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Home » Recipes » Breakfast » Oatmeal » Clean Eating Overnight Steel Cut Oats

Clean Eating Overnight Steel Cut Oats

4.92 from 35 votes
By Dani Spies
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Overnight Steel Cut Oats

Scroll down to watch the video!

For those of you who enjoy steel cut oats as much as I do, but can’t always find the time to make them, this recipe is for you.

All you have to do is boil some water and cook your oats for ONE minute before you go to bed and when you wake up in the morning you will find perfectly cooked, steel cut oats waiting for you.

And when I say perfectly cooked, I mean p-e-r-f-e-c-t-l-y cooked.

I’ve been hearing about this technique for years and finally decided to give it a try. Not only is it the easiest way to make steel cut oats, but it yields the creamiest, lightest version of steel cut oats I’ve had to date.  I highly recommend giving this method a try.

Overnight Steel Cut Oats
Print Recipe
4.92 from 35 votes

Overnight Steel Cut Oats

Course: BREAKFAST, DIET, how-to, KITCHEN BASICS, oatmeal
Cuisine: American, gluten free, vegan, vegetarian
Author: Dani Spies
Prep Time5 mins
Total Time5 mins
Servings: 4 servings
Calories:

Ingredients

  • 4 cups filtered water
  • 1 cup dry steel cut oats
  • A pinch of salt

Instructions

  • Heat water in a large, heavy bottom pot. Once the water comes to a boil add the oats, stir, and cook for one minute.
  • Turn off the heat, pop on a lid and let the oats rest on the stove until the morning. When you wake up, turn the heat on a low for just a couple of minutes to warm up you perfectly cooked, steel cut oats. Enjoy!

Nutrition

Sodium: 13mg | Calcium: 8mg

Gluten Free, How-To, Oatmeal, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian, Video

About Dani Spies

Dani Spies is the founder and host of Clean & Delicious; a weekly cooking show on YouTube and a healthy eating blog that celebrates real, whole foods! She takes a holistic approach to health and wellness and is loved for her approachable, down to earth style both in and out of the kitchen.

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Reader Interactions

Yum! I love this recipe.

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    If you loved this recipe please leave a comment and star rating below. Questions are also welcome. Cheers!

    Recipe Rating




    Comments

  1. Conny says

    March 19, 2014 at 2:18 am

    5 stars
    What a great idea! Do you think this would work with regular oats too? I haven’t found steel cut oats in the supermarket yet. Or can I make them my own by putting them in a cutter?

    Reply
  2. Larry says

    March 19, 2014 at 9:46 am

    5 stars
    Dani, I make steel cut oats (4:1) but also add quinoa, chia seeds and rice bran (half teaspoon of each). I will also add a few dried prunes or “small” handful of dried cherries or blueberries. Let that combination sit with water while I do an hour walk.
    Microwave 1 min, stir, 1 min stir, 45 sec stir, 30 sec stir and 20 sec stir at 1100 watts depending on how wet you want the oats while I eat a freshly picked grapefruit or orange.
    Comes out very hot and delicious.

    Reply
  3. Ronalyn Hurley says

    March 19, 2014 at 11:05 am

    5 stars
    Hi Dani. The written recipe is incorrect…should be 4 cups water and 1 cup oats. Love your videos!

    Ronalyn

    Reply
  4. Krista Santora says

    March 19, 2014 at 3:18 pm

    5 stars
    This is great – I have the steel cut oats, but it takes so long to cook, they continue to sit in my pantry. Not anymore! And I love the idea to add chia seeds and dried fruit.

    Reply
  5. New Jersey Cricket says

    March 19, 2014 at 4:37 pm

    5 stars
    Dani, I make this all the time and double the batch so I can have it for a few days! Makes life so much easier. Leftovers go in the refrigerator in a covered container. Thanks so much for all your great recipes and videos!

    Cricket

    Reply
  6. Kandi says

    March 20, 2014 at 7:41 pm

    5 stars
    I make this often, and it always turns out great. You can spice it up each time by adding different fruits, nuts, coconut, etc. Just delicious and so simple.

    Reply
  7. Patricia says

    March 20, 2014 at 10:04 pm

    5 stars
    Hi Dani:

    It didn’t work for me. All the water didn’t absorb. I had to cook it for about 20 minutes longer this morning. I used a nice heavy non-stick pot. I know you used your coated cast iron but mind is too big for only two portions.

    I’ll keep trying. I’m a fan. Tonight I made your tomato spinach and fennel soup – I love it. Patricia

    Reply
  8. Patricia says

    March 21, 2014 at 10:15 am

    5 stars
    Hi Dani: There is too much water in your recipe. You only need 3/4 cup water to 1/4 cup of oatmeal. I made a two portion amount and used 1.5 cups of water to 1/2 cup of oatmeal and it worked out great. I’m glad to learn about your process because cooking for half an hour was way too long in the morning. Patricia

    Reply
  9. Michal says

    March 21, 2014 at 10:27 am

    5 stars
    Thank you for this great idea! I made it last night exactly as directed and it came out perfect!
    I just had it for breakfast and I can’t even tell you how happy I am. I added chopped apples, cinnamon and a tsp of natural PB, just like you suggested. I was surprised that I did not even need to sweeten it with stevia or brown sugar, as I normally would.
    A winner!

