Instant Pot Chai-Flavored Steel-Cut Oats

By the Gracious Vegan

Warm and comforting on a cold morning, this cereal is also packed with protein, complex carbohydrates, and other important nutrients. If chai spices aren’t your thing, you can go without the spices or substitute your favorites. I tried using ground spices, but it didn’t work nearly as well—once you have cinnamon sticks, cardamom seeds, and ginger on hand, this is a snap.

See instructions for the Instant Pot or overnight with a microwave oven below the stovetop instructions.

Makes 4 servings

The night before (or at least 2 hours before). In a medium-large saucepan, bring the water to a boil.

• 4 cups of water

Turn off the heat. Add grains and spices and stir. Cover and let stand 2 hours or overnight.

• 1 cup whole grains (steel-cut oats, millet, barley, spelt, kamut, quinoa, freekeh, or a combination)

• 2 Tablespoons flaxseed meal (optional but very good for you)

• 1 Tablespoon grated fresh ginger

• 2 cinnamon sticks

• Seeds from 6 cardamom pods (or 3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom if you can’t find the pods)

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 5-10 grinds of fresh black pepper

In the morning, set pan over medium heat, bring to a boil, reduce to low, and simmer until grains are tender, about 10-15 minutes. Add more water if needed.

Topping recommendations:

• Plant-based milk (almond, soy, cashew, oat, etc.)

• 1-2 teaspoons hemp seeds per serving

• Chopped almonds

• Sweetener (date sugar, date paste, banana, sweetener with stevia brown sugar or other)

• Fresh or dried fruit

Instant Pot cooking method

No need for soaking overnight. Add all the ingredients to the Instant Pot, decreasing the water to 3.5 cups. Briefly stir everything together. Lock the lid. Set the knob to “sealing.” Program the Instant Pot for 5 minutes (use the “Multigrain,” “Pressure Cook,” “Manual,” or “High” setting). Use the 10-Minute Natural Release Method.

Microwave method

In a very large glass or ceramic bowl or casserole dish, stir the ingredients together. Microwave the mixture on high, uncovered, for 5 minutes. Then stir and microwave it again for 4 minutes. Cover and let stand at room temperature for at least 2 hours or overnight. In the morning, the hot cereal should be ready. Just remove the cinnamon sticks, heat the mixture, and divide it among 4 bowls (or storage containers for serving later in the week). Add additional water if needed.

Nutritional content of this dish depends on the combination chosen. I’ve used the following combination to calculate the amounts below: half-quinoa, half-steel cut oats with 1/2 cup of soymilk, 2 teaspoons hemp seeds, 2 teaspoons brown sugar, and 1/2 Tablespoon chopped almonds

300 calories, 9.5g fat, 1g sat. fat, 42g carbs, 55mg sodium, 3g fiber, 13.5g protein

Gluten-free if made with gluten-free grains