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I think it’s safe to say that J and I have made hundreds of pots of oatmeal in the past decade, if not more. Now I wish that I had counted, so we could celebrate that 1,000th pot properly. It’s coming soon, if it hasn’t already come and gone unnoticed.
Oatmeal is good for you, I know. And I love oatmeal. Oatmeal with berries, apples, bananas, raisins. With brown sugar, maple syrup, butter, peanut butter. I like a sweet bowl of oatmeal as much as the next person. But you know what else is good for me? Variety. I can’t get enough of these savory oatmeal combinations right now. 
So did you make the Savory Oatmeal with Curry, Greens, and Caramelized Onions? Did you make the Savory Oatmeal with Black Pepper, Blue Cheese, and an Olive Oil Fried Egg? Am I getting to be a broken record here? Good news, friends, I’ll be moving on soon, I promise. To…sweet oatmeal!
Savory Oatmeal with Mushrooms, Parmesan, and Thyme: For one serving (just multiply the quantities to make more), combine 1 c. water, 1/2 c. rolled oats, and a good big pinch of salt in a small pot. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 5-15 minutes (the time it takes to cook to your liking will vary depending on the thickness of your oats). Remove from heat.
Meanwhile, warm a teaspoon or two of olive oil over medium-high heat, then pile in 4 oz. sliced mushrooms and a handful of thin slices of red onion. Cook until the mushrooms release their liquid and begin to brown, then add a few pinches of salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Continue to cook until the mushrooms are browned to your liking, then remove from heat. (Optional: stir a little minced garlic into the mushrooms for the last minute or two of cooking.) Add the warm oatmeal to the mushrooms along with a handful of grated Parmesan and about 1/2 tsp. fresh thyme leaves, and stir to combine. Season to taste with additional salt, pepper, and/or grated cheese.
Oats and More Giveaway! The nice folks at Bob’s Red Mill have generously offered to give away a Breakfast Bundle to one lucky Emmy Cooks reader. The Breakfast Bundle includes Muesli, Honey Almond Granola, Organic 6 Grain Cereal, and Organic 7 Grain Pancake Mix in addition to Steel Cut and Thick Rolled Oats (value: $30.34). Here’s the scoop:
- To enter, just leave a comment on this post. Tell me about your favorite savory (or sweet!) oatmeal combination, or your favorite breakfast. You may also enter up to three additional times if you follow Emmy Cooks on (1) Facebook or (2) Twitter or (3) if you sign up to receive daily updates from Emmy Cooks via email or your own RSS reader. Just leave a separate comment below for each entry (up to 4 total per person).
- Comments made before 11:59 p.m. (Seattle time) on Monday, Dec. 10 will be counted as entries. The winner will be chosen at random and will be posted to the blog on Tuesday, Dec. 11. The winner will have 48 hours to claim her/his prize by providing a mailing address; otherwise another winner will be chosen.
- Giveaway is open to US residents ages 18 and up.
Full Dislosure: In addition to providing the prize for this giveaway, Bob’s Red Mill also sent me three kinds of oats to try. These and these and these! Did you ever see so many kinds of oats? I never thought I’d get rich blogging, but I am rich in oats. For the moment. More full disclosure: if you follow Bob’s Red Mill on Facebook you’ll see some nice bird photographs in your feed in addition to great recipes.
Update 12/11/12: And the winner (chosen by random.org) is Allison, of the always-inspiring blog Spontaneous Tomato. Congratulations, Allison! To those who didn’t win, you can stock up here.
Emmy Cooks 
My favorite savoury oatmeal is http://jitterycook.com/2012/10/12/toasted-steel-cut-oatmeal-007-risotto-style/. Except that I haven’t yet tried your current savoury oatmeal recipe, so I may need to update shortly. Savory Oatmeal with Mushrooms, Parmesan, and Thyme sounds divine! December 11 is my baby’s birthday (23!) and he would love to win Bob’s breakfast Bundle. He’s a real foodie. Keeping my fingers crossed.
My favorite breakfast is always an egg sandwich/salad, because I cannot eat sweet breakfasts (or I can, but have never liked them!) so these savory oatmeals are such an exciting idea!
Seeing a lot of savory oatmeal these days…will try. Thx
You know we eat oatmeal nearly every morning. I have been working on more savory dinner dishes with it. I buy Bob’s oats in 25 lb bags btw – Cash n’ Carry carries them in the Seattle area. Although when we went to Bob’s store in Oregon earlier this year I kind of went crazy and brought home one of every type they make…..
