Strawberry Oatmeal - Stovetop Strawberry Oats Recipe (2024)

How To Make Strawberry Oatmeal

This is a classic stove-top oatmeal recipe. It takes just 10-15 minutes to naturally thicken once all the ingredients are in the pot.

Ingredients for homemade strawberry oatmeal:

• oats – I use a combination of rolled & steel cut oats because I love the texture steel cut gives)
• milk – any kind will do, even non-dairy if you prefer (I just started buying oat milk and that would be SO good in these oats, it’s super creamy and obviously dairy-free too!)
• strawberries – no artificial flavor up in here, just the real deal with fresh berries!
• salt – if you’re not putting a pinch of salt in your oatmeal, you’re doing it wrong, trust me.
• chia seeds – these are optional but love how they help thicken oatmeal quickly and obviously they add a nice omega-3 boost too.
• vanilla extract

The method is simple and can be broken down into two parts:

1. Combine the milk and water with most of the strawberries in a blender to essentially create “strawberry milk”.
2. Add the strawberry milk to the rest of the ingredients in a sauce pot and cook over medium heat until the oatmeal is thickened and creamy.

Is Strawberry Oatmeal Healthy?

Healthy is a relative term but if you consider fresh, whole, seasonal ingredients healthy like I do, strawberry oatmeal is definitely healthy.

It’s also gluten-free (make sure you’re using gluten-free oats) and if you use a milk alternative, it can easily be made dairy free as well.Strawberry oats are vegetarian and can be made vegan too.

Oats are a whole-grain and packed with fiber. They’re rich with anti-oxidants and can help lower cholesterol. The chia seeds in this recipe bring some extra omega-3s to your diet as well.

How Should I Top It?

Oatmeal topping possibilities are endless! I did a thinned out peanut butter drizzle with some hemp seeds in the pictures and kept things simple.

More strawberry oat toppings to consider: chopped nuts, pepitas, flaxseed, cacao nibs, other fruit/berries, unsweetened coconut flakes, maple syrup, etc.

Can I Add Protein Powder?

I get it, you want some extra protein because let’s face it, a bowl of oatmeal is a bit carb heavy.

Yes, there’s always the option to add protein powder to this oatmeal. I like to choose an unflavored variety when doing so in this recipe so the natural flavors of the strawberries shine through. That said, vanilla flavored protein is also delicious and plays into the ‘strawberries and cream’ vibe of the oats.

Nuzest makes a plant-based pea protein I love and buy exclusively. They’re third-party tested for heavy metals which is something incredibly important to me, especially when using plant-based powders.

They have a regular smooth vanilla protein powder or, a digestive support protein powder which includes L-glutamine and probiotics for those with sensitive guts.

I’ve used both in this oatmeal and either is delicious!

Another Protein Option: Egg Whites

I’ve talked about this on Instagram before and gotten many doubtful commenters but YES, you can easily add egg whites to oatmeal and it’snot weird. I swear.

To a recipe of this size, I’d probably add 4 servings of egg whites from a carton for an extra 5g of protein per serving.

I add the egg whites toward the end of the cooking time and just make sure you stir well and they get thoroughly heated through. You won’t even notice they’re in there!

Is This Sweet?

The only sweetness in this strawberry oatmeal is from the fresh strawberries themselves.

So the sweetness level of your berries will obviously make the overall sweetness of the recipe vary each time it’s made.

I don’t like to add any additional sweetener to mine while cooking and if I find it needs a little something upon first bite, I drizzle some maple syrup on top.

Is This Creamy?

Yes! Emphatically, yes! This recipe truly tastes like strawberries and cream oatmeal. Imagine a creamsicle type ice pop in oatmeal form – that’s what this is!

If you want to make this oatmeal even more indulgent and creamy, use whole milk or half and half. Yum!

Can I Make This Oatmeal With Other Fruit?

Totally! You can use the same cooking method for all sorts of fruit.

Peaches, raspberries, mango, nectarines, blackberries and bananas would all work great for a fruit and cream oatmeal. Swap out your fruit choice by season!

You can also try this peaches and cream oatmealwhich has a coconut flair, thisapple butter carrot cake oatmeal(made in the slow cooker) or, if you like cherries, this chocolate cherry steel cut oatmeal.

I’m also partial to apple cinnamon oatmeal the second cooler fall temperatures hit.

Bonus! – Turn Strawberry Oatmeal Into A Strawberry Oatmeal Smoothie

This recipe is almost like a two for one deal! If you want a creamy oat based smoothie, half the recipe and throw it all in the blender (you can always add more liquid to get the consistency you like) for a delicious strawberry oatmeal smoothie – perfect for an on the go breakfast.

You’ll get about 2 servings with those amounts.

If you like the sound of that kind of smoothie, try thisCinnamon Chestnut Oat Smoothie– it’s very similar using oats as the base and great in the colder weather months!

And for the warmer months when you want something strawberry flavored, try this chilled strawberry soup!

Looking for more oatmeal recipes to try?