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.
<3 blackberries! I totally agree though, steel cut oats on an average morning just don't happen. When I do make them I make a huge pot though so it's all ready to be reheated in the fridge :D That sauce looks awesome! I bet that would be amazing over pancakes too ;)
I’ve never made steel cut oats because of the time required, but these look so good and creamy– I might have to give them a go!
oooo i love this! i’ve never had steel cut oats before but i hear they’re so good for you, i see them at the store all the time but haven’t bought any cause of the long cooking time. great idea though, do them on the weekends! i love the topping you have with yours :)
Those blue mini pots are adorable! Where did you get them? Breakfast looks awesome too :)
They’re from the Le Creuset outlet. I wanted to buy them in every color!
holy yum!!!
Oh my gosh, there was a 3-lb container of blackberries on sale at Sams Club yesterday! Dangit, I should have bought it and made this sauce. I can think of a million and one uses for it, too! Oatmeal topping, french toast topping, pancake topping, waffle topping, ice cream topping, yogurt topping…
Yeah, I’m a little hungry. Can you tell? ;-)
I would never think to combine orange and blackberries, but I love both – so the pairing is probably wonderful :)
p.s. working from home is my dream! I envy you :)
Working from home sounds so delightful. Sometimes I wish I could skype to my classroom. ;)
ha, I wonder how well the kids would behave with a skyped in teacher! ;)
These look great! I need to try finding some steel cut oats!
oh that sauce…yum! Bet your house smelled divine for hours after you made it, mmmmm, good!