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Those of us with grandparents born prior to World War II may well remember that they made a practice of soaking oats in a pot of warm water overnight before cooking it up the next morning.
In fact, prior to the 1950’s, Quaker Oats used to include an overnight soak in the instructions printed on the box!
Somehow, this healthy, traditional practice was gradually abandoned as the popularity of convenience foods such as quick oats and microwave oatmeal packets gradually took hold with Baby Boomers and later generations.
The truth is that soaking oatmeal overnight before cooking it up in the morning makes it infinitely more digestible and nutritious as the practice helps to break down toxins and anti-nutrients like phytic acid. These anti-nutrients are present in all grains and very effectively block mineral absorption in the gut and can cause gastric distress or bloating in sensitive individuals. Oats contain the highest amount of phytic acid of any grain, so proper preparation is very important.
The thing I most enjoy about a bowl of soaked oatmeal in the morning is that it fills you up all the way until lunchtime, unlike those enticing and so incredibly convenient microwave oatmeal packets or a bowl of quick oats which (have you noticed?) leave you hungry and looking for a doughnut fix by about 10 am.
Boxed breakfast cereal even if organic is not a healthy option for those seeking a convenient alternative to traditionally soaked oatmeal. To make boxed breakfast cereal in the factory, the grains first have to be subjected to such intense pressure and heat that they actually liquify into a slurry. Â This slurry allows the grains to be quickly and easily shaped into the puffs, flakes, and other shapes that make each cereal distinct.
The manufacturing process used to make boxed cereal is called extrusion and it is so violent and denaturing that the proteins in the grains are actually rendered toxic and allergenic by the process.  This is why organic boxed breakfast cereal is more toxic than nonorganic – because organic boxed cereal is whole grain and thereby has more protein in it!  The more protein, the more toxic the boxed cereal!
For those making progress toward the reincorporation of wise preparation methods of generations past, remembering to put the oats on to soak before turning in at night can seem like a simple enough task.  However, I receive many emails from folks who just can’t seem to remember to do it and are truly having a difficult time establishing this regular habit.
Until the habit of soaking oatmeal is established, my recommendation is to keep a bag of sprouted rolled oats in the pantry as Plan B.
Sprouting grains functions in a similar fashion to soaking as it breaks down anti-nutrients such as phytic acid and renders the grain much more digestible and satisfying.
Sprouting has the added bonus of increasing a number of nutrients substantially such as beta carotene and certain B vitamins. China is credited with developing the method for germinating seeds many centuries ago and on long ocean voyages, Chinese sailors used sprouted mung beans as a source of vitamin C for preventing scurvy. Vitamin C is produced in significant quantities when you sprout grain. On a side note, ascorbic acid in isolation is not true Vitamin C – it is lab created, synthetic, and usually GMO.
Preparing Sprouted Oatmeal
Sprouted oatmeal is cooked up exactly the same as regular rolled oats you buy from the store. Â You just put the desired amount in a pan, add water, a bit of sea salt and cook up for a few minutes on the stovetop.
I keep a bag of sprouted oats in my pantry even though I’ve been soaking my oatmeal for well over 12 years! A bag of sprouted oatmeal comes in handy in case the family wakes up with a hankering for oatmeal when no one seemed interested the night before when I was available to put a pot on to soak.
Where to Find Sprouted Oatmeal
If you are interested in investigating whether a bag of sprouted rolled oats makes sense for your food budget, this is the brand I use. Â It is both organic and gluten free. Sprouted steel cut oats are also available now!
While you can definitely make sprouted oatmeal yourself, trust me on this one – it is a rather laborious process! Sprouted oatmeal is particularly time consuming as the additional step of flaking the dried, sprouted oat groats.
If you prefer the homemade sprouted grains method, I sprouted my own grains for years and teach you how to do it in the linked video. If you prefer a written recipe about how to sprout grains, the linked article tells you how.
Despite the ease of buying a bag of sprouted oatmeal, I do recommend going the soaked oatmeal route as much as possible because this is the most budget friendly way to go. Sprouted oatmeal is obviously going to command a premium price due to the time intensive process required to produce it.  However, keeping a bag of sprouted oatmeal in the pantry for that occasional need is a reasonable food expense for most households in my experience.
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More Information
Do you need to dispose of the water after soaking? I ask because I usually prepare smoothies(sometimes with oats) the night before and blend in the morning. Would like to be able to put oats in with all other ingredients including liquids to allow for soaking and avoid the hassle of keeping the oats to the side and draining before using. Thanks!
No you don’t need to discard the soaking water. Just cook it up right in the soaking water (add more if you need to).
Sarah, have you seen that Ezekiel brand cereal in the store? I have made your soaked grain cereal before (yum!!!) but wondered if that sprouted grain cereal was also subject to extrusion.
This is a good bread … just buy the one without the sprouted soy in it.
Should I be washing my rolled oats before cooking/soaking?
No, you don’t need to do this.
Wikipedia says Oat groats sold in stores will not sprout.
Can you soak in yogurt all day then put in the fridge ( overnight oats). I have seen soaked pancake in yogurt before
kind regards
The soaking doesn’t work very well and the oats get very sour if you use just yogurt. Also, refrigerating it also slows down beneficial microbial activity which facilitates the anti-nutrient breakdown so make sure you do this on the counter at room temperature.
I really enjoy your website and learn so much from it. I have a question about the statement that Quaker Oats use to include instructions for an overnight soak prior to 1950. I have read this in several places but cannot confirm it. I asked my 90 year old, very sharp mother about it. She does not remember ever soaking oats overnight. I even called Quaker Oats about 5 years ago when I first heard of this and again just a few minutes ago, but they say they never had such instructions.
My question: where did this information about the Quaker Oat overnight soak instructions originate?
This was before the advent of quick oats … the quaker oats box had overnight soaking instructions which allowed for quicker cooking in the morning and as a bonus, it made the oats much more digestible 🙂
Thanks Sarah. I really want to know where you obtained this information so I can confidently tell others that Quaker Oats use to recommend soaking. Since Quacker Oats denies it, I find it hard to repeat.
I guess asking an older person who remembers would be the best way to go.
I was born in 1952. I can confirm that whenever I visited my grandmother, who was born in 1880, she would always soak her rolled oats overnight. I never saw my mother do this, however, so the practice must have died out with her generation. She was born in 1920.
I have underactive thyriods an cabbage is supposed to be bad unless it’s cooked ,something about goitrogens .so is fermenting going to make the cabbage better for me to eat like cooking does .
Fermented cabbage is still goitrogenic.
hi,
I have a question: when grains are sprouted i ve read that the glycemic index increases as well. What do you think about that?
thanks
I didńt understand if i buy organic oat meal in a packet and soak them is it ok, or because of their treatments they are toxic? Thank you
That should be fine … just get the plain with no added sugar and other additives.
I bought Organic Oat bran from the bulk section so no additives, curious how do I soak this ?
Thank you for your time and have a great day.
P.S. not sure if oat meal is the same as oat bran just different name ?
Sarah, I am currently reading Ramsey Nigel’s book Cure Tooth Decay (per your recommendation in another post “More photographic proof cavities heal”) and was surprised to read that rolled oats are heat treated so they don’t suffer from rancidity due to its high fat content. Due to this the heat destroys the phytase enzyme so that no amount of soaking or souring reduce its phytic acid content. So now I feel confused. Is he incorrect?
Yes, rolled oats are heat-treated twice. Here is a link.
Soaking is not as beneficial as if oats were raw. It’s sad to find this out after many years.