If you have read New Nostalgia for any length of time, you will know I am a huge oatmeal fan. I eat oats in some form every morning for breakfast, and usually end up snacking on another form of them during the day. I eat them raw, cooked, in smoothies, in breads, in cookies and muffins. I love my oats!
In the summer, my favorite fast breakfast is raw oats, almond milk, and frozen raspberries. I let it sit a couple minutes for the oats to soak and raspberries to thaw. It is a great on-the-go breakfast when thrown in a small mason jar. I sweeten it with date paste or maple syrup. Yum.
Now that it is getting chilly outside, I want the comfort of a warm porridge in the morning. I love steel cut oats and their slightly chewy texture, but did not like the amount of time they take to prepare in the mornings.
Enter Trader Joes.
I found already prepared steel cut oats in the freezer section of Trader Joes. I loved how they came, frozen in pucks and ready to heat. They had simple ingredients with no preservatives. I loved everything about them, especially that they spurred on the idea of this post!
The price at TJ’s is good, but I knew I could make them for much less money, and sugar. So I did!
I bought Bob Mills Steel Cut Oats. Any brand will do!
Prepare according to package directions. Let cool slightly. Pour into muffin tins. I did not grease mine, it was not necessary.
It made 6 large pucks and 12 small ones. I had a couple leftover servings in the pan and ate ’em up!
Here is how I placed them in the freezer. A simple cookie sheet in between the pans did the trick.
I froze them solid, then took out of the freezer. I filled my sink with an inch of warm water, let the bottoms of the pan soak in it for a couple minutes, then used a knife at the edge of each puck to pop them out. They came out very easily.
The small muffin pucks were the perfect size for my three lil’ muffin girls. They love helping themselves to a frozen oatmeal puck in the morning.
The larger size was perfect for me!
Keep in freezer bags, and pull out when needed. Microwave 2 minutes for large, 1 minute for small. Stir. Heat in additional increments of 30 seconds until heated through. Serve with maple syrup & cinnamon, and whatever toppings you prefer!
More Of My Oatmeal Loves:
Cinnamon Apple Cranberry Oatmeal
Cinnamon Maple Pumpkin Oatmeal
2 Minute Steel Cut Oats (another fast way to make them)
Oatmeal Whole Wheat Quick Bread
No Cook, Overnight Chia Oatmeal
Oatmeal Fully Loaded
Chewy Granola Bars/Best Chocolate “Candy Bar”
New Nostalgia – Crunchy Toasted Quinoa Topping
October 28, 2014 at 10:05 am[…] used it along with bananas and coconut to top my morning steel-cut oats, and I also used it to top my afternoon raspberry yogurt […]
New Nostalgia – My Top 5 Go-To Healthy Breakfasts
May 13, 2014 at 4:53 pm[…] Oatmeal Freezer Pucks These are a staple for me. I always have them in my freezer, whether they are homemade by me or bought from Trader Joes. I always add some frozen berries to the top of mine, then warm it a few more seconds in the microwave. I also add cinnamon as it is surprisingly a very nutritious spice. I eat this breakfast at least 3 times a week. It keeps me full, regular & gives lots of energy. […]
New Nostalgia – What I Buy At Trader Joes and Why
May 13, 2014 at 3:11 pm[…] add blueberries or raspberries on top and I am in breakfast heaven. I sometimes make my own steel cut oat frozen pucks, but decided to be lazy. These sell for 1.69 for 2 large frozen pucks. I can share one […]
New Nostalgia – Q & A, part one
May 12, 2014 at 2:41 am[…] is a picture of my Oatmeal Freezer Pucks. I make a big pan of steel cut oats, then freeze in large muffin cups. Pop them out, […]
krysmck
January 15, 2014 at 11:35 pmOMG this is brilliant! I bought steel cut oats because that was the only variety at the store that was gluten-free but hate taking the time to cook them in the morning. I may just cook it all tonight! Thank you!
Donna Baker
July 27, 2013 at 1:38 amYou are so smart–look forward to making these because it is better/cheaper and I already have the ingredients!!
Samantha
July 3, 2013 at 8:47 pmThese look awesome! Can you tell me how many batches you made to get that many? The back of the Bob’s Red Mill steel cut oats that are gluten free say to make one batch uses 1 cup of oats and serves 4…just wondering how many you did to get that many in the freezer! Thanks!
Cousin Cheri in PDX
April 3, 2013 at 5:40 pmThank you so much for sharing! I am going to start cooking my oats right now!!
Natasha perry
February 17, 2013 at 10:31 pmOh my gosh I knew someone else would think of this, I get the Steele cut oatmeal from trader joes all the time and I thought to myself i know i can make this for cheaper and so i did… and when i saw this i just had to look … Great minds think alike lol
Anonymous
February 16, 2013 at 8:14 pmI stumbled on this page while looking up recipes for bob mills steel cut oats. Thanks for sharing this awesome tip!!! My family will definitely be eating healthier from now on.
Danea at Chronic Resilience
February 15, 2013 at 11:25 pmLove this idea! I’ve wanted to make steel cut oats for breakfast, but 30 minutes, seesh! I’ll pick some up the next time I’m out