Types of Oatmeal

Oatmeal choices include instant, quick, old-fashioned and steel-cut. Since all oatmeal is wholesome and contains about the same nutritional value, it’s hard to go wrong with whichever type your lifestyle demands. So, let’s compare the processing, convenience, cooking time, cost and even discuss the forgotten process of soaking your oats.

Instant Oatmeal

Instant oatmeal is steamed lightly during processing. Steaming deactivates enzymes and stabalizes the healthy oils, resulting in a longer shelf life. Once steamed, the grains are then rolled until flat. Every part of the oat remains, it’s just rolled until very thin for instant oatmeal. Since instant oatmeal is so very thin, simply stirring hot water into the oats is enough to cook the oats. Instant oats cook… instantly.

Although you will not lack nutrition if you choose instant oatmeal, you may gain unwanted sugar, salt or even artificial flavorings – just be sure to read the label before purchase. The last note on instant oatmeal is that it tends to be more expensive than the other oatmeal varieties.

Quick-Cooking Oatmeal

Quick-cooking oats are an option that falls in-between the instant oats and the old-fashioned oats. These oats are also steamed (usually not as long as instant) but aren’t rolled quite as thin as the instant oats.

Quick-cooking oats take a little longer to cook than the instant type of oatmeal… about a minute.

Old-Fashioned Oatmeal

Old-fashioned oats (again lightly steamed for stabalization) aren’t rolled quite as thin as the quick-cooking oats and thus have less surface area than either the instant or quick cooking. These are often called rolled oats or regular oatmeal. Quick-cooking and old-fashioned oats are generally the priced the same.

Old-fashioned oatmeal takes a little longer to prepare than quick-cooking oatmeal… allow about 5 minutes to cook these oats.

Steel-Cut Oatmeal

Steel-cut oats are the thickest and coarsest of all oatmeals. Instead of being steamed and rolled, like all other oatmeal varieties, the whole oats are simply cut into chunks with a steel blade. Steel-cut oats are chewier than rolled oats, and the flavor is slightly nuttier than any other oatmeal variety. Steel cut oats are often called Irish Oats, not to be confused with Scottish Oats which are whole oats that have been smashed with a stone. Steel cut oats have a shorter shelf life than other types of oatmeal. These oats are not commonly found in general grocery stores and are usually priced slightly higher than regular oats. Because the steel-cut oats are so thick… they require about 30 minutes to fully cook.

Steel-cut oats are the best option if you are using your slow cooker for breakfast so that the resulting dish isn’t too mushy. They can cook on low for about 6 hours. Since steel-cut oats take so long to cook, if you prefer this type of oats, we suggest that you prepare large batches at a time and then refrigerate the leftovers. In the morning, only heat up as much as you need. Leftovers come out just fine from the microwave.