Homemade almond cherry oatmeal is a great way to use up excess cherries this season. Made with hearty rolled oats, slivered almonds, and fresh cherries. This is a flavorful and healthy breakfast that is a great way to start your morning.
When it comes to a breakfast that’s both quick, and delicious there’s no better choice than classic oatmeal. Honestly, It only takes a few minutes from start to finish and requires very little work or cooking experience. Plus, it’s a great choice if you want to eat a bit healthier as oats are rich in fiber, protein, and all sorts of vitamins and minerals from B1 to Maganese.
But probably the best reason for making your own oatmeal is how customizable it is. Obviously, it can be prepared plain with simply some brown sugar and cinnamon. You can add flavorful ingredients like chocolate, peanut butter, or even vanilla extract. And any combination of fruit and/or nuts can easily be added from Bananas & Walnuts, to Apple & Cranberry, or in today’s case, almonds and cherries.
What are the Best Type of Oats for Oatmeal?
Before you can make your own oatmeal you first need to decide what type of oats to use. Yes, you heard that right, what type? Because there are about 8 different ones from whole groats, to Scottish oats. But today I’m just going to focus on the three most popular, Quick Oats, Rolled/Old Fashioned Oats, and Steel-Cut Oats.
Quick Oats: As the name suggests they cook pretty quick, about 1 minute to be exact. This is achieved by rolling the oats super thin and cutting them into fine pieces. Which makes them a great choice for when you’re in a rush. However, texture-wise they often end up turning into gloopy mush. So I don’t really recommend using them unless you’re feeling really lazy.
Rolled/Old Fashioned Oats: Unlike quick oats, rolled/old fashioned oats are only rolled thin but left whole. This means they take a little longer to cook, but not by that much, roughly 5 minutes. And since they are left whole they tend to have a nice chewy texture. So if you want my honest opinion stick with this kind of oats.
Steel-Cut Oats: And lastly we have steel-cut oats a.k.a. Irish oats. They get their name due to the fact that they are cut into 2 to 3 pieces by large steel blades. But unlike the two previous types, they are not rolled thin. This ensures that they have a coarse and chewy texture after cooking. The only downside is that they take a much longer time to cook, around 15 to 30 minutes.
Tips, Tricks & Suggestions
- Make it how you like: Homemade oatmeal is an adjustable recipe. And what I mean by that is everything besides the ratio of oats to liquid can be changed to your personal preference. If you want more/fewer cherries then simply add more/fewer cherries. If you prefer it to be sweeter then add a bit more sugar, honey, or syrup. And if you like it spicer then throw in a pinch or two more of cinnamon. Because at the end of the day, we all have different tastes and preferences. So, please make sure to taste your oatmeal at the end and adjust it to your liking.
- Don’t have fresh cherries?: Then feel free to use either frozen or dried cherries instead. The frozen will be closest to fresh, while dried might have a chewier texture. But they will still taste great!
Almond Cherry Oatmeal Recipe
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 5 minutes
Servings: 2
Ingredients
1¾ Cups of water or milk or a combination of both
⅛ Teaspoon of salt
1 Cup of old fashioned oats
1 Cup of cherries, pitted and cut into halves
2 Tablespoons of either brown sugar, honey, or maple syrup, or more depending on preference
½ Teaspoon of cinnamon, or more depending on preference
¼ Teaspoon of cardamon(optional), or more depending on preference
¼ Teaspoon of ginger powder(optional), or more depending on preference
½ Teaspoon of almond extract, or more depending on preference
Sliced almonds as a garnish(optional)
Instructions
- Cook the oatmeal: Combine the water/milk and salt in a medium saucepan and place it over high heat. Once the liquid comes to a boil add in the oats and cherries.
Stir all of these ingredients together and reduce the heat to a simmer. Continue to stir everything for at least 5 minutes or until the oats have soaked up the liquid and have formed a thick oatmeal. Once it is thick to your liking take it off the heat.
- Flavor and adjust the oatmeal: Add the sugar/honey/syrup, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and almond extract to the oatmeal. Stir to combine everything together and then taste the oatmeal.
If it tastes good to you then you are done. Or you can adjust the oatmeal by adding in additional sweetener, spices, or almond extract depending on how you like it.
- Serve the almond cherry oatmeal immediately and enjoy!
Almond Cherry Oatmeal Recipe
Ingredients
- 1¾ Cups of water or milk or a combination of both
- ⅛ Teaspoon of salt
- 1 Cup of old fashioned oats
- 1 Cup of cherries pitted and cut into halves
- 2 Tablespoons of either brown sugar honey, or maple syrup, or more depending on preference
- ½ Teaspoon of cinnamon or more depending on preference
- ¼ Teaspoon of cardamon optional, or more depending on preference
- ¼ Teaspoon of ginger powder optional, or more depending on preference
- ½ Teaspoon of almond extract or more depending on preference
- Sliced almonds as a garnish optional
Instructions
- Cook the oatmeal: Combine the water/milk and salt in a medium saucepan and place it over high heat. Once the liquid comes to a boil add in the oats and cherries. Stir all of these ingredients together and reduce the heat to a simmer. Continue to stir everything for at least 5 minutes or until the oats have soaked up the liquid and have formed a thick oatmeal. Once it is thick to your liking take it off the heat.
- Flavor and adjust the oatmeal: Add the sugar/honey/syrup, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and almond extract to the oatmeal. Stir to combine everything together and then taste the oatmeal. If it tastes good to you then you are done. Or you can adjust the oatmeal by adding in additional sweetener, spices, or almond extract depending on how you like it.
- Serve the almond cherry oatmeal immediately and enjoy!
