Rolled Oats
Rolled oats are oat groats steamed and flattened into flakes, making them the quickest-cooking and most widely used oat for oatmeal, baking, and granola. This page covers buying, storing, and the many ways they're prepared.
How to buy
Old-fashioned (regular) rolled oats hold their shape and give a heartier bowl, while quick oats are chopped smaller and cook faster but turn mushier; instant oats are pre-cooked and dried, giving the softest texture of all. Look for whole, intact flakes with no excess dust and a fresh, cereal-like smell.
How to store
Keep in an airtight container in the pantry for up to a year; in hot or humid climates, the fridge or freezer helps prevent the oats' oils from turning rancid. Cooked oatmeal keeps in the fridge for about 5 days.
Culinary profile
- Flavor
- Mild and naturally sweet, turning toasty when browned in butter or baked; noticeably milder and creamier-cooking than steel-cut oats.
- Texture
- Soft and creamy when simmered into porridge, chewy-crisp when dry-toasted for granola, and a reliable binder in baked goods like cookies and bars.
- Aroma
- A warm, sweet, toasty cereal smell, especially pronounced when baked into cookies or granola.
How to prepare
- Simmered into oatmeal — Cooked with water or milk for a few minutes into a creamy breakfast porridge.
- Raw-soaked — Soaked overnight in milk or yogurt without cooking, as in overnight oats or Bircher muesli.
- Baked into granola — Tossed with oil and sweetener and baked until crisp and golden.
- Baked into cookies and bars — Mixed into dough as a textural, binding ingredient for cookies, bars, and crumbles.
- Ground into oat flour — Milled fine for gluten-free baking or thickening.
Classic dishes
American
- Classic oatmeal porridge — Rolled oats simmered with milk or water into a quick, creamy breakfast bowl.
- Overnight oats — Oats soaked overnight in milk or yogurt with fruit and sweetener, ready to eat cold the next morning.
- Granola — Oats baked with nuts, honey, and oil until clustered and crisp.
- Oatmeal raisin cookies — A classic cookie where rolled oats add chew and texture alongside raisins and cinnamon.
- No-bake oat and peanut butter bars — Oats bound with melted peanut butter and honey, chilled until set rather than baked.
- Apple crisp with oat topping — A buttery oat and brown sugar crumble baked over spiced apples.
- Baked oatmeal casserole — Oats baked with eggs, milk, and fruit into a sliceable breakfast casserole.
- Oat flour pancakes — Pancakes made with oats ground into flour, giving a slightly denser, heartier result.
German
- Bircher muesli — Raw rolled oats soaked overnight with grated apple, yogurt, and nuts for a cold, no-cook breakfast.
- Haferflocken breakfast bowl — A simple German breakfast of rolled oats stirred into milk or yogurt with fresh fruit.
British & Irish
- British flapjack — A chewy baked bar of oats bound with butter, sugar, and golden syrup, distinct from the American pancake of the same name.
- Parkin — A traditional Yorkshire gingerbread-style cake made with oatmeal and treacle.
- Fruit crumble with oat topping — A buttery oat crumble baked over stewed fruit, served warm with custard or cream.
- Scottish porridge with salt — A savory, lightly salted version of oatmeal porridge, the traditional Scottish preference over sugar.
- ANZAC biscuits — A chewy oat and coconut biscuit sweetened with golden syrup, rooted in British baking traditions.
Substitutions
- Steel-Cut Oats — Steel-cut oats take much longer to cook and give a chewier, heartier result in place of a creamy bowl.