14 Delicious Ways To Upgrade Your Breakfast Oatmeal

Oatmeal is one of the most divisive breakfast dishes out there. When made well, oatmeal can be the highlight of your day and burst with contrasting flavors and textures; when it's made poorly, it can be torture to eat, a bland bowl of grey slop. One of the biggest mistakes you can make with oatmeal is forgetting that the basic recipe is just a starting point. By upgrading it with a host of different ingredients, you can make it into a truly multi-layered dish.

You don't have to be too complicated with your upgrades, either. Simple ingredients like berries, cream, and even just salt can add a lot of additional flavor to oatmeal. Having said this, the neutral flavor of the dish means that you can be as adventurous as you wish with it, and by giving it a savory or regional twist you can turn your boring old oatmeal into something completely outstanding. To find out the best ways to upgrade it, we called on a few oatmeal pros. Lisa Bryan, cookbook author and owner of Downshiftology, and Lisa Lotts, owner of Garlic and Zest, have made more oatmeal in their time than most of us — and they know exactly how to make it the best it can be.

If you're making a bowl of sweet oatmeal, it can feel totally counterproductive to add salt to it. Trust us, though: You'll definitely notice the difference if it's not there. "If you plan on adding sweetener to the oatmeal, salt is a critical component to seasoning the dish," states Lisa Lotts. Lisa Bryan concurs, and explains why it's so essential. "Salt is a flavor enhancer, so in the case of oatmeal, it helps to bring out its depth and nuttiness." Without that depth, your oatmeal can end up tasting flat and overly-sweet, with no sense of complexity.

It's critical to be careful with the amount you add, though. Lotts recommends that you only add enough to awaken the nuttiness in your oats. "Figure about ½ teaspoon per cup of oatmeal," she says. "The best way to do this is by salting the water before cooking the oatmeal." Salting the water beforehand ensures that the flavor permeates through to the middle of each grain and distributes evenly throughout the oatmeal. Bear in mind that if you're making your oatmeal with milk, it already has a touch of sodium in it, so you may want to add slightly less.

While fresh fruit brings tanginess and texture to your oatmeal, dried fruit can do much the same thing — and boost its sweetness, too. When fruits are dried, their flavor and sweetness intensifies, thanks to the moisture levels reducing. This means that they can give your oatmeal sweetness without having to resort to added sugar or honey, and without watering your oats down too much. They also give your oatmeal pops of chewiness, creating an exciting textural contrast with its smooth consistency.

As for which dried fruit to use, pretty much any type is fair game. "Tossing a handful of raisins, dried sweetened cranberries, diced prunes, or dried cherries add chewy pops of flavor," advises Lisa Lotts. Lotts also recommends going for a combination of dried papaya and pineapple for a tropical twist, and throwing some toasted flaked coconut in to complete the flavor profile. You could even throw in some dried banana, too, which will add a touch of crunch. For a fall-inspired oatmeal, try tossing in some dried apple slices and sprinkling it with a hint of cinnamon. Just make sure you're mixing your dried fruit through thoroughly so that you don't end up with one big chewy clump.

Oatmeal and spice go together phenomenally well. With just a touch of the right one, you can make this dish even warmer and cozier, and create layers of flavor that add a surprising amount of complexity to the grains. There's one key spice that shows up in oatmeal recipes time and time again, for good reason. "I'm a big fan of cinnamon and love to add several generous dashes," states Lisa Bryan. Cinnamon has just the right balance of warmth and ever-so-slight piquancy, and it pairs well with a wide range of fruits and sweet ingredients.

Cinnamon isn't the only spice you should be reaching for, though. "Nutmeg, ground ginger, and apple pie spice give your oatmeal a flavor boost," says Bryan. Lisa Lotts also recommends adding a pinch of allspice or some freshly grated nutmeg into your oatmeal, which both give the same snug sensation that cinnamon provides. Cloves are also be a popular option — but just make sure you're being careful. "Ground cloves should be used very sparingly as they can be overpowering," warns Lotts.

When the nights start to draw in and the leaves begin to turn brown, the flavor of pumpkin truly comes into its own. What better way to honor it than to turn your oatmeal into a pumpkin-pumped affair? "A can of pumpkin puree is a great add-in for a pumpkin spice flavor," explains Lisa Bryan. The puree's smoothness assimilates perfectly with oatmeal, giving it extra body without adding in any distracting textures. It also gives your oatmeal a gloriously orange tinge — and most importantly, fills it with an earthy, gently sweet flavor. As pumpkin puree has already been cooked, you can just stir it straight in before you're ready to eat. Just make sure you warm it through.

