This breakfast of steel cut oats with orange blackberry sauce is the perfect weekend meal. Make a bunch of servings and enjoy all week long!
Let’s be real, steel cut oats are a pain in the ass.
That’s why this is a Sunday post, because nobody has time for this stuff during the week.
Boiling down sauces, simmering and stirring oats for 30 minutes, yeah right.
Monday through Friday I wake up as late as possible, barely leaving myself 15 minutes to get somewhat composed (I work from home), eat breakfast and get myself in front of the computer.
That’s probably why I’ve had the same bag of steel cut oats from the bulk bins in my pantry for at least 6 months.
Continuing on my mission to use up those blackberries in things like this sweet potato salsa and blackberry smoothies, I figured I’d put in the time with these blackberry orange steel cut oats since I was simmering up a fruit sauce anyway.
Two words: Good idea.
Every time I make steel cut oats, I play with the ratios, the add-ins, toasting the oats, not toasting the oats, stirring constantly, leaving it alone…
This time the steel cut oat gods aligned or something though because this bowl was like a creamy, orangey heaven made even better by fresh, tart blackberries swirled in.
Tell me you don’t want to jump right into that!
At the last minute, I decided to make a big batch and just use up all the oats I had on hand instead of just making one serving.
Best decision ever.
I can’t tell you how excited I am for leftovers. I never really thought to make a bunch of servings on the weekend and just reheat throughout the week but that makes these time consuming oats much more worth the effort.
Might even give me another precious 5 minutes in bed during the week.
Guess who used up all the blackberries?
Moi.
Guess who went grocery shopping and couldn’t resist the 2/$3.00 pints on sale again?
Moi.
I see more steel cut oats in my future.
Steel Cut Oats with Blackberry Orange Sauce
Ingredients
Steel Cut Oats
- 1 cup steel cut oats
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 3 cups water
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
- 1/2 cup 2% milk
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- zest of 1 orange
- juice of 1 orange
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Blackberry Orange Sauce
- 1 1/4 cup blackberries
- 1/4 cup water
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 1 tablespoon orange juice
- 1 teaspoon honey, or agave
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
Instructions
Steel Cut Oats
- In a skillet over medium heat, toast oats in coconut oil for 3-5 minutes, until fragrant. Set aside.
- In a medium sauce pan, bring water and milk to a boil.
- Add toasted oats, reduce heat to low and cover for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- After 25 minutes, mixture should be considerably thicker. Add salt, orange juice, zest, vanilla and cinnamon.
- Cook and stir frequently for another 5-10 minutes until creamy.
- Remove from heat and serve.
Blackberry Orange Sauce
- In a small sauce pan over medium heat, combine all ingredients and simmer.
- Stir frequently until blackberries are broken down and mixture thickens to desired consistency, about 8-10 minutes.
- Stir into oatmeal.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.
I found this recipe because you mentioned it in your recipe for steel cut oats with sweet potato and golden raisins. Could this recipe be made in an Instant Pot as well? If so, how would you recommend doing it?
I’m sure it could although I haven’t done it with this specific recipe. I would double the liquids in this recipe and do the same amount of time as the other one calls for in the IP – 15 mins.
I made these oats this morning (minus the coconut milk I didn’t have) and wow! They were awesome! I’ve never toasted the oats prior to cooking. They sure did smell good in the coconut oil. The star of the show for me, though, was that yummy blackberry orange sauce. Absolutely incredible! It transformed my usual love for oats to another level. I will be making that for years to come. And, I bought some coconut milk at the store this afternoon so I can try it out that way also. Thanks so much!
So glad you liked them!
These look amazing! Just a quick question though, what coconut milk do you use, from the can or the one that comes in the carton next to the milk aisle?
good question, I should’ve specified. I used coconut milk from a carton for this one.
Recently discovered steel-cut oats. Just made your recipe tonight (minus the coconut oil/milk; does it make a huge difference??) Absolute love = blackberry/orange sauce. Added a bit of brown sugar. And yes, I made a whole pot just for me!
Glad you liked it! The coconut oil & milk just give it a more “coconutty” flavor. I do think toasting the oats first brings out more of the flavor but it’s definitely not necessary :)
I think there should be a blackberry crumble in your future. All these posts about blackberries are making me crave one.
Do steel cut oats taste any different?
Yeah, they do. Kinda more nuttier. Hard to explain, just try them out!
Yum! I love steel cut oats, I haven’t had them lately, I think I need to change that! The Blackberry orange Sauce sounds out of this world. I’m going to make a batch tonight and take to work tomorrow! Have a great week!!