A bowl of oatmeal with berries and chopped walnuts.
Don’t Make These Mistakes When It Comes To Oatmeal

NEWS

By SARAH NOWICKI NICHOLSON
Steel cut, rolled, and instant oats.
Wrong Oats
Depending on how much time you have, choose between instant, rolled, and steel-cut oats. Instant oats are processed significantly but only need a minute or two to cook.
A bowl of oatmeal with berries and banana slices.
Rolled oats are steamed but not precooked and require about 5-10 minutes of cooking time on the stove. Steel-cut oats are the least processed and can take 15 to 30 minutes to cook.
Rolled oats in a bowl.
Old Oats
Even if old oats appear and smell okay, they can deteriorate in quality and flavor over time. Toss them if they show signs of insects, moisture, mold, or discoloration.
A bowl of oatmeal with berries on top.
While most oats can last a total of about two years if they’re unflavored and steamed or processed, they may taste a bit odd, as the fats within the oats will start to get stale.
A bowl of oatmeal.
Ratios
If you’re going for the microwave cooking method, you’ll need to adhere to a one-to-one ratio of liquid to oats — the best oats for the microwave are rolled oats.
A person adding water into a pot with oats.
If you’ve decided to cook your oats on a stovetop, change the ratio to two-to-one. Boil your liquid first, then add your oats, reduce heat, and simmer until the liquid is absorbed.
A person adding oats into a pot on the stove.
Water
Cooking your oatmeal in the right type of liquid is crucial. Choose milk for instant microwave oatmeal, and water for stovetop cooking to prevent a gluey consistency.
Oatmeal in a red pot.
Nevertheless, if you prefer to use milk on the stovetop, begin with water and incorporate milk once things are simmering, or blend both liquids to adjust the creaminess.
A grey rice cooker.
Vessels
There are several ways to cook oatmeal, including using a slow cooker or even a rice cooker. When cooking rolled oats in a rice cooker, set it to the “white rice” setting.
A bowl of oatmeal with cinnamon powder.
Cook them for about 20 minutes. You can also try cooking steel-cut oats here if your rice cooker has a “porridge” setting, but you’d need to cook for closer to 30 minutes.