To give your oatmeal full-on pumpkin spice flavor, you just need to throw in a few extra ingredients. As well as your pumpkin puree, add a dash of vanilla extract, a sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice, and a drizzle of maple syrup or honey. If you want to go full-on pumpkin spice latte, you can also add a dash of cream to give it some extra richness.

Oatmeal is pretty creamy, even when it's only made with water. As the oats cook, each grain breaks down and releases its starch, which gives the dish its smooth, thick consistency. However, if you want to give your oatmeal an extra boost of creaminess, you'll need to include dairy. Both Lisa Lotts and Lisa Bryan recommend adding in a generous splash of whole milk or heavy cream to give your oatmeal extra richness, with Lotts also pointing out that half and half can be a great addition too.

You don't have to stop there, though. If you have any Greek yogurt on hand, Bryan recommends adding in a spoonful of two. The yogurt will give your oatmeal a pleasing acidic edge, while adding the dairy fats that will provide that smooth mouthfeel. Lotts also suggests popping a pat of butter or a spoonful of sweetened condensed milk into your mixture, with the latter doing double-duty as a sugary addition. Whichever dairy product you're going for, remember that opting for a full-fat option will give you a better flavor, as it's the dairy fats in each that create that luxurious taste.

There are a lot of fruits out there that go well with oatmeal, but in our opinion, few pair as perfectly as fresh berries. Lisa Lotts agrees. "Fresh fruits such as berries work very well. We like blueberries, diced strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries," she states. The beauty of berries is that while they're certainly sweet, they also have a sharp tartness to them that plays well with the creamy oatmeal, rounding out its flavor and preventing it from being too insipid.

Popping fresh berries in your oatmeal is also a great way to work through the ones that are slightly too ripe sitting in your fridge. "Use some of the softer berries, where the juice leaks and seeps into the oatmeal," says Lotts. If you don't have any berries on hand, you can use pretty much any fruit you have in your kitchen: Apples, plums, pears, and even orange slices go well in oatmeal. There's one type you should steer clear of, though. "Avoid firm melons like cantaloupe, honeydew, and Tuscan. They will compete with rather than complement the flavors," Lotts warns.

Eggs and oatmeal are classic breakfast items, but we rarely eat them together. Well, why shouldn't we? "I love adding a poached egg or soft-boiled egg to my oatmeal," says Lisa Bryan. "Just think of oatmeal like a piece of toast, and whatever you'd top on toast you can top on oatmeal." Adding an egg to your oatmeal not only gives it a boost of protein, but it adds some lovely texture to the dish, augmenting your oatmeal by providing pops of firm egg white. The egg yolk, meanwhile, thickens your oatmeal and gives it a smooth lusciousness.

Plus, you don't have to just use your egg as a topping. Whisking an egg directly into your oatmeal is a great way to thicken it and give it some extra fluffiness, as well as making it taste richer. Just pour some beaten egg into your oatmeal when it's almost finished cooking, whisking it through the oats so that it's well-distributed. It's kinda like making a carbonara: If you don't crank up the heat too much, the egg will remain thick and smooth instead of firming up.

Oatmeal's name specifies something pretty definitive about it: The dish contains oats. Well, that doesn't mean you can only use them when you're making it. Mixing it up with alternative grains is a great way to make the dish more interesting, but also helps you get through all of those half-cooked bags you have in the back of your pantry. "Adding other cooked grains adds texture, variety, and nutrition," says Lisa Lotts. "Think outside the box and incorporate grains with fun textures, like cooked farro, barley, millet, kamut, or brown rice."

Every grain has its own individual flavor, which helps to add extra dimensions to your oatmeal. Brown rice, for instance, has a nuttiness that's slightly deeper than the taste of oats, whereas millet has a corn-like flavor that can make your oatmeal slightly sweeter. To incorporate them into your oatmeal, though, just make sure you're preparing them separately. "It's important to cook and cool the grains separately because different grains have different cooking times. Luckily, cooked grains store well in the fridge for up to 5 to 7 days, so you can always have some at the ready," Lotts states.

If you think about the last five bowls of oatmeal you had, they were probably all sweet, right? Well, it's time to break the habit of a lifetime by whipping up some savory oatmeal. Oats are almost completely neutral flavor-wise, and can be pushed in savory directions as well as sweet ones. By considering them a blank canvas, you can add pretty much any savory note you want.

Lisa Lotts and Lisa Bryan prove this point, by both offering some pretty different suggestions for savory oats. "For savory oatmeal, adding a poached egg with crumbles of turkey bacon or sausage and low-fat grated cheddar cheese will amp up breakfast," says Lotts, advocating for a breakfast bowl with a twist. Bryan, meanwhile, goes for more autumnal flavors. "Roasted butternut squash, caramelized onions, and goat cheese are a savory, seasonal delight," she recommends. To make an oat-filled take on congee, try cooking your oats with mushrooms, ginger, and spinach, using chicken broth as a liquid and throwing in some shredded chicken breast and green onion. Top with chili and sesame oil, and serve.

