How to soak and cook oatmeal the traditional way, aka โovernight oatsโ for a digestible and nourishing breakfast that will keep you feeling full all the way to lunch!
How do you cook oatmeal the healthiest way possible? Is it acceptable toย cook it in the microwave, quickly poured out of convenient, ready to use packets? Do you think this is a healthy start to the day?
Reality Check: Ripping open a package of instant oatmeal, pouring it in a mug with some water and nuking it in the microwave for a couple of minutes is NOT a nourishing breakfast! And guess what โฆ you will feel hungry again about an hour later!
Donโt get me wrong here โ oatmeal can and should be a healthy breakfast!
How youย choose to cook oatmeal, however, is the critical step that most people completely miss and which determinesย how much nourishment and benefit you will actually derive from the experience. It is one of the most important cooking skillsย to learn yourself and teach children before they leave home.
Preparation determines how long the oatmeal will fill you up. ย What good is a bowl of oatmeal if you are hungry again and ready for a donut fix by 10 am?
Overnight Oats the Traditional Way
Learning to prepare overnight oats as practiced for centuries by ancestral societies will take a little planning on your part. But, you will be greatly rewarded with a much more nourishing, digestible breakfast that will stay with you all the way to lunchtime!
Traditional peoples knew through observation that grains were very hard to digest and caused health problems over time for those who consumed them without careful preparation.
Throwing out those boxed breakfast cereals that are at least twice as expensive per serving and toxic to boot and replacing with a simple, nutritious bowl of porridge will also help your food budget considerably with no loss in pleasure or enjoyment particularly on chilly winter mornings!
TIP:ย Iโve had people email me to complain that when you cook oatmeal by first soaking for at least 7 hours or overnight, it results in a sour tasting porridge. ย Iโve found that soaking in water plus lemon juice produces a delightful and slightly lemony porridge that is not sour at all and absolutely pops with flavor! If you still need help adjusting to the taste of soaked oatmeal, the linked article plus video will share an easy way to slowly adapt.
How to Cook Oatmeal (traditional method)
The traditional method for preparing overnight oats and cooking oatmeal the next morning that results in a bowl of porridge that is very digestible, filling and nourishing compared to modern convenience methods.
Ingredients
- 1 cup rolled oats preferably organic
- 2-3 cups filtered water
- 1-2 Tbl lemon juice optional
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
Instructions
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Mix the oats, 2 cups of water, and lemon juice in a pot. Cover and leave on the counter (NOT in the refrigerator) for at least 7 hours or overnight. If you have trouble digesting grains, feel free to soak for as long as 24 hours.
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When soaking is complete, add 1/2-1 cup additional filtered water to the pot. Bring to a boil with the salt. Cook oatmeal thoroughly for 5 minutes. You do not need to rinse the oats before cooking.
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Traditional oatmeal is best served with butter and/or cream for optimal assimilation of minerals. A natural sweetener, nuts, raisins or other fruit may be added as desired.
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Refrigerate leftovers.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
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Store bought or homemade apple cider vinegar, yogurt, or kefir may be substituted for the lemon juice.
If you are just starting to soak oatmeal for breakfast, feel free to just soak with water at first and gradually build up to the 4 tablespoons of recommended acidic medium (I prefer lemon juice).
Detailed Video Tutorial
In this longer video below, I show you exactly how I cook rolled oats into oatmeal.
It requires the initial step of soaking the night before. Then, it cooks up quickly the next morning! ย
Be sure to refrigerate any leftovers for a fast warm-up on the stove on subsequent mornings.
No Rinsing Required
You do not need to rinse the soaked oats before cooking. The antinutrients are deactivated, so no further effort is needed other than simmering for a few minutes on the stove!
I do not recommend soaking oat groats. The linked article explains why.
Soaked Oats vs Sprouted
If you donโt think you can manage the two minutes it takes before you go to bed to put on a pot of oatmeal to soak, this article shows you how to prepare traditional oatmeal without soakingย using sprouted rolled oats instead.
