Steel Cut Oats Pancakes

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and Quaker. All opinions are mine alone. #MyOatsCreation #CollectiveBias

Steel Cut Oats are not as well known as regular Quaker Oatmeal or even quick cook Oatmeal.  The first time I tasted Steel Cut Oats was back in the 70’s while staying with a friend in L.A.  She had discovered this delicious, hearty, hot cereal and was serving it for breakfast.  I remember being amazed at the preparation – you see they aren’t ready in a matter of minutes, but rather in about half an hour.  Just long enough to linger over a cup of hot coffee or tea. She served them in a traditional manner with brown sugar and milk.  I’ve liked steel cut oats ever since.

I’m a big believer in eating a good breakfast and 2015 shall be no different.  Many days I know finding time to grab lunch might be a challenge and on those days, in particular, I like to eat oatmeal for breakfast.  The reason it’s my “go to” breakfast is that it keeps me full and satisfied far longer into my day than anything else I might choose for my morning meal.  This alone is a great reason to start your day with a bowl of oatmeal.

When Quaker and #CollectiveBias asked me to create a recipe for #MyOatsCreation I tinkered back and forth with two ideas – sweet or savory.  I typically choose sweet toppings for my bowl of oats but the texture of steel cut oats is different than that of regular rolled oats and it seemed they would fit perfectly in a savory breakfast dish.  I decided to make them into pancakes, much like one would make a potato pancake.  Truth be known, these oat pancakes would make a great dinner meal too!

In Target  where I found the oats I found lots of yummy additions for my savory pancakes.  Here’s what I chose; avocado, green chilies, bacon, goat cheese, and pine nuts.  My man, Dan, who refuses to eat oatmeal was lingering around the kitchen, sipping on hot coffee , when he found out I was frying up a bit of bacon to top my pancakes with. He took me by surprise when he said, “I might even like that!”.

Before I begin with the recipe I want to share a story about Quaker Oats.  When we lived in Texas, we of course, had a horse in our pasture.  Her name was Fancy and she came to live with us in 1993.  Once when we had an emergency and had to leave town rather quickly we enlisted a “city slicker” friend of ours to run out and check on our animals.  His duties included feeding Fancy her oats.  For some reason he couldn’t find the huge container of horse oats in the barn, but knowing he needed to feed her he went to the store and bought a couple of cartons of Quaker Oats and filled her feed bucket with them.  You can imagine how surprised we were when he shared the story with us and even more her surprise with the “oats” she was fed in our absence.  We got a great laugh out of his concept of “oats” for a pony!  Now for the “recipe” for Steel Cut Oats Pancakes.

Following the directions on the carton; when preparing steel cut oats you first bring your water to a boil, then add the oats, it will look something like this as they sink to the bottom of your pan.
As the oats soak up water they will begin to plump up.  Turn down the heat and allow them to simmer – uncovered.
As the oats continue to simmer, they will begin to thicken up after about 20 minutes and start to look like this.After another 5 minutes like this.  You can see there is still a bit of liquid at the top but the oats are holding their shape and staying on the spoon.And finally they will be nice and thick like this.  Patience here please..I allowed my oats to simmer about 35 minutes total to allow any moisture to be released making them solid and sturdy.After your oats are thick, spray a bit of cooking spray (I prefer coconut oil spray) into a non-stick skillet, heat until hot then spoon out about 1/4 cup of oats into the hot skillet.Again you’ll need patience as it takes about 10 minutes to produce a nice firm pancake.  Allow the oats to cook over medium-high heat in the skillet until they are browned on one side, then flip, as you would a pancake, and allow the second side to firm up and brown a bit.  This is what the finished pancake will look like. Now you are ready to top it with any savory toppings that appeal to you.
We thoroughly enjoyed our “oat pancakes” and even my man, Dan, ate two with all the toppings.  I guess we are never too old to discover liking a food we thought we didn’t like! Quaker Steel Cut Oats can be found on the hot cereal isle in Target stores.  You’ll also find an in-store display of “Steel Cut Oats” with some recipe cards for you to take home!When savory breakfast Oat Pancakes just won’t float your boat try adding, berries, pomegranate arils, Greek yogurt, walnuts, chia seeds and drizzle with pure maple syrup.  Fruity and refreshing this also makes a great breakfast or midday snack!