Cherry Oatmeal, a simple steel cut or rolled oats breakfast recipe with fresh, frozen, or dried cherries that’s perfect any time of year. A fruitful way to start your morning!
Love cherry season? Start your day out with a tasty cherry oatmeal bowl! Made with cinnamon, nutmeg, and a touch of vanilla, this bowl is a bright and tasty way to start your summer morning. Top it with your favorite nut and seed butters for extra flavor!
👉 Ready to learn how to make a simple oatmeal with cherries in less than 10 minutes? Let’s do it!
🥣 Ingredients
- Oatmeal: Both rolled oats and steel cut oats will work for this recipe (instructions for each in recipe card)
- Cherries: Either fresh, frozen, or dried cherries will do; any variety works well
- Water: Water is used to cook the oats, though you could use milk or a milk alternative for a creamier texture
- Seasonings: A touch of maple syrup, vanilla extract, a bit of salt for balance, and cinnamon and nutmeg deepen the flavor
- Toppings: We love a drizzle of nut butter with whole nuts or seeds and some ground flax seeds, but it’s optional
- Recommended tools: medium pot or sauce pan, large wooden spoon, bowls for serving
👩🍳 How to make (step-by-step photos)
1️⃣ Step One: Add ingredients to pot
First, add oats and double the amount of water to a medium pot or sauce pan. Add cherries, a pinch of salt, a drizzle of maple syrup, and a dash of ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg. Stir to mix the ingredients.
2️⃣ Step Two: Cook oats
To cook oats over the stovetop, bring the pot with oatmeal ingredients to a low boil over high heat. Then reduce to a low simmer and cook until the oats are soft.
Cooking time with depend on what type of oats you are cooking:
- Rolled oats cooking time: about 5 minutes
- Steel cut oats cooking time: about 10 minutes
👉 Can you microwave oatmeal? Yes! Cook rolled oats in the microwave for about 2 minutes, and steel cut oats for about 5 minutes. Make sure to cover the oats and stir once throughout cooking.
3️⃣ Step Three: Transfer to bowl and add toppings
When oats are done, transfer to bowls for serving. Then you can top the oatmeal with a drizzle of nut or seed butter, a sprinkle of nuts or seeds, and a sprinkle of ground flax seeds.
🧊 How to store + reheat
- Refrigerator storage: Store in airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days.
- Freezer storage: I do not recommend freezing, the texture won’t be great after reheating.
- Reheating: To reheat, simply stir in a tablespoon or two of water into the oats and reheat on the stovetop in small pot, about 3-4 minutes, or in a bowl in the microwave, about 2 minutes. Stir once while cooking to heat throughout.
♻️ Sustainable kitchen tips
Take advantage of fresh cherry season. Fresh cherries are typically in season during the summer months, which is June through September in most parts of the US and most of the northern hemisphere.
Use dried or frozen cherries in the offseason. On the off season, you can use frozen or dried cherries in this recipe.
Buy oats in bulk. Oats are one of the best pantry staple ingredients to buy in bulk, so stock up on a pound or two when purchasing to decrease packaging waste.
👉 More oatmeal recipes
Want more fruity oatmeal bowl recipes? Try Peach Oatmeal, Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Bowl, and Strawberry Oatmeal Bowl.
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Cherry Oatmeal
Ingredients
- ½ cup oats, rolled or steel cut, see instructions
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup cherries, halved (about 10 cherries)
- 1 small pinch salt
- 1 teaspoons maple syrup
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Optional toppings: nut butter drizzle, nuts or seeds
Instructions
- Add ingredients to a pot: In a medium pot, add oats, water, cherries, a pinch of salt, maple syrup, vanilla, ground cinnamon, and ground nutmeg.½ cup oats, 1 cup water, 1 cup cherries, 1 small pinch salt, 1 teaspoons maple syrup, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ⅛ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Cook oats: Bring oats to a boil over high heat on the stovetop, then reduce heat to a low simmer and cook until oats are soft. This is usually 5 minutes for rolled oats, and 10 minutes for steel cut oats.
- To serve: Transfer cooked oatmeal to a bowl. Optionally, you can top the oatmeal with a drizzle of nut or seed butter, a sprinkle of nuts or seeds, and a sprinkle of ground flax seeds.Optional toppings: nut butter drizzle, nuts or seeds
- Microwave cooking instructions: Alternatively you can also cook oats in the microwave. Cook rolled oats a microwave safe bowl for about 2 minutes, and steel cut oats for about 5 minutes. Make sure to cover the oats and stir once throughout cooking.
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