Steel Cut Oats Recipe – By a Scottish World Champion
A steel cut oats recipe you can trust, by a World Porridge Champion! This recipe will give you perfect steel cut oats every time, whether you like them sweet or savory.
You may or may not know that the Scots hold the crown for having the best steel cut oats recipe.
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In fact, The Golden Spurtle is a competition that is held in Carrbridge, Scotland every year for the past 31 years. I have not only competed (and won) in the contest, but I have also been a judge. (For more details about the competition, and how to enter, scroll to the bottom*.)
As a winner of the Specialty Award for the World Porridge Making Championship in Carrbridge, Scotland, and having grown up in Scotland, this gives me quite a bit of credibility regarding porridge making, don’t you agree?
You probably have lots of questions about oatmeal, such as whether to cook instant, old fashioned, rolled oats, steel-cut, pinhead or another type of oatmeal in water or milk, or if you should soak (or not soak) the oats the night before. Maybe you want to know whether to stir the pot with a wooden spoon versus a spurtle–or even to know, what IS a spurtle in the first place? I will answer all of these below.
What is Steel Cut Oatmeal?
To clarify, steel cut oatmeal is the American name for pinhead oats. They are one and the same, meaning it is the entire grain of oat which have been husked and cut with a blade. In Scotland, any cooked oats makes porridge. Yes, like the porridge that was too hot, too cold or just right in Goldilocks and the Three Bears.
In the US, you may be more accustomed to seeing rolled oats, which means the grains of oatmeal have been pressed flat. Rolled oats are more processed than steel cut oats.
How do you Prepare Steel Cut Oatmeal?
It’s very easy to make steel cut oatmeal. You can make the cooking time quicker by soaking the steel cut oats overnight, but this is not necessary. It’s just a matter of simmering the oats, water and salt in a pot until the texture and consistency is just right (it’s easy when you have the correct directions.)
Try this traditional (boozy) Scottish dessert recipe that uses steel cut oats called, cranachan!
Why This Steel Cut Oats Recipe Works
This is the tried and true Scottish classic, and you can’t get better porridge/oatmeal than this! The ratio of oats to water and salt is spot on (the salt can obviously be adjusted to taste, but I beg of you not to omit it.)
Steel Cut Oats Recipe
Recipe by Christina Conte Makes 2 servings
FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE BELOW
Ingredients
- water
- sea salt (note: do not use standard table salt)
- steel cut oats (good quality like Hamlyn’s)
- (optional: milk and/or cream)
Special equipment (optional) – a spurtle
Directions to Make Steel Cut Oats
Directions
Put the salt and water in a small pot, and add the oats. Bring to a boil, stir (with a spurtle, preferably!) and lower the heat to a simmer.
Let cook while stirring for about 20 to 25 minutes, until the oats are cooked. (If you soaked the oats overnight, the cooking time will be about 10 to 15 minutes.)Taste and adjust the salt as needed; it should actually taste good! Add a little more salt if it tastes bland.
Pour into bowls and serve as desired, with added fruit, honey, syrup, milk, cream, seeds, sugar, etc.
Served with honey (on the left) and with half and half (on the right.)
I must add, I’ve tasted unsalted oatmeal at buffet breakfasts and almost spat it out–it was that bad. Once you realize how delicious oatmeal is when made properly, you can never go back.
And while you’re at it, try my award winning sticky toffee porridge with whisky and oat brittle! It’s divine!
It is also adds credibility to my advice not to skip salt, given that the Golden Spurtle award goes to the competitor who makes the best plain oatmeal/porridge. The rule is that only water, porridge and salt may and must be used in this contest. If you don’t use salt, you lose!
So please adjust the ingredients to your own liking. but I do believe that if given a bowl of unsalted oatmeal versus salted (whether served sweetened or savory), that most everyone would agree that the latter is much more flavorful.
This is just my opinion, but I’d love for you to try it and let me know what you think.
*If you love oatmeal and would like to compete alongside entrants from around the world, you can find all the information on the Golden Spurtle website.
In 2024, when I held the position of one of the three judges alongside esteemed judges Chef Neil Mugg (head judge) and Chef Kirsten Gilmour, a movie was filmed which recently was premiered. It’s called The Golden Spurtle, and features the competitors, behind the scenes of all that is involved, and yes, even the judging panel.
Did you know you can make a Scottish New Year’s Eve tipple from steel cut oats?
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Steel Cut Oats Recipe
Special Equipment
- 1 spurtle (optional)
Ingredients
- 18 oz water
- ½ tsp sea salt I like Maldon
- ½ c steel cut oatmeal (pinhead) I like Hamlyn's
- 2 Tbsp half and half (optionsl: or milk or cream)
Instructions
- Put the water, salt and oatmeal into a pot and bring to a boil over medium high heat.
- Reduce the heat, and simmer for about 20-25 minutes (stirring often), or until the texture of the oats are to your liking. (Reduce cooking time if you soaked the oats overnight.) Add salt if needed.
- Serve immediately, and add milk, and or cream, or whatever toppings or additions you prefer.
Notes
- See this porridge recipe if you want to use rolled oats.
- Nutrition facts are without dairy.
Nutrition
Originally published as an open letter to Joy the Baker on May 1, 2013.
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That’s pretty cool! I eat oatmeal almost every day, so I’d love to read an award-winning recipe!
Thanks, hope it adds to your day!
When our son was about 6 and learning to read, he decided to make us breakfast in bed. We heard him banging around in the kitchen and enjoyed waiting for our “surprise.” He carried up some scrambled eggs, toast and jelly and a pot of oatmeal, his daddy’s favorite. When hubby started to spoon out a bite of oatmeal, he felt a grainy layer on the bottom of the pan. “Thanks for putting the sugar in for us,” he said. Our son answered, ” I didn’t put in any sugar,” just as his dad put the spoonful into his mouth-and tried very hard not to make faces. Our little new reader had misread the amount of salt needed as 1/2 cup instead of 1/2 tsp. So, yes, we can attest it is possible to get too much salt!
Now, that is just adorable! What a cute little chef! Hope he continued to enjoy cooking!! :) Thanks for sharing that wonderful story!
I just wanted to comment on this because I have officially converted! I just recently discovered that I love steel-cut oats and this recipe amazed me, for the simple fact of adding salt made ALL the difference. This was incredible all by itself but I did add a bit of cream and a pinch of sugar. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe, it’s changed my breakfast game completely.
I remember my Grandfather eating his porridge every morning from a wooden bowl with a horn spoon, walking around the dining-room -when the porridge was gone he would then sit at the table for the rest of his breakfast. To this day I eat my porridge (only salted!) from one bowl with a separate bowl for the half-and-half, so the milk stays cold, and the porridge stays hot! My dear husband eats his porridge with (shudder) brown sugar and half-and-half all mixed up! I try to get Scotts Porridge Oats when I can, but Bob’s Red Mill makes a pretty good Scottish quick oatmeal, as well as all their other amazing grains and flours etc.
Oh isn’t that a lovely, memory, Lee! My Italian grandfather ate his sweet, as does my husband and children (WHY?!) I actually have porridge in a pot right now! I absolutely love it, but I have to say, after going to the World Porridge competition in Scotland where we had to use steel cut (pinhead) oat, I much prefer those now. It has a bit of a bite and texture that rolled oats don’t have. My preference is also with salt and half and half, although I’m enticed with your idea of the separate bowl! :) Thanks, Lee!
LOL! I thought EVERYONE put salt in their oatmeal! I guess I just had good Scottish training!
NOOO! Hardly anyone does over here! I don’t know how they eat it!