Try this super creamy and delicious yet super quick and easy bowl of Instant pot banana steel cut oats and I promise you, you will have no choice but to love this !!
I was never much of an oatmeal eater before I started cooking steel cut oats, that too in the instant pot(we used to eat rolled oats, never much of a fan of instant oat flavors because of all the added sugars). I know many people are not fans like me. If I ever ate them at all, I had to make a big effort to finish them . They always felt very boring or bland to me except for few sweet/savory variations I make with rolled oats.
But not now!! we genuinely look forward to having this for breakfast !! I am not kidding !! If you are anything like me, want to eat oats because they are healthy but can't stand them, try cooking steel cut oats in instant pot. You won't be disappointed at all. Instant pot does a magic with the steel cut oats. It turns a simple steel cut oat grain( or oat groat) into this delicious, creamy yet not mushy bowl of oatmeal with excellent flavor and texture.
Okay let's discuss some questions you might have while cooking this instant pot banana steel cut oats.
Why cook steel cut oats in instant pot?
Two main reasons:
- No baby sitting, just set and forget
- magically makes it super creamy
- no scraping the dish after to get off the stuck food.
While cooking on stove top, it needs to be continuously stirred to avoid any burning where as while cooking in instant pot all you do is put the ingredients in instant pot, set the manual mode and forget about it for around 25 to 30 mins until it is ready to eat. I usually set the instant pot for cooking as soon as I wake up so it does its magic while we get ready for the day and we will have our breakfast ready when we are ready to eat.
| Instant pot | Stove top |
| 25 to 30 mins | 25 to 30 mins |
| No Baby sitting, Set and forget | needs constant attention |
| super creamy | needs effort and time to get it to the super creamy stage. |
Ingredients:
You literally need just 4 ingredients to make this simple instant pot banana oatmeal !!
- steel cut oats
- Bananas
- water
- any kind of milk ( regular, almond, coconut, soy.... anything you prefer)
Those are the only ingredients you will need for the base recipe. But then you can go wild with your toppings. I listed few topping ideas further below.
Things to note before making Instant pot banana steel cut oats:
- I usually cook this in pot in pot (PIP) method in instant pot using a stainless steel dish so I don't have to wash my inner pot of the instant pot to use it again immediately. You can cook either directly in the inner pot or pot in pot( use only instant pot approved dishes for PIP cooking).
- If you are cooking in PIP method, add at least 1 cup of water in the instant pot inner pot for the pressure to build.
- Do not fill your PIP dish more than half mark as it may boil over into the inner pot.
How to make this instant pot banana steel cut oatmeal?
- Add steel cut oats, sliced or roughly smashed banana, water to the inner pot of instant pot or stainless steel pot you are using for PIP(Add one cup of water to the inner pot in PIP method).
- Close the lid of the instant pot, seal the vent. Set the manual mode to 8 mins on high pressure. It will display ON while it builds pressure and then the timer count down starts. Once it switches off, let the pressure release naturally for 10 mins.Always turn the Venting Knob from Sealing Position to Venting Position to ensure all the pressure is released before opening the lid.
- It might look slightly runny at first but it will thicken as it cools down. Stir everything well and scoop into your bowls. Add little cold milk of your choice to get it to your desired consistency and also to cool it off faster to eat.
- Add a tsp of any sweetener like maple syrup, honey, brown sugar, date syrup if u prefer but remember banana also sweetens it naturally. Add toppings of your choice and enjoy. Don't forget to let me know in comments what are your favorite toppings. I listed few ideas for toppings below.
- sweetener if you want ( honey, maple syrup, brown or white sugar, date syrup etc)
- Fresh fruit - banana slices, any kind of berries etc
- Peanut butter ( my favorite) or any nut butter
- Toasted sliced almonds
- Walnuts
- pecans
- Chia seeds (I like to add them before cooking) , flax seeds etc
- dried fruit like raisins, cranberries etc.
Variations:
Don't like banana? experiment with any other fruit you like, the whole point is cooking steel cut oats in instant pot, don't miss that !!
