The Best Thing You Can Do With a Packet of Instant Oatmeal Has Nothing to Do With Breakfast

Rolled oats

Instant oatmeal is a morning hero. No matter the flavor that's inside—maple brown sugar, apple cinnamon, peaches and cream —all you have to do is dump the packet into a bowl and add hot water or add water or milk and cook it for less than a minute in the microwave. But instant oatmeal isn't just for breakfast. This shortcut ingredient is surprisingly versatile.

There are entire Reddit threads dedicated to creative uses for people's unused instant oatmeal. Plenty of ideas have been thrown around, including making pancakes and oatmeal cookies. But the hack that stands out above the rest comes food writer, recipe developer and content creator extraordinaire Grace Elkus (aka the mind behind the viral feta fried eggs). By adding just one ingredient, you can transform instant oatmeal into an easy topping for fruit crisps and other streusel-topped sweets.

Related: I'm a Food Editor—Here's How I Make The Perfect Bowl of Oatmeal Every Morning

Why You Should Use Instant Oatmeal to Make Homemade Fruit Crisp

Classic crisp toppings are made with oats, sugar, spices and butter. Instant oatmeal packets have oats, sugar and spices—so all you need to add is butter.

The flavoring is already built into instant oatmeal, which makes things easier and more fun. Maple brown sugar crisp with apples would be warm and cozy. A crisp made with bananas and cream flavored oatmeal paired with bubbly cooked blueberries sounds delightful.

Related: The Difference Between Rolled Oats and Quick Oats

How Do You Make Homemade Fruit Crisp with Instant Oatmeal?

Making a crisp with instant oatmeal is super easy. All you need to do is replace the topping in any crisp recipe with the instant oatmeal crisp topping. If you're on the hunt for a good recipe, look no further than this blueberry crisp or this apple crisp.

Start by emptying four packets of instant oatmeal into a medium-sized mixing bowl. Add about 8 tablespoons of cold cubed butter, then work the butter into the oatmeal using your hands. The mixture should be in roughly pea-sized clumps, though the best crisp topping has a mix of bigger and smaller pieces, so don't stress too much about being precise.

Stick the crisp topping in the fridge to chill for 10 to 15 minutes while you cook the fruit. The chilling will help keep the butter cold so the topping will maintain its texture. Prepare the fruit as directed in the recipe, top with the instant oatmeal topping and bake. When the topping is perfectly browned, remove the crisp from the oven and let it cool slightly before serving.

If a crisp isn't in the cards for you, you could also sprinkle the quick oat crumble over your favorite recipes for coffee cake, muffins or any other quick bread before baking. You could also bake the mixture on its own and use it for topping Greek yogurt or ice cream and call it breakfast (it is oatmeal, after all!).

Up next: My Father-in-Law Cracked the Code to the Best-Ever Beef Stew