My concepts for savory oatmeal are often pretty complex and labor intensive. Last weekend, I decided to pursue a simple one—one that would come together with easy ingredients and could be topped with anything.
Here’s what I came up with!
This super simple savory oatmeal base can be enjoyed as is, or you could add other veggies. I was tempted to add sauteed kale, for example, but I forced myself to stick with the simplest version of the recipe.
What you’ll need:
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1-2 tbsp diced onion
- 1/4 cup unsweetened, unflavored plant-based milk
- 1/2 cup water or vegetable broth
- 1/2 cup frozen corn kernels
- 1/4 cup quick cook steel cut oatmeal
- 1/8 tsp salt
- ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 tbsp fresh minced chives, plus more for topping
How to make it:
- In a saucepan over medium heat, cook onion in olive oil until translucent.
- Add plant-based milk, broth, and frozen corn.
- When the liquid returns to a boil, add oats, stir, and reduce heat to a simmer.
- When the oatmeal begins to thicken (3 or 4 minutes), add salt, black pepper, and chives.
- Once the oatmeal has reached the desired consistency, remove from heat and transfer to a bowl. Top with extra minced chives, along with any other desired toppings (sauteed greens, fresh arugula, sun dried tomatoes, toasted pine nuts, a drizzle of olive oil, etc).
The chives add a slight onion flavor, but I actually incorporated actual onion, too. While I could have skipped the chives altogether and just used the sauteed onion, I really wanted those bits of green. Bits of green are my favorite thing to add to oats, savory OR sweet. 🙂
