Instant Pot Steel Cut Oats (Fast, Creamy, Perfect!)

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Bowl of Instant Pot steel cut oats with banana, walnuts, brown sugar, and dairy-free milk

With an Instant Pot and about 30 minutes, you can make PERFECT, creamy steel cut oats every time! Let us show you how.

Bowl of steel cut oats and jar of dairy-free milk

Instant Pot Steel Cut Oats

Cooking steel cut oats in the Instant Pot is quick, easy, and yields perfectly creamy oats!

Here’s what you need to know:

  • Ratio = 1 part steel cut oats : 2 ½ parts liquid (water and/or dairy-free milk)
  • Cook Time = 10-20 minutes (see instructions)
  • Release = 10 minute natural release, then release any remaining pressure

Oats make a delicious porridge, especially topped with fresh or frozen fruit, nuts and/or seeds, brown sugar or maple syrup, nut butter, cacao nibs, cinnamon, or your favorite toppings!

This recipe uses steel cut oats, but rolled oats also work (and are faster) — you can find instructions here.

Pouring dairy-free milk into an Instant Pot of steel cut oats

Benefits of Instant Pot Oats

30 minutes may not sound like a major reduction in cook time compared to stovetop, and you’re right! That’s because the Instant Pot takes ~8 minutes to pressurize, 10-20 minutes to cook, and a 10 minute natural release is recommended.

The real benefits?

  • No Soaking – One of the benefits of pressure cooking is it eliminates the need for soaking (with the exception of a handful of varieties of beans).
  • Hands-Free – The Instant Pot allows for set it and forget it. No stirring, no worries about burning oats. Perfect for busy mornings!
  • Meal Prep – It’s perfect for batch cooking. Make a large batch of oats and store little jars in the fridge to enjoy throughout the week.
  • Big Batch – The Instant Pot has a large capacity, so you can cook oats for a crowd and then keep them on “warm” until serving (no burning, no drying out). Perfect for hosting and feeding a house full of guests!

Stirring perfectly cooked steel cut oats in the Instant Pot

Did you find this helpful? If so, be sure to check out our Instant Pot Cooking Times Guide for perfectly cooked grains and beans every time!

If you try this recipe, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it, and don’t forget to tag a photo #minimalistbaker on Instagram. Cheers, friends!

Bowl of perfect Instant Pot steel cut oats

Instant Pot Steel Cut Oats (Fast, Creamy, Perfect!)

A quick & simple method for making PERFECT, creamy steel cut oats in the Instant Pot. Just 1 ingredient and an Instant Pot required!
Author Minimalist Baker
Print
Bowl of Instant Pot steel cut oats
4.58 from 19 votes
Prep Time 18 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 28 minutes
Servings 4 (2/3-cup servings)
Course Breakfast, Helpful How-to
Cuisine Gluten-Free, Vegan
Freezer Friendly 1 month
Does it keep? 5 Days

Ingredients

TOPPINGS optional

Instructions

  • Add steel cut oats and water (or dairy-free milk) to the Instant Pot and stir to prevent sticking. Pressure cook on high for 10 minutes for chewy oats, 15 minutes for slightly softer oats, or 20 minutes for creamy oats (it will take about 8 minutes for the Instant Pot to pressurize before cooking begins).
  • Once the timer goes off, allow to naturally release for 10 minutes, then release any remaining pressure. Carefully remove lid once steam has fully escaped.
  • Enjoy immediately with toppings of choice. Store cooled leftovers in the refrigerator up to 5 days or in the freezer up to 1 month. Reheat on the stovetop, stirring frequently and adding more liquid, if needed, to thin.

Video

Notes

*Nutrition information is a rough estimate calculated without optional ingredients.
*Total time includes active cook time, release time, and the time it takes for the Instant Pot to heat up (~8 minutes).

Nutrition (1 of 4 servings)

Serving: 1 two-thirds-cup serving Calories: 152 Carbohydrates: 27.1 g Protein: 5.3 g Fat: 2.6 g Saturated Fat: 0.4 g Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.92 g Monounsaturated Fat: 0.79 g Trans Fat: 0 g Cholesterol: 0 mg Sodium: 2 mg Potassium: 145 mg Fiber: 4 g Sugar: 0.4 g Vitamin A: 0 IU Vitamin C: 0 mg Calcium: 20.8 mg Iron: 1.7 mg

Reader Interactions

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  1. Kerstin says

    IP gave me “burnt food” before even fully pressurized, and indeed there’s oats stuck to the bottom of the pot. Used soy milk and stirred well before closing the lid, so don’t know what went wrong

    • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerSupport @ Minimalist Baker says

      Bummer! We’re sorry it didn’t work well for you, Kerstin. We haven’t tested with soy milk and wonder if perhaps it’s too thick? Maybe try half soy milk and half water if you’re up for giving it another try!

