How to soak and cook oatmeal the traditional way, aka โovernight oatsโ for a digestible and nourishing breakfast that will keep you feeling full all the way to lunch!
How do you cook oatmeal the healthiest way possible? Is it acceptable toย cook it in the microwave, quickly poured out of convenient, ready to use packets? Do you think this is a healthy start to the day?
Reality Check: Ripping open a package of instant oatmeal, pouring it in a mug with some water and nuking it in the microwave for a couple of minutes is NOT a nourishing breakfast! And guess what โฆ you will feel hungry again about an hour later!
Donโt get me wrong here โ oatmeal can and should be a healthy breakfast!
How youย choose to cook oatmeal, however, is the critical step that most people completely miss and which determinesย how much nourishment and benefit you will actually derive from the experience. It is one of the most important cooking skillsย to learn yourself and teach children before they leave home.
Preparation determines how long the oatmeal will fill you up. ย What good is a bowl of oatmeal if you are hungry again and ready for a donut fix by 10 am?
Overnight Oats the Traditional Way
Learning to prepare overnight oats as practiced for centuries by ancestral societies will take a little planning on your part. But, you will be greatly rewarded with a much more nourishing, digestible breakfast that will stay with you all the way to lunchtime!
Traditional peoples knew through observation that grains were very hard to digest and caused health problems over time for those who consumed them without careful preparation.
Throwing out those boxed breakfast cereals that are at least twice as expensive per serving and toxic to boot and replacing with a simple, nutritious bowl of porridge will also help your food budget considerably with no loss in pleasure or enjoyment particularly on chilly winter mornings!
TIP:ย Iโve had people email me to complain that when you cook oatmeal by first soaking for at least 7 hours or overnight, it results in a sour tasting porridge. ย Iโve found that soaking in water plus lemon juice produces a delightful and slightly lemony porridge that is not sour at all and absolutely pops with flavor! If you still need help adjusting to the taste of soaked oatmeal, the linked article plus video will share an easy way to slowly adapt.
How to Cook Oatmeal (traditional method)
The traditional method for preparing overnight oats and cooking oatmeal the next morning that results in a bowl of porridge that is very digestible, filling and nourishing compared to modern convenience methods.
Ingredients
- 1 cup rolled oats preferably organic
- 2-3 cups filtered water
- 1-2 Tbl lemon juice optional
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
Instructions
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Mix the oats, 2 cups of water, and lemon juice in a pot. Cover and leave on the counter (NOT in the refrigerator) for at least 7 hours or overnight. If you have trouble digesting grains, feel free to soak for as long as 24 hours.
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When soaking is complete, add 1/2-1 cup additional filtered water to the pot. Bring to a boil with the salt. Cook oatmeal thoroughly for 5 minutes. You do not need to rinse the oats before cooking.
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Traditional oatmeal is best served with butter and/or cream for optimal assimilation of minerals. A natural sweetener, nuts, raisins or other fruit may be added as desired.
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Refrigerate leftovers.
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
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Store bought or homemade apple cider vinegar, yogurt, or kefir may be substituted for the lemon juice.
If you are just starting to soak oatmeal for breakfast, feel free to just soak with water at first and gradually build up to the 4 tablespoons of recommended acidic medium (I prefer lemon juice).
Detailed Video Tutorial
In this longer video below, I show you exactly how I cook rolled oats into oatmeal.
It requires the initial step of soaking the night before. Then, it cooks up quickly the next morning! ย
Be sure to refrigerate any leftovers for a fast warm-up on the stove on subsequent mornings.
No Rinsing Required
You do not need to rinse the soaked oats before cooking. The antinutrients are deactivated, so no further effort is needed other than simmering for a few minutes on the stove!
I do not recommend soaking oat groats. The linked article explains why.
Soaked Oats vs Sprouted
If you donโt think you can manage the two minutes it takes before you go to bed to put on a pot of oatmeal to soak, this article shows you how to prepare traditional oatmeal without soakingย using sprouted rolled oats instead.
This article on sprouting vs soaking explains the differences nutritionally and digestively speaking.
More Soaked Porridges to Enjoy!
If you find overnight oats to be enjoyable and more digestible, try amaranth breakfast cereal, teff porridge and buckwheat hot cereal too.
