Name: Fancy Superfood Steel Cut Oats (Chai, Chia, Cherry!)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 1 cup steel cut oats (sub rolled); 1/4 cup chia seeds; 1/4 cup ground flax seeds (sub flaxmeal); 1 tsp cinnamon; 1 tsp chai spice blend - see notes (ginger/cinnamon/cardamom/allspice/anise/black pepper); 1 pinch sea salt; 4 ea dates (4-6 (6 if small)); 32 ea frozen cherries; 2 cups frozen wild blueberries (sub regular frozen blueberries); 1 cup frozen pomegranate arils; 1 tbsp sugar (see notes); 1 tbsp cornstarch (sub tapioca starch); 1 pinch sea salt; 2 cups plain non-fat yogurt (sub any type); hemp seeds; sliced bananas; additional fresh or frozen pomegranate arils

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In twenty minutes, steel cut oats are cooked with chia, flax, dates, and spices, then topped with good ‘ol fashioned drippy yogurt and a warm compote of super fruits. It’s a meal prep recipe as well. Hard to resist, no?!

a bowl of steel cut oats topped with yogurt and fruit, and a cup of tea in the background.

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As per most of my recipes, I’m a seeker of deliciousness, but painfully practical, so I don’t want to spend an hour and half crafting something amazing to eat. Hence the development of this steel cut oats recipe that not only is chock full of flavor and superfood nutrition, but also is a meal prep recipe, so you can have a fantastic breakfast every day for a week (or feed a crowd). It’s impressive, either way. Time to spice up your breakfast, and tick off some of those nutrition goals at the same time. If you’re a sucker for healthy stuff, also consider making my Super Healthy Granola, which can also be meal prepped for a week of breakfasts!

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close up of steel cut oats with fruit compote and yogurt in bowl with spoon.

Fancy tasting but super simple to make

RECIPE RECAP:
~ Turn humble steel cut oats into a crave worthy breakfast by amplifying the texture of the oats with chia and flax, spicing up its flavor with chai and cinnamon, and making it truly yummy with a slurpable warm fruit compote. Meal prep this recipe for the week in 20 minutes.

~Plan of attack:
1. cook 5 ingr oats for 20 min stirring now and then. 2. Cook 3 ingr fruits at the same time. 3. portion the meal prepped recipe, and you are ready for the week.

Ingredient notes:

ingredients needed for steel cut oat recipe.

Steel Cut Oats– Steel cut oats are the original oat grain, whereas typical oatmeal is made from rolling/flattening the grain. You can use either in this recipe but I chose steel cut oats for their great texture (less mushy).
Ground Flax Seeds– There is a difference between ground flax and flaxmeal. Ground flax consists of the seeds ground up, whereas flax meal is made from the by product of extracting flax oil from the seeds. For the most nutty flavor, I use ground flax, but you can substitute flaxmeal, if needed.
Chia Seeds– any color of chia seeds will work. You can grind the chia seeds up if you prefer, but I do not find it necessary. They absorb liquid and give a nice texture in their whole form.
Dates– pitted dates are used. You can remove the pit if you have dates with pits.
Spices– I’ve included cinnamon and a chai blend (see recipe card).
Frozen fruit– a blend of cherries, wild blueberries and pomegranate arils (seeds) form the compote.

Substitutes recap: You can sub rolled oats for the steel cut, sub flaxmeal for the ground flax, use dates with pits, and alter spices as you see fit (or eliminate if you are not into it). Other berries can be subbed for the frozen fruit mix, though this blend is crafted with intention (flavor, texture, color, nutrition).

Step-by-step instructions

Rinse steel cut oats in strainer under water until water runs clearish (30secs or so).

whisking ingredients for superfood oats recipe.

Whisk oats, chia, ground flax, chopped dates, and spices into water, as it comes to a boil.

partially cooked steel cut oats, simmering in water, shown on a spoonful.

Simmer uncovered for 20 min. The grains will not puff up as much as rolled oats. This photo shows the process after 10 min.

fruit compote ingredients simmering in pot.

At the same time, simmer frozen fruits for 15 min. before adding in cornstarch and sugar.

spooning finished fruit compote into jar for storage.

Add cornstarch and sugar, cook for another 5 min, then spoon finished compote into container.

Meal prepped compote is enough for 8 servings and will last in fridge a week.

Tips for making steel cut oats

Meal prep: this recipe makes 8 servings (1/2 cup oat serving with 1/4 cup compote). The serving size is good for an average to small appetite (215 calories). Feel free to double for larger appetites.
Cooking oats: especially due to the inclusion of chia, it’s important to moniter the simmering oats and whisk every 5 minutes or so, to make sure the chia don’t clump together. The longer it cooks, the better they blend and absorb the water for a smooth consistency.
Fruit compote: I’m really on the fence about adding the cornstarch and sugar to the compote but I think, in the end it gives it more “oomph”. It helps it last the week, and it’s a more pleasing texture and taste. If you are an ultra clean eater, you can leave them out and simply cook the mixture of fruits down for 20 minutes without adding those two ingredients.
Other toppings: I love to add hemp seeds and some additional pomegranate arils (fresh or frozen) over the top.
Serving variations: below are photos of variations on the theme of serving this recipe. If you don’t like fruit compote this is great served just with yogurt and hemp seeds, or with banana, hemp and pomegranate arils. You can serve the compote mixed into the oats as well.
Storing: store oats in one container and compote in another. The oats last a 5 day work week, in the fridge, while the compote can last up to 10 days. For serving one person daily (8 days), I store half the oats in the freezer and pull them out on day 4 to defrost for day 5 for freshness.
Reheating in microwave: reheat 1/2 cup serving of oats for 40 sec in microwave. Reheat 1/4 cup compote for 20 sec, stir and heat a bit longer as needed. Or, mix compote into oats and reheat for 40 sec, check, stir and heat a bit longer for desired warmth.
Reheating without microwave: stir 1/4 cup compote into 1/2 cup oats and stir to heat on medium/low on stove for a few minutes until desired warmth is reached. If you don’t make the compote, you can still reheat the oats on the stovetop, just add in a 1/4 cup of milk of choice and reheat in same manner.
Alternatives to stove top oats: if you just can’t get on board to supervise stove top cooking or really don’t think you will like the texture of steel cut oatmeal, but want to eat more oats, try meal prepping with one of my homemade granola recipes such as my Basic Granola, Apple Spice, or Chocolate Granola!

small bowl of steel cut oats cooked with chia and flax and served with yogurt and hemp seeds.

steel cut oats topped with yogurt, bananas and pomegranate arils.

steel cut oats mixed and reheated with fruit compote and served with yogurt and hemp seeds.

Nutritional highlights: Because of all the add ins, this steel cut oats recipe provides 2x the amount of fiber (7g) and protein (9g) than eating plain steel cut oats. It also provides 67% of the omega-3’s, and a good amount of many of our daily minerals.

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