Want Better Oatmeal? It All Starts With Buying the Right Oats

Oats are a humble but mighty kitchen staple, perfect for breakfast, baking, and even savory dishes. They all start as the same simple grain—a groat—stripped of its inedible outer hull. What makes one kind of oat different from another comes down to processing, such as whether the oats are chopped, stone-ground, steamed, rolled, or pre-cooked. These techniques create distinct textures and flavors, giving each type its strengths in the kitchen: steel-cut oats for creamy, simmered breakfasts; rolled oats for cookies, muffins, and granola; and oat flour for gluten-free baking. No matter the type, all oats deserve the hype. They offer a slightly nutty flavor and solid nutrition—soluble fiber, protein, and key vitamins and minerals that support heart health and steady blood sugar. 

To better understand what makes oats so valuable, both in the kitchen and from a nutrition standpoint, I spoke with Amy Halloran, a grains expert, writer, teacher, and author of The New Bread Basket. Halloran has long been a fan of oats. “The flavor potential in oats has always excited me,” she says. Here’s a closer look at the most common types of oats, and how to choose, store, and cook with them.

Meet the Oats

Oat Groats

Groats are the whole oat kernel with only the outer hull removed. They resemble wheat berries and are firm and dense, which means they can take 45 minutes to an hour to cook on the stovetop. Because of their chewy, nutty bite, groats are great for a rustic breakfast porridge when you have time to let them soften fully. They’re also a solid option in grain salads or pilafs where you might ordinarily use wheat berries, barley, or rice. For a nice twist on risotto, try swapping out rice for groats.

Steel-Cut Oats and Pinhead Oats

Steel-cut oats are groats chopped into smaller pieces, typically using steel blades, hence their name. Steel-cut oats are also often known as pinhead oats, which refers to their small size once processed. Steel-cut oats cook in about 15 to 30 minutes, and once cooked, keep their sturdy texture and nutty flavor. Steel-cut oatmeal, whether sweet or savory, is a breakfast classic that you can make on the stovetop and in a slow cooker, pressure cooker, or rice cooker. They're excellent in chewy, hearty dishes such as grain salads, can be added to soups and chili, and work well in grain bowls or salads. They can also be used for a take on fried rice.

Scottish Oats

Scottish oats are whole groats that are stone-ground (not rolled) into small, uneven pieces that cook relatively quickly—about 10 to 15 minutes—into a creamy, porridge-like consistency. This smooth texture is perfect for traditional oat porridge, baked oatmeal, and pancake recipes. They’re also a key ingredient in the filling for Scottish haggis, a dish of sheep heart, lungs, and liver bulked up with oats.

Rolled Oats

Also known as old-fashioned oats, rolled oats are steamed and flattened whole oat groats. They’re the go-to for everyday baking, granola, and oatmeal. Rolled oats cook in roughly five to 10 minutes and strike a balance between chewy and tender. They’re great for stovetop oatmeal, overnight oats, cookies, muffins, and granola, just to name a few. Their neutral flavor lets them shine in both sweet and savory recipes. In fact, Halloran mentioned using oats to make a savory granola, which could include nuts, seeds, olive oil,  seasonings like smoked paprika and rosemary, and even Parmigiano-Reggiano, an idea she credits to Abra Berens's cookbook Grist.

Quick-Cooking Oats

Quick-cooking oats are thinner, more finely rolled versions of rolled oats. They cook in about one to five minutes and yield a smoother, creamier texture than rolled oats. They’re handy when you want soft oatmeal quickly or a finer texture in pancakes and other baked goods, such as Scottish oatcakes. Opt for quick (or instant oats) when speed is your priority.

Instant Oats

Instant oats are the speediest of all. They are pre-cooked, dried, and milled very thin, so they become soft almost instantly when combined with hot liquid. They often come in single-serve packets that are frequently flavored and sweetened. While convenient for quick breakfasts or adding body to smoothies, they lack most of the chewy texture that many people look for in oats, and their super tender texture makes them too soft to bake with or use for overnight oats.

Oat Flour

Oat flour is made from finely ground oat groats or rolled oats. It has a mild nuttiness that works well in baking. It's a particularly good choice for gluten-free baked goods, provided you choose an oat flour that's certified gluten-free—while oats are naturally gluten-free, they can be cross-contaminated when they are grown or processed alongside grains such as wheat and barley that contain gluten. Oat flour gives baked goods a tenderness and subtle sweetness. To give baked goods an earthy flavor, some bakers use a mix of oat flour and regular wheat flour to make loaves, muffins, pancakes, cookies, and more. Start with swapping out a third of the all-purpose flour for oat flour in a recipe, and experiment with different ratios to suit your taste.

How to Store Oats

Oats keep best in airtight containers away from heat and moisture. Whole groats and steel-cut oats last the longest—up to a year—while rolled, quick, and instant oats are best eaten within six to 12 months. After 12 months, oats can start to smell and taste musty, especially if exposed to dampness. They may also become rancid and sour or bitter tasting. 

Oat flour is delicate and benefits from refrigeration or freezing. You can also store raw oats in the refrigerator in an airtight container to extend their freshness and shelf life. Halloran recommends keeping only a small quantity—such as the amount you might use in a month’s time—of any kind of oat at room temperature and refrigerating or freezing the rest. 

Shopping Tips

When buying oats or oat flour, check for fresh, airtight packaging and avoid any that smell stale or off. Pay attention to the “use by” or "best by" dates, as the freshest oats always taste the best, and have a nuttier, richer, and more distinct flavor than oats that have been sitting for an extended period of time. "The volume on the flavor [of fresh oats] is turned way up," says Halloran. For next-level flavor, try ordering from smaller producers that mill oats in small batches. Regional mills like Maine Grains in the Northeast work with nearby farmers to source and mill their products, delivering a freshness that’s hard to beat.