We know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. While we know this, some days, our schedule makes eating breakfast a challenge. It’s easy to pour a bowl of cereal and grab some instant breakfast powder or cookies on the way out the door.
Instead, make this homemade oatmeal mix recipe. Sometimes, a little prep saves you money and time later. Feel free to adjust the sugar to your liking, add dried apple or some nuts and make this recipe your own.
Why I Love to Prepare Pantry Mixes
Eating healthy takes some prep work but isn’t as hard as you believe. Instant oatmeal packets from the store are convenient, but have you looked at the ingredient label? No thanks!
Pantry mixes such as DIY biscuit mix, homemade muffin mix, from-scratch pancake mix, or this oatmeal mix make breakfast the easiest meal of the day. It only takes a few minutes to combine a large batch of dry ingredients and store them in smaller, meal-size containers.
All you have to do to complete the meal is add the wet ingredients and follow a few simple cooking instructions. You will find it is much easier to choose these healthy options on a hectic morning when they are already sitting in your pantry, ready to go!
Plus, making these homemade mixes means you can control the ingredients. You can avoid GMOs, eliminate preservatives and other unhealthy ingredients, avoid excessive amounts of salt and sugar, and even adjust according to taste or allergy and food sensitivity restrictions.
Homemade Oatmeal – A Complete Meal
Oatmeal is a deliciously satisfying food that fills you up. Adding enough fiber to our diets can be difficult, and oatmeal is an easy way to do it. Oats are also rich in fats, protein, and healthy carbs.
There are many other oatmeal recipes to try to get the nutritional value of oats. Try my Grandma’s macaroon recipe, homemade granola bars or these gluten-free oatmeal chocolate chip bars!
Overnight oats or simple, instant oats cooked with boiling water, a splash of milk, and a spoonful of maple syrup are also good options.
Oatmeal Mix-ins
- Berries – Here on the homestead, we grow raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries. Dehydrating berries to use with this oatmeal mix would be a delicious addition.
- Apples – Dried apples are great, but you can also add fresh apples to the cooking process. Just don’t add them to the dry mix unless they are dried.
- Cinnamon – A sprinkle of cinnamon is so good!
- Walnuts – Pecans are good too!
- Almonds – Slivered almonds are great for some added protein.
- Chia Seeds – Add more fiber to the oats by adding chia seeds.
- Coconut – The nutty sweetness of coconut is perfect with oatmeal.
- Chocolate Chips – Ok, maybe not the healthiest choice, but sometimes you just need a bit of chocolate!
- Peanut Butter – Add a spoonful of peanut butter after the oats are cooked for extra protein. Ever made homemade peanut butter? It’s worth the five-minute effort!
Storing Homemade Oatmeal Mix
I like to make a large batch of my pantry mixes to eliminate work later. Homemade oatmeal mix only has essential dry ingredients and stores well.
Portion out the oatmeal mix into one cup single serving sizes. Dividing it this way makes it super easy to dump everything into a bowl, add the water, mix, and cook. I find Mason jars work great for storing dry ingredients. You can use old lids that are no longer suitable for canning.
I use my canning funnel to quickly funnel all ingredients into each jar to avoid making a mess. A regular funnel should also work. Pro-Tip: You can store your mixes in Ziplock bags or any other container they’ll fit in. Mason jars are just my personal preference.
Supplies Needed
- Large Bowl – Use a bowl large enough for mixing 10 cups of ingredients.
- Measuring Utensils – You will need a one-cup measuring cup and a teaspoon.
- Containers for Storage – I like Mason jars, but Ziplock bags work well too.
- Canning Funnel – I use my canning funnel to quickly funnel all ingredients into each jar to avoid making a mess. A regular funnel should also work.
Ingredients Needed
- Oats – Use the quick-cooking oats for this recipe. Steel-cut oats take longer to cook.
- Add-Ins – Add any variation of add-ins your family likes. For example, you could use 1/2 cup each of berries and nuts and 1/4 cup each of seeds and coconut.
- Brown Sugar – Lightly pack the sugar, and feel free to adjust this to your sugar needs.
- Salt – I recommend Redmond Sea Salt.
- Cinnamon – Optional, but adds great flavor!
How to Make Homemade Oatmeal Mix
- Mix all ingredients in a large bowl.
- Portion into one cup individual servings and pour into half-pint Mason jars or small Ziplock bags. Pro-Tip: You can also store the prepared oats in one large container and spoon out a cup of oats or the amount you need when cooking.
How to Prepare Oatmeal
- Dump one portion of instant oatmeal mix into a small pot and cover with 1½ cups of water. Increase the water ratio in equal amounts (1 cup of oats to 1½ cups water) if cooking multiple servings.
- Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. The oatmeal is cooked and ready to eat when the water is absorbed.
- Serve warm as is or with butter and a little fresh cream.
More Recipes You May Enjoy
- Homemade Pop Tarts From Scratch (Hand Pies)
- Overnight Pancake Recipe from the 1920s
- Homemade Granola Bars (Copycat Nature Valley Granola Bars)
- Blueberry Zucchini Muffins
- Peach Buttermilk Muffin Recipe
- Cranberry Muffins Recipe
This oatmeal mix was originally written by Anna from The House and Homestead and has recently been updated with some more tips and tricks and more add-in options! Enjoy!
What is the measurements for ingredients would love to have. Do you vacuum seal jars ? How long does it keep long term?
I don’t see where the measurements for each ingredient are included – specifically the brown sugar, cinnamon and salt or is it all just to your preference. I see the utensils to use are 1 cup and 1 teaspoon but they aren’t mentioned with the ingredients. Can you please specify – Thank you.