The best Instant Pot oatmeal with apples, brown sugar and Old Fashioned oats is here. It only take 5 minutes to cook and taste amazing! An easy breakfast the whole family will enjoy and is healthy too. Try with apple cinnamon or pumpkin and let us know what you think!
Ok, so I’m obsessed with my Instant Pot…do you have one yet??! Now you can make a cinnamon raisin or pumpkin oatmeal version this way too with very little prep! It’s one of our favorite breakfast Instant Pot recipes!
My kids love preparing all the fun goodies they want to put on top of this healthy breakfast as it is cooking. The options as far as those are concerned are endless really but I’d recommend skinned and diced Fuji apples, cinnamon and even dried cranberries are quite delicious says my oldest daugther. 😉
Ingredient Notes
I recommend using Old Fashioned oats, not instant or steel cut oats as those would change the timing quite a bit. You can find gluten free varieties if needed, the timing wouldn’t change in that case.
Water or you could even add half fruit juice in for the necessary liquid to the pot in order to cook it down and become the right consistency of porridge.
The best way to do this is to core the middle of your apples and remove most of the skin. I normally wouldn’t say to remove those because that is where all the fiber and some nutrition is but the texture gets weird cooked this way.
I like to add some butter to make perfectly creamy but if you needed to use a dairy free plant based product that would work too. Brown sugar is the best sweetener and a pinch of cinnamon is our favorite cinnamon oatmeal for Fall.
Tips
Here is a peek of what it typically looks like when it is done. Remember that as it sits it will continue to thicken. When you first open the pot it will be quite loose but not to worry.
If you like a thinner version enjoy a bowl right away. If not remember that every 5 minutes or so it will get thicker and thicker until it completely cools. If you make a large pot you can really eat it more than once that day. If it cools too much just use a bit of milk and stir to loosen up until it is the consistency you want.
FAQ
Typically it is 1 cup of oats to 2 cups of water give or take a bit. You can adjust the ratio based on your desired oatmeal consistency. If you prefer thick oatmeal, reduce the water slightly, and if you like it more liquidy, you can add a bit more.
You can add ingredients like cinnamon, diced apples, raisins and/or vanilla extract before cooking if desired. Milk or other dairy products should be added at the end.
You can use either one but I do like to manually put in my own timing to get the texture just right for me. If you are new you can use the porridge button and decide from there if you’d prefer more or less time the next time.
Pot in Pot Method
Sometimes you won’t add the food into the actual pot. Like our Instant Pot hard boiled eggs we use an accessory. If you’d like to use the pot in pot method you’ll;
- Use an inner pot that will fit inside your pressure cooker like this 7″ one
- Mix in 1 cups of oats & 2 cups of almond milk or water (almond milk makes it creamier) together
- Put a trivet at the bottom
- Pour 1.5 cups of water inside
- Lower your bowl with oatmeal inside on top
- Close lid and steam valve and set on high for 5 minutes cooking time
- Release the pressure quickly when done, a natural release will make it mushy
Instant Pot Oatmeal Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup Old Fashioned oats, old fashioned
- 2 1/2 cup water
- 1 cup apple, skinned and diced
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1 pinch cinnamon
- 1/4 cup raisins, optional
Instructions
- Spray inside of pot with non stick spray. Push saute button on your Instant Pot or pressure cooker
- Add butter and allow to melt. Turn Instant Pot off…important step to avoid “burn” message from showing up.
- Add water, oats, brown sugar and add ins like diced apples, cinnamon and raisins if desired. Stir
- Put lid on and close steam valve, set to manual high pressure for 5 minutes, do a quick release, stir, open and serve.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Pumpkin Oatmeal (Option)
There are slightly different ingredients and you will use an oven safe dish lowered into the pot. You will need the following ingredients
- 2 c. Quick oats
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree – out of the can or here is how to make Instant Pot pumpkin puree
- 4 c. almond milk – or regular milk but almond milk is best for flavor
Combine all ingredients except add ins to an oven safe bowl that fits inside your IP like this dish. Pour 1 c. water into your Instant Pot. Place dish on top of a trivet. Close your lid and steam valve. Set to high pressure for 5 minutes. Do a quick release. Transfer to a cool bowl (so you don’t burn yourself eating out of the dish inside your pressure cooker).
What Toppings are Good for Oatmeal?
You might want to try a savory breakfast recipe option with a fried egg on top sometime. If you need dairy free options vanilla almond milk will bring a bit more sweetness. Many we use on our breakfast quinoa too like;
- Raisins
- Peanut butter or nut free butters
- Chocolate chips for chocolate oatmeal
- Sprinkles
- Whipped cream or Cool Whip is great
Ninja Foodi (Option)
This pressure cooker oatmeal turned out perfectly this morning. Yes my kids even give an “MMmmmmmm” when they see that’s what we are having! You can use whatever brand of pot you have at home. Crockpot Express or made as an easy Ninja Foodi recipe work just the same way.
Other Breakfast Dishes You’ll Love
Looking for other pressure cooker breakfast ideas? Pressure cooker donuts are another favorite. If you want to make a batch of slow cooker steel cut oats we have directions for that too.
This is a great recipe–I don’t use quite as much brown sugar, and I don’t peel the apples. I used dried cherries instead of raisins and milk instead of water. I probably could have cut the brown sugar down even more.
I know that’s quite a few changes, but that’s what you do with a basic recipe, right??
Dried cherries would be great
This apple raisin oatmeal was seriously the best oatmeal recipe I have ever made. It was so creamy and just the right amount of sweetness. It will definitely be my new go to.
Oh yeay!! It’s a great way to do it quick for sure
I made this using the pot in pot method and doubled the entire recipe and my oatmeal came out super liquidy. I had to strain off the water. Next time I won’t quite double the water and see if that works…
Mine came out watery as well, however, I just put it in for a few more minutes and it was really good! I think Pot in Pot method takes a bit longer so maybe add 3 min or let NPR for 3-5 min?
I used the steel cut recipe without any additional ingredients. I did pot in pot for 5 minutes but they weren’t quite done so I put it back for an additional 3 mins and they came out great! Thanks!
We usually make the apple one but I thought I’d try the pumpkin. Wondering why the methods for cooking it is different? (One can be mixed right in the IP and the other goes in a bowl first?) thanks!
I’ve been using this simple and delicious steel cut oatmeal with apples (bigger dice), brown sugar and cinnamon recipe for quite some time. Anybody with an Instant Pot that eats packaged oatmeal needs to early get after this one.
I just received my instant pot as a birthday gift, and have used it almost every day so far. This is the first breakfast I made and this Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal was a hit! I did use almond milk instead of water to make it extra creamy. This recipe will definitely added to my collection! Thank you! We can’t wait to try the pumpkin version!
Yeah!!!! Glad you loved it too.
Thank you so much for this delicious recipe! I’m sharing your post on my blog today for my readers. 🙂
Awesome!
Easy and delicious! I’ll be making this for my family on a regular basis!
Yeah!!