This Lent, I decided that I would be needing a little something to keep body and soul together between meals, since my nursing-mama appetite is going strong. Granola bars seemed to be the thing – good for packing in The Artist's lunches in lieu of desserts.
Tasty, yes, and a bit sweet. But hearty and healthy and appropriately Lenten, right?
It also seemed to be the best way I could think of to use up the oats that had been lingering around the household for… let's just say, quite some time.
A year or so ago, The Artist and I were thoroughly convinced that soaking our oats the night before making oatmeal was the way to go. We found the resultant oatmeal to be easier, tastier, and more filling, so pre-soaked oatmeal became our go-to.
{Here's the authority on the matter:
For highest benefits and best assimilation, porridge should be soaked overnight or even longer. Once soaked, oatmeal cooks up is less than 5 minutes — truly a fast food….
Mix oats with warm water mixture [1 c. oats + 1 c. warm water mixed with 2 T whey, yogurt, kefir, or buttermilk], cover and leave in a warm place for at least 7 hours and as long as 24 hours.
– from Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions}
But then one day we ran out of our normal rolled oats, and I purchased these Irish style oats since they were the only thing available at my beloved Trader Joe's. Unfortunately, the soaking thing just doesn't seem to work the same.
In fact, we couldn't find a way to eat them that we enjoyed. We kept on attempting to use them but just being disappointed. Maybe you can tell us what we were doing wrong — they just refused to soften on us the way rolled oats do, even with a whole night of pre-soaking.
Thus, a can of oats that was doing some hard-core sitting around… And a mental block for me. “I would buy more oats, but we do have those Irish ones we still need to use up…” Our oatmeal consumption came to a standstill. Clearly the only way I would be free to buy more rolled oats was if I found a way to vanquish these Irish ones in the cupboard!
And so the soaked oats granola bar adventure began.
It was an adventure, I'm not going to lie. A production. Not only are there several steps involved, and it took me a little while to assemble the necessary (to my mind) parts, but distractions and scheduling issues and a demanding, bored-to-tears-by-long-winter-confinement baby all prevented me from streamlining the process. I'm sure you could get them together more quickly than I did if you had the focus. None of the steps is particularly challenging.
And all along I was apprehensive: will these work, or will they turn out the way that our failed bowls of Irish oatmeal kept turning out: too crunchy and hard, not toothsome? Will I put in all this effort and all these ingredients to have a huge batch of inedible granola bars?
I won't keep you in suspense: They turned out great, but I think they'd be better with rolled oats. If you are an Irish oats enthusiast, I'm sure you'll love them.
Otherwise, do as I say and not as I did, and use rolled oats for these.
As a basic guide, I used BrownEyedBaker's formula for her Fig, Date, and Almond granola bars. My only real innovation was to add the step of soaking the oats and pre-baking them.
I started out with 2 1/2 cups of oats. After soaking for about 18 hours, I had a volume of more like 4 1/2 cups.
I also looked at this approach to Soaked Granola from The Nourishing Home, which is where I got the idea to mix my soaked oats with honey and spices and bake it all on a sheet.
Once I had my oats ready (and at this point they already tasted good and could have worked simply as granola — albeit (again) not with the best texture), I went ahead with the actual granola bar recipe, mixing in my goodies.
My binder was peanut butter. Since I ended up with a doubled volume of oats, I went ahead and used a whole jar of natural peanut butter.
Another dose of honey, to make sure that the overall effect was sweet.
At one point I just took another peek into my cupboard and discovered coconut flakes, so those went in as well…
And after much mixing and tasting, I was ready to press the whole batch into parchment-lined pans.
The recipe overflowed from the 13 x 9 pan, so I had a secondary batch going in a smaller square pan as well. It filled up about half, leaving me with this open edge:
(The open edge got a bit singed, so I don't recommend that approach.)
Then they baked for a while at 325. Honestly, I'm not sure if I had them in for the right amount of time, but the recipe I was following recommends 25 min.
And into the freezer for a bit! Note that I switched the bars into a different pan, so that my glass pan wouldn't be strained going from oven to freezer. It was easy to do, thanks to the parchment paper (the smaller batch is just sitting on top of the big pan batch).
Once cooled, the fun part of cutting:
Mine came out fairly crumbly. Not completely crumbly, but more crumbly than the ideal. For me this wasn't a problem, as I was able to scoop up the crumbles and just eat them as granola. But I do wonder if a different binder would be more effective, or if I just needed more peanut butter for the amount of nuts and oats I had. Or perhaps it was the baking time.
All in all, however, they have turned out to be the Lenten snack that I've been needing. And on a couple occasions, when pressed for time, one has even held me over pretty darned well as a quick breakfast – that's how hearty they are. They go perfectly with a cold glass of milk.
