Quicker Cooking Steel Cut Oats

[This post is sponsored by my pals at Bob’s Red Mill! We’re using their amazing Gluten Free Organic Steel Cut Oats for these Quicker Cooking Steel Cut Oats.]

OATS!!!!! To say I’m excited about this “recipe” is a total understatement.

If you recall, when I first started working with my food baes, Bob’s Red Mill, I posted recipes for something called Oat Week.

A whole week devoted to oats. Yes, it was amazing as it sounds.

We had cookies! We had bowls! We had granola! We had savory options!

If you could do it with an oat, we did it.

One of the oats that was, admittedly, severely neglected in this whole ordeal though? Oats of the steel cut variety.

Don’t get me wrong, I love steel cut oats. But up until recently, I found myself repeatedly reaching for rolled oats for a few reasons:

I was comfortable at cooking rolled oats. Probably could cook them with my eyes closed at this point. Totally not recommended, I’m sure. But still. I love them.
They’re super versatile. I love them in so many ways, it’s crazy of me not to have them on hand.
They cook in SO MUCH less time than steel cut. Rolled oats are the rabbit and steel cut oats are the hare.

Let’s spend a bit of time with that last point, shall we? If you’re not sure of what the difference is between steel cut and rolled oats, I was right there with you.

Steel cut oats are whole oat groats that have been cut down into small pieces.

Rolled oats are oat groats that have been toasted, steamed, and milled into their characteristic flat, oblong shape.

Bob’s Red Mill’s oats, of both varieties, are the best oats around. They are works of art. That might be a bit exaggerated, but they’re by far my favorite. I can 100% tell the difference, and I bet after a few bites, you’ll be able to as well. They’re organic too! And if you’re gluten free, they have you set! You can check out this post for more info on how they keep their gluten free goods truly gluten free. So so cool.

I’m a morning person, so as soon as I get up, I’m on social media (ick), email (double ick), and work. Doing a million different things: making Mark coffee, getting Maya her food and her medicine, responding to emails that happened overnight.

You guys get it. You’re busy too.

Point is: I don’t think to get up to cook my breakfast until I am ravenous. Like “omg do not talk to me before I get some food in me or risk getting bitten and / or yelled at” ravenous.

I think the cool kids these days call it “hangry.”

That means I don’t have time to wait around for 15-20 minutes for steel cut oats to get tender. I want my oats in front of my face in minutes.

Well, friends, now we can have chewy, creamy, outrageously delicious steel cut oats in front of our faces in minutes. In fact, about five minutes!

Yep, all with a little trick: soaking your steel cut oats overnight.

I know. I did not invent something crazy. This is, in fact, called “overnight oats.” But overnight oats are typically made with rolled oats. Remember, we’re talking about steel cut oats that take twice as long to cook on the stove.

Soaking them in water works so well because they can really hold up to the moisture. They’re not soft like rolled oats; instead they’re almost like grains of rice. Soaking them in water softens them slightly, but they still retain all of that wonderful chew.

After its slumber overnight in the fridge, cook your oats, stir in your mix-ins, load it up with toppings, and violà! You’re ready for breakfast in like…five minutes.

Whole grains done quick. The very best way to start my morning.