A swirl of peanut butter takes a bowl of oatmeal to sheer perfection. However, it's not the only type of nut butter you can use. Any nut butter will give your oatmeal extra creaminess and a boost of nutty depth that pairs well with both savory and sweet notes. "Most any type of nut butter is delicious swirled into cooked oatmeal from almond, cashew, and pecan to sunflower seed butter and even Nutella (does that count as butter?)," says Lisa Lotts. We'd say it definitely does, Lisa, if it means that we get to eat it every morning.

While all nut butters go well in oatmeal, Lisa Bryan prefers one specific type. "My favorite is almond butter. Add that with some blueberry puree and you've got a healthier version of a PB&J sandwich," she states. Almond butter has a slightly more delicate flavor than peanut butter, and has an almost vanilla-like undertone that cuts through the sharpness of the berries. Macadamia nut butter has that same hint of vanilla, and also works well with fresh berries.

We've all heard of nut butter, but what about fruit butter? If you've never tried one with your oatmeal before, you're missing out. "I also like "fruit-based" butters and spreads, which are soft, spiced fruits, cooked down to concentrate their flavors," says Lisa Lotts. Similar to jellies and jams, these slow-cooked butters have an intense fruitiness and require little more than fruit, water, a sweetener, and some time to make.

You can make a fruit butter out of pretty much any fruit you like, although Lotts likes to use apple, pumpkin, or pear butter in her oatmeal. When swirled into the dish, they give the oatmeal a gorgeously floral flavor, and help to provide a base note for any fresh fruit you add in too. If you can't find any fruit butter anywhere (or don't have the time to make it), never fear: Jams and jellies can do the job just as well. Just remember that fruit butter isn't as sweet as the other two, and so you'll likely get a less subtle flavor. ‌

If you're used to making your oatmeal with the same old oats, it's time to change things up. Switching your oat selection is a surefire way to make your oatmeal way more interesting. Lisa Lotts recommends opting for steel cut oats instead of regular rolled oats for your next breakfast. "Steel cut is less processed and more nutritious, plus it has a wonderful nubby, caviar-like texture," she advises. The difference between steel cut oats and rolled oats is in the name: Rolled oats are flattened, while steel cut oats are sliced with steel blades. The blades give the oats a more inconsistent surface that gives them more bite, while rolling oats out makes them softer and provides a more gentle flavor.

Remember that if you're using steel cut oats, you'll likely need to adjust your cooking times. These oats can take between 10 to 20 minutes to cook, and the longer you cook them the more they'll soften. Other types of oats, like Scottish oats, may take a little longer than standard oats too. Always check the packaging, instead of assuming you know how long they'll take.

Oatmeal is one of those dishes that feels slightly lacking in identity — and that's partly because it has so many different variations. Whether you're making Scottish-, American-, or Northern-European-style oatmeal, though, it tends to fall into the same narrow flavor parameters. That's why we love using other cuisines as inspo for a totally unique oatmeal, which can give the dish spice and vibrancy while making your breakfast feel completely new.

Lisa Bryan recommends trying out a Mexican vibe. "For a Mexican-inspired flavor, add a fried egg and some pico de gallo or salsa verde," she suggests. You can take this a step further by adding in some sliced poblanos or jalapeños, and topping it with a little queso fresco. If you want to put a Korean twist on your oatmeal, try squeezing over a gochujang-packed sauce and sprinkling on some toasted sesame seeds. For an ultra-fragrant, spicy oatmeal, sprinkle it with a little garam masala; you could even mix through some leftover Bombay potatoes or pieces of pakora, too.

One thing that oatmeal doesn't have naturally, and that it really benefits from, is crunch. Adding crunchy elements creates a huge amount of dynamism in oatmeal, filling every bite with additional texture that prevents it from being one-note. However, you don't just have to stick to nuts for crunch. Using seeds, wheat, and even other cereals can give you the same effect, while also delivering their own flavor notes.

You can use lots of different types of seeds, but "chia seeds are nutritious and give oatmeal more body," says Lisa Lotts. Sunflower, pumpkin, and sesame seeds will all do the same, with sunflower and pumpkin seeds adding even more crunch. As for wheat, "wheat germ adds a nutty flavor and additional nutrition," advises Lotts. Packed with minerals like manganese and phosphorus, it's a great way to set yourself up for the day.

If you want crunch with a little extra flavor, cereal is the way to go. "Granola adds crunch and flavor to soft oatmeal," says Lotts, while boxed cereal like corn flakes, puffed rice, and even Cheerios can have the same effect. As a bonus, by adding cereal you likely won't have to add as much of any other sweetener.