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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. 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. 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. 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.
More Information
Does this process work for steel cut oats as well?
Not as well. I actually need to post a recipe for steel cut oats and oat groats. Thanks for the reminder!
What about soaking raw oatmeal in Kefir overnight in the fridge and then eating it straight like that without cooking? Please tell me you approve as I’ve been doing this for months and it’s sooo good especially with blueberries and it’s such an easy breakfast to grab and go!
You really must cook oatmeal to complete the deactivation process of the anti-nutrients in the grain and to adequately prepare it for easy digestion and nutrient assimilation. Eating raw oatmeal is not a healthy practice .. sorry to be the bearer of bad news 🙁
Thank you for your quick response – it is appreciated!
I found this and this is why I purchased the bag of raw oats…”In addition, it is likely that a good part of the phytase remained in the oats of yore, which partially germinated in stacks left for a period in the field, were not heat treated and were hand rolled immediately prior to preparation. And some Scottish and Gaelic recipes do call for a long fermentation of oats before and even after they are cooked.
Unprocessed Irish or Scottish oats, which have not been heated to high temperatures, are availabile in some health food stores and on the internet. One study found that unheated oats had the same phytase activity as wheat.65 They should be soaked in acidulated water for as long as twenty-four hours on top of a hot plate to keep them at about 100 degrees F. This will reduce a part of the phytic acid as well as the levels of other anti-nutrients, and result in a more digestible product. Overnight fermenting of rolled oats using a rye starter—or even with the addition of a small amount of fresh rye flour—may result in a fairly decent reduction of phytate levels. It is unclear whether heat-treated oats are healthy to eat regularly.” http://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/living-with-phytic-acid/
Hope I didn’t misunderstand when they say unprocessed I interpreted raw. So new to this traditional way of eating.
Yes, traditionally the oats were soaked and/or fermented. But they were also most definitely cooked before eating!
Everyone has their own opinion on raw foods. I’m trying to do what I feel is best for me and my family. I just purchased a large bag of raw oats with the intent to soak and eat. What is your reasoning behind not eating raw oats (you say it can damage digestion, but can you further explain and maybe link up to articles, etc.)? Thanks so much
Raw oatmeal was never consumed historically by ancestral societies likely because it is completely indigestible. Soaking the oatmeal will deactivate some of the anti-nutrients but cooking is required to complete the process.
I just found that that eating oatmeal without the soaking it’s bad for you. I love having oatmeal for breakfast. I buy organic quick oats. I boil a bag of oatmeal with water in the stove and cook them for 2 minutes. Can I soak this kind of oaks overnight? And if yes, how I do this? I never soak oaks before.
Thank you!
I really don’t want to stop eating oatmeal. I love it so much!
I usually ‘cook’ my oatmeal by just adding boiling water to it and covering it up for the heat to cook it. Will this process suffice as cooking when I do overnight soaking?
Could I use organic applesauce as the acidic soaking agent to make the flavor less jarring? We don’t like the lemon juice etc. flavors.
Unfortunately no, this won’t work. You can use apple cider vinegar in place of the lemon juice though. If you don’t like the soured taste of the oatmeal, use plain water instead and gradually work your way up.
Hi Sarah – I love that you respond to many of the questions. It would be great if you could provide the explanations to your answers as well – like you did in the most recent post as to why not to feed yourself raw oats. i.e. Why dont we need to use fresh water/liquid to cook the oats in after they have been soaked? If we are bleeding out any toxins would they not be in the liquid?
Many thanks x
The anti-nutrients are deactivated in the soaking water and are no longer a problem, so cooking the oatmeal in the soaking water is fine.
Hi Sarah, what a great article! I add 1/2 cup of raw rolled oats every morning to my little ones smoothie and another smoothie after school with another 1.2 cup more. And a friend of mine recently suggested I should soak the oats overnight. In order to soak them, should I just soak in warm water overnight and then place water and all straight to the blender ? (I read in other comments that it was not necessary to rinse) Since I make two smoothies a day for him, should I soak at night both portions (1 cup) of oats and then could I just store it in the fridge until that afternoon? Do you store it with the water?
I really appreciate your help! Also, what is your opinion about using rolled oats straight in the blender (and soaking overnight) without cooking? I havent heard a definite answer on whether its necessary to cook rolled oats , and some say its fine since the vitamix will warm it up and break it down.
Thank you!
Hi Claudia, please do not feed your child (or yourself) raw rolled oats! Rolled oats must be at least fully cooked and ideally soaked overnight and then cooked before eating. Raw rolled oats are highly indigestible and can potentially do damage to your child’s digestion! Soaking them alone is not sufficient.
Not all foods are good to eat raw and can actually be highly damaging.
I want to use an old recipe for muffins that my family likes, but it contains oats. So, I want to soak them to make them more digestible. Do I use the milk called for in the recipe (1 cup oats and 2/3 cup milk) or will it make them taste too sour?