Steel Cut Oatmeal takes only 4 minutes to pressure cook. Treat yourself to a hearty bowl of healthy and deliciously satisfying steel cut oats, without the fuss. Add your favorite toppings for the ultimate breakfast. Slow cooker instructions included.
How to make Steel Cut Oatmeal in the Instant Pot
I’m so not complaining about finally seeing London and Paris for the first time. It did not hurt to have Nutella crepes made fresh from no-nonsense street vendors. There’s nothing painful about buttery, flaky, super-soft croissants made by French bakers first thing in the morning.
I did the cliché thing and fell in love with Paris. I even got all wanna-be and donned a Parisian floral scarf while carrying a baguette around.
I only missed 2 things from home: flip flops (apparently nobody in Paris shows their toes in spring) and my daily ritual of Instant Pot Steel Cut Oatmeal.
Despite the abundant Pain au Chocolåt available at every corner, I occasionally longed for my morning hot bowl of hearty steel cut oatmeal topped with pure honey or maple syrup and juicy berries.
Once you try this fast and fail-proof strategy of cooking steel cut oats in your pressure cooker or Instant Pot, you’ll ditch all other methods to your favorite steel cut oatmeal.
Two Ingredients for the Perfect Instant Pot Steel Cut Oatmeal
It couldn’t be easier. You only need 2 ingredients to make tender, creamy steel cut oatmeal in the Instant Pot. Other ingredients are optional and can be varied according to taste.
- steel cut oats (not the quick cooking kind)
- water or milk: I prefer water, since milk can be added later if desired. That said, if you love that extra creaminess, feel free to cook your steel cut oats using your favorite kind of milk. Cow’s milk, almond milk, coconut milk – it’s your choice.
The trick to having perfectly cooked steel cut oatmeal is being sure you have the correct liquid to oats proportion. The 3:1 proportion is super easy to remember. You generally want 3 cups of liquid to 1 cup of steel cut oats when using your pressure cooker.
The below recipe includes vanilla extract, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt. Feel free to omit those if you want plain oatmeal as your starting point.
Once your oatmeal is cooked to perfection, you can take it from there – mix in any toppings you love. My personal favorites include raw honey, sometimes chopped apples, and always berries.
How can I adapt for slow cooker steel cut oats?
The slow cooker requires more liquid. You’ll need 4 parts liquid to 1 part steel cut oats. Cook on Low setting for no longer than 6-7 hours.
If your slow cooker tends to run hot, you may need to cut the time down in order to prevent sticking/browning on the bottom of pot. It’s even better if you’re able to give it a quick stir during cooking. You can also stir in some milk once the oatmeal is done, to soften up the bottom and get your oatmeal to a creamy consistency.
You may also like this Cinnamon Baked Oatmeal:

Instant Pot Steel Cut Oatmeal (Slow Cooker Option included)
- Prep Time: 2 min
- Cook Time: 4 min
- Total Time: 6 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
Instant Pot Steel Cut Oatmeal takes only 4 minutes to pressure cook. Treat yourself to a hearty bowl of healthy and deliciously satisfying steel cut oats, without the fuss. Add your favorite toppings for the ultimate breakfast.
Ingredients
- 3 cups water or milk of your choice, plus more milk for serving
- 1 cup regular steel cut oats (not quick cooking)
- pinch of salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Add all ingredients into Instant Pot. Set to Pressure Cook high, for 4 minutes. Allow pressure cooker to do its own natural release after cook time. Do not move lid or try to release pressure yourself, as the oats need the natural release time to cook properly. You don’t have to remove lid immediately once natural pressure is done; if desired, you can leave the finished oatmeal alone for an hour or so.
- Carefully remove the lid and stir. If desired, add milk of your choice to your preferred consistency and stir well.
- Serve warm steel cut oatmeal with your choice of honey, maple syrup, fruit, or nuts.
Notes
You can use half water and half milk of your choice, if desired. However, we’ve found that simply mixing in the milk after the oatmeal is finished works even better.
I’ve made big batches of steel cut oatmeal to last several days. Leftover oatmeal can keep well covered airtight in fridge for up to 3 days. When ready to re-heat, be prepared to stir in extra water/milk, as the leftover oatmeal will likely have thickened up.
The slow cooker requires more liquid. You’ll need 4 parts liquid to 1 part steel cut oats. Cook on Low setting for no longer than 6-7 hours.