I'm still thinking that rolled oats would be better. I look forward to having another go at the concept sometime soon!
Importantly, I used up all those Irish oats and have moved on, reclaiming the pantry space.
Soaked Oats Granola Bars
Basic process and formula (adapted from/inspired by This recipe from Brown Eyed Baker and This recipe from The Nourishing Home).
Prepping oats:
Mix oats with enough water to cover and mix in 1-2 T yogurt. Cover and leave overnight. Drain if necessary.
Combine honey with desired spices (ginger, cinnamon) and drizzle over oats, stirring until mixed and oats are coated.
Bake oats on a parchment-lined sheet pan until crunchy.
Mixing granola bars (these were the ingredients I used):
Use the following proportions to make granola mixture:
1. 2 1/2 parts: Rolled grains (pre-soaked, pre-baked Irish-style oats)
2. 1 part: Nuts, seeds, spices (chopped almonds, chopped walnuts, cinnamon, ginger, salt)
3. 1/2 part: Sticky sweetener (honey)
4. 1 part: Dried fruit (chopped dates, golden raisins, flaked coconut)
5. 1 part: Binder (peanut butter)
Mix all together and spread into parchment-lined pan. Bake at 325 for ~1/2 hour.
Remove to freezer for 1 hour to chill. Cut into desired size and serve. Store in fridge in airtight container.
Lisa Rose says
We love steel cut oats here. At first I tried making them with a two-to-one ratio of water to oats, as for rolled oats. Yup, too crunchy! The proper ratio is FOUR-to-one and they take at least a half hour to cook but I often put them in the crockpot overnight (1 c. oats, 41/2 c. water, 1/2 tsp. salt, a little cinnamon & brown sugar or what have you). We really prefer the texture to other kinds of boiled oats but we love the rolled oats in granola.
I would love to try this recipe. I like to have stuff for my busy family to be able to grab on the way out but so many baked goods are just flour, fat. and sugar – delicious, yes, but not what we need every day.
Thanks for sharing!
Jody says
My problem with the slow cooker was that mine runs a bit hot, so cooking all night was too long. I use a digital lamp timer set for 4 AM – everything soaks and then cooks for about 2 hours.
Elizabeth says
My husband and I prefer the texture of the steel cut oats, as well. A little chewier, and not so mushy. My sons like to eat rolled oats raw, with brown sugar and milk on top. Sally Fallon would be appalled, I’m certain. 🙂
Beth in the City says
I make the Irish oats in my rice cooker and yes, lots of water.
Monica says
GENIUS! Thanks so much for sharing this tip. I’m sure this would simplify the process a lot. My husband usually makes Irish oats for at least one weekend breakfast (we use the rolled kind on weekdays — faster), so I’m sure he’ll appreciate the help!
Habou says
This sounds so good. Would love to make these. Since my heart surgery I have been eating a bowl of oatmeal every morning. Here is a site with info how health benefits. http://health.learninginfo.org/benefits-oatmeal.htm I use Quaker Oats – 100% rolled oats with no other ingredients. I add milk and honey. Sometimes nuts. Very healthy.
Jen says
I made the “mistake” of buying steel cut oats once. I found a recipe for Yellow Broth, which is a simple Irish soup with onion, celery, carrots, chicken stock, chopped spinach, and steel cut oats. It is very simple and very tasty. If I happen to have a bit of leftover chicken, I shred it and add it in. The recipe only calls for 1/4 cup of the oats, but imo, it is worth buying the oats for this soup.
Molly I. says
I love steel cut oats! They are a bit of a pain to cook though. The only recipe I’ve ever used is Alton Brown’s steel cut oats recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/steel-cut-oatmeal-recipe.html
They turn out wonderfully tender and just a little tangy with the buttermilk. It takes a while, but with his recipe you don’t have to stand there stirring it the whole time. I’ve also found it re-heats pretty well if you add a little more milk.
Your granola bars look yummy, thanks for the recipe!
Shyla says
These look fabulous, from a fellow Lenten granola bar maker 🙂 will be trying, thanks for sharing!
Mrs. B. says
Well, to everyone his own kind of oatmeal, I guess – I like steel cut oats a lot! It is true that it takes a long time, but I like their texture better than the mushier rolled oats. I cook them in all milk, as I can’t stand any kind of oats boiled in water, and the result is something I can only describe as crunchy creaminess. We like to add sugar and pumpkin pie spice mix (from Trader Joe’s!), and some of us add raisins and pecans. My kids often demand this for lunch after their weekly swim lesson: it is so nourishing!
Your recipe looks very good, thank you for sharing! I am comforted by the fact that you made this in between “nursing sessions”: my baby is younger than yours, and cooking anything even minimally elaborate is almost impossible, but you show that it can be done!