- try cooking with apple pieces or mix in apple sauce after cooking. Here is my quick and easy Instant pot apple sauce recipe with a delicious twist if you want to try it.
- Ripe Mango pieces or mango puree will be an interesting choice
Scaling the recipe:
You can double or triple the recipe depending on the size of your instant pot but make sure not to fill over the max line in the inner pot or more than half of your PIP(pot in pot dish in PIP method.
Storage and reheat instructions :
You can make in big batches and store in refrigerator for up to 4 or 5 days in an air tight container. Reheat easily in microwave or stove top by adding some kind of milk you like, to make it creamy.
Nothing is better than a super easy warm, filling, and well-balanced breakfast to start your day with. If you try this recipe, don't forget to leave a comment below. I love hearing from you.
4 ingredient Instant pot creamy banana Steelcut oats
Ingredients
- 1 cup Steel cut oats
- 2 small bananas
- 3 cups water
- 1 to 2 tablespoons of any milk regular, almond, coconut, etc..
Optional
- 1 tsp of any sweetener maple syrup, honey, brown sugar, date syrup etc..
- ½ tsp vanilla essence
- ½ tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Add steel-cut oats, sliced or roughly mashed banana, and water to the inner pot of the instant pot or stainless steel pot you are using for PIP(Add one cup of water to the inner pot in the PIP method).
- Close the Instant pot lid, and seal the vent. Set the manual mode to 8 mins on high pressure. It will display ON while it builds pressure and then the timer count down starts. Once it turns off, let the pressure release naturally for 10 mins. Always turn the Venting Knob from the sealing position to the venting position to ensure all the pressure is released before opening the lid.
- It might look slightly runny at first but it will thicken as it cools down. Stir everything well and scoop into your bowls. Add a little cold milk of your choice( regular milk and almond milk are our favorites) to get it to your desired consistency and also to cool it off faster before eating.
- If you prefer, add a teaspoon of any sweetener like maple syrup, honey, brown sugar, or date syrup but remember banana also sweetens it naturally.
- Add toppings of your choice and enjoy. Don’t forget to let me know in the comments what are your favorite toppings. I listed a few ideas for toppings below.- Sweetener of your choice ( honey, maple syrup, brown or white sugar, date syrup, etc..)- Fresh fruit – banana, apple, berries, etc...- Peanut butter (my favorite) or any nut butter- Toasted sliced almonds or Walnuts or Pecans.- Chia seeds (I like to add them before cooking), flax seeds, etc...- Dried fruit like raisins, cranberries, etc...
Notes
- You can cook either directly in the inner pot or pot in pot i.e PIP method( use only instant pot approved dishes for PIP cooking, I use stainless steel for PIP).
- If you are cooking in the PIP method, add at least 1 cup of water to the instant pot inner pot for the pressure to build.
- Do not fill your PIP dish more than half the mark as it may boil over into the inner pot.
Disclaimer : Nutrition values are my best estimates. If you rely on them for your diet, use your preferred nutrition calculator.
Don't forget to leave a comment below after you try it. Want to try other breakfast recipes? Do check out Raspberry French Toast.
Fran says
Can you show some pictures of what the correct pot in pot look like?
I'm a visual, hands on type of learner. I have an instapot I haven't used yet. This seems like an easy recipe to start with, IF I knew what a correctly done PIP looks like. Thanks so much, for helping me with this.
Yamini says
Hello Fran,
I just updated the post with couple pictures showing how a pot in pot should be used. I use a trivet to put the pot in pot vessel inside the inner pot above the water. You can either use the trivet that came with your instant pot that looks like a wire rack or the trivet I used in the picture above( I added a link to it in the recipe card under equipment ). You can use any stainless steel vessel that fits in the instant pot easily for pot in pot cooking or just cook directly in the main inner pot. Remember not to fill your pot in pot vessel more than half as the oatmeal boils over into the inner pot. Please let me know if you have any more questions and I will be glad to answer.