Steel cut oatmeal — For me, oatmeal is a hit or miss. I’m that type that likes to have a LOT of toppings. So much so that you might wonder where the oatmeal is!

But I found out that texture plays a big part in oatmeals.

types of oatmeal

Quick Oats

What is cooked mostly in my house is quick cooking oatmeal. With 3 little kids its not always feasible to cook a full breakfast. They also prefer it to regular food sometimes, and I don’t mind it because I can add (aka hide), more nutritious ingredients in it like flaxseed, chia seeds or even wheat berry. Quick oats are able to cook so fast because they are pre-cooked then dried. A win for the Mac family!

Rolled Oats

The next kind is rolled oats. These oats are simply rolled after being harvested. The last, which is the one I like to eat is steel cut oats. These oats take the longest to cook and have a very different texture. Steel cut oats are cut rather than rolled, with steel blades. So the name is very accurate.

Steel Cut Oats

I like the texture of steel cut oats, but because they take so long to cook, I buy the quick cooking steel cut oats for work days. Just like quick oats, they are pre-cooked then dried. However, the texture after they are cooked does vary. It still tastes yummy, it’s just a noticeable difference.

Making the oatmeal

The below recipe is for regular steel cut oats without sugar with a variation if you want to add sugar. What makes the sugar-free version sweet is 100% pure apple juice and the fresh apples. Throw it in a slow cooker when you go to bed and you will have a nice, hot breakfast in the morning.