10 Utterly Delicious Things to Make With Oatmeal

So you stocked up on all your pantry essentials, and just for good measure you went ahead and bought the BIG bag of oats — the 20 pounder. (Or maybe you were a little more conservative and just bought four pounds worth.) And you’re proud of yourself for being so prepared. You’re all, “Bring on winter!” (or a quarantine!) because you are prepared! But … you can only eat so many bowls of the usual stuff … oats, milk, maybe a little brown sugar. Sure, you can mix it up a bit and put the brown sugar on before the milk … but still and all, it’s going to get old. If only you had a list of 10 utterly delicious things you can make with oatmeal …

I happen to have that list. Here you go. 🙂

A few savory suggestions

1. Meatloaf with a Tangy Glaze

This recipes tells you to use either breadcrumbs, crackers, or oatmeal, but this is, after all, a post about oatmeal … so please use oatmeal. 🙂

2. Herby Pull-Apart Bread

Is there any smell more inviting, more appetite-stimulating, more comforting than the smell of baking bread? None that I can think of.

We are big bread-people in my family, whether that’s dinner rolls or a regular loaf. This recipe combines both. You put the dough in a pan like you would for bread (although this is a 9 x 13 pan and not a loaf pan), but because you score it before baking, it becomes pull-apart rolls, sort of. Try it and you’ll see what I mean. 🙂

3. Oatmeal-Crusted Chicken Fingers

Never thought of that combination before? As odd as it sounds, it’s actually really delicious. And yet another good way to use up that 20-pound bag of oatmeal!

Oatmeal-Crusted Chicken Fingers

What you do:

• Flatten about a pound of chicken breasts (I use a large baggie and a meat mallet) and cut into finger-sized strips.
• Pour 1 cup flour in a plate or flat dish. Season with 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper.
• Fill another flat dish or bowl with 1 beaten egg and 1/2 cup buttermilk (or milk with 1 TBSP lemon or vinegar added. If you do this, let it sit 10 minutes before using). Mix well.
• Combine 1 cup slightly ground oatmeal (do that in a blender or food processor. If you don’t have either, you can substitute for quick oats) with 3/4 cup parmesan (freshly grated is best), and 1 TBSP Italian seasoning, (or dried oregano, dried thyme, dried basil or a combination of those). Mix well and pour onto a plate or other flat dish.
• Dip each chicken finger first in the flour, then in the egg and milk mixture, then in the oatmeal coating. Place on an oiled baking sheet and bake at 400 for 20 minutes or until coating is brown and chicken is thoroughly cooked. You may have to sample one to figure that out. I’m … sorry? 🙂

sweets!

4. Chocolate Chip-Oatmeal Snackin’ Cake

Do you remember those boxed snackin’ cakes we could buy in the ’70s? It came with its own little pan and all you had to do was mix it with water, then bake and serve right from that pan. Their slogan was, “Something special to eat. Nothing much to clean up.” Now there’s an enticing slogan. Betty Crocker must have lost her little cardboard mind to discontinue such a beloved product. I searched for a substitute for a long time, until I had something very much like it at a women’s retreat about 15 years ago and begged for the recipe. I love this one just as much.

5. No-Bake Mountain Bars

Despite the simplicity of this recipe, it rivals many 15-step recipes. Taking that first bit, you’d never think it’s so easy. And any no-oven recipe is a nice recipe to have in your back pocket.

Kids LOVE making these. This is perfect for those stuck-in-the-house days. Bonus: this will get rid of four cups of your giant bag of oatmeal!

6. Care-Package-Worthy Granola Bars

These are courtesy of my friend, Cindy. When she told me that her son had requested just one thing to be sent in his care package, and that it was these granola bars, I knew I had to have the recipe. Now you have it too. 🙂

How about some breakfast variety?

Breakfast

7. The Best Homemade Granola

For years I made this easy-and-delicious granola when the leaves began falling and the pumpkins appeared in the stores. It sort of became a tradition, like the way I make cinnamon rolls every year on the day we get our first snowfall. But Dave loves this so much that he asked me to make it in the middle of summer one year. (He’s nervy like that) I thought, Well, I GUESS it’s okay to make it in one of the other three seasons of the year … and that was when granola spilled out of fall and into the rest of our year. Still, I feel compelled to pretend it’s fall when I make it … and the aroma helps with that.

The last three are oat smoothies, and they’re delicious! By pulverizing rolled oats in your blender, you create a thickener/binder that turns a regular fruit smoothie into something almost milkshake-like. Oatmeal not only keeps you feeling full a long time, it’s packed with fiber.

For these three smoothies (each recipe makes two servings), you’ll do the following:

• Place 1/2 cup oatmeal (quick or regular) in a blender and pulverize till powder-like
• Add 1/2 frozen banana OR 1/2 banana and 2-3 ice cubes
• Add 1 cup milk of choice: regular, almond, soy, hemp
• Add mix-ins suggested below (or your own invention!)

Peanut Butter and Banana Oat Smoothie

8. This one is easy! And peanut butter and banana are very tasty together. To that basic recipe, just add 2 TBSP creamy peanut butter (any kind) or powdered PB2 or PB2 with chocolate. Technically, that would make this a Peanut Butter and Chocolate and Banana Oat Smoothie, but no one’s looking over your shoulder right?

Mango, Pineapple, Banana Oat Smoothie

9. Feeling a little tropical? Try this combination of mango, banana and pineapple. Just add 1 cup each of mango and pineapple to the basic oat/banana/milk mix. For your milk choice on this one, coconut milk would be fantastic.

Blueberry, Banana and Honey Oat Smoothie

10. This luscious combination of blueberries, bananas and honey wins for prettiest smoothie, if you ask me.

This is nice: If you like getting prepared the night before, you can easily make overnight oat smoothies! It works for all three of these recipes. Just mix together regular oats (no need to pulverize), milk of choice and 2 tsps chia seeds in your blender jar. Place in fridge and leave overnight. In the morning, add the remaining ingredients and blend until everything is creamy.

And then there’s always the picture on my Pinterest. Swap out the usual brown sugar for sliced bananas, blueberries and honey, and you’ve got an 11th delicious thing to make with oatmeal.

Well, there you have it. Ten (11) utterly delicious things you can make with oatmeal. Enjoy! And if you have another great oatmeal-based recipe, please share in the comments!