The best cinnamon oatmeal is simple: Just make your favorite oatmeal and top it with cinnamon sugar. But simplicity cuts both ways: it’s just as easy to get wrong as it is to get right. Here’s everything you need to do to get it right:
- Do you want your oatmeal to be chewy or creamy? This recipe gives you both options.
- Make sure your cinnamon sugar has the right ratios (as well as a nice pinch of salt!).
- Don’t mix the cinnamon sugar into the oatmeal. Top it at the table instead. The contrast is everything (otherwise the sweetness and spice will become background noise).
- Don’t be shy. The biggest mistake here is doing a dainty little dusting of cinnamon sugar. Be bold!
Jump to the recipe if you’re good to go, or read on if you need a little help deciding on chewy vs. creamy.
Chewy or creamy?
This probably isn’t the most important decision of your life, but it is certainly the most important decision of your oatmeal: Do you like chewy oats or creamy oats?
Here’s a little personality test to help you decide:
- Looking at the photos above, which looks more appetizing?
- a. The blue speckled bowl (left)
- b. The beige bowl (right)
- When you make old fashioned rolled oats according to the package instructions, how do you feel?
- a. I’m a fan!
- b. I’m usually disappointed in the texture.
- How do you feel about oatmeal that’s the texture of crème anglaise (custard sauce), like the kind you might find in a chafing dish at a fancy hotel breakfast bar?
- a. No thank you—it’s too runny!
- b. I’m a fan!
If you answered (a) to most, you’re a fan of chewy oatmeal. If you answered (b) to most, you’re a fan of creamy oatmeal. If you couldn’t care less, chewy is probably a safer bet (but to my mind, creamy is elite).
Cinnamon sugar notes:
Now that we’ve got the oatmeal itself figured out, let’s talk cinnamon sugar:
- Don’t skip the pinch of salt (unless you have to for dietary reasons). Even a tiny pinch makes a huge difference. Salt has a way of highlighting while balancing out sweetness.
- You might notice that I use a heavier ratio of cinnamon to sugar than most recipes. That’s because it’s easier to add more sugar at the table than to add more cinnamon at the table. There’s nothing worse than a mouthful of dry cinnamon without any sugar. The ratio in this recipe is perfect for me, since I love a not-too-sweet oatmeal with lots of cinnamon flavor. But if you want a sweeter oatmeal, you can always add more sugar (either at the table or in the cinnamon sugar topping).
- I prefer using cinnamon sugar as a topping instead of adding it while the oatmeal cooks. Oatmeal is at risk of being homogenous and boring, but using cinnamon sugar as a topping keeps every bite dynamic and interesting.
- And don’t forget to be bold! Don’t be shy! Sprinkle away!
Cinnamon Oatmeal (creamy or chewy)
- Yield: 2 small chewy servings, 2 large creamy servings
Ingredients
for the oats:
- ¾ cup old fashioned oats [75g]
- Between ¾ – 1½ cups water* [175g – 355g]
- Between ¾ – 1½ cups your milk of choice* [180g – 360g]
- ¼ teaspoon salt
for the cinnamon sugar:
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar or granulated sugar
- 2 to 3 tsp ground cinnamon
- a pinch of salt
Instructions
- For the oats: Bring the oats, water, milk, and salt to a simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring every minute or so. Once it comes to a simmer, reduce the heat to medium-low and continue to simmer, stirring occasionally. With the larger amount of liquid, this will take about 15 minutes**, until the liquid thickens and the oatmeal softens. With the smaller amount of liquid, this will take about 4 to 5 minutes, until the oatmeal thickens significantly.
- Pour into bowls and let it cool off for a few minutes (it will thicken a little more after a couple minutes).
- For the cinnamon sugar: Stir together the sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Sprinkle over bowls of oatmeal at the table.
Notes
* If you are a fan of creamy oatmeal (see photos above the recipe), use the larger amount of both the water and milk.
If you are a fan of chewy oatmeal (see photos above the recipe), use the smaller amount of both water and milk.
Use whatever milk you’d like. I prefer using either soy milk or cow’s milk. In my experience, oat milk tends to be too starchy for making oatmeal. But any alternative milk will do.
** For the creamier, longer-simmering version, it will start out watery, and at a certain point it will noticeably thicken (e.g., the bubbles will get bigger), while still remaining very pourable and creamy. Leave it uncovered the whole time, and be careful not to let it bubble over. If you’re using a wide pan instead of a small saucepan, you may need to add a bit more water as it cooks (more water will evaporate from a wide pan).
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