This recipe was one of those wonderful happy accidents. Last week I decided to make another batch of my Indian Spiced Oats with Coconut Milk but got lazy when looking for the brown sugar and grabbed a jar of molasses that was right in front of me. I never expected the result to be so soul-warmingly delicious! Molasses has such a deep rich flavor that is almost as savory as it is sweet. The thick, hearty, chewy steel-cut oats seemed as if they were just made to be molasses’s canvas. I decided to add the classic gingerbread spices (ground ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves) to round out the flavor of the oatmeal and added raisins for a touch of sweetness and texture variation. This oatmeal is just begging for some cold creamy milk to be poured on top (think gingerbread cookies and milk) so hopefully you’re a “milk on your oats” type of person. If not, I’m sure it will still be great!
Gingerbread Steel Cut Oats
Gingerbread Steel-cut Oats
Servings 4Ingredients
- 1 cup uncooked steel-cut oats ($0.70)
- 1/2 tsp salt ($0.05)
- 1 tsp cinnamon ($0.10)
- 1 tsp ground ginger ($0.10)
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg ($0.05)
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves ($0.05)
- 1/3 cup dark molasses ($0.78)
- 1/2 cup raisins ($0.31)
Instructions
- In a medium pot, bring 4 cups of water to a rolling boil. Once it reaches a boil pour in the uncooked steel-cut oats. Stir with a spoon and reduce the heat to low.
- As the oats simmer on low, stir in the salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves. Let the oats simmer until it is to your desired thickness (20-30 minutes).
- Once the oats have thickened sufficiently, turn off the heat and stir in the molasses. Place one cup of oats in a bowl and top with 1/4 cup of raisins (or portion out all four cups into resealable containers, top with raisins and refrigerate for quick reheatable breakfasts later in the week).
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Nutrition
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Sorry there are no step-by-step photos but I thought pictures of boiling water would be a little… boring :)
This is a winter time favorite oatmeal recipe! I add my raisins to the mix near then end to soften and heat up, and I add a 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts. So good!
Does anyone know if there is a good reason for adding the molasses after the cooking is done vs letting it cook with the rest of the ingredients?
The oats cook in loads of liquid, which will dilute the molasses. You get a more pronounced flavor by stirring it in at the end. XOXO -Monti
The pot should be uncovered while simmering, took me a minute to figure that out. I halved the raisins to reduce sugar, but I think the spices might still have been a little overpowering. I would cut the cloves in half next time, and reduce ginger to 3/4 tsp. Definitely top with milk. :)
Made this for a warm, wintery breakfast and loved it! I love the raisins :) Thanks for the recipe!
I keep coming back to this recipe–I’ve made it several times! I make it in the pressure cooker–so easy.
For all you people who have had issues with steel-cut oatmeal scorching when left in a crockpot all night. Look up retained heat cooking on the internet. It is a way to cook your food over a long period of time (overnight) and have it turn out perfect without a chance of burning or scorching. Steel-cut oats are perfect for this method. You can make a retained heat oven with just blankets and/or towels. Saves money too because once the spices are mixed in and you reduce the heat you put a lid on it and let it simmer for 1 minute. Your pot with lid is wrapped up to retain the heat. In the morning add your molasses and raisins and enjoy your warm yummy oatmeal.
Have you tried making your steel cut oats in the crock pot? We usually load the pot up, go to bed, then when we wake up they are ready. You do have to set it on as low as setting as possible and add extra liquid or it will start to burn around the edges.
Mike K
I, too, made the black strap molasses error. It turned a potentially yummy midnight snack into a bitter, black mess. Fingers crossed for the DARK molasses redo. :)
I learned the hard way that blackstrap molasses is very different from dark molasses. My supermarket only had blackstrap and as it is dark in color (black!) I figured it was the same. Wrong! 1/3 of a cup seemed like way too much so I put in half and even then my porridge turned into a scary inedible black mush.
To salvage it, I ended up just doing another batch of oatmeal and added just a spoonful or 2 of the blackstrapified oatmeal to the new batch. Much better.. have to say though, the pat of butter suggested by another commenter absolutely made this. Not my favorite oatmeal but could be if I get the right molasses
I made this for breakfast this morning using quick cooking oats as I don’t have any steel cut on hand. Very, very yummy with a big pat of butter. Another great “cookie” oatmeal is Peanut Butter Cookie Oatmeal. Cook your oats with milk or half milk, half water and for every serving add 2 T brown sugar, 2 T peanut butter, and a drop of vanilla.
This looks fantastic! I know what I’m going to be having for breakfast this coming winter…
This looks amazing. I adore oatmeal, and this looks like a great way to mix it up (so to speak). I suspect that this may be appearing on my breakfast table within the next week. :)
this sounds so delicious and i can’t wait to try it!
YUM! We love steel cut oats. Great way to start the day!~
Oh man. when I first looked at this recipe, I was like “Yes, I love Gingerbread!”. Then as I started making the oats I was a little unsure because I don’t normally work with molasses that much and it kind of skeeves me out. But now that I just added the raisin and took my first bite I am in love with this recipe. Thank you for sharing your wonderful mistake!
for an even more cookie-like flavor, stir a pat of butter into the hot oats before adding milk!
Ah great idea! So far I have done a series of baked steel cut oats but not gingerbread. I must try this.
I was psyched to see a new steel cut oats recipe, as I love the indian spiced and apple walnut variants. This one, however, didn’t do it for me.