  2. Wendy Jay says

    In my instant pot, this turns out perfect every time. I ended up with 12 minutes under pressure with 10 minute natural release. Stores well in fridge.

  3. Holly says

    Loved it – this recipe fit my tastes perfectly. When it comes to Instant Pot recipes online, cooking times are often all over the map, but my instincts told me longer would be better. I cooked my steel cut oats 20 min on normal with a 10 min natural release. Also, I used half water and half unsweetened soy milk.

  4. emma says

    Nope! Cooking too long with not enough liquid. Much better outcome with a ratio of 3 cup liquid to 1 cup steel cut, only cook for 3 min on high in Instant Pot, it release pressure naturally. stirring the oats once pressure is released incorporated any remaining liquid. The above recipe made a gummy mess

  5. Manon says

    This recipe worked out perfect! Great steel cut oats every time. I also like to add in some dried fruits like persimmon, combined with cinnamon is so good. Thank you for sharing this.

    • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerSupport @ Minimalist Baker says

      Thanks so much for the lovely review, Manon. We are so glad you enjoyed it! Next time, would you mind leaving a star rating with your review? It’s super helpful for us and other readers. Thanks so much! xo

  6. Jess says

    Soooo scrumptious! Perfect for a day after a huge snowstorm! This was my 2nd time ever using my insta and I was a little nervous after reading some comments- but these oats turned out wonderfully. Doubled the recipe, used half oatmilk, half water.. stirred before cooking. Cooked on low pressure setting 2 mins.. highly recommend cooking oats this way!

  7. Sunny says

    Hi Dana, I was wondering why the banana bread steel cut oats recipe says 4-6 minutes but this one says 20 minutes? It seems like it is the same amount of oats. Thank you!

    • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerSupport @ Minimalist Baker says

      Hi Sunny, great question! Some readers reported success with oats cooking faster than 20 minutes, so we adjusted in the newer recipe. Hope that helps!

      • Manouchka says

        I finally found the perfect recipe to making creamy steal g CB it oatmeal! My children loves this! Thanks for sharing the recipe!

        • Sylvia says

          How long does it stay edible kept on warm ? Maybe making it for people who wander in over a few hours….

          • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerSupport @ Minimalist Baker says

            Hi Sylvia, the keep warm function will keep food at a safe temperature for up to 10 hours.

    • Suzie says

      Great recipe! What is the maximum amount of oats I can make in my 6 quart instant pot. I have a crowd of 22 I am cooking for so I know I will need to do this more than once. Thanks!

      • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerSupport @ Minimalist Baker says

        Hi Suzie, we aren’t positive what the exact amount would be, we’d suggest doubling or tripling the recipe, being careful not to fill the pot past the “fill” line. Let us know how it goes!

  8. Joan Backman says

    I was hesitating on this recipe given the much longer cook time than most steel cut oats IP recipes, but I know you are so precise with your recipes I convinced myself to give it a try. I used Cherry’s excellent suggestion of making it in a 7 cup round Pyrex bowl, adding some water to the insert under it. I used 1 cup almond milk and the rest water with the oats as directed. They turned out perfectly! Creamy but they still have a bit of the bite you enjoy with steel cut oats. And now the Pyrex bowl goes directly into the fridge with no clean up! Brilliant!

  9. Susan Hofer says

    I’m not a cook and I make my oatmeal on the stove. But, I’m temporarily on oxygen and can’t use our gas stove. I have used my InstantPot primarily for yogurt, and am now expanding out of necessity. After reading comments and suggestions, I made the recipe using only water as I add yogurt to my oatmeal, cooking for 20 minutes using the 7-cup Pyrex dish on a trivet in the insert with 1 cup of water in insert. I confess I forgot to time the natural release and it puttered a bit longer than suggested. The oatmeal had body and hearty texture which firmed up as it chilled. But it was very easy to thin using milk or water by the bowl until I could thin the remainder. The up side of that is that thinning actually increased the number of servings. Very pleased, and I will make another batch tonight.

