Over the years, oatmeal has gotten a bad rap. You probably picture a bland bowl of mush, maybe topped with some brown sugar or raisins if you're lucky. Yes, I was even a fan of that bowl of mush, but let me tell you, oatmeal has evolved. Someone figured out that you can turn oats into just about anything, and it's working really well.
These are some of the top oatmeal and oat recipes I've discovered, but there are countless others out there that I have yet to try. After reading this article and realizing what you've been missing, get yourself on OatTok (yes, oat TikTok is a thing!) and try them all.
Carrot Cake Oatmeal
- Prep Time:15 mins
- Cook Time:10 mins
- Total Time:25 mins
- Servings:2
- Easy
- 1 cup finely grated peeled carrot
- 1 1/4 cups almond milk
- 1 tbsp + 1 tsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger
- dash ground nutmeg
- pinch fine sea salt
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- chopped walnuts
- coconut whipped cream
- shredded coconut
Ingredients
This tastes as good as it looks. If you're a fan of carrot cake, do yourself a favor and whip this up next time you're craving dessert for breakfast.
Baked Banana Bread Oats
- Prep Time:5 mins
- Cook Time:25 mins
- Total Time:30 mins
- Servings:1
- Easy
- 1/2 cup oats
- 1 mashed banana
- 1/2 cup any milk
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp chia seeds
- splash vanilla
Ingredients
Baked oats are such a tasty take on the classic oatmeal. This has become a staple recipe for me in quarantine, and I'm not mad about it.
Some other baked oats recipes blend all the ingredients together, changing the consistency and creating a final product that looks like cake. I have yet to try these, but I think they might be game-changing.
Overnight Oats
- Prep Time:5 mins
- Cook Time:0
- Total Time:5 mins
- Servings:1
- Easy
- 1/2 cup oats
- 1/2 cup almond milk
- 1 tsp chia seeds
- 1 tsp honey
Ingredients
If you're into meal prep, overnight oats are a must. There are an endless amount of recipes out there, but the basic components are this: 1/2 cup of oats and 1/2 cup of any milk.
Above is a simple recipe I use as a base to which I add anything that sounds good. Just mix the ingredients together, put it in the fridge overnight, and in the morning you can enjoy! I topped this with blackberries, goji berries, hemp seeds and cinnamon - a delicious combo. Some other takes add ingredients like cacao powder, banana, nut butter or yogurt, so put your own spin on it.
Oat Pancakes
- Prep Time:10 mins
- Cook Time:15 mins
- Total Time:25 mins
- Servings:3
- Easy
- 2 ripe bananas
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
- 1/2 cup almond milk
- vanilla
- cinnamon
- 2 tsp baking powder
Ingredients
Who doesn't love chocolate chip banana pancakes? This recipe tastes so good and makes a lot, so I like to freeze my leftovers and pop them in the toaster when I need a quick breakfast.
The oats in this recipe get blended to become oat flour, which can be used in so many recipes as a healthy, naturally gluten-free alternative.
Oat Milk
- Prep Time:5 mins
- Cook Time:0
- Total Time:5 mins
- Servings:4
- Easy
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 3 cups water
- 2 tsp maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/8 tsp sea salt
Ingredients
I know you might love your almond milk a little too much, but when it comes to oat milk, change is good. Oat milk is creamier, more environmentally-friendly, and so easy to make from scratch. This is a basic oat milk recipe I found, but you can play around with different spices and flavors to make it your own.
You may have noticed that a lot of these oat recipes use bananas. They are usually there to add sweetness, but making sure that the bananas are extra ripe is key. Now you know what to do when you waited too long to use your bananas again.