These cozy instant pot sweet potato steel cut oats are filled with golden raisins and warming winter spices. Set it the night before and wake up to a bowl!
It had been some time since my last cozy bowl of steel cut oats for breakfast.
I normally workout in the afternoon/evening and therefore try to keep my carbs lower in the morning but this time of year, waking up to a cold house, sometimes nothing sounds better than a warm bowl of oatmeal.

I bought an Instant Pot (<–that’s the model I have) earlier this year after borrowing Brandy’s for a few days to test it out.
I’ll be honest, I really didn’t want to love it.
She basically had to force the thing on me to try it out because I just flat out refused to buy another countertop appliance (I hate counter clutter in a major way).
It didn’t take me long to fall in love though.
The first thing I made was an entire chicken in the thing and when it only took 20 some minutes for it to be cooked and basically fell apart on my cutting board (I hate carving whole birds almost just as much as countertop clutter), I was sold.
A few soups, stews, a roast, a dozen hardboiled eggs later, she pretty much had to pry my hands off of it to get the thing back.
With the option to slow cook and sauté in the Instant Pot as well as pressure cook, it just makes much more sense as my main countertop appliance than a slow cooker (which has been moved to the basement shelves only to be used every now and then).
So, I bought my own and have been happily easing my way into pressure cooking these last few months but have yet to share a pressure cooking recipe with you until today with these Instant Pot sweet potato steel cut oats.

I adore steel cut oats (these steel cut oats with orange blackberry sauce are still an old-time favorite – that desperately need a photo makeover but trust me, they’re delicious and soooo creamy).
They just have the best chewy texture that you don’t really get with regular oatmeal and I find them to be a bit more filling.
Already knowing I love sweet potato in baked goods like these sweet potato oat bars and these sweet potato bran muffins, the idea of adding sweet potato to steel cut oats seemed perfect for fall.

I also knew this was a great opportunity to use the Instant Pot.
Pressure cooking would get the sweet potato tender enough to mash right into the oats without having to precook it and it would do it all in literally just minutes.
Pressure cooking is kinda like airplanes flying to me.
I’m just straight up baffled and amazed by how both work.

The result is a creamy, slightly chewy bowl of comfort.
These Instant Pot sweet potato steel cut oats have just a touch of sweetness thanks to those golden raisins (that plump up so perfectly while cooking), warming flavor from the spices, they’re hearty, filling and begging for a touch of milk/cream on top and a drizzle of maple syrup on a cold fall or winter morning.
I’ll always love a simple apple cinnamon combination like this stove-top recipe for apple cinnamon oatmeal but this creamy sweet potato oat bowl, pumpkin’s fall cousin, are a delicious way to switch things up!
Love this Instant Pot Sweet Potato Steel Cut Oats recipe?
More oatmeal recipes for fall/winter: slow cooker apple butter carrot cake oatmeal, triple chocolate steel cut oatmeal, slow cooker chocolate cherry steel cut oatmeal.

Instant Pot Sweet Potato Steel Cut Oats
These cozy instant pot sweet potato steel cut oats are filled with golden raisins and warming winter spices. Set it the night before and wake up to a bowl!
Ingredients
- 85g (1/2 cup) steel cut oats
- 135g (1 cup) chopped sweet potato
- 20g (2 tablespoons) golden raisins
- 325ml (1 1/3 cup) water
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon cardamom
- 1/8 teaspoon ginger
- generous pinch kosher salt
- 1/4 cup almond/coconut milk (or any milk)
Instructions
- Place oats, sweet potato, raisins, water and spices in the Instant Pot.
- Close the lid, make sure lever is set to "sealing". Select manual, set cook time to 15 minutes and allow the Instant Pot to fully natural release.
- Once released (and pin has dropped all the way down), carefully remove lid, give the oats a stir. You can either leave the sweet potato in small chunks or use a potato masher to blend them into the oats (which is what I did in the pictures above).
- Add the milk, a pinch more salt, stir once more and spoon into bowls.*
Notes
*There's no added sugar in this recipe. The only sweetness comes from the golden raisins. If you prefer your oatmeal sweeter, add some maple syrup on top before serving.
**Cook time does not include time for natural release. Mine took about 10 minutes. If you want to set this up the night before, add all ingredients to the IP and use the delay start option. Set it to have the IP begin cooking about 30 minutes before you want to eat.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 2 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 207Total Fat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 69mgCarbohydrates: 44gFiber: 5gSugar: 18gProtein: 5g
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition information can vary for a variety of reasons. For the most precise nutritional data use your preferred nutrition calculator based on the actual ingredients you used in the recipe.
Kristin
Thursday 7th of May 2020
Since I don't have an Instant Pot, could I make this in the crockpot, and would I need to adjust any of the ingredients (like add more liquid for example)?
N
Monday 28th of February 2022
@Running to the Kitchen,
Do you cook on high? When I cook my steel cut oats I’ve never gone 15 min so was just curious ty
Running to the Kitchen
Saturday 9th of May 2020
Hi Kristin- Yes, you could definitely do this in a slow cooker on low. Make sure your slow cooker isn't too big however or at least double the recipe. You don't want the small amount of liquid in this recipe spreading too thin on the bottom surface of the slow cooker and potentially burning while it cooks. Doesn't hurt to add a touch more liquid, the oats will soak it up.
Crispy
Friday 28th of February 2020
Absolutely fabulous recipe! Great taste with the ingredients complementing each other and acting synergistically to the overall effect. Healthy and although high amount of carbs for diabetics, they are healthy carbs. Will definitely make this again! Taste: #9/10. Modified recipe as follows: subbed dark raisins for golden, added heavy cream to individual portion ( makes 3 servings), and added 1/2 tsp honey to my serving. Made this in a non-stick insert in my 3 qt Instant Pot.
Jessica
Thursday 7th of November 2019
I'm curious how many servings this makes, I didn't find it listed...
Running to the Kitchen
Sunday 10th of November 2019
It serves 2. You can find servings in the top left of the recipe card area.
KB
Tuesday 15th of January 2019
This turned out really nicely. I didn't add additional sweetness as I like my oats not too sweet. I did plop a couple teaspoons of full fat yoghurt on top with some chia seeds and it was tasty and bumped up the fibre. Just one note - it should be mL for water/liquids, not milligrams (mg) . thanks and I'll be back to try more.
Running to the Kitchen
Tuesday 15th of January 2019
Glad you liked it! I do yogurt on top of my oats often too for some extra protein, great idea. And thanks for noting the unit mistake, that's been edited.
Erin
Sunday 14th of January 2018
To the author of this post, you need to add a comment about the water in your instructions. Right now it’s saying to just add dry ingredients to the pot (oats, sweet potatoes, raisins).
Running to the Kitchen
Sunday 14th of January 2018
Thanks so much for pointing that out, it's been fixed.