Deirdre says
Mrs. B., I really can’t stress enough how fragmented my process was. All told, it was several days! Now that I have a better sense of what the deal is, I can imagine being more efficient: prepping the oats while the oven was cooking dinner; cutting dates while getting lunch ready and then setting them aside, etc.
Carrie says
We love Irish oats too, cooked in the slow cooker overnight on low. In fact, they’re so much better than regular oats this way, since regular oats get too mushy.
Josie says
Steel cut fan here too, but my kids will only eat the silly little packets of rolled oats and how on earth I got them stuck on those packets, I don’t know. Although I like rolled, I do prefer steel cut. I think when I get a chance to cook the steel cut I do end up cooking them a lot longer. But hear, hear to the commenter applauding this courage boosting post for nursing mamas to make these, despite possibly having to stop 15-17 times in between mixing, baking and eating:). Having that granola on hand will be worth it!
Tamara says
I’m with you and the Artist- no steel cut oats for me and my crew! 🙂 Im so happy you did this recipe! We also soak our oats but I haven’t gotten around to granola bars yet. I will definitely try these!
Kara says
Looks delicious! I love this idea but my last granola bars with peanut butter as a binder were decidedly NOT a hit! They ended up going to our friends chickens! Perhaps I should be a bit more creative, as you were, and pull from different recipes.
Also, a recommendation on soaked oatmeal. This recipe is wonderful and I love that I don’t have to pay attention to it as the kids are getting up and we’re starting out the day. I pop it in the oven before they wake up and we’re all eating something warm and delicious 40 min later. Especially nice for little ones that are still struggling to feed themselves with a fork or spoon because it can easily be eaten with hands.
http://franticallysimple.com/2012/01/soaked-baked-oatmeal/
Deirdre says
Thanks for that! That recipe looks awesome!
elizabethe says
I do a similar soaked and baked oatmeal with a can of pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice for pumpkin baked oatmeal. Sometimes I use molasses as a sweetener instead of honey and ginger and make gingerbread baked oatmeal. amazing. It’s a very flexible type of recipe and easy to experiment with.
You might try pumpkin or banana as an alternate binder for peanut butter in your oat recipe. If you leave out peanut butter I’d worry about adding another kind of fat.
Celine says
Does anyone have suggestions for an alternate binder? Peanut butter would not go over well here I’m afraid.
Deirdre says
Celine, in the recipe from BrownEyedBaker, she mentions applesauce as an alternative binder. Also apple butter, pureed dried fruit, and almond butter. Almond butter was very appealing to me, but I decided against it based on cost.
Mary says
I wonder if you skipped the step where you baked the oats if they would bind better?
Deirdre says
I wondered that myself countless times and kept going back and forth. Maybe sometime I’ll just experiment. I don’t have the chemistry know-how to say…
Margo, Thrift at Home says
that CAN! I would buy those oats for the can alone!
Deirdre says
I’m definitely keeping the can… 🙂
Rebekah says
Just giving another voice in favor of the steel cut oats. Soaked with more water than rolled oats and a few splashes of cider vinegar, cooked with more water than rolled oats too. They really have a great texture when prepared properly. It took us a while to figure out we need more water, but once we did, we haven’t bought or enjoyed rolled oats since.
Melissa Diskin says
We do these as rolled balls (adding some vanilla and milk powder and melted coconut oil to help bind it all together). If we’re feeling scandalous, we add a few mini chocolate chips! We have also used almond butter — it’s still nutty but not as forward as peanut butter, if that makes sense. Yummy!
briana says
Wow, do I need this recipe for my indians. Thank you!
Patty says
So that’s what I can do with our steel cut oats! I love them but can’t seem to spare the cooking time in the morning these days. I have them soaking now. Thanks!
Emily says
I make granola cookies with oats and banana purée as the binder. Works great! I have also used apple sauce and pumpkin in place of the banana purée. I essentially use this recipe http://blueberrygirlinoz.blogspot.com/2010/05/no-sugar-oat-drops.html and then build on it or leave out what I don’t have. Works great every time!
Melanie says
Did you know you can make steel cut oats in the crock pot overnight! So easy and good, at least to us. 🙂 I love the texture of the Irish oats, but the long cooking time was tripping me up. Put the amount of oats you want in a glass bowl, combined with water and a pinch of salt if you want. It is a 1:4 thing, so like 1/4 cup oats to a cup of water. Set the bowl in the crock pot. Fill the crock pot area outside of the bowl (I hope that makes sense) with water until the water level is about the height of the water inside your glass bowl. Cook on lowest setting overnight.
