With an Instant Pot and 20 minutes, you can make PERFECT, creamy oats every time! Let us show you how.
Instant Pot Oats
Cooking rolled oats in the Instant Pot is quick, easy, and yields perfectly creamy oats!
Here’s what you need to know:
- Ratio = 1 part rolled oats : 2 – 2 ½ parts liquid (water and/or dairy-free milk)
- Cook Time = 2 minutes
- 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, nut butter, brown sugar or maple syrup, cacao nibs, cinnamon, or your favorite toppings!
This recipe uses rolled oats, but steel cut oats also work in the Instant Pot. You can find instructions here.
Benefits of Instant Pot Oats
20 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, 2 minutes to cook, and a 10 minute natural release is recommended.
The real benefits?
- 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!
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!
Instant Pot Oats (Fast, Creamy Oatmeal!)
Ingredients
- 1 cup rolled oats (ensure gluten-free, if needed)
- 2-2 ½ cups water (or sub half with dairy-free milk for more flavor)
TOPPINGS optional
- Fresh or frozen fruit
- Nuts/seeds
- Nut butter
- Sweetener (such as coconut sugar or maple syrup)
- Cinnamon
- Cacao nibs
Instructions
- Add rolled oats and water and/or dairy-free milk to the Instant Pot and stir to prevent sticking (use the lesser amount of liquid for more textured oats and the greater amount for more porridgy). Pressure cook on high for 2 minutes (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.
Kiera says
One to avoid. This doesn’t work at all and burns every time. Far better to use the steam setting for lovely oats.
Support @ Minimalist Baker says
Oh no! We’re so sorry that’s been your experience, Kiera! Is it possible you’re using milk in place of the water? That’s caused issues with burning for other readers.
CHERYL says
Turned out Great!! So easy ;)
Support @ Minimalist Baker says
Yay! Thanks so much, Cheryl!
Judy says
Thank you for posting this – it prompted me to get my never-used Instant Pot out of the pantry in order to try this! Two weekends ago I tried a slow-cooker recipe overnight and it wasn’t good. Last weekend I made oatmeal on the stove-top, stirring, stirring, stirring! It was good, but annoying to make and the oats weren’t creamy enough. Google led me here and this morning I tried this simple recipe; delicious, creamy, and easy! I used half skim milk and half water…no burning whatsoever. This is my new go-to for making oatmeal for my family…thank you!
Support @ Minimalist Baker says
We’re so glad this recipe was a success for you, Judy! Yay for hands-off oats! Thank you for sharing your experience! xo
Allison says
Thanks so much. Im trying this recipe per my usual setting and your recommendation — manual / high pressure. When do you use other settings, in this case, ‘porridge’?
Support @ Minimalist Baker says
Hi Allison, we almost always use the manual settings vs. the presets! But our understanding is that it can be used for rice pudding or longer cooking grains.
RP says
I’m so glad I stumbled on this. I love oatmeal, but hate standing around stirring and keeping an eye on it. It’s makes the easiest, creamiest oatmeal. I sometimes do the next day oats cold with greek yogurt and fresh berries. Thanks for the tips.
Support @ Minimalist Baker says
Woohoo! We’re so glad it’s helpful =) Thank you for sharing!
julia says
I only had quick oats and it still turned out awesome!!!
Lovely! Thanks for sharing, Julia!
Judy says
Is there a reason to use only non-dairy milk? I typically do not have a non-dairy in the house and thought I would do it with standard dairy milk.
Oh dairy milk will work, fine!
Gem says
Sad times, I’ve tried doing porridge in jam jars before and they turned out okay. Trying this way with half almond milk and half water for the liquids and straight in the bottom of the IP and mixed thoroughly, ended up with the burn message and sure enough the oats were stuck to the pot. Anyone know what could have gone wrong? Did 1 Cup oats to 2 & 1/2 liquids. Quite new to this & thought it was nifty if you could get away with not doing pot in pot.
Hmm, did you give it a stir before cooking? Not sure why you’d be getting a burn message with that ratio of dry to wet ingredients.