    Reply
  10. cecilia says

    March 23, 2014 at 3:48 pm

    5 stars
    This was great!-awesome time saver. Gonna try a little less water next time because I like a little more texture. Also had it with apples, cinnamon and PB. Yum!!

    Reply
  11. john says

    March 25, 2014 at 10:28 am

    5 stars
    Can this be made into a smaller batch for a single person?

    Reply
    • Dani says

      March 25, 2014 at 10:31 am

      5 stars
      sure. you can half it or quarter it – but i would use a smaller pot.

      Reply
  12. john says

    March 25, 2014 at 10:38 am

    5 stars
    Do you mean a smaller and shallow pot?Would a shallow pot absorb the water better?

    Reply
    • Dani says

      March 25, 2014 at 10:57 am

      5 stars
      exactly.

      Reply
  13. Gayle says

    March 28, 2014 at 12:53 am

    5 stars
    I made this recipe for the first time and it turned out perfectly for me too!! I love the nutty taste and texture of the steel cut oats!! Yummy! Just wondering if quinoa would cook as well using this method.

    Reply
  14. Gayle says

    April 7, 2014 at 4:11 pm

    5 stars
    I have to comment that I tried this recipe using quinoa. It turned out perfectly fluffy and cooked to perfection. I used one cup of quinoa to just a tad over two cups of water and voila! Perfectly coked quinoa in the morning!!!

    Reply
  15. D.J. says

    January 13, 2015 at 12:31 am

    5 stars
    I had the steel cut oats but had never made it till last night. So glad I found your site and this recipe. So easy and was very good. This morning I warmed mine up with a smashed banana and cinnamon. YUM!

    Reply
    • Dani says

      January 13, 2015 at 9:16 am

      5 stars
      That sounds delicious! I love the idea of the added smashed banana!

      Reply
  16. Jennifer says

    February 5, 2015 at 1:14 pm

    5 stars
    I made these and followed your instructions exactly and when I woke up in the morning there was mold on the top of my oats! I had to throw the who thing out. And I used my LeCruset pot. I thrived it a second time and same thing. I don’t know whey this is happening and why it’s not working for me

    Reply
    • Dani says

      February 9, 2015 at 3:04 pm

      5 stars
      Oh no! I have never seen or heard of this happening! I wonder why? i wish I could offer more insight here, but I am stumped. Anyone else reading have any thoughts?

      Reply
  17. Sherry says

    February 12, 2015 at 9:15 am

    5 stars
    Came out fab…
    Thanks dani…

    Reply
  18. Myth says

    February 12, 2015 at 6:21 pm

    5 stars
    This is in reply to Jennifer – “Sometimes tap water can cause a greenish slime to appear on top of the oats. It’s not mold and the oats are still safe to eat, you just need to scrape off the slime. Oats can turn brown-green or even blue-green in color when they are cooked in alkaline conditions. Alkaline conditions are achieved when the water used to cook the oats has a pH balance of 9 to 12, so use filterd water when making oats, if you can. If it’s not the water, it may be your pan. Sometimes a new pan can leach metal ions into your food and that could cause the same reaction. ” – Jackiegrandy from Marin Mama Cooks blog

    Reply
    • Dani says

      February 19, 2015 at 10:33 am

      5 stars
      This info is so insanely insightful! Thanks for sharing Jackie!!

      Reply
  19. Jennifer says

    March 9, 2015 at 8:50 pm

    5 stars
    To Myth- thank you so much! I’m going to try them again using spring water. I did use water from my tap! Thanks ladies everyone is so helpful!

    Reply
    • Dani says

      March 11, 2015 at 1:14 pm

      5 stars
      Jennifer – I would love if you can come back and let us know how it goes!!

      Reply
  20. Ami Bass says

    April 7, 2019 at 9:09 am

    5 stars
    I was so excited to make this and even doubled the batch…but when I woke up this morning I found it had already started growing mold in the night! I decided to toss the whole thing : (. What did I do wrong?

    Reply
    • Ami Bass says

      April 7, 2019 at 9:11 am

      5 stars
      Oh wait- just saw that this happened to someone else. I used filtered water so maybe it was my pot that caused the green slime to develop. I think I’ll stick with the slow cooker recipe for now….thanks!

      Reply
    • Dani says

      April 11, 2019 at 10:06 am

      5 stars
      Question – was it mold or just a skin over the top of the oats? Often the starch from the oats will settle on top – it almost looks like a thick film. But this is not mold…. I would just scoop it off, warm the oats and enjoy.

      Reply
  21. Marcia says

    November 14, 2019 at 12:01 pm

    5 stars
    Everything you said is true! I made them last night and they were perfect this morning. Thank you!

    Reply
    • Dani says

      November 15, 2019 at 8:40 am

      So glad they worked out for you! I love making them this way.

      Reply

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