Thanks for reading this guide to Instant Pot Oat Groats. Using an Instant Pot, aka pressure cooker, is one of the easiest ways to prepare this healthy whole grain because you just toss in the ingredients, push a few buttons, and walk away! You’ll have delicious and healthy oat groats in about 30 minutes! Check out the end of the article to find some tasty ways you can use them.
Just in case you are wondering what the heck oat groats are, they are the whole, mostly unprocessed grains that are used to make all the other varieties of oatmeal. For example, old fashioned oatmeal are oat groats that have been steamed and flattened to form flakey pieces. Steel cut oats are groats that have been cut in half. Oat groats taste similar to other forms of oats, although they have a chewy texture and a stronger nutty flavor.
Wanna learn more? Check out "What are Oat Groats? An Easy Guide plus Recipes."
The reason whole oat groats are often turned into other forms is that they have a long cook time. That is one reason I love using an Instant Pot to cook them; it's a bit faster than other methods.
Why use an Instant Pot?
I also love using a pressure cooker to prepare them because it is a “set and forget” method. When using the stovetop method, you gotta keep an eye on them to make sure they aren’t burning to the bottom of the pan. With the Instant Pot, you can just push some buttons and walk away. It truly is the easiest way!
The Instant Pot is also a great option because you can make a big batch to freeze and store for later. (Oat groats freeze better than other types of oats so you can meal prep them! More on that in the “Storage” section, lower on this post).
Don't have an electric pressure cooker? You can also make oat groats on the stovetop, in a crockpot, or even a rice cooker.
Alright, enough chit-chat, let’s get cooking!
Ingredients
All you need to prepare oat groats in the Instant Pot are 2 simple ingredients:
- Oat groats
- Water
Instructions
Start by rinsing your groats under cool, clean water. This removes any dust that has built up in storage.
Add 2 cups of uncooked groats and 3.5 cups of water into the pot of the pressure cooker. Place the lid on and turn to make sure it is in the sealing position.
Using the "pressure cook" setting, cook the groats on high pressure for 20 minutes. Allow the Instant Pot to natural pressure release for 10 minutes.
Release any remaining pressure by holding down the pressure release knob (I recommend using a hot pad to do this so you don't get steam burned). Remove the lid. If there is any remaining liquid, drain it off and your oat groats are ready to be enjoyed!
Hint: You can keep your oat groats in the Instant Pot on the "warm" setting for about an hour. For best results, I wouldn't leave them in there much longer or they will get mushy.
Variations
Most people probably eat oat groats for breakfast, but they are also great as a savory side dish, in soups, and in salads. If you want to add a little flavor to your groats here are some ideas:
- Breakfast - Before cooking, add a teaspoon or two of some warm and comforting spices, like cinnamon or nutmeg into the Instant Pot. You could also add a tablespoon of vanilla extract to make it a bit sweeter.
- After cooking you can stir in any of your favorite toppings, like fresh fruits, nuts, raisins, brown sugar, maple syrup, nut butter, etc. You may prefer to add your favorite types of milk, like soy, almond, or cow's milk on top.
- Savory recipes - Instead of using water, you could use broth (chicken or vegetable) to give more flavor. You could add spices that coordinate with the recipe that you’ll be using the groats in, like garlic or cumin. Add those into the water before starting the pressure cooker.
- After cooking you can top the groats with butter and salt and pepper for a simple and tasty side dish. Some fresh shredded parmesan cheese is also delicious. I love to use oats as the base of grain bowls, where I top them with sautéed veggies, beans, or meat.
Equipment
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You will definitely need a pressure cooker to make Instant Pot oat groats. There are A LOT of varieties of Instant Pots and pressure cookers on the market. My favorite is the Instant Pot Ultra because I love making yogurt in it. However, 99% of the time I use my Instant Pot I just use the "pressure cook" setting. So if you are looking for a less expensive model, you will get just as much bang for your buck with the Instant Pot Duo.
You can also try out a different brand of pressure cooker. Ninja Foodi is becoming a popular brand. Click the pictures to find more information.
If you don't have a fine mesh strainer I highly recommend getting a metal one. They are great for rinsing small grains, like rice and quinoa, because they can't fall through the mesh. The metal mesh strainers are a lot more durable than plastic or fabric ones. I've had holes rip in the plastic ones before.
Storage
One of the reasons I love oat groats is because of how well they store! I find that after more than 36 hours of being in the fridge, other types of oats-like old-fashioned oats, get too spongy and mushy for my taste. Not so with oat groats!
Instead of clumping together, oat groats stay as individual grains and don’t dry out as quickly as rice does. This means you could make a big batch in your instant pot and eat them all week long as a delicious breakfast or in whatever way you choose.
Cooked oat groats should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator and will be good for about 5 days.
You can even freeze cooked oat groats! Once cooked, let them cool down completely (this prevents freezer burn) and place them in a freezer-friendly container. I love to use these reusable ziplock bags. They will last in the freezer for at least 3 months.
The best way to defrost them is to let them thaw in the refrigerator overnight. If remembering to do things in advance isn’t your thing (me 🙋♀️) you can defrost them in the microwave. Just make sure you do it slowly and use a microwave-safe bowl.
Nutrition
From the nutrition label above, oat groats are very healthy! They are low in fat, and have a good amount of soluble fiber and protein in them. Oat groats are also high in iron and are considered a whole grain.
Oat groats don't naturally contain any sugar, but you'll often see oatmeal breakfast recipes loaded with sugar! So watch how much brown sugar, maple syrup, honey, or dried fruit you add to your morning oatmeal. You can easily make oatmeal unhealthy with the number of things you mix in.
Oats are naturally gluten-free. Oftentimes, however, they come into contact with other gluten products, like wheat or barley, during processing or transportation. So if you are a person who must seriously avoid gluten, you should look for oat groats that are specifically labeled "gluten-free." If you are just casually avoiding gluten then any oats should be just fine for you.
FAQ
It is not necessary to presoak oat groats, however, you can soak them overnight to speed up the cooking time. Simply add the groats to a bowl, cover them completely with water, and allow them to rest in the fridge for several hours. When you’re ready to cook, drain the water and rinse the grains with fresh water. Use fresh water to cook the grains.
Every time a grain is processed it loses a little bit of nutrition, so technically, oat groats contain more amount of nutrients than any other form of oats. However, the nutrient loss in becoming different varieties of oats is so minimal that the difference isn't worth worrying about.
They are actually the same thing, just in different forms! All the different types of oats are just oat groats that have been processed in different ways. For example, old-fashioned oatmeal is groats that have been steamed and flattened to form flakey pieces. Steel-cut oats are groats that have been cut into smaller pieces.
Read "What are Oat Groats? An Easy Guide, plus Recipes" for more info.
Related
Looking for more oats? Try these:
I hope this tutorial was helpful to you! Let me know how you ate your oat groats in the comments below!
✌️Ems
📖 Recipe
Instant Pot Oat Groats
Ingredients
- 2 cups oat groats
- 3½ cups water
Instructions
- Start by rinsing your groats under cool, clean water. This removes any dust that has built up in storage.2 cups oat groats
- Add 2 cups of uncooked groats and 3.5 cups of water into the pot of the pressure cooker. Place the lid on and turn to make sure it is in the sealing position.3½ cups water
- Using the "pressure cook" setting, cook the oat groats on high pressure for 20 minutes. Allow the Instant Pot to natural pressure release for 10 minutes.
- Release any remaining pressure by holding down the pressure release knob (I recommend using a hot pad to do this so you don't get steam burned).
- Remove the lid. If there is any remaining liquid, drain it off and your oat groats are ready to be enjoyed!
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