Instant Pot Apple Pie à la Mode Steel Cut Oats

It is seriously cold here folks. I’m talking -30 degrees (why do I live here again?) cold. When temperatures drop I almost immediately push aside my morning smoothie or yogurt and opt for a warm cozy bowl of steel cut oats. Now steel cut oats can traditionally be time consuming to make on the stovetop, which doesn’t always work for my typical morning routine of running around the kitchen like a mad woman trying to get out the door on time! That all changed as soon as I purchased an instant pot and realized I could be making a week’s worth of breakfast in about 20 minutes from start to finish. Seriously, I feel like this thing has changed my life! I know I’m a little late to the instant pot party, but I get it now!!!

I am so excited to share this recipe with you! I can honestly say it’s so good I might just consider eating this for dessert later tonight. This steel cut oats recipe combines the flavors of apple pie and vanilla ice cream with a nourishing bowl of oats!!!

I achieve an apple pie flavor by sautéing apples, cinnamon, nutmeg and maple syrup in the instant pot before adding steel cut oats and water to the pot. The mixture pressure cooks for just 5 minutes! When the time is up, I let the pressure release naturally. This is key to ensuring your oats are properly cooked. You can immediately serve up a bowl or place the oats in individual containers to be consumed throughout the week.

When I’m ready for a bowl, I pour almondmilk over the oats and top them with a dollop of vanilla greek yogurt and a drizzle of maple syrup. If you plan ahead, you can even reserve some of your sautéd apples for topping like I did in my photos!

ingredients:

steel cut oats base:

2 cups steel cut oats

5 cups water

1 tbs coconut oil

3 granny smith apples, cored and diced

1 tbs pure maple syrup

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

for serving:

1 dollop vanilla greek yogurt (I used Siggi’s 4% Whole Milk Vanilla Icelandic Style Yogurt)

1/2 - 1 tbs pure maple syrup for drizzling

1/4 - 1/2 cup unsweetened almondmilk for pouring over the oats

*optional: sprinkle of nutmeg for yogurt

directions:

Set instant pot to sauté mode. Add in coconut oil, diced granny smith apples, cinnamon and nutmeg. Sauté until apples are slightly softened. Add in maple syrup and continue to sauté until apples are slightly sticky and caramelized. Turn off sauté mode. At this time you can remove some of the apples if you would like to reserve some for topping. I prefer to keep most of mine in the actual oats.

To the apples, add steel cut oats and water. Give the mixture a good stir and secure the lid on the instant pot. Set the instant pot to pressure cook and set the timer for 5 minutes. When the time is up, let the instant pot release the pressure naturally. This will probably take 10+ minutes.

When all pressure has been naturally released from the instant pot, remove the lid and give the oats a stir. Serve immediately or place in individual containers for breakfast throughout the week.

If serving immediately, top with almondmilk, greek yogurt and maple syrup.

If your oats have been chilling overnight, scoop desired amount of oats into a bowl. You may have to slightly break them up with a spoon. Pour your desired amount of almondmilk over the oats and microwave for 1-2 minutes, or until heated through. Top with greek yogurt and a drizzle of maple syrup!

recipe notes:

Be sure to let your instant pot pressure naturally release as opposed to using the quick release. Naturally releasing the pressure is key to ensuring your oats are cooked to the perfect texture! These oats will last covered in the refrigerator for up to a week.