for this! I tried the Refrigerator Oatmeal recipe three different ways and it was awful each time (full disclosure: once the milk was rancid and I didn't notice). Plus oatmeal is just weird when it's cold...

    Now the remaining steel cut oats will be eaten; again, thanks so much!!

    Edited to clarify: *and I didn't notice (the milk was yuck) until I tried to eat the oatmeal
  • redheaddee
    redheaddee Posts: 2,005 Member
    I see these posts about overnight oats quite often. Why are you cooking them overnight? The package I have says to cook for 10-20 min.

    I've even soaked them in cold water for 30-40 min like you would bulgar wheat and they are soft.

    You don't cook them overnight, you are soaking the oats. Overnight only works with rolled oats however, and this is great because you can grab and go in the morning!
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    I see these posts about overnight oats quite often. Why are you cooking them overnight? The package I have says to cook for 10-20 min.

    I've even soaked them in cold water for 30-40 min like you would bulgar wheat and they are soft.

    She was talking about steel cut oats, not rolled oats. Steel cut takes much longer to cook & soften up. Getting them started at night & letting them soak overnight will result in ready to go first thing in the morning oats. :) For people w/ small children, sometimes even 10-20 minutes is too long to wait on a busy weekday morning!

    I was also talking about steel cut oats not rolled oats. The package of organic steel cut oats I have says to cook them for 10-20 minutes. And I wasn't questioning whether anyone had 10-20 min of free time, just wondering why you'd cook something for several hours when the instructions say 10-20 min.

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