Savory Oatmeal Recipe From ‘Breakfast’

George Weld and Evan Hanczor are, respectively, the owner and chef of Egg, a breakfast-focused restaurant in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Together, they authored the new cookbook, Breakfast: Recipes to Wake Up For, which hit shelves March 31. Below, they prove that oatmeal doesn’t have to be sweet with a hearty interpretation topped with seasonal vegetables.

Savory Oatmeal
Serves 4 to 6

We’ve gotten accustomed to oatmeal as a sweet dish but there’s no reason not to make a savory version — it’s just grain, like rice or grits, and it takes to savory applications well. This is a simple recipe that uses oats as a background for seasonal vegetables, but you could also use these oats as the foundation for braised rabbit or duck or a hearty stew.

2 cups steel-cut oats
7 cups water
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon turbinado sugar
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Black pepper
2 cups prepared seasonal vegetables (suggestions below)
¼ cups grated hard cheese optional

Combine oats, water, salt, and sugar in a medium-sized (3-quart) pot.Bring to a boil, then turn down to a gentle boil. Cook for about 30 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally until most of the water has been absorbed and the oats are just tender. Add more salt to taste, stir in butter, and crack in a bit of black pepper.

Spoon the oats into four shallow bowls and add vegetables evenly among the bowls. Add grated cheese if desired. You can really send this dish over the top by adding a sunny or poached egg.

More savory breakfast numbers:

Rosemary and goat cheese muffins (that are actually great anytime of day)

Make tofu scramble without a recipe

DIY sausage patties you can make in 10 minutes flat

Do you like your breakfast sweet or savory? Tell us below!