  10. Mtneer says

    I made your recipe but added 1/2 cup of mixed Quinoa with oat milk, which I’d never used before. I also added vanilla extract and some cinnamon. Meh! Oat milk and flavoring didn’t add much to my taste other than increased the cost. I would not describe the texture of your recipe as “creamy” rather than “cooked” and some still had some chew texture. But it could be that I doubled your recipe in my 3 qt Instant Pot. I had no burn error.

    I have been cooking steel cut oats on my wood stove for 10+ years but just got an instant pot to avoid boil overs and burnt inner pot bottoms and to avoid forgetting them cooking or being on too hot a spot of the wood stove. I got the Instant Pot though mostly for cooking safety and I can use it with power supplied by the solar panels and not have to fire up the wood stove and I could get rid of the expensive toxic F’ing propane / natural gas crap.

    Instant Pot did a fine job, but next time I’ll use just water vs. oat milk. I always have used water only for years and years before. Oat milk added nothing but $$ cost $$ and the flavorings added nothing that could not be added after cooking, but I’ll skip those too and stick to my mix of fruits, ground flax, some nuts and or seeds.

    BTW, YOUR RECIPE is the ONLY ONE that I’ve found online from 10-20+ that I looked at, that calls for such a long pressure cooking time of 20 minutes. 99% of the others online swear by 3-5 minutes but the same 20 minute natural pressure release as yours.

    I used your timing, as the quantity of 2 cups of oats plus 1/2 cup quinoa felt to me and my experience in years of wood stove cooking, like this quantity of steel oats just might need more than 3-5 minutes and I think it did.

      • Gloria says

        I made a single serving. I
        increased my liquid 1:3 using half water and organic 1% milk. Added cinnamon and nutmeg. I used a trivet added 1 cup water to instant pot Luxi mini. After cooking I added fresh fruit. The end result was nice creamy, delicious oats. No sticking to the pot.

  11. Bruce Archer says

    Bruce Archer I don’t think I cooked them long enough, came out chewy, not creamy. When I looked at the recipe for time it said 4-5min and IP would do the rest. How long was I supposed to cook?

    • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerSupport @ Minimalist Baker says

      Hi Bruce, we like cooking them for 20 minutes for extra creamy oats, but other readers have reported success with less time. Which recipe are you referring to for 4-5 minutes? For this recipe, our recommended cook time is 20 minutes.

      • Sue says

        I think the people who are finding the oats need only 3 minutes cooking may be using the “quick cooking steel cut oats” that are processed into smaller pieces.

  12. Bruce Archer says

    Bruce Archer I made them used all almond milk, kinda got stuck on bottom of ip. First time I’ve used it.

    • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerSupport @ Minimalist Baker says

      Hi Bruce, we’d recommend using a combination of half water and half almond milk next time to reduce sticking.

    • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerDana @ Minimalist Baker says

      Hi Tina! Not sure if you can do a half batch – it would depend on the size of your instant pot!

  13. Cherry says

    Perfect recipe! The cooking time was exactly right and the oats were creamy and delicious. Thanks! TIP: I put all ingredients in my 7 cup round Pyrex container, then place in the IP on the handled trivet. (I double the recipe for a week’s breakfasts.) When the oats are finished, I lift the container out by the handles, cool, then cover with the Pyrex container’s lid and pop in the fridge. No clean-up of the IP! :)

    • Gemma says

      Thanks for the very very useful tip, Cherry! This worked like a dream. I just want to add that I did need to put about a half a cup of water or so in the instant pot, under the pyrex on a trivet so that I didn’t get a “burn food” alert.

  14. Yvonne says

    Just made, and the oats came out perfectly! I used half milk/ half water, and they were creamy and just the right texture. I did coat the base of the pot with a little coconut oil to prevent sticking (all my other instant-pot-steel-cut-oat attempts have browned at the bottom), and it worked like a charm. So easy and delicious!

    • Avatar for Dana @ Minimalist BakerSupport @ Minimalist Baker says

      We leave it on the default “keep warm”, but either way should work! And yes, feel free to use regular milk. Let us know how it goes!

  15. Carlie says

    Love this recipe! Sooo much easier than stirring at the stove for 30 minutes. Mine did brown a bit on the bottom, but I don’t really mind that and the rest came out nice and creamy. I topped them with pumpkin pie spice, chia seeds, and a bit of maple syrup – so delicious!