Tired of having the same brown sugar topped oatmeal everyday? Find youself hungry a few minutes later? Want some variety so you’ll never get bored eating the same bowl of oatmeal again?
If you fancy a savory breakfast like me, you’ll love this 5 easy oatmeal recipes made from popular ingredients around the world. They are fast to cook, nutritious, filling and sure to add a punch to your mornings.
In most part of the world, folks eat a savory breakfast. Growing up, we always had something savory for breakfast at home. After I moved and had kids, I started making pancakes on Saturdays for the kids. Just to bring a little sweetness one day of the week. To make French toasts for them, I dip the bread in eggs seasoned with salt and pepper and add a layer of cheese when cooked (blasphemy?). Until recently they didn’t know french toast needs syrup and is sweet. One of my boys started adding a sprinkle of red chili flakes on his french toast. Can’t you tell I’m a proud mama? (hahaha)
I use my homemade chicken stock to cook the oats. It adds so much flavour. The oats are cooked the same way with same ingredients in all the recipes.
Without further ado, I present you my beloved savory oatmeal bowls! (Drumroll, please!!!)
Chinese oatmeal bowl
With minced ginger, sauteed mushrooms, poached eggs with a silky yolk, a drizzle of soya sauce and chilli oil will make you want to eat this bowl for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I’m a novice in making poached egg and I used this brilliant recipe from here.
Savory oatmeal with sauteed mushrooms, poached eggs, scallions with a drizzle of soya sauce and chili oil.
- 1/2 cup instant wholegrain oats
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 2 tsp oil
- 1/2 cup cremini mushrooms sliced
- 1/4 tsp minced ginger
- salt and pepper to taste
- poached egg to serve
- 1 or 2 tsp soya sauce, chili oil to serve
- sliced scallions to serve
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Heat oil in a pan on medium. Add ginger and sliced mushrooms. Saute until musrooms are browned. Add salt and pepper to taste.
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Remove the mushrooms from the pan. Add water, chicken stock and oats to the same pan and cook for 5 minutes till oats are cooked. Add salt to taste.
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Serve cooked oats in a bowl and top with sauteed mushrooms, poached egg, scallions and drizzle with soya sauce. Add chili oil if you like some heat.
Indian oatmeal bowl
Crunchy peanuts with onions, green chili and curry leaves. Oh yeah! Lot of action from the spices, peanuts and onions is sure to liven your bowl of oatmeal and your morning! These are some of the cornerstone ingredients in Indian cooking. If you love curry give this Indian oatmeal recipe a try.
Savory oatmeal topped with sauteed onion, green chillies, curry leaves and crunchy peanuts.
- 1/2 cup wholegrain instant oats
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 2 tsp oil
- 1/4 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 small onion chopped
- 1 green chili sliced
- 1 roma tomato chopped
- 1/4 tsp red chili flakes
- 2 tbsp peanut
- few curry leaves
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Heat oil in a pan on medium. Sprinkle the mustard seeds. When the seeds start to splutter, add the ginger & garlic paste,onions, green chili, tomato and curry leaves.
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When the onions are softened, add the peanuts and red chili flakes. Cook for 1-2 minutes stirring often. Remove and keep it aside.
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In the same pan, add water, chicken stock and oats. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook oats till done about 5 minutes.
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Serve oats in a bowl and top with peanut mixture.
Mediterranean oatmeal bowl
My favorite Mediterranean ingredients and spices are combined in this savory oatmeal recipe. Chickpeas, olives, sundried tomatoes adds a bold, salty flavor to the otherwise bland oatmeal. The sumac rounds up the dish with a nice tartness so you won’t be needing a slice of lemon. Did you know that a Mediterranean diet promotes longevity? Time to get these healthy ingredients in your diet in every possible way.
Mediterranean savory oatmeal with chickpeas, sun dried tomatoes, olives and sumac.
- 1/2 cup wholegrain Instant oats
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1/4 tsp dried oregano
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1/2 cup cooked chickpeas from a can drained and rinsed
- 2 sun dried tomatoes in oil chopped
- 5 or 6 olives pitted
- 1/4 tsp sumac to serve
- chopped parsley to serve
- crumbled feta cheese to serve
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Heat oil in a pan on medium. Add minced garlic and saute. Add chickpeas, sundried tomatoes, olives and saute for 3-4 minutes. Remove and keep aside.
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In the same pan, add water, chicken stock, instant oats and oregano. Cook until oats are done.
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Serve the oats in a bowl and top with the chickpea mixture. Sprinkle sumac. chopped parsly and crumbled feta. Adjust seasoning if needed.
English oatmeal bowl
We love baked beans here. So it’s natural for me to come up with a savory oatmeal topped with baked beans, sunny side up egg and chicken strips (or bacon for those who are using it) thats quintessentially English, right?
Savory oatmeal topped with baked beans, sunny side up egg and chicken strips
- 1/2 cup wholegrain instant oats
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 tsp oil
- 1 large egg
- 2 to 3 chicken strips
- 1/2 cup baked beans in tomato sauce
- chives chopped
- salt and pepper to taste
- red chili flakes
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Heat oil in a pan on low. Crack the egg on to the pan taking care not to break the yolk. Cook on low heat until whites are firm. Remove and keep it aside.
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Add the chicken strips to the pan and cook until browned. Remove and break it into pieces.
