I went to Tennessee a few years ago to visit my aunt and uncle. While there, they made “The Perfect Oatmeal.”
You know how sometimes when you have oatmeal, it’s really mushy? And sometimes, it’s really slimy?
Well this one is jussssst right. This apple cinnamon oatmeal is absolutely perfect.
You can use this trick to make plain oats as well, but here is a version with apples and cinnamon.
The trick is to bring the water to a boil, add the oats, cover, and remove from heat. Let the oats sit for 10-15 minutes, and you have the perfect, non-slimy, non-mushy, oats! Hooray!
You can really make any combination of “stuff” in Perfect Oats- add dried fruit or raisins to boiling water, add a mashed banana… the possibilities are endless.
Here is what I did.
First, peel, core, and chop one or two apples into small pieces.
Next, melt 1/2 tablespoon of butter in saucepan and mix in some cinnamon and nutmeg. Add the apples and stir, completely coating the apples.
Continue sauteing until apples are cooked but not too mushy, stirring occasionally.
Add 2 cups of water, 1-2 tablespoons of honey (depending on how sweet you like it), and a pinch of salt. Bring the water to a boil.
Stir in the oats and the nuts. Remove from heat, and cover. Let sit for 10-15 minutes (or longer, it doesn’t really matter. It won’t overcook since the heat is off.).
When ready to serve, put hot oatmeal into a bowl and, if you want it to be extra delicious, add a splash of whole milk or cream.
My uncle served it with yogurt on top and that was also very yummy. I prefer this method to actually cooking the oats in milk, but I imagine that if you prefer to cook oats in milk, you could follow the same procedure to make Perfect Oats.
Weekend prep: The great thing about this and other oatmeal is that you can make it and refrigerate it for about a week, and reheat it later for breakfast (or lunch, or dinner!).
If you do this, you may need to add more water because it tends to dry out over time. Make a big batch over the weekend, and divide into individual containers.
When you are ready to eat, add a couple of tablespoons of water and microwave for one minute.
Here’s the recipe for apple cinnamon oatmeal! You may also like these DIY instant oatmeal packets.
Apple Cinnamon "Perfect" Oatmeal
Equipment
- medium pot
Ingredients
- 1/2 tablespoon butter
- 1 apple diced (about 1 cup)
- 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1 pinch ground nutmeg
- 1/4 cup sliced almonds or chopped walnuts
- 2 cups water
- 1 cup old-fashioned oats
- 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- Whole milk, cream, or yogurt, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Add apples, cinnamon, and nutmeg; stir until coated.
- Sauté over medium heat until diced apples are soft (about 5 minutes, depending on how small you chopped them). Add the almonds and stir to coat everything in the butter and spices.
- Add water and salt. Bring to a boil.
- Add oats, stir once, and remove from heat and cover. Let sit covered for 15-20 minutes, or until oats have fully absorbed the water. Stir in maple syrup (2 tablespoons).
- When finished, serve with a splash of whole milk, cream, or yogurt on top (optional).
Notes
- Save leftovers in the fridge for about a week for easy breakfast meal prep. If you reheat in the microwave, you may need to add more water because it tends to dry out over time. I like to make a big batch over the weekend, and divide into individual containers. When I am ready to eat, I a couple of tablespoons of water and microwave for one minute.
Nutrition
Nutrition Information Disclaimer
The provided nutrition information is my best estimate and reflects one serving of the recipe (total servings indicated at top of recipe card). It does not include any added sodium from seasoning to taste, any optional ingredients, and it does not take brands into account. I use an automatic API to calculate this information. Feel free to calculate it yourself using one of these tools:
Ruth Cobb
This looks so good. But the carbohydrates is very high at 7/5 grams of carbs, as well as the calorie count 747. Any ideas for lowering both readings. I’m diabetic and have to watch how many there are.
Being allowed 2-3 carbs for breakfast, 4 for lunch and dinner, it gets harder and harder to have a great tasting meal like this.
Any suggestions you have would be greatly appreciated.
Elizabeth
Hi Ruth! There are a few recipes on my blog that have inaccurate calorie counts- this is one of them. I need to go through and fix them once I have time :-) It is analyzing the whole recipe, instead of taking into account the number of servings. This serves 2-4 people, and I just redid a calorie count on it and the total number for half of this recipe is 330 calories (not including milk or yogurt added on top) and 51.9 grams of carbs. You can eat even less of it for fewer calories! And in terms of the carbohydrates- oats have a lot of them, but are also so good for you in other ways- they are a “good carb,” full of fiber. The apples add sugar to it, so maybe only use half of the apple or leave out the honey. And eating protein with fruit and other sugary foods supposedly helps your body regulate it a bit better, so the almonds will help with that. Hope that helps!
eryn
I made this about a month back and was completely in love. Such a great and easy recipe! And then I had breakfast ready to go for a couple of days! One morning I added a little greek yogurt to it for a little protein and another was peanut butter.
Thanks for creating such delicious recipes :)
Elizabeth
Yay, I am so glad you liked it! It’s my go-to. Lately, I’ve been making just the oats using this technique and adding butter and maple syrup on top… yummmmm. Love the greek yogurt idea, I’ll have to try it!
Emma
This sounds good cause I’m not a fan of porridge (really mushy texture) and I prep meals so could I do this one maybe just plain then add flavours and extras when I go to eat it? will it last 4-5 days?
Im definitely going to try it on sunday!
Thanks
Elizabeth
Yes, it will last 4-5 days (perfect for the whole work week)! I’ve lately been making it plain and adding in blueberries, some maple syrup, and butter after cooking it. The only thing to watch out for is that it tends to try out a bit in the fridge, so when you reheat it, you may have to add just a little more water to it. Hope you enjoy it! :-)
Emma
Thanks heaps for that! and you do 2 cups of water to every 1 cup of oats don’t you?
Emma
Mine did turn out a little bit more mushy then I was hoping, and don’t look as firm as the picture, I may not have used enough oats but ill try again next week :)
Thanks
Elizabeth
Oh no! Actually, when I make the apple cinnamon kind I use 2 cups (some of the water gets absorbed into the nuts and fillings I add), but if I make it plain first, I only use about 1.75 cups. Sorry I didn’t mention that earlier! When in doubt I usually do less water and add more at the end if it looks too dry to be extra cautious.
Z
I’m a milk-oatmeal person more than a water-oatmeal person but I’ll give this a shot :)