Donna says
This happened to me too. I used 3 cups of oats and 7 cups of rice milk. I got a food burn message even before the pressure cooking began. I might try again with different settings and report back. The thought of hands-free oats for a family of 6 is very appealing :)
Thank you for all your recipes. They are all so delicious. xx
Support @ Minimalist Baker says
Oh no! Sorry to hear that, Donna. We’re not sure what would be causing that, but will do some experimenting on our end as well. Let us know if you figure it out!
Mandy says
Try sautéing your oats first.
Support @ Minimalist Baker says
Hi Donna, we did some more experimenting and couldn’t replicate the issue. Are you using old-fashioned rolled oats? Did you make sure to stir before cooking?
Donna says
Hi, I am in Ireland (Happy St Patricks Day!) and I’m using Jumbo Oats. The description on the pack says its a ‘whole uncut oat that is rolled’. I am definitely stirring before cooking and also tried the instant pot on lower temp and got the same message. I was thinking maybe they are too heavy and are ‘sinking’ to the bottom of the IP and burning.
I’ve used only rice milk and wondering if half water/ half DF milk would work better. I did make a lovely mess with the overflow in the instant pot and haven’t gotten around to more experimenting yet :)
Let me know if you have any insight.
Thanks so much for your help
Donna.
Support @ Minimalist Baker says
Thanks for this additional info! We’d definitely suggest only using half water. Hope that helps!
Lexie says
This also happens to me. I’ve tried it multiple times and looooove how the not burned part comes out. But I hate having to clean up all of the mess from the burn every time, so if you figure it out please let me know! So good :)
Support @ Minimalist Baker says
Hi Lexie, are you using half water and half dairy-free milk? Or only dairy-free milk? What type of milk?
Lexie says
After reading your comment it gave me one more idea so I tried it and it worked! I had been using 1 part oats 2.5 parts milk, but I tried substituting the milk for half milk and half water. Also I used the pressure cooker on level low. Not sure which one did it, but it worked! Yay!!! I assumed I could do whole part with actual milk… I’m trying to get it into my little ones diet in any sneaky way I can. But maybe that doesn’t work?
Support @ Minimalist Baker says
We’re so glad it worked better! Thanks for the update! Based on other readers who have had this issue, it does sound like using all milk causes problems.
Ella says
I seriously did not know oatmeal could be this good. I have made it every single morning on the stove for years, but I tried this recipe today and it was PERFECT! The creamiest, most delicious oats I have ever had. I used 1 cup of rolled oats and 2 cups of cashew milk, and I was able to prepare my toppings while it cooked instead of constantly stirring and adjusting the heat. Total game changer! Thank you for this recipe, Dana!!
Support @ Minimalist Baker says
Whoop! We’re so glad you enjoyed it, Ella =) Thanks so much for the lovely review!
Alycia says
I love the texture of the oatmeal and how hands off it is! Made it with 3 cups of oats and 7 cups unsweetened almond milk. Thanks for all the instant pot recipes!
Support @ Minimalist Baker says
You’re so welcome! We’re glad you enjoy them! Thanks for sharing, Alycia!
Chuck says
Are these oats, as reheated via a microwave? Any recommendations to keep them tasting great, creamy, and not to thick/thin using a microwave as a reheating method?
Definitely, reheat on the stovetop over medium heat, adding a bit more dairy-free milk as needed to rehydrate.
Linda says
Hi Dana Thanks for the recipe. I want to make 4 cups of oats with 10 cups of almond milk. Do I change the cooking time from 2 minutes ? If so, what would be the best time to set the IP ?
Support @ Minimalist Baker says
Hi Linda, there’s no need to change the cook time. The only thing you need to be careful about is whether it will fit in your Instant Pot. For foods that expand, Instant Pot recommends not filling past the 1/2 line. Hope that helps!
Lisa says
I really dislike this website! The recipes are great, but all of the ads make my computer so slow!! I get so frustrated that I don’t actually end up making anything.
Sorry for the inconvenience, Lisa! We always try to optimize for user experience, while also having ads to keep the content free. We’ll give it a look to see if we can make any improvements!
Evie Harris says
Hello! I just wanted to say that I love your recipes. I made this recipe this morning, and it worked really well! It produced filling, soft, creamy oats that my family loved. I used 1.75 cups of old-fashioned oats, 1.5 cups of flax milk, and 1.5 cups of water. I served it with chia seeds.
Amazing! Thanks for sharing, Evie!!