Usually, I am all about cooking shortcuts. But for the longest time, for whatever reason, I insisted on making my oatmeal on the stove top. Most of the time, what I got was a feeling that I had expended way too much effort on something that should have been simple, not to mention oatmeal that wasn’t at the consistency I wanted. Oh, and a messy saucepan that involved milk burned on the bottom.
Maybe it’s because my husband had taken on the mantle of official oatmeal maker (and pot scrubber). But by the time we had a baby and needed a fast, nutritious breakfast before running out the door to day care and work, I knew I had to perfect a method I had starting tinkering with while I was on maternity leave.
The microwave.
According to some in-house data collected by oats powerhouse Quaker, 53 percent of consumers make their oatmeal (using instant or rolled oats) in the microwave, 40 percent on the stove top and 2 percent each in the slow cooker or using an overnight method.
I am an old-fashioned rolled oats partisan. I prefer that bit of hearty chew provided by the rolled oats. Plus, per ounce, they’re cheaper than instant and just as easy to cook in the microwave.
Think about the bowl. Boiled-over oatmeal in the microwave is annoying and messy. A shallow bowl I used for a while was wide enough to spread everything out so it couldn’t bubble over, but the oats came out tough and overcooked. I had better luck once I switched to a narrower but taller bowl. It holds about 4 cups and more closely mimics a saucepan, leading to creamy, more porridge-like oatmeal. Until you’ve nailed your strategy and quantities down and know the oatmeal won’t escape the bowl, it’s best to keep an eye on the microwave. If you’re close to over-boiling, simply stop the microwave and let the bubbles subside. Even in a smaller bowl, I’ve managed to make an excellent batch, microwaving in bursts as needed.
Start with the recommendations and go from there. Quaker and others suggest a 2-to-1 ratio of liquid to oats. That’s about how I like it, though I often slightly increase the oats to get a thicker consistency. The back-of-the-box instructions also recommend microwaving for 1½ minutes, which I have found vastly insufficient for my tastes. The sweet spot for me is closer to 4 minutes.
Pick your liquid of choice. Water, milk, almond milk, coconut milk: It all will work.
Add some ingredients before cooking. Timing does matter here. Cookbook author Laura Lea says she prefers to add most ingredients after cooking to preserve flavor (especially vanilla extract), but there are certain items that work well when added to the dried oats. She recommends sea salt, mashed ripe banana, frozen fruit and cocoa powder (a new favorite of mine).
Others go in after. Once the oatmeal comes out of the microwave, Lea suggests additions such as nut butters, tahini, maple syrup (a must for me), honey, extracts (almond, vanilla, etc.), cinnamon, coconut oil, fresh fruit, cacao nibs, nuts or seeds, chocolate chips, yogurt, coconut flakes and jam or jelly.