Creamy Instant Pot Oatmeal
This is the best Creamy Instant Pot Oatmeal for a family. Made with a few simple ingredients, this easy, hands-off breakfast makes endless variations based on whatever you have on hand.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
This is the creamiest oatmeal recipe that’s great for busy mornings or entertaining. You can customize the flavor to your liking, and it’s as simple as dump and go!
Ever since we published our single-serving Instant Pot oatmeal recipe, you all have been asking for a big-batch recipe. And we’re thrilled to share it with you today!
This is one of our favorite Instant Pot breakfast recipes because it’s hands-off, healthy, and satisfying. I love to serve it with a fruit compote (blueberry, cherry, strawberry, or whatever is in season) or with a generous amount of maple syrup and chopped nuts.
INGREDIENTS YOU NEED
You only really need three ingredients to make these oats, plus a few optional extras:
- Oats. We use old-fashioned rolled oats for the creamiest oatmeal.
- Salt. This is key for bringing out the natural sweetness in the oats.
- Brown sugar. This is optional but delicious!
- Butter. This is also optional, but it’s great for enriching your oats so they’re super creamy and satisfying. It also helps them to foam less while pressure cooking.
How to Make Creamy Oatmeal in an Instant Pot
Making this creamy oatmeal really couldn’t be simpler! All you need to do is combine the butter (if you’re using it), water, salt, and oats in the pressure cooking pot. Then cook on high pressure for 2 minutes and let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes.
After this, release any remaining pressure manually, then open the lid and give your oats a good stir.
They’re ready to serve as-is, but if you like thicker oats, you can let them sit in the hot pressure cooking pot for a few minutes to absorb some of the liquid. Enjoy!
Important Tips for Making Instant Pot Oatmeal
- Note that this recipe is written for a 6-quart pressure cooker. If you’re cooking in an 8-quart Instant Pot, you’ll need to double the recipe or add more water. Adding more water will give you thinner oats, however.
- If your pressure cooker cooks at a higher wattage (such as the Instant Pot Pro or any of the air fryer models), or one that frequently gives you a burn notice, add a little more water.
- You can substitute the brown sugar for regular granulated sugar, or another sweetener of choice, such as maple syrup or honey.
- Don’t leave out the salt! It’s the key to elevating the flavor of your meal.
- If you like really soft oats, you can add 1 or 2 minutes to the cooking time.
Frequently Asked Questions about Instant Pot Oatmeal
Yes, store oatmeal in an airtight container in the fridge for up to four days. This is a great make-ahead breakfast for meal prep.
We like to pour a little whole milk or cream over the oats. Or add fresh or dried fruit, a sprinkle of cinnamon, chopped nuts or granola, or your favorite sweetener. Brown or white sugar, maple syrup, or honey are all tasty.
You can use quick-cooking or instant oats, but the texture may be much mushier, as these oats cook very fast!
Here’s our complete guide on how to make Instant Pot steel cut oats. It’s one of our favorite hearty breakfasts, so we’ve made several steel cut oatmeal flavors over the years.
Since steel cut oats are much thicker than rolled, you need to use more water and cook them longer at pressure to get super soft oats, so I wouldn’t use this recipe.
More Instant Pot Oats Recipes
Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats: Instant Pot Oatmeal for One (or Two) cooks right in the bowl you’ll eat it in, so you have one less dish to clean.
Steel Cut Oats: We love this hearty breakfast, so we’ve shared several flavor variations over the last 10 years, including Lemon Blueberry Steel Cut Oats, Pumpkin Spice Steel Cut Oats, Vanilla Latte Steel Cut Oats, and Cinnamon Roll Steel Cut Oats.
More Instant Pot Breakfast Recipes
Looking for recipes you can serve alongside oatmeal? Or just love making breakfast in your Instant Pot? Try one of these next:
- Caprese Breakfast Casserole is a hearty meal with eggs, melty mozzarella, and fresh cherry tomatoes.
- Ham and Cheese Quiche made in an Instant Pot is a must for family brunch, complete with diced ham and gooey cheese.
- Brown Sugar Raisin Breakfast Farro is a high-fiber and healthy breakfast porridge with just the right amount of sweetness.
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Oatmeal in an Instant Pot
This is the creamiest Instant Pot Oatmeal using rolled oats, brown sugar and butter plus your favorite toppings for a warm, hands-off breakfast.
Ingredients
- 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 4 cups water*
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Optional Ingredients & Toppings
- 1 tablespoon butter, optional
- 1 tablespoon to 1/2 cup brown sugar, optional (1/4 cup is my preference)
- Additional toppings (milk or cream, fruit compotes, fresh or dried fruit, cinnamon, chopped nuts or granola, and your favorite sweetener—brown or white sugar, or maple syrup)
Instructions
- If using, add the butter to the pan. Add the water, salt, oats, and sugar if using. Lock the lid in place. Select High Pressure and 2 minutes** cook time.
- When the cook time ends, turn off the pressure cooker and allow pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes, then finish with a quick pressure release. When the valve drops carefully remove the lid.
- Stir the oats well. If you prefer thicker oats, allow them to sit for a few minutes until they reach your desired consistency.
- Serve with your favorite oatmeal toppings.
Notes
*This oats-to-water ratio is for a 6-quart pressure cooker. If you're making this in an 8-quart or larger, you will need to double the recipe or add more water to the cooking point. If you are making this in a 3-quart, you will need to half the recipe to avoid foaming.
**Add 1-2 minutes if you like really soft oats.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 177Total Fat: 4gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 5mgSodium: 204mgCarbohydrates: 33gFiber: 3gSugar: 15gProtein: 4g
Nutrition information is calculated by Nutritionix and may not always be accurate.
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Can dried fruit be cooked along with the oats in the pressure cooking phase?
Hi Jeremy – yes, I’ve done that and it works well.