Rambling Rach

Taking control of my health one bite and step at a time.


Easy 4 Minute Instant Pot Oatmeal with Apples and Cinnamon

By 36 Comments

Rambling Rach uses affiliate links. This means I might make a small commission if you shop through my link at no extra cost to you. Thanks for your support.

It’s been cold in Florida this week! We woke up to ICE ON THE CAR. We Floridians freak out when stuff like this happens and Facebook gets filled with photos of our wintery wonderland.

ice on car

Cold mornings are perfect for oatmeal. We like our oatmeal on the stove, not the microwave. Made with milk, not water.

And never those instant packets.

Stovetop oatmeal takes a lot of babysitting, though.

I discovered it goes quicker if you make oatmeal in a skillet, but it still needs constant stirring.

So I decided to give it a try in the Instant Pot!

And I’m glad I did!

I decided to make a big batch so we can just heat leftovers in the microwave for a few days.

Or I like to just slice chilled oatmeal and eat it cold.  Anyone else?  Is that weird?

Probably, but I’m okay with weird.

The key to using the instant pot without having food scorched at the bottom is lots of liquid.  The usual oatmeal ratio is 1 part oats to 2 parts liquid.   I added an extra cup to be safe.

I used regular old fashioned oats.  Not the quick kind.  Not steel cut.  Just regular old fashioned rolled oats.  Your cook time will vary if you use a different variety.

Hey!  While you’re here, enter to win my birthday week giveaways!

Free Starbucks

Adult Coloring Book Package

Psychic Reading with Toi Huff

 

Instant Pot Oatmeal with Apples and Cinnamon

Ingredients (change up as you see fit):

  • 2 cups old fashioned oats
  • 5 cups liquid (I used 3.5 cups of milk and 1.5 cups water.  Because that’s all the milk I had.)
  • 2 apples, cored and chopped (I left the skin on)
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil (or butter)

Method:

  1. Set Instant Pot to saute.
  2. Pour in liquid to start heating while you chop apples.  (This helps bring the Instant Pot to pressure quicker.)
  3. Add coconut oil (or butter), chopped apple, cinnamon and oats.
  4. Stop saute mode and switch to manual.
  5. Set to four minutes high pressure.
  6. Quick release when time is up.
  7. Immediately remove inner pot.
  8. Let sit for five to ten minutes so excess liquid is soaked up.
  9. Stir and serve.

Add additional topping if desired, such as milk, butter, raisins, brown sugar, more cinnamon, maple sugar, nuts or a dollop of Instant Pot yogurt.  I added a sprinkle of brown sugar to my daughter’s bowl, which liquefied into a yummy syrup as soon as it hit the hot oatmeal.

oatmeal

Have you made Instant Pot oatmeal?  If so, what method did you use?

More Instant Pot recipes, tips and tricks:

Black eyed peas and collard greens

Best pressure cooker accessories

Pressure cooker recipes for every meal

Instant Pot for work/school lunches

Instant Pot yogurt

Mexican chicken soup

Turkey breast in the Instant Pot

Turkey soup

My top Instant Pot hack

 


instant pot oatmealPost contains affiliate links.

Comments

  1. This was my first recipe I’ve tried and it didn’t work. I got oatmeal juice all over the kitchen of my RV when I did quick release and my oats weren’t totally cooked. I’m not sure what I did wrong, I followed the recipe exactly.

    Reply

    • The same thing just happened to me. The quick release sputtered milk and oatmeal juice all over my cabinets and even some on my ceiling, and the oats themselves are such a soupy mess I cannot fathom all the liquid will absorb as I let them sit. I’m thinking I need to throw them in a pot on the stove and cook out the rest of the liquid for my 5 year old who is now beside himself with anticipation of his favorite breakfast treat, oatmeal.

      Reply

      • I followed the idea a bit further down below to put the pot back on saute, and then I added a hefty dash of collagen peptides for protein and to thicken it up. Worked like a charm! I added frozen blueberries on top to help cool it down for my kids and they love the crunch of the semi-frozen and semi-thawed blueberries. 🙂

        Reply

    • Same here! I’ve got milky hot liquid covering my pot, counters, cupboards and floor. A quick breakfast for myself and a toddler… Not quite now I have to clean up after both of us! And still make breakfast.

      Reply

  2. Made this recipe this morning. I used a 5-minute natural pressure release, then a quick release. It was still very liquid, so I hit sauté and stirred it for a bit. I think next time I’ll cook for 5 minutes instead of 4 and use perhaps 1/2 cup less water. Otherwise, quite good.

    Reply

    • I now make this at least once a week. Hubby is having cholesterol issues and takes it to work for breakfast. (He gets to work extra early.) My daughter, who is becoming a picky eater, tried it tonight and declared it good.

      Reply

  4. i tried this today! It was quite liquidy ay first, but I let it sit for about 5 minutes with the ot still plugged in. It was WONDERFUL!!!

