Irish Steel Cut Oats have a nutty and chewy texture to them. They can take about 20 minutes to cook on the stove. With an Instant Pot pressure cooker (or any electric pressure cooker) it takes 10 minutes for the oatmeal to be perfectly cooked. I’ve added sliced bananas and brûléed them with brown sugar– but you can serve yours plain or with any kind of fruit or raisins. It’s perfect oatmeal every time!
I finally did it! I bought a second pressure cooker on Amazon Black Friday. I bought the Instant Pot IP-DUO60 6Qt 7-in-1 Programmable Pressure Cooker. I’m not new to pressure cooking, as I discovered this method about 15 years ago. I’ve since discovered the joy of braised meals in 2/3’s less the time it takes to use the Dutch oven method.
UPDATE: I recently upgraded to the Instant Pot Ultra 6-Quart, because I found it on sale. It has a few additional features and I love it. Now, I have two Instant Pots!
I’ve been working on adapting many of my recipes, such as my Classic Beef Stew and Braised Short Ribs to this Instant Pot, and so far so good great!
My husband loves Irish oatmeal (steel-cut oats). He loves the chewy texture. I don’t make it, often, because it takes a long time to cook on the stove. I’ve seen methods where you can cook them overnight, refrigerate the pot, and then heat it up in the morning. But, I don’t think of things when I’m sleepy and want to go to bed.
So, Mr. Pressure Cooker to the rescue. I added 1/2 cup of steel cut oats, 1 3/4 cups water, a pinch of salt and some oil. Why oil, I wondered… from what I read, it helps to reduce the foaming in the oats.
I closed the lid, and locked it into place. I used the manual setting for High Pressure and 10 minutes. Once the pressure cooker beeped, I allowed a natural pressure release (otherwise called NPR). All that means is you let the pressure cooker release the steam naturally. I was pleased to see that the Instant Pot beeped alert me that it’s safe to open the lid (the lid won’t until it’s safe).
There was a lot of liquid left, so I turned on the pressure cooker to the sauté cycle, on high and cooked, continuously, until the liquid was absorbed. Total waiting time: about 18 minutes.
TASTING NOTES: I am now, officially, a big fan of steel-cut oats. I love Bananas Foster for dessert, so this had similar notes (minutes the butter, rum and vanilla ice cream). I made this twice, so we could have more. You can certainly double or triple the amounts to feed more hungry mouths.
Banana Pecan Brûlée Irish Oatmeal
Equipment
- Pressure Cooker
Ingredients
Basic Oatmeal Recipe:
- 1/2 cup steel cut oats
- 1 3/4 cups water
- 1 tablespoon oil I used vegetable
- Dash salt
Add after oatmeal is cooked:
- 2 tablespoons whole milk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Optional topping:
- 1 firm-ripe banana sliced 1/4 inch thick on the diagonal
- 3 tablespoons packed dark-brown sugar whisked to remove lumps
- 1/4 cup pecans roughly chopped and toasted
Instructions
- Combine ingredients in pressure cooker pot, select high pressure and set to 10 minutes cook time. Do a natural pressure release (about 5 to 7 minutes.)
- Turn on the broiler, with the rack in the highest position.
- There might be extra liquid, and I prefer my oatmeal a bit thicker. I simply turned on the saute cycle and stirred this constantly for 2 to 3 minutes, until most of the liquid had evaporated. Turn off the saute cycle.
- Stir in the milk and vanilla.
- Spoon into oven-proof ramekins and set onto a baking tray. Layer the bananas on top and top with brown sugar.
- Heat broiler, with rack 4 inches from heat. Top oatmeal with bananas and brown sugar and broil until bananas are caramelized, 3 to 4 minutes. Sprinkle with pecans to serve. Broil the oatmeal until it’s bubbly and caramelized (watch closely, this may take 1 to 1 1/2 minutes). NOTE: I have a brûlée torch, but didn’t want to use the propane, since the broiler worked just tine.
Notes
You don’t have to add the bananas. Just make the basic oatmeal and add whatever fruit or raisins that you like.
Nutrition
I love my pressure cooker too. I have never tried steel cut oats in my pressure cook. Still seems like a lot of time….we have discovered the quick cook steel cut oats. So good. I really want to try the brulee style topping. Thanks for a great idea.
Oh my goodness, Debby! You are the queen. I would love to have a bowl of your oatmeal!
I believe this dish would almost get me to eat oatmeal.
What a great idea! Thanks for sharing it, I'm so tired of having to stir and watch the oats for 40 minutes.