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Add water, chicken stock and oats to the same pan. Cook until oats are done. Add salt and pepper to taste.
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Serve cooked oatmeal with sunny side up egg, baked beans, crumbled chicken strips. Top with chopped chives and sprinkle some red chili flakes for heat.
Sri Lankan oatmeal bowl
Last but not least, a savory oatmeal recipe inspired by my roots. I have made an easy version of the chicken conjee using oats and an onion sambal to go with it. Now the onion sambal is the bomb here. It’s similar to a Mexican pico de gallo but with fewer ingredients and more heat. And always fresh. You can substitute salsa or pico de gallo for onion sambal in a pinch.
Savory oatmeal cooked with chicken and topped with a spicy onion sambal, Jalapeno peppers and parsley
- 1/2 cup wholegrain instant oats
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1/2 cup cooked chicken
- 1/4 tsp cumin powder
- salt to taste
- 1 small red onion chopped
- 1/4 tsp red chili flakes
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp lime juice
- parsley chopped to serve
- Jalapeno pepper sliced to serve
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Heat a pan in medium. Add water, stock and oats and cumin powder. Reserve a few pieces of cooked chicken and add the rest. Cook until oats are done. Add salt to taste.
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In a small bowl, mix in the chopped onions, red chili flakes, cayenne pepper, lime juice and 1/4 tsp salt. You can use a mortar and pestle to pound this mixture until well combined, like we traditionally do.
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Serve oatmeal topped with the reserved chicken, onion sambal, sliced Jalapeno peppers and chopped parsley. Sprinkle lime juice if needed.
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I love oatmeal! It’s definitely one of my favorites on cold winter days – such a great healthy way to start the day. I love all these ideas!
Thanks so much. These are good any time of the day!
Oh wow! These look and sound spectacular!
I love oats and these right here will be a great addition to my recipe arsenal 🙂
One thing though.. you have used instant oats here, can they be substituted with old fashioned rolled oats and or quinoa?
Thank you Zainab! Yes, you can use old fashioned rolled oats or quinoa. You’d need to adjust the cooking times accordingly.
I am always looking for savory options with oatmeal and all your versions sound absolutely delicious. I think I’m going to try that English oatmeal bowl 🙂
Thank you Mahi. English oatmeal bowl is a good option to start with. 🙂
Some really great suggestions on savory combinations here. I’m intrigued by that Mediterranean flavor mix. It looks so pretty …
Thank you so much. Mediterranean one has great flavors and you’ll love it!
I didn’t think that we can give so much dimension to oatmeal bowl. I am going to try few of them. all are delicious. first one will be Indian,Srilankan than Mediterranean
Thanks Swathi. Do let me know how it turns out.
I love recipes from around the world. These 5 oatmeal bowls are the perfect excuse to try new flavors. They all look gorgeous!
Thank you Catalina!
Wow savory oatmeal. I never tried it. But all these recipes look and sound sooo good. I must give it a go. That egg and bacon version is my fav and first on my list. Yum!
You’ll be amazed by the flavors! Thanks Natalie.
I’ve never tried savoury oatmeal and it’s something I’ve been wanting to experiment with lately. All versions you did sound amazing and I can’t wait to try them out!
Thank you Philip. You should definitely give them a go.
Your pictures are stunning, I want a bowl of each savory oatmeal on this post. They look so good!
Thanks so much Ajoke!
Wow so many delicious oat meals to choose from! How do I choose one? Maybe I should go down the list one at a time 😛 Thanks for sharing!
That’s the way to go ! 🙂 Thank you.
These dishes look beautiful! It looks like America is one of the few that doesn’t favor savory oatmeal dishes. I would try all of these.
Thanks so much!
I would eat every single one of these oatmeal bowls. Just not in one sitting. 😉 I’ll have to make them in order, but I get my favorite will be either the Chinese bowl or the Indian bowl. It’s going to be fun trying to pick my favorite.
Love that! you can pace it out over next few weeks. One bowl a week 🙂
Farwin, these look to die for. Love savoury oatmeals for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Can’t wait to give these a try,
Thanks so much Kristen. They can be had anytime.
I love the flavours of both the Sri Lankan and English bowls. English is my background, so no surprise I was drawn to that one! I have been enjoying smoked turkey bacon from the market stand where I buy my chicken and I bet it would taste perfect with this. I will try the Sri Lankan one for dinner. That onion sambal sounds delicious. 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
Thanks so much Sharon. You’ll love the Sri Lankan one. It’s so easy to put together.
Oooh….so much oat-y goodness, I don’t know where to start!!!
Thank you! May I suggest the English one? It’s the easiest.
I love oatmeal but I have to admit I’ve never had a savoury oatmeal recipe! I really should give it a go one day and be a bit more adventurous!
Yes, you should try it! It’s nice to switch things up once in a while.
I love oatmeal and it’s my absolute favorite breakfast any day of the week. But I have never made it a savory one like. I am so going to try this soon. Love the creativity in these dishes.
Wow! So many ways of having savoury oatmeal! I love all of these and will be trying at least one of them on the weekend, maybe the Sri Lankan oatmeal bowl. Thanks, Farwin.
Amazing pictures and recipes! Never had savory oatmeal and all these ideas are fantastic!
So so creative! The fry up oatmeal certainly reminds me of going to brunch with my British friends. They ordered the fry up…always. Cannot wait to try these savory treats.