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Oat groats are the delicious whole version of oatmeal. They are easy to make on the stove, taste delicious, and are very healthy. This guide will show you how to make them, give storage tips, and provide more recipes for you to use your tasty whole oat groats in. Let's get cooking!
You might be wondering what oat groats are. They are the mostly unprocessed, whole 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 oat groats that have been cut into smaller pieces.
If you'd like to learn more about them, check out "What are Oat Groats? An Easy Guide, Plus Recipes."
Because they are still in their whole form, groats do take quite a bit longer to cook than other forms of oatmeal. However, they are still really easy to make. When cooking them on the stove, you don't need any special equipment.
Let's make oat groats!
Ingredients
All you need to prepare oat groats on the stove are 2 simple ingredients:
- Oat groats
- Water
I purposely made this an unflavored and basic recipe to use as a base. That way you can use your oat groats in any recipe you want to. Check out the "Variations" section if you want some ideas to spice up your oat groats.
Instructions
Start by rinsing your groats under cold water. This helps reduce any oat dust that has accumulated during storage.
Add 1 cup oat groats and 4 ½ cups of water into a medium or large saucepan and bring the contents to a boil. Once it's boiling, reduce the heat to medium heat and cover with a lid.
Simmer the oat groats for about 50 minutes.
The oat groats are done when they are soft but still have a chewy texture. If you like them a little chewier you can only simmer for 45 minutes. If you'd like to make them as soft as possible, simmer for up to 60 mins. Just know they will always have a bit of chew.
Also, if you choose to simmer them for a long time, all of the water may get absorbed. If this happens, the grains will start burning to the bottom of your sauce pot, so you'll want to add another ½ cup of extra water or so. Keep adding water as it gets absorbed.
Once the grains have reached your personal preference of chewiness, drain off any remaining liquid and your oat groats are ready to be enjoyed!
Good to know: 1 cup of uncooked groats makes about 2.5 cups of cooked oat groats.
Variations
Here are some ways you can add more flavor to your oat groats:
- Hot Breakfast Cereal - Before cooking, add a teaspoon or two of some warm and comforting spices, like cinnamon or nutmeg into the water. You could also add a tablespoon of vanilla to make it a bit sweeter.
After cooking you can stir in any of your favorite oatmeal toppings, like fresh berries, apple chunks, or your other favorite fruit, nuts, raisins, brown sugar, maple syrup, peanut butter, etc. You may prefer to add your favorite types of milk, like almond, cow's, or coconut milk on top.
- Savory dishes - 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 boiling.
After cooking you can top the oat groats with butter and salt and pepper for a simple and tasty side dish. Some fresh shredded parmesan cheese is also delicious.
I also love to use oat groats as the base of a grain bowl. Just top with veggies, beans, or meat for a healthy lunch or dinner.
Equipment
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Here are some tools I think you need to help this recipe turn out perfectly.
You're going to need a sauce pot to cook your oat groats on the stove. You probably already have one, but just in case you are looking for a new one, I highly recommend getting one with a glass lid so you can easily check on how much water has been absorbed, without removing the lid and letting all the steam escape.
This comes in handy with all types of grains-rice, quinoa, oat groats, etc. Once all the water has been absorbed, whatever grain you are cooking will start burning to the bottom of the pan. You definitely don't want that!
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.
Cooked oat groats should be stored in a covered 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-friendly container.
Nutrition
Oat groats are very nutritious. They contain a lot of soluble fiber (which is great for controlling blood sugar), iron, phytic acid, and various b vitamins. Check out this nutrition label for a full rundown of their high nutritional value.
Oat groats don't naturally contain any sugar, but you'll often see oatmeal breakfast recipes loaded with added 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
The reason that dried grains and beans are soaked is to speed up cooking time.
When I experimented with soaking oat groats, I found that it sped up the stove top cooking time by about 10 minutes. I also didn't need to add as much water into the sauce pot with the groats. I only used 2.5 cups of water.
To pre-soak oat groats, 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, don't use the soaking water.
Every time you process a grain it loses some amount of nutrition. With oats, however, the loss is not very significant. Therefore, groats might have a bit more nutritional value because they are the least processed form of oats, but not by much. The difference isn't something to worry about.
Oat groats taste a lot like other varieties of oatmeal. They have a warm, slightly nutty flavor. The biggest difference when it comes to enjoying a bowl of oat groats over a different type of oatmeal is the texture.
Most of us are probably used to our oats being soft and mushy. Cooked oat groats, however, are a bit more chewy and chunky.
Oat groats can also be made in an Instant Pot (aka pressure cooker), rice cooker, or slow cooker! Check out the links to find tutorials on each cooking method.
Related
Looking for other recipes like this? Try these:
I hope this guide has been helpful to you! Let me know in the comments how your oat groats turn out and what you used them for! I always like to try out new ways of eating oats.
✌️Ems
Recipe
How to Cook Oat Groats
Ingredients
- 1 cup oat groats
- 4 ½ cups water
Instructions
- Start by rinsing your groats under cold water. This helps reduce any oat dust that has accumulated during storage.
- Add 1 cup oat groats and 4 ½ cups of water into a medium saucepan and bring the contents to a boil. Once it's boiling, reduce the heat to medium heat and cover with a lid.
- Simmer the oat groats for about 50 minutes. The oat groats are done when they are soft but still have a chewy texture. If you like them a little chewier you can only simmer for 45 minutes. If you'd like to make them as soft as possible, simmer for up to 60 mins. Just know they will always have a bit of chew. Also, if you choose to simmer them for a long time, all of the water may get absorbed. If this happens, the grains will start burning to the bottom of your sauce pot, so you'll want to add another ½ cup of extra water or so.
- Once the grains have reached your personal preference of chewiness, drain off any remaining liquid and your oat groats are ready to be enjoyed!
Dan
Thank you so much for showing it takes 4.5 cups of water and then tell people to use 2.5 cups of water in the cooking instructions.
Emily
Thanks for catching my typo! I updated the recipe to show the correct amount (4.5 cups).
Madura D
Hello Emily.
Just wanted to thank you for this highly informative post. I'm thinking about using oats as a base grain for health reasons, and this gave me a lot of courage to try. You've covered a lot of options and scenarios and this is very helpful. Thank you!