You ever considered oatmeal for dinner or lunch? You should! Oatmeal is a filling and satisfying meal whether it’s time for lunch, dinner, or hardy snack! Oatmeal isn’t just for breakfast. In fact, since Renaissance-times, oatmeal has been served as a savory meal, and was often mixed with aromatics and umami-rich accompaniments like bacon, mushrooms, onions, runny eggs to release their yolks on all the soft, comforting grains, and sharp, flavorful cheeses–like in this recipe.
Grains have fed hungry humans for millenniums now. And that’s because they really do satiate us. When I know my family is super-hungry, I put together a pot of savory oatmeal and top it with healthy complements like runny eggs, spinach, avocado, and hot sauce. Sometimes, when they’re not so hungry, I toss some bacon in with the aromatics in this recipe to get them hungry.
When you cut into the rich, velvety, delicious yolks of these eggs and they flow like a sauce over the oatmeal, covering the tender spinach leaves, and that fresh, succulent avocado, the effect is simply sublime. At that moment, all the questions about “Really, Mom, oatmeal for dinner???” stop completely and they’re asking for seconds instead!
You can feel good about giving your family Savory Oatmeal, especially with these kinds of toppings. Not only is it packed with healthy whole grains, but also those important omega-3 fatty acids in the eggs, and spinach is just loaded with antioxidants, vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients that truly make it worthy of the title “super food.”
My kids say this breakfast/lunch/brunch/dinner dish gives them “superhuman” energy and they always ask for it before a big game or test at school. It keeps them from getting distracted by cravings for lunch or snacks and definitely staves off a rumbling tummy.
What I love about this recipe is it’s easy super-filling and full of fiber. It’s great for intermittent-fasting days because a bowl of this leaves me full all day and I can go an easy 12 hours without eating again. What I also love about Savory Oatmeal is that it’s easy to prepare, quick to prepare, and it’s an unexpected and delicious surprise that is so rich and creamy, you’ll wonder why you never thought of combining these ingredients before.
If you like mixing it up at meal-time with dishes like Savory Oatmeal, you’ll love my Spinach, Sausage, and Tomato Strata and my Breakfast Tacos and Restaurant Style Habanero Salsa.
How to Make Perfect Soft Boiled Eggs
The soft-boiled eggs in this recipe are important because they add that delicious, flowing yolk that makes the spinach, avocado, and oats taste so delicious together — not that you couldn’t use hard-boiled eggs if you don’t like a runny yolk. You can fry it, poach it, or soft-boil it.
Just in case you’ve never had a soft-boiled eggs, you might have seen them in movies, especially if you like period dramas. That’s because soft-boiled eggs are popular in Britain, where they’re often served on fancy little egg stands called egg cups. The diner taps at the shell to make a hole in it and dips out a bit of egg at a time. It’s a bit old-fashioned and fancy but it looks really Downton Abbey-Bridgerton chic.
To soft boil an egg, simply lower eggs into gently, I mean, gently boiling water (water that’s just begun to bubble a bit, and cook for 4.5 minutes. How to know if your soft-boiled eggs are done? If they steam dry when you pull them from the water at the four-and-a-half minute mark, they’re done. If not, cook them for another minute only.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup finely chopped shallot about 1 small
- 3/4 cup steel-cut oats
- 1 garlic clove grated
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- Freshly ground black pepper to taste
- Sautéed spinach for topping
- Soft boiled eggs for topping
- Avocado slices for topping
- Hot sauce optional
How to Make Savory Oatmeal
Step 1: Cook the oats: In a small pot, bring 3/4 cup of water to a boil. Stir in the oats and a pinch of salt. Reduce heat to low and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the oats are soft and have absorbed most of the water.
Step 2: Add cheese: Remove the pot from heat and stir in the shredded cheddar cheese until melted and well combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Step 3: Sauté vegetables: While the oats are cooking, heat half a teaspoon of coconut oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the diced red pepper and chopped onions, sautéing until they are soft and slightly caramelized, about 3 minutes.
Step 4: Fry or soft-boil the egg, just long enough to leave a runny yolk and done white, or to your desired doneness. Here’s how: In the same skillet, add the remaining coconut oil and crack the egg into the skillet. Fry the egg to your desired doneness, seasoning with a pinch of salt and pepper.
Step 5: Assemble and serve: Spoon the cooked oatmeal into a bowl. Top with the sautéed vegetables and fried egg. If desired, garnish with chopped walnuts, sliced green onions, and a sprinkle of za’atar for extra flavor.
FAQs & Tips
The best way to mise this dish out ahead is to make the oatmeal the night before and slice and dice all aromatics, vegetables, and soft-boil your eggs and store them in air-tight containers. Any eggs you don’t use, as well as all the leftovers you can keep in an air-tight container another two days after serving.
Toast your oats in a bit of butter or coconut oil before boiling them. It makes all the difference in their flavor and texture when you do!
For creamy oats with just enough chewy bite, combine rolled with steel cut oats for the perfect dish of silky, oaty, chewy goodness.
If you love the healthy benefits of eating pasture-raised eggs, you might have noticed that they’re not always easy to peel when boiled. But if you follow the method to perfect soft-boiled eggs above and add a teaspoon of baking soda, they pop right off the eggs, no matter how fresh they are.
Serving Suggestions
Savory Oatmeal is good so, so many ways. Here are some of my favorite spins on savory oatmeal.
First, I like adding a sharp or even stinky cheese, if you will, to the recipe above. My favorites are feta, Parmesan, or even blue cheese or Roquefort.
Leftover Taco Night Oatmeal: Add cheeses, avocado, tomatoes, salsa, onions, and even sour cream to the oatmeal for a delicious Mexican spin on oatmeal.
Make a steel-cut super-greens power-bowl oatmeal variation with micro-greens, sprouts, arugula, spinach for tender sweetness against more bitter greens, and add some power veggies like watercress. and some mushrooms sauteed in real, hormone-free, organic butter to help you absorb all these vitamins, phytonutrients, and minerals from your super-food rich oatmeal.
Savory Oatmeal with Cheddar and Fried Egg
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup dry quick-cooking steel cut oats
- 3/4 cup water
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tablespoons shredded white cheddar cheese
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil divided
- 1/4 cup diced red pepper
- 2 tablespoons finely chopped onions
- 1 large egg
- Chopped walnuts optional for garnish
- Sliced green onions optional for garnish
- Za’atar optional for garnish
Instructions
- In a small pot, bring 3/4 cup of water to a boil. Stir in the oats and a pinch of salt. Reduce heat to low and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the oats are soft and have absorbed most of the water.
- Remove the pot from heat and stir in the shredded cheddar cheese until melted and well combined. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- While the oats are cooking, heat half a teaspoon of coconut oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the diced red pepper and chopped onions, sautéing until they are soft and slightly caramelized, about 3 minutes.
- In the same skillet, add the remaining coconut oil and crack the egg into the skillet. Fry the egg to your desired doneness, seasoning with a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Spoon the cooked oatmeal into a bowl. Top with the sautéed vegetables and fried egg. If desired, garnish with chopped walnuts, sliced green onions, and a sprinkle of za'atar for extra flavor.