Shannon G says
Yes! I use the bain marie in crockpot method as well & they turn out perfect! I just cook them right in my glass measuring cup: 2 cups water, 1 cup half and half (or milk, or cream), 1/2 cup steel cut oats, & I usually sprinkle some chia seeds over the top. Cook overnight on low in an older crockpot or use the keep warm setting on a newer one. I serve with yogurt mixed into individual bowls in the morning.
Morgan says
I love steel-cut oats, but they don’t cook the same way as rolled oats. I use the “cheater” method on the can: 4:1 ratio of water to oats, bring to a boil the night before and then turn off the heat. Let cool slightly before transferring the pan to the fridge (you can let them sit on the stove overnight too, if you are comfortable with that). In the morning, return the mixture to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 8-10 minutes.
Kim F. says
Yes! This is how my husband makes the Irish steel cut oats for us and they turn out wonderful. The extra step of the water bath is key.
Rachel Allison says
THIS! It has to be boiling water. I don’t refrig overnight…just bring it to a boil, then turn off the burner and leave the oatmeal on the stove, covered. America’s Test Kitchen did a show where they proved that if you use boiling water the night before, it only takes a few minutes the next morning. And yes to using 4-1 water to oats.
I just did it this this morning making Leila’s porridge for the kids. Took NOT EVEN 10 minutes.
Mamabearjd(Michelle) says
I am the lone eater of Irish oats here, and I like to soak mine in the slow cooker all day, then cook on low all night. I think they are so yummy then.
I’m nursing hungry too, and was thinking I should make peanut butter balls, but Sally Fallon (I think) says powdered milk is a no, so what to mix in the balls for extra protein?
Sheryl Finley says
How about powdered goat’s milk? Entirely different from powdered cow’s milk. I have used it for years in baked goods for extra nutrition. Makes wonderful ice cream (after Lent). It seems pricy but a little goes a long way and I have found it lasts far longer than the expiration dates. I buy cans and packets directly from Meyenberg. It is certified kosher, GMO free, and naturally gluten free. Meyenberg Goat Milk Products are from goats, member of the Caprine sub-family, that have not been treated with rBGH’s. meyenberg.com
Kelly @ The Nourishing Home says
Thanks for the kind shout out. What a great recipe you’ve shared! And what a beautiful site you have. So nice to meet you! Blessings to you and your family, Kelly
Deirdre says
Your post was a great resource to me, Kelly! Thanks!
Bethany says
This isn’t a how-to cook steel cut oats, but when I eat steel-cut, my favorite way is with an over-easy egg on top, a little cheddar, salt, pepper, maybe some crumbled bacon. Delicious! The crunchiness of the steel-cut oats makes for a good combo. Kind of like grits I think.
Emily says
We love steel-cut oats at our house. I do soak them sometimes, if I remember. I’ve never found them difficult to cook correctly-just cook longer, and use plenty of liquid. For our family of 5 I make 5-6 cups liquid and 1 1/2 cups oats. Often I use part milk, part water, though you must stir them frequently if you do that. My kids call steel-cut oats “the Irish” and after a few mornings of “eating the Irish” they turn their little noses up at regular rolled oats. My 3 year old son as been known to wail in morning-time starved agony when a bowl of rolled oatmeal is put before him because, he says, “He wanted the Irish!” I think you should give them another go; they really are wonderful. You have to try them in summer with peach chunks simmered in them, vanilla, and brown sugar, cream and toasted almonds on top.
Mary says
I like to use both at once! Soak 1 cup each rolled and steel cut, plus 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/2 cup barley, wheat berries, and/or flax seed in 4 c boiling water overnight. In the morning add 4 c milk and cook. It takes about 20 minutes but it’s so good! Leftovers reheat fine too.
Anastasia says
Oh my. I have that exact same can of oats reproaching me in my cupboard, for probably 2 years. Isn’t that shameful? I am SO GLAD you posted this, because not only do the granola bars look yummy, but some of the “recipes” in the comments inspire me too. Thanks Deirdre! My baby doesn’t like to let me cook much either, but if he is eating the whole time, he is relatively tolerant.
Justine says
I know I’m a little late to this party, but we just got on to steel cut oats because they are healthier. We tried slow cooking, I wasn’t a great fan, but I did see an easy recipe on the McCanns website that said to bring to boil, boil for 1 minute, then leave in the fridge overnight, that’s been the best method for us!
Thanks for the granola bars!!
Kelsi says
I use bananas as a binder 🙂
Jason says
This is an old comment thread, but you might try cooking your steel-coat oats (in water or milk) before using in this recipe. I bring to a boil and simmer for ten or twenty minutes and then drain. You’ll find your end product is a little chewier and less crunchy… but you also have to use less binder as the oats are now fairly sticky.