Cranberry Oatmeal Bowl, a simple steel cut or rolled oats breakfast recipe with fresh, frozen, or dried cranberries that is perfect any time of year. A vibrant way to start your morning!

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Love cranberry season? Start your day out with a tasty cranberry oat meal bowl! Made with cinnamon, nutmeg, and a touch of maple and vanilla, this bowl is perfect for cozy fall and winter mornings. Top it with your favorite nut and seed butters for extra flavor!
👉 Ready to learn how to make a simple oatmeal with cranberries 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)
- Cranberries: Either fresh, frozen, or dried cranberries will do, but fresh and frozen are a bit more sour
- 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 cranberries, a pinch of salt, a drizzle of maple syrup, vanilla, 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 oats? 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 cranberry season. Fresh cranberries are typically in season during the fall months, which is September through December in the the US and most of the northern hemisphere.
Use dried or frozen cranberries in the offseason. On the off season, you can use frozen or dried cranberries 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 fall oatmeal bowl recipes
Want more autumn oatmeal breakfast bowl ideas? Try Pumpkin Oatmeal Bowl and Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Bowl.
Looking for more recipes with cranberries? Try this Simple Cranberry Arugula Side Salad or this tasty Homemade Maple Bourbon Cranberry Sauce (would be great on top of oatmeal!).

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📖 Recipe

Cranberry Oatmeal Bowl
Ingredients
- 1 cup oatmeal rolled or steel cut
- 2 cups water
- ½ cup cranberries fresh, frozen, or dried
- 1 small pinch salt
- 2 teaspoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Optional: a drizzle of nut or seed butter, a sprinkle of nuts or seeds, ground flax seeds
Instructions
- Add ingredients to a pot: In a medium pot, add oats, water, cranberries, a pinch of salt, maple syrup, vanilla, ground cinnamon, and 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.
- 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.
Notes
- Steel cut vs. rolled oats: You can use either steel cut or rolled oats in this recipes. Rolled oats will cook faster, but have a softer (and mushier) texture. Steel cut oats take a bit longer to cook and have a sturdier texture.
- Leftovers and storage: Store leftover oats in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days. Reheat by adding a small amount of water to the oats to rehydrate the, and reheating in a pot on the stove or for 1 minute in the microwave. Do not freeze.
- Nutrition notes: Nutrition information is for oatmeal without optional toppings and uses fresh cranberries instead of dried. This recipe is high in fiber and a good source of vitamin A.
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