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.
Gudrun,
Thanks for the reply, I will definitely try them this way then. I LOVE steel cut oats! Thanks again!
sorry if i missed this in all the previous comments. but, what about steel cut oats? are those better/worse and should i soak them the same way? thanks for all you do.
Would orange juice also work as an acid?
My hubby often makes himself a batch of oatmeal on the spur of the moment. He makes a pot (unsoaked), and the leftovers just sit there because I don’t want to serve them to the kids. It always crosses my mind, can I ferment/soak them AFTER cooking? Why not just add a bit of whey and let the cooked oatmeal sit on the counter for the day? Would this work to break down the phytic acids and antinutrients??
I recently started making soaked oatmeal for my family and we love it! The first try was a little too lemony for everyone. I’ve started to discard any excess water (which isn’t much) and it takes away most of the sour, lemon flavor. Does that get rid of any of the beneficial nutrients that we need? I hope not, my family devours this stuff!
Thanks, Sarah! My children love to eat oatmeal. My son watched this video with me last week and I explained to him that we were going to begin eating our oatmeal this way from now on.. We called it “porridge”, (They LOVE the story of Goldilocks!). I began by simply soaking it without the acid. They didn’t notice a difference. But I did! I couldn’t believe it when it came to lunch time and I realized that they had not asked me once for any more food…and they each only ate 1 bowl of the porridgel!!
(Usually this is our day: We eat our first breakfast at 7:30; my son (4 1/2) asks for two bowls of oatmeal and my daughter (3) asks for 1 1/2 bowls. Then around 9:30 they want some fruit, or egg, or toast; I call this “2nd Breakfast”. And then about an hour before lunch they are hungry and begging for a snack.)
Last night I soaked the oats with 2 TBSP lemon juice. When it was almost done cooking this morning, I tossed in some fresh raspberries. After I filled their bowls, I gave them each a nice pat of organic butter (I haven’t been able to find a farm to purchase raw milk or butter from here in Cape Coral, FL) on top and drizzled some honey.
They LOVED it and were only able to eat half of what they would have eaten if I had NOT soaked the oats. This morning, while enjoying his soaked oats, my son said to me, “Mom, I’m so thankful Miss Sarah taught you how to make this porridge!” It is almost time for them to be begging for their post-2nd breakfast, pre-lunch snack, and I haven’t heard one request for food! So, Miss Sarah…thank you for giving me a nutritious way to feed my children that will satisfy!!
my only suggestion would be to soak in clear glass ๐ if you are adding lemon juice or ACV in a stainless steel or aluminum pot for that long, would IMO increase leaching of aluminum, nickel, chromium (stainless is nickel and chromium).
There is a popular recipe on Pinterest called Refirgerator Oatmeal. Is it ok to “soak” in the fridge and then eat the next day without cooking?? http://www.theyummylife.com/Refrigerator_Oatmeal
A friend linked to one of your posts on cavities on FB and I’ve been exploring your blog ever since I followed the link. I will try this tonight (and in the morning)! It looks super easy.