I LOVE the 7 Grain Cereal…we have it a couple of times a week at least.
Nothing like a classic – I like my oatmeal best similar to how my mom made it for me when I was little: raisins, cinnamon and brown sugar. Maybe some milk poured over top once it was in the bowl. Now I use steel cut instead of her quick cooking, but it’s a wonderfully comforting breakfast!
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Yum! I only recently had my first real non-instant oatmeal breakfast (I know, I know… we just didn’t grow up eating it when I was a kid…) and it was delicious! Still haven’t tried it savory, but I can imagine it must be great.
…especially since my favorite breakfasts are savory breakfasts! Definitely either chilaquiles or huevos rancheros :)
p.s. Congrats on being rich in oats! (while they last…) That sounds lovely :)
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Hi Allison! You are lucky #11, the winner of the Bob’s Red Mill Breakfast Bundle giveaway! Please email me within 48 hours with both your address and your phone number at emmycooksblog at gmail etc. :) Congratulations!
Yay! Thank you, Emmy! I’m so excited about this… and I know Paula will be too, since she can use some of those things (esp. the 6 grain cereal) for baking!
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I love brown sugar and cinnamon on oatmeal
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Last but not least, i wanted to share my favorite alternative to oatmeal. Oatmeal pancakes using oats ground into flour and cooked oats! I added
chopped apples and substituted butter for yogurt, and soy milk for the cream http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2010/05/oatmeal-pancakes/
I love grits for breakfast with black beans, spicy salsa and a bit of cheese. Oh momma…
This looks delicious! kx
I am in love with Bob’s Red Mill! They are really the best company for oats:) Everything sounds amazing, as well as your most recent savory oats! Have a great weekend!
I will try it today. I finally found glutten free oat. Hope I will digest it. This look soooo good! Thank you Emmy :)
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My favorite sweet oatmeal is with dried cranberries & raisins, sweetened with brown sugar (or molasses, if I have any). My fave savory version is with caramelized onions, mushrooms, & dried cranberries.
I love old-fashioned oatmeal in the morning with brown sugar and milk…I know, kind of boring, but I look forward to it!
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I have yet to try a savory oatmeal but this latest recipe looks amazing. I think tomorrow morning hubby and I will give this a go.
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One of my favorite breakfasts (or lunch or dinner) is the granola over a little Greek yogurt sweetened with just a touch of honey and vanillas and whatever fruit and/pr berries I have on hand.
my everyday oatmeal is a savory one, but everyone else in the house reaches for the maple syrup and cream. So I usually grab the sriracha or black bean and chili paste and doctor mine quietly and separately, away from the hecklers.
I just can’t quite imagine what a savoury oatmeal would be like, despite having read your posts. I’m just going to have to try one for myself (after which, no doubt I’ll ask myself why I waited so long!).
I have never made a savory oatmeal dish, but now I really want to try! My favorite sweet oatmeal is just with brown sugar, dried cranberries and walnuts. I also like to use oatmeal in lentil loaf and veggie burgers (not to mention topping for fruit crisps).
My favorite way to make oatmeal is how my mother does it: with lots of sugary whole milk instead of water. She makes it a little on the watery side too, but it just tastes so warm and comforting.
That is also the other thing unusual about me and my Asian family: we are not lactose intolerant and drink like white divorcées ;-)
I’ve got to get on this savory oatmeal bandwagon! I typically lean sweet…oats w/ honey or molasses or pumpkin…with pecans and mashed bananas.
I am loving savoury oatmeal these days as well.. Breakfast for dinner.:-) love your version.
I have not tried savory oatmeal, but I eat Bob’s Red Mill steel cut oats with apples, raisins, cinnamon and flax seeds almost every day for breakfast. So yummy!
I like oatmeal with cooked apples.
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My favorite sweet oatmeal breakfast is with old-fashioned rolled oats, chopped apple, walnuts, raisins, and cinnamon!
Caramelized onions, orange zest, and cranberries… I think of it as sweet-savory oatmeal :). We make it with buckwheat too. (and what a wonderful giveaway!)
My fave is oatmeal with cinnamon, cocoa powder and skimmed milk. I sometimes add vanilla.
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