    Reply

  5. I just tried this recipe. It was great! I was a bit hesitant with 5 cups of liquid but it has turned out great! (I used 2 cups milk and 3 cups water. 1 Granny Smith apple, 1 Tbsp butter) Turned out great! & yes, let it sit a few minutes so it can soak up the liquid!

    Reply

  7. I loved the taste… but when I released the pressure, the milk mixture came spewing out all over the place. Maybe let the steam out slowly, or let it NPR for a bit (I assume this didn’t happen to you, or you would have posted that. But for those trying it out, it IS a possibility and clean up is a bear!
    But, seriously, we all LOVED the oatmeal and gobbled it up! My family of 6 just went gluten free and giving up their favorite cereals wasn’t easy… this made it much better!
    Thanks

    Reply

    • Bummer!!! Sorry to hear you had a mess! I never have the problem, but I bet it varies depending on the type of oats you use and what liquid. (Maybe?) Maybe altitude, too? So many factors! It’s a a method that can be adapted many ways. Different liquids, different spices, different fruits, etc.

      Reply

  10. Tried this early this morning. At first, it looked like it might have failed but after waiting about 10 minutes, I was pleasantly surprised. So delicious! I went for it and added 5 cups of milk ( no water used) and added a dollop of honey. Taste is spot on and there’s plenty waiting for my brood when they all wake up.

    Reply

  11. Yum! I just made my first oatmeal in the IP and won’t use the stove any more. My liquid was all almond milk, I added one minute to the cooking time and after reading the splatter comments, did a natural pressure release and it was perfect. Let it sit for just a couple of minutes for the excess liquid. Not overcooked at all.

    Reply

  12. I did exactly what you said to do in your recipe, and it was delicious, with no problems in cooking. I think it helped that I turned the instant pot to saute while I chopped the apples up. Great tip. I added maybe a teaspoon of vanilla and 1/2 t or so of salt as well. My 9-year-old had a lunch request for oatmeal and this was perfect for him with a little maple syrup and raisins on top. Thank you.

    Reply

  14. My milk curdled! What did I do wrong?! I heated it while chopping the apples and then did 3 minutes. It was curdled at that point, but still very liquidy so I decided to do another 4 minutes and it was almost done soaking up the liquid at that point. I had halved the recipe so I used 2 c milk and 1/2 c water, 1 c old fashioned oats, salt, and 2 apples.

    Reply

  16. I always put a damp paper towel over the vent when I expect it will be a “messy” venting process. It catches all the yucky steam!

    Reply

  17. I tried this and used only milk – FAIL – it scorched. The machine read burn. I emptied it all out, scrubbed the scorch off, and tried again with the same result. Maybe using all milk is the issue? Or maybe I had it on saute too long in the beginning?

    Reply

    • Mine did too. I tried it twice both times using all milk. I released the steam, opened and added water. It didn’t taste burned. It was a pain to clean. Hmm….

      Reply

  18. I just made this and mine never came to pressure. I set on sauté while chopping my apples and then put lid on and set on manual for 4 minutes. I went to release thinking it would spew everywhere like others had mentioned but nothing. I opened it thinking oh no what will it look like. It looked ok – liquidy and I set aside to absorb excess. It seemed to turn out great! My 6 year old even said mmmmm that smells yummy when I took the lid off. Anyone else have the problem of no pressure release when done cooking?

    Reply

  19. I ran out of steel cut oats so used old fashioned rolled for the first time in the IP. I used water & a little half&half. Even though it wouldn’t come to pressure, it started counting down anyway! I opened it at 4 mins & it was quite scorched on the bottom. I had not started with saute. It was not quite cooked, though so gave it another min. Tasted great but lost a layer in the bottom to scorch. Would it work as PIP?

    Reply

  20. I made some oatmeal based on this recipe today and it was yummy!

    I was skeptical about using a quick release for oatmeal… Anything foamy can be messy! I only made half a batch in a 6 qt instant pot. Instead of a normal quick release I kinda did a slow-but-not-natural release; I carefully pushed down on the vent in the closed position to let out some of the pressure manually but slower than a quick release. After a while I flipped the vent to the quick release position until the pin dropped. When I opened the instant pot it was bubbly but nothing had reached the lid.

    After sitting for a bit it thickened up nicely.

    Worth a try, just be careful not to burn your hand with the manual venting!

    Reply

  21. I used all water, but only 4 1/4 cups. Turned out perfect! Added a little more cinnamon and some brown sugar… tastes like apple pie! Delicious! Thank you

    Reply

  22. Omg! I should of read the comments! It made the biggest mess in my kitchen. Thankfully before it did the release i moved it away from my cabinets (I usually do this) so the mess was more on the counters, stove and floor. Still a mess but was a little easier to clean up because I just mopped.
    Tastes yummy, I added a little brown sugar like suggested and my son and I loved it.

    Reply

Trackbacks

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.