Instant Pot Oatmeal - steel cut oats or rolled oats - The Recipe Rebel (2024)

Last updated on May 25, 2020

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This easy Instant Pot Oatmeal uses either rolled oats or steel cut oats, and comes together quickly with no stirring! A healthy, make ahead Instant Pot breakfast!

I know I don’t share a lot of different oatmeal recipes here on The Recipe Rebel, but we are big, big oatmeal lovers.

Oatmeal is just so packed with good things — fiber, protein, and loads of important vitamins and minerals, including the two I probably need most — iron and folate — and this Instant Pot Oatmeal is one of the easiest ways to serve it up!

It’s hearty, whole grain, dairy free, gluten free (with certified gluten free oats), easy to flavor however you like, and it’s going to keep you satisfied through the morning.

Awesome, right?

Not the end of my spiel 😉

It’s also totally make ahead-able, and you can store it in the fridge or freeze it for later!

So not only can you have an awesome, healthy breakfast, warm on a cool morning, but you didn’t have to get up any earlier to make it 😉

Don’t have an Instant Pot? Try me Slow Cooker Oatmeal!

What makes this Instant Pot Oatmeal better than stovetop?

No stirring!

I’m not going to confess to you how many times I’ve had great intentions of making a pot of oatmeal, left the stove for any number of reasons, and totally overcooked my oats and had a nice thick layer of scorched oats on the bottom of the pot.

The pressure cooker really takes the guess work out of cooking oats, and it actually turns itself off when it’s done 😉

How to make Instant Pot Oatmeal: 3 ways

Instant Pot Steel Cut Oats:

Steel cut oats are my preferred type of oats for Instant Pot Oatmeal for one big reason: they hold up better under pressure.

You can cook steel cut oats in the pressure cooker and they’re not going to turn into mush. For this reason, this is definitely what I recommend, although I’ve tested and included a recipe for rolled oats as well.

1. Stir together water, oats, and salt. Because the oats are going right into the pot, I don’t like to add sugar or anything else until the end as it might increase the chances that it will stick and burn on the bottom. The exception here would be fruit — chopped apples, peaches, etc, could be added at this point if you want them to soften.
2. Put the lid on, turn the valve to sealing, and select Manual or Pressure Cook for 4 minutes.
3. When the cook time is up, turn the Instant Pot off and let the pressure release naturally until the pin drops. This can take up to 15 minutes but it’s crucial for perfectly cooked oats!

Instant Pot Quick Cooking Steel Cut Oats:

The same great texture as steel cut oats but in half the time! I accidentally bought a HUGE bag of quick cooking steel cut oats once at Costco, so I thought it’d be a great opportunity to test these out in the Instant Pot as well for those who may have done the same 😉

1. Stir together water, oats, and salt. As I mentioned above, I don’t like to add sugar or anything else until the end as it might increase the chances that it will stick and burn on the bottom. The exception here would be fruit — chopped apples, peaches, etc, could be added at this point if you want them to cook and soften.
2. Put the lid on, turn the valve to sealing, and select Manual or Pressure Cook for 2 minutes.
3. When the cook time is up, turn the Instant Pot off and let the pressure release naturally until the pin drops. This can take up to 15 minutes but it’s crucial for perfectly cooked oats!

Instant Pot Rolled Oats:

I have tried cooking rolled oats in the liner of the Instant Pot and it just doesn’t work for me. The only way I can get my pressure cooker to cook large flake oats is to use the pot-in-pot method:

1. Stir together the oats, water (since we’re not cooking it in the pot, we can also add in sugar and seasonings at this point) and salt in a pressure-cooker safe dish that fits inside on the trivet.
2. Add the minimum water requirement for your model to the liner of the Instant Pot (mine is 1 cup, but you can do more and it won’t hurt it) and add the trivet.
3. Place the dish with the oats in it on the trivet. Put the lid on, seal the valve, and select Manual or Pressure Cook for 1 minute.
4. Do a quick pressure release – which means to open it up right away. I do this so that my oats don’t become overcooked.

How to store this Instant Pot Oatmeal:

In the refrigerator:

Oatmeal can be stored in the refrigerator for quite a while.

Because there is no milk added in, you can store these oats in the refrigerator for up to 1 week, without any fruit or perishable items added in.

If you’re adding in milk or other things that expire more quickly, this is something you have to keep in mind.

In the freezer:

If you plan to freeze this Instant Pot Oatmeal, I recommend freezing it in a silicone muffin pan, then simply popping them out and storing in a large freezer bag.

This makes it incredibly easy to just take out and thaw what you need!

You can freeze oatmeal for 3-4 months.