Healthy Oatmeal Recipe with Dried Fruit and Nuts
This Healthy Oatmeal Recipe with Dried Fruit and Nuts is a great way to start off the morning, with Greek Yogurt and fresh fruit on top!
Does your family eat steel cut oats for breakfast? We’re on an oat roll in our household, where my husband or daughter make a big pot early in the week, enough for all of us to have a healthy breakfast each morning. There’s nothing quite like a healthy oatmeal recipe that helps save time, where you add almond milk, and everyone adjusts their own bowl with either agave or honey. Because the steel cut oats take so long to make, I think our breakfast planning is genius. Of course we add a few extra ingredients to the pot, so it’s ready to heat, eat, and then run!
We’re winding down the school year for our daughter who will be a senior next year, and our college boys will be home, soon as well. Oats have always been a staple in our home, but did you know that steel cut are actually better for you? They take a bit longer to cook than normal rolled oats, so that is why we make up one BIG pot and save time. They are delicious reheated.
Instant oats have a lot of extra sugar and salt added to them, so we quit eating those about 5 years ago.
Quick oats are larger than the instant oats, but are pretty much the same otherwise. Basically, not as healthy as the mothership of oats: Steel Cut Oats.
Rolled oats (old-fashioned oats) have been steamed, pressed, and are usually used in baking recipes.
Steel cut oats are the inner part of the oat kernel, very small and coarse in texture. They can have a chewy texture, so that’s why we love to mix them with dried fruit and nuts!
Remember as a kid not liking oats because they were a little mushy, or slimy? We always had oats at church camp, and I did NOT like them. But, of course, I ate them anyway, because I never missed a meal as a kid. LOL
These steel cut oats are perfect for overnight company! It’s a breakfast cereal that your guests can reheat in the morning, and it’s really a Breakfast of Champions! You can serve almond milk (or regular milk) with different options of sweeteners like brown sugar, agave, honey, or coconut sugar (which I buy at Trader Joe’s). All great options! Or, better yet, serve it with Greek yogurt!
Our family loves them, and our guests always ask … what are we eating? LOL. I tell them, and then give the spiel on how healthy they are for you!
What is your favorite way to cook oats for breakfast, and what kind do you make?
Get the Recipe:
Healthy Oatmeal Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 cups water
- 2 cups steel oats
- 1/2 cup hemp hearts
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds
- 1/2 cup dried blueberries
- 1/2 cup figs, diced
- 1/2 cup shredded coconut
- 2 tsp. cinnamon
Instructions
- Bring 6 cups of water and 1 tsp. of salt to a rolling boil. Add the oats and stir. Turn down the heat to low and simmer for about 25-30 minutes.
- Mix in the dried fruit, hemp hearts, and cinnamon; stir.
- Leave the oats on the stove, and go to bed (if hot). Otherwise, cover and refrigerate.
- The next morning, uncover the pan and reheat the oatmeal, or reheat individual portions in the microwave.
- Serve with milk (almond milk) or Greek yogurt.
More healthy breakfasts:
Cranberry Almond Protein Bars {Gimme Some Oven}
Blueberry Almond Breakfast Bites {Aggie’s Kitchen}
Skinny Overnight Oats in a Jar {Skinnytaste}
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I’m Sandy—lover of food, family, cooking, THE BIG BOARD, travel, and bringing people together. Through great recipes and connection around the table, we become better, stronger, and more courageous people. Feasting on Life is real, and every time we do it, we grow a little more. Read more...
It looks so amazing and delicious. I cannot wait to try this one at home. I am going to make this recipe with a simple twist by putting some more nuts and dried fruits on it.
How about…cooking apples into your morning oatmeal and you’ll start the day right with whole grains and a serving of fruit.
This look incredibly creamy!! Cannot wait to try!
So great that your daughter makes the oats for everyone to enjoy all week. Looks like a recipe I would love, especially after all the sweets we ate in Miami.
I always cook steel cut oats in the pressure cooker. They cook much faster and softer than cooking them on the stove top.
We grew up eating steel cut oats – my mama taught me right!
We usually eat rolled oats and I boil the water with raisins and chopped up Granny smith apples before adding the oats. We top with cinnamon, a little bit of {real} maple syrup and nuts. We throw in other seasonal fruit, too, and for a big treat, add a bit of whipped cream. :) We may need to try the steel cut!
Do you add the fruit before serving or when making (and refrigerate with fruit?)
You add it to the end when you are making it, Sherry. Mix it all together!
This sounds so delicious!
Oh my gosh. It looks so creamy and chewy! I have to try this out. YUM
I love steel cut oats! I like to make a big pot too at the beginning of the week. It makes breakfast so much easier!
Can’t go wrong with a healthy breakfast every morning, in about 1 minute! Thanks Ashley!
My favorite breakfast!
Same here, Maria. :)
This is a crockpot recipe that I have. http://www.pinterest.com/pin/223350462742886589/
Thanks for sharing, Debra.
Is there any way this recipe could be adapted to be cooked in a slow cooker? Perhaps double or triple the quantity?
Yes, Cheryl, but this method only takes 30 minutes and you can just leave it on the stove (cover with a lid) the night before. Easier and the texture is perfect!