Having a morning craving for something savory yet want it to be quick and easy? That’s it. Although there is no cheese in this recipe, I would most readily compare it to a deluxe cheese grits recipe because grits normally need more work (unless they are fast). For my 10-year-old, who insisted on having eggs and sausage for breakfast every morning, this was an option. Oatmeal with fruits and brown sugar wasn’t good enough.
| Prep Time: | 5 mins |
| Cook Time: | 5 mins |
| Total Time: | 10 mins |
| Servings: | 1 |
| Yield: | 1 cup |
Ingredients
- 1 cup water
- ½ cup rolled oats
- 1 tablespoon cooked real bacon bits
- 1 teaspoon butter
- ½ teaspoon Creole seasoning (such as Tony Cachere’s®)
Instructions
- Place water and oats in a microwave-safe bowl. Cook at 50% power, stirring half way through cooking, until oats are softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in butter until melted. Stir in bacon bits and Creole seasoning until evenly distributed.
- There are many ways to go with this dish. Keeping it savory, I would keep a small amount of a fat and salt and pepper seasonings. You can substitute olive oil, bacon or sausage drippings, fish oil, or flavored oils for the butter; substitute spice-seasoned salt, garlic or onion salt, or a small amount of dry bouillon for the salt and pepper; use fake bacon bits, scrambled egg, tuna, ground sausage, or cubed ham in place of the bacon.
- Add green onion, minced garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, or dried green herbs such as an Italian blend, if desired.
- Cook oats according to your preference. I find cooking in the microwave for twice the recommended duration at half-power works well and avoids spill-over.
- This recipe is inspired by a savory oatmeal (with egg) included in the recent free SNAP cookbook, available online as a PDF.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 218 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 28 g |
| Cholesterol | 16 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 4 g |
| Protein | 9 g |
| Saturated Fat | 4 g |
| Sodium | 495 mg |
| Sugars | 0 g |
| Fat | 8 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
I feel like this recipe would be good with andouille sausage.
It’s ok
Love this recipe. I added 2 scrambled eggs and sauteed peppers and onions to it, too. So very good!!!
This is great! I’ve never found additions to oatmeal until now that I loved.
Great idea! I had no bacon bits so I uses some frozen soy sausage that I chopped up instead; also added some cheddar cheese as well as the creole seasoning.
Holy crow, this is so good even without the bacon bits!! Will definitely make this again with the bacon next time, and perhaps some shredded cheese as well for a nice additional flavor boost.
It took a few bites to get used to this as I have never had savory oatmeal. It was delicious once my taste buds adapted though. What an excellent idea. I just can’t handle all that sugar in the mornings now that I’m old, but I do love oatmeal.
It took a few bites to get used to this as I have never had savory oatmeal. It was delicious once my taste buds adapted though. What an excellent idea. I just can’t handle all that sugar in the mornings now that I’m old, but I do love oatmeal.
A nice change of pace from the usual sweet oatmeal. This reminds me of grits, just a different texture. I went easy on the seasoning (I used about 1/3 tsp) since I find it can be a little salty. I’ll definitely be making this again!