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Easy 4 Minute Instant Pot Oatmeal with Apples and Cinnamon

January 26, 2019 By Rambling Rach 37 Comments

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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.

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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

 


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Filed Under: Lifestyle Tagged With: food, instant pot

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Becky

    August 17, 2016 at 1:30 pm

    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
    • shrinkingmomster

      August 24, 2016 at 11:23 pm

      So sorry to hear that!!!

      Reply
    • Julie

      October 6, 2017 at 12:28 pm

      Me too! All of the time saving this morning was lost in cleaning up my kitchen! What a mess!

      Reply
    • ashley

      October 22, 2017 at 3:41 pm

      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
      • ashley

        October 22, 2017 at 3:57 pm

        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
    • Krys

      January 9, 2018 at 4:48 pm

      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. Tina in NJ

    September 22, 2016 at 1:09 pm

    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
    • Tina in NJ

      February 19, 2018 at 3:09 am

      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
  3. Karen

    October 13, 2016 at 12:48 pm

    Tried it this morning and loved it! Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  4. Cheryl

    November 27, 2016 at 9:24 pm

    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. Deena

    December 3, 2016 at 3:05 pm

    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
    • shrinkingmomster

      December 7, 2016 at 2:59 am

      I’m so glad you like it!!! Thanks for letting me know.

      Reply
  6. Anonymous

    January 9, 2017 at 4:36 pm

    Do you think this recipe would work using steel cut oats or is instant easier??

    Reply
    • shrinkingmomster

      January 9, 2017 at 5:51 pm

      Instant will cook way too fast I think. I use Bob’s Red Mill whole oats, so I think steel cut would be fine.

      Reply
  7. Stevie Ciske

    January 11, 2017 at 4:08 pm

    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
    • shrinkingmomster

      January 11, 2017 at 5:43 pm

      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
      • Sarah

        May 18, 2017 at 9:45 am

        I’ve read that for safety purposes you shouldn’t use quick release when cooking oatmeal.

        Reply
  8. Tanner Gernenz

    January 24, 2017 at 5:16 pm

    THIS IS AWSOME!!!!!!!!!!

    Reply
  9. Tanner Gernenz

    January 24, 2017 at 5:18 pm

    YUMM!!! WE LOVED IT!!!!!

    Reply
  10. Shannon

    March 2, 2017 at 1:28 pm

    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. Tonia

    May 23, 2017 at 2:09 pm

    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. Erica

    June 23, 2017 at 2:46 am

    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
  13. Brenda

    October 3, 2017 at 10:51 pm

    Can you store for later?

    Reply
    • shrinkingmomster

      October 4, 2017 at 6:44 pm

      Yes! It stores great! Fridge or freezer

      Reply
  14. Amy

    October 27, 2017 at 12:30 pm

    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
  15. Carrie

    November 5, 2017 at 2:15 pm

    Other than the oatmeal sticking to the bottom, it was wonderful.

    Reply
  16. Mary

    November 9, 2017 at 10:43 pm

    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. Victoria

    November 10, 2017 at 12:39 am

    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
    • LJ

      January 15, 2018 at 9:37 pm

      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. Tracy

    November 29, 2017 at 10:18 pm

    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. Ann

    December 16, 2017 at 3:30 pm

    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. Tina Nichols

    December 31, 2017 at 3:30 pm

    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. Lindsay

    January 7, 2018 at 4:56 pm

    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. Anonymous

    March 3, 2019 at 7:40 pm

    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
  23. Jen

    February 5, 2020 at 12:15 pm

    Great recipe. I did tweak it a bit. I used all water for the liquid and did a 10 minute natural release and it turned out perfect. No splatters when I did finally do the quick release.

    Reply

Trackbacks

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