This article on sprouting vs soaking explains the differences nutritionally and digestively speaking.
More Soaked Porridges to Enjoy!
If you find overnight oats to be enjoyable and more digestible, try amaranth breakfast cereal, teff porridge and buckwheat hot cereal too.
People can of course eat whatever they like, but a proper porridge consists of: 1/2 cup of medium or coarse stoneground oatmeal (NOT rolled oats of any type), 3 cups of water, and salt to taste. This makes enough for two people. Bring the water to a boil, shower in the oatmeal with one hand while whisking with the other, reduce heat and simmer, stirring frequently, until cooked, 10-30 minutes. The amount of time depends on how creamy you want your porridge. (I like to cook mine on very low for a long time.) Add salt in last few minutes of cooking. It is traditional to eat them just like this (I do), but lily guilders can add bits and bobs to the bowl at table.
Are steel cut oats ok to use?
Steel cut oats get too sour when you soak them before cooking IMO. I don’t use them.
Hi, Two questions! 1. So I would like to start preparing a healthy breakfast for my little one (9 month old). I purchased barley, oat and wheat flakes and turned them to powder using a miller. The first time I gave it to her, I cooked it for a few minutes and then mixed it with a little full fat greek yogurt and some fruit puree I prepared for dinner. Now I would like to do away with cooking it and just soak it. Is it ok if I soak it for around 12hrs in warm water? 2, I also want to eat these flakes my self (not powdered). Can I just soak them overnight in some yogurt in the fridge?
I always soak oats with keffir whey. Adding buckwheat, chia, flax and desiccated coconut.
Thank you for the recipe! This may already have been mentioned, but I wanted to share that I love making soaked oatmeal in my rice cooker. I can put in the water, acid, and oats the night before and set the delay cook timer. It’s cooked when we wake up! ๐
Hi Sarah,
I would like to try soaking my oats as you have suggested. Can I use just regular oats, only organic, or does it need to be gluten free oats?
Oats are naturally gluten free … the only reason some oats say “gluten free” is to let consumers know that they were processed in a gluten free facility so there isn’t any cross contamination of gluten into the oats. If you don’t have a problem with gluten, just get regular organic oats … they don’t need to be specifically labelled gluten free.
Thank you for clearing that up! And thanks for all you do…I find your website to be very informative and helpful! Happy New Year!
So you do NOT discard the soaking water, with the lemon juice? But COULD YOU? In my mind, the soaking water has the impurities in it and should be discarded (at least as much as you could drain) and start over with fresh. Would this not also help with the sour taste? Or are you throwing out nutrients?
Would be a bit messy to do. Not sure why you would bother.
We drain the oats into a colander and rinse them prior to using them to make regular oatmeal or baked oatmeal. Originally did this due to same concerns others expressed about phytic acid remaining in soaking water. Have continued even after learning this is not a concern due to our children’s taste preference. I would appreciate knowing if there is any reason nutritionally not to do this?
I did not grow up eating oatmeal (instant or traditional). Am I missing something or is it a mushy gelatinous not so tasty food? Outside of energy what do people like about oatmeal?
I’m pregnant with my fourth, and I have had very low milk supply with all my other children. So I’ve been eating a big bowl of soaked oatmeal everyday before this baby comes in November. Do you think it might help my supply if I start eating it early? If anything I know it will benefit the baby’s health and mine.
I don’t know. I only know traditional cultures used soaked porridge to stimulate milk supply while breastfeeding was already initiated. If you have low supply problems, I would have your thyroid checked before the baby is born. I would also avoid gluten as this causes low supply in some women.
Except that oatmeal is terrible for your teeth and no amount of soaking gets rid of the phytic acid to make it good. :/ http://www.curetoothdecay.com/support-with-tooth-decay/support-oats-tooth-decay.htm