Savory Oatmeal—Good Eats?

“Savory oatmeal is underrated.  Here’s what you’ve been missing.  Eight recipes to make your oatmeal more interesting, from easy pizza oatmeal to Parmesan oatmeal cookies.”

That’s what the article said, nothing more, and then listed and linked the eight recipes.  A third of them were behind paywalls, so I couldn’t check them out.  Parmesan oatmeal cookies seemed like an abomination.  Another dish topped with runny eggs was an absolute non-starter.  However, in case you find those ideas appetizing, I’ve included the link below.

I found the whole idea of savory oatmeal almost intriguing.  More like curious, and like the moth drawn to the flame, I eventually succumbed to testing out a few recipes so that I could get that checked off my bucket list.  Or at least the list of blogging topics to research.  What if savory oatmeal was the best thing since sliced bread?  Or maybe not that terrific, but still something that could be prepared once in a while to add some variety to the diet?

I settled on two recipes that I deemed food storage and apocalypse-friendly.  The other one will appear in an article next week.

Pizza Oatmeal

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 yellow onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, sliced

1 cup quick oats

1 cup old-fashioned oats

1 can (28 oz) peeled tomatoes

½ teaspoon black pepper

1 ½ teaspoons Italian seasoning

½ teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

4 cups water

Shredded mozzarella, for topping

Parmesan, for topping

Fresh basil, garnish

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Sauté onion and garlic until onion is lightly browned, about 4-5 minutes.  Add oats and stir until toasted, about 3 minutes.

Add tomatoes, using a wooden spoon to break them into bite-sized pieces.  Stir in seasonings and water and bring to a simmer.

Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until thick and creamy, about 10-12 minutes, occasionally stirring to prevent sticking and burning.  Top with cheeses and garnish with fresh basil.  Serves 4.

Family reviews: Aaron suggested that I should have saved these recipes for when KOTPE and his family were here.  I suspect he feels targeted when he’s the only guinea pig.  Sigh.  I cut this recipe down to serve just me, since I was pretty sure Aaron wouldn’t want it for a meal.  I did get him to taste it, however.  He said he would not have guessed it was oatmeal.  His first guess was overcooked pasta in hamburger helper.  He further remarked that the flavor was good but the texture was weird.  I thought it was rather respectable.  Not 4 stars, but maybe about 3.5.  Because it looked like a lot of oatmeal to me, I took only half of it, but then I went back for seconds and finished off the pan.  We both felt that the fresh basil was a nice touch.  Just about essential.  The cheese definitely adds to the dish.  It tasted almost like spaghetti sauce to me.  Like Aaron, I agree the flavor was good.  I don’t think I would go so far as to say the texture was weird.  It was definitely different.  And as I sit here typing and thinking about it, I believe it would make a tasty dip for bread or crackers, which is how I’ll probably try it with the kids. 

References:

https://getpocket.com/collections/savory-oatmeal-recipes