This chocolate oatmeal is such a treat. And my particular recipe is super flexible. You can make it vegan, with whatever milk you prefer. You can change out the sweet cocoa topping for whatever sweetener you prefer. And you can make it either creamy or chewy.
After developing eight oatmeal recipes (and spending way too much time thinking about oats), I’m convinced the key to great oatmeal is customization. People have ridiculously specific preferences about their oats—more so than with most other foods. For some reason (I’m not sure why!), oats are deeply personal. And so is this recipe!
My hope is that you’ll be able to use this recipe to make the oatmeal of your dreams, whether creamy, chewy, or somewhere in between, with whatever sweetener you’d like, and with whatever ingredients you’ve got.
Jump to the recipe to hit the ground running, or read on for more details about how to create your perfect bowl.
Chewy vs. creamy oatmeal
This oatmeal recipe has you covered whether you prefer your chocolate oatmeal chewy or creamy. If you like it chewy, you’ll just add less liquid and simmer for less time. If you like it creamy, you’ll add more liquid and simmer it longer.
You might see the pairs of photos in this post and have an instant instinct about which you prefer. But if you don’t, here are some things to consider:
- Do you generally like the recipe on the back of the box (team chewy), or do you find it disappointing (team creamy)?
- Do you often like things with a silky smooth texture like butternut squash soup, polenta, and congee (team creamy), or are you someone who often dismisses certain foods as “too much like baby food” (team chewy)?
- Are you always trying to recreate hotel breakfast bar oatmeal at home (team creamy), or does that sound more like unappealing cafeteria food to you (team chewy)?
- Did you have trouble answering the above questions because you’re like “it depends!”? You might want to try both and see which one you prefer!
Here’s a video to help you decide (the oatmeal pictured in it is cinnamon oatmeal, but the same idea applies, and the recipe card at the end of this post has a separate video for this chocolate oatmeal recipe).
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Adding sugar to chocolate oatmeal
The fact is, we absolutely must add some amount of sweet stuff to chocolate oatmeal for it to taste good. But there’s a lot you can adjust based on your own preferences and dietary needs:
1) High impact, less sugar
I am not a dietitian so I cannot tell you how much added sugar you should be consuming. But I am a professional recipe developer and cookbook author, and I can tell you precisely how to create the biggest impact with the least amount of an ingredient possible.
So here’s how to create the sweetest oatmeal with the least amount of sugar possible:
Sprinkle, don’t stir!
You absolutely can stir sugar into the oatmeal itself. But any sugar you stir in while it cooks will get a bit lost in the mix.
This is actually a very tasty direction to go, but it’s a lot more sugar for much less impact. Sprinkling sugar on top means you don’t have to use quite as much to get the same level of perceived sweetness.
Do with that information what you will!
- If you are totally cool with any amount of added sugar, add some to the oatmeal while it cooks and sprinkle some on top.
- If you’d like to use less added sugar, sprinkle it on top and don’t add any sugar while it cooks. The recipe in this post defaults to just sprinkling sugar on top.
2) The kind of sugar is up to you!
Refined sugars: The recipe in this post uses a combination of brown sugar and cocoa, perfect for dusting and creating melty dark chocolatey pools of syrup. You can also use plain old granulated sugar to the same effect.
Unrefined sugars: If refined sugar isn’t your thing, it’s also great with maple syrup drizzled on top. You can even mix the syrup with a little cocoa powder if you wish, but you don’t have to. However, I recommend against honey, which doesn’t have the right flavor profile.
Sugar-free alternatives: If you must avoid added sugar entirely, you can use Splenda or Stevia—just make sure you don’t overdo it. Remember that it is usually significantly sweeter than brown sugar per tablespoon. Read the package instructions and use a tiny amount of sweetener with a little cocoa powder thrown in. Dust on a small amount at first, and add more to taste.
PrintChocolate Oatmeal
- Yield: 2 small chewy servings, 2 large creamy servings
Ingredients
for the oats:
- ¾ cup old fashioned oats [75g]
- 2 Tbsp cocoa powder
- Between ¾ – 1½ cups water* [175g – 355g]
- Between ¾ – 1½ cups your milk of choice* [180g – 360g]
- ¼ teaspoon salt
for the sweet cocoa topping:
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
- 2 tsp cocoa powder
- A pinch of salt
- Raspberries (optional)
Instructions
- For the oats: In a small saucepan, whisk together the oats and cocoa powder until the cocoa is lump-free. Add the water, milk, and salt, and bring to a simmer 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 sweet cocoa topping: Stir together the sugar, cocoa, 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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