I’m still not convinced about soaking grains. All the “tradition” on it seems to lead back to exactly one source. I made homemade granola every week, and I don’t soak my oats. My granola is VERY filling, it lasts me 6-7 hours until my lunch break every single time. I don’t necessarily agree that everyone needs to spend the time and energy with this extra step if you can handle your grains naturally.
Christina what are you talking about spending time and energy? instead of adding liquid to cook oatmeal in the morning you add it the night before – where is there extra? now when you are talking granola it might be a bit different, but for cooking porridge there is no extra in the process, on the contrary, i set it up at night and just have to turn the burner on in the morning (when i am not thinking fully any way) ๐
I know that this particular recipe is not a lot of extra work – but I’m assuming that most people who feel the need to soak their oatmeal are also going to soak/sprout everything else. And yes, all those times do add up when you work full time, have a family, a house to clean up, etc. I spend many hours in the kitchen each week as is, preparing everything from scratch myself. And I do love it, don’t get me wrong, but one can only do so much.
Excuse me but the entire nation of Scotland cooked their poridge oats this way. Is that your one source? The saying was the English fed their soaked oats to their horses and bred strong race horses, but the Scots fed their children soaked oats and bred strong men and women!
With all due respect, your video contradicts your recipe, or vice-versa. 2 or 4 T. lemon juice? An additional 1 or 2 cups of water added the next day?
I’ve begun sprouting grains/seeds/nuts and am enjoying that. I’ve also wanted to find a good method for soaking oats, as I eat them for breakfast 7 xs a week.
Thank you for any response,
Julie
Julie, the recipe in the video is simply halved. As long as you keep the same ratios you are good to go. You can double it this way as well.
Can pineapple vinegar be use in place of apple cider vinegar?
hi crystal, I guess your question was intended for Sarah, but well, I will just share my thoughts… ๐
If I am not using my soaked grains, I change the water or if I coarsely ground them, I stir the mixture…. then after 24+ hrs I would always trust my nose ๐ normally, if it smells pleasantly sour I would still use it.
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I have another question for Sarah or anybody who knows an answer ๐
Is it safe to soak FRESHLY GROUND OATS overnight? Oats contain a high fat content and would they not go RANCID? (oat flakes in the supermarket are heat treated so they shouldn’t go rancid) To my understanding the Scottish people always soaked whole oats and mushed them down while cooking them, so they would not have issue to worry about…. or does the vinegar prevent the rancid process?
This is my question as well… I would never soak oats overnight with yogurt, buttermilk or any other dairy product on the counter…. I would refridgerate it vinegar or not.
Hello,
I am just wondering if it is still safe to consume grains that you have soaked for more than 24 hours? I usually start soaking the grains the night before I plan to use them, but occasionally a situation will arise where I don’t have the time to cook them and so they sit for another additional night, so they are soaking for more like 36 hours. Are they still safe to eat? I apologize if this question has already been asked, but I have searched the internet and am having a very hard time finding an answer, any advice would be greatly appreciated!
Wonderful Information on your Blog Thank you for doing this!!
Just for some variety. I do like soaked oats, but I really like them if I used the Scottish Oats. I get the Bob Red Mill Brand. I personally find that they are a bit sweeter than regular rolled oats, even organic.
Thank you again Sarah and everyone else who gave great ideas!!!! You all are a blessing to a great movement to eating healthy and teaching our children to do the same.
I love your recipes!! ๐ Thanks so much for sharing them, Sarah!
One tiny suggestion: Could you please always add how many servings your ingredients make? As I am currently living on my own I guess 2 cups of oats would be too much for one person. ๐
We have been enjoying our steel cut oats (4c water to 1c oats) cooked overnight on “warm” in a 1 1/2Q mini-crock pot. What is your opinion of cooking this way? Will the lemon juice aid when cooked in this manner?
Thanks for the video on soaking grains. I really appreciate it. I was searching for some good info on why soaked was better than not. I hope you don’t mind that I linked your page in my latest coconut date oatmeal post. http://doublethink.us.com/paala/2012/05/04/date-coconut-oatmeal/
Sarah, I actually soak about a weeks worth of oatmeal, and rice for that matter, then store it in the refrigerator for later use. Do you see a problem with this?