Slow Cooker option: As slow cookers can tend to run hot on the bottom, you may need to cut the time down in order to prevent sticking/browning on the bottom of pot. It’s even better if you’re able to give it a quick stir during cooking. You can also stir in some milk once the oatmeal is done, to soften up the bottom and get your oatmeal to a creamy consistency.
If you enjoyed this recipe, please come back and give it a rating ♡
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Instant Pot
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: Instant Pot Steel Cut Oatmeal, steel cut oatmeal recipe, pressure cooker steel cut oatmeal, instant pot oatmeal
More Oats, Please:
2. Baked Blueberry Oatmeal (GF)
3. Chewy Apple Oatmeal Bars (Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Refined sugar-free)
It is very hard for me to get steel cut oatmeal here but I do have the roll oatmeal daily for my breakfast. Love your healthy choice recipe and it is quite colorful too with added strawberries and blue berries.
Thank you!
Our whole family eats oatmeal for breakfast! This would be great to do once we get an instant pot.
This looks delicious and super easy to make. Thanks for sharing!
That looks so so so so so good! Something so perfect to wake up to! 🙂 I would need a little more cinnamon though – ha ha!
I have been looking for more reasons to get an Instant pot. That looks amazing and I LOOOOVE Oatmeal!
I absolutely love oatmeal in the mornings!! I have never made my own before! I will have to try this out
You know I think it’s great to eat in the morning for breakfast because in short it’s really very healthy and full of energy as well as tasty!
A great porridge recipe! I eat this pretty much every morning
Thank you for your wonderful recipe. Oats are one of the soothing food in my list. I will try them this weekend.
So ultimately this is not only tasty but healthy too. I think it is truly worth a try…
Steel cut are way better than instant but I often can’t be bothered! This is great!
So genius to make these in the Instant Pot!!!
I love the flavor and consistency of oatmeal! I love all of the flavors you can add in, I need to add it to my grocery list!
My family loves oatmeal! Instant Pot is a great idea, I love how your turned out! Delicious!
I love steel cut oats. I never thought to make them in the instapot.
I haven’t had a good bowl of oatmeal in a while now and looking at your pictures, and seemingly easy recipe, I think I have a hankering for some oatmeal now! Thanks for sharing. I have to try this out!
Never thought an oatmeal can be so yummy. Great job!
I’ve been eating oatmeal lately and I like it so far. I have to try it with berries too next time. I love it with bananas or peaches!
I love oatmeal and these look healthy and delicious! I’d love to give it a try!
Oh I really love discovering more recipes for oats, I really love this product, not only that it’s healthy. I really love how it taste like and fill me like I don’t have to eat another meal for the day
My kids would absolutely love these. This would disappear in no time at our house! This is my kind of weekend treat.
Wow, this was full of surprises. I never considered this area, but it honestly sounds like the perfect place for me and my family. It’s so beautiful
Wow, so delicious and easy recipe to make for the kids. I am sure my kids will love it like and will make their favorite.
You definitely make me drooling over this lovely looking recipe. I wish I could have got them here right now and taste it.
I am all for healthy food like these. And each of them looks awesome. Feeling hungry after seeing them.
Oh I love that you can make this with the instant pot!! I am going to try this out for breakfast next week!
I love Instant Pot Steel Cut Oatmeal! It is a perfect way to start your day. I loved adding seasonal fruits to it 🙂
These look lovely, I struggle to eat breakfast but maybe these will be inspire me a little.
Thanks for this great recipe sharing, love oatmeal & this definitely a delicious recipe. let’s enjoy healthy eating life. cheers, siennylovesdrawing
This seems like a perfect recipe for a family sleepover – around a holiday or long weekend. Everyone can add their own favorite toppings. Looks yummy!
These is nothing more comforting in the morning than oatmeal! This looks perfect and delicious!
I haven’t had oatmeal in a long time due to my new diet that I follow now.. but this might make me want it again lol. Your photos are making me drool 🙂
I have never heard of such a thing but this looks like so much fun.
Oh I love Paris! and also Oh I hate Paris! haha, I’ve been there long enough to have this love/hate relation with the City of Lights! lol. I totally get you missed your breakfast! Would you think I’m crazy if I said I prefered my oatmeal savory? yes, I’m weird like that!
But trying to be more “normal” I’m going to try your recipe for sure!
I’ve definitely heard some like savory oatmeal. Not crazy at all! And yes, I can totally see the love/hate with Paris…as with anywhere else, right? 🙂 Thanks, Nati!
Oh my, that looks delicious