A simple bowl of oatmeal gains flavor from assorted toppings.
Oatmeal is a healthy breakfast food, but lacks distinguishable natural flavor, making it perfect to dress up with toppings. Many people stir butter or milk and sugar into oatmeal to make it more palatable, but there are many other ingredients that transform the hot cereal into a special treat. Add this to my Recipe Box.
Fruits, Jams and Other Sweeteners
Although you may have sliced fresh apples or bananas into oatmeal or sprinkled it with raisins to add taste and texture, experiment with more exotic and unusual fruits like dates, coconut, mango, papaya and pears. Adding a dollop of your favorite jam sweetens the cereal with fruity, rich flavor. If you have a serious sweet tooth, stir 1 to 2 tsp. of instant pudding mix into your oatmeal to create flavors like cheesecake, chocolate fudge or butterscotch.
Nuts and Nut Butters
Crunchy roasted peanuts, almonds, pecans or walnuts are healthy additions to a bowl of oatmeal. Swirling 1 tbsp. or so of peanut or cashew butter adds depth and richness to the hot cereal.
Dairy Toppings
Plain yogurt as well as ricotta or cottage cheese with a bit of cinnamon and sugar makes oatmeal taste better. Yogurt with fruit in it adds an extra layer of flavor and texture to the bowl.
Fancier Toppings
Mixing and matching topping ingredients converts oatmeal into a gourmet meal. To create a pie-like cereal, stir in some fresh berries, walnuts and a crushed graham cracker. Add a spoon each of peanut butter and jelly and sprinkle some granola on top to mimic the taste of a favorite sandwich. If you are fond of bread pudding, stir in some cubes of raisin or other fruit-infused bread during cooking and top the finished oatmeal with brown sugar, cinnamon and 1 tsp. of cream. Stirring in 1 tsp. each of cocoa powder, sugar, slivered almonds and shredded coconut along with a few chocolate chips makes a dessert-like cereal. For a savory twist, mix the oatmeal with a slice of crisp, crumbled bacon, 1 to 2 tbsp. of goat or cream cheese and a swirl of maple syrup. To make the dish truly unique, stir in 1 tbsp. of chopped fresh rosemary or basil at the end.
Tips and Considerations
Any of these oatmeal variations can be made a few hours ahead of time and gently reheated in a microwave or on a stove top. If you are including oatmeal in your diet for health reasons, remember that most toppings add a significant number of calories to the finished dish, so use them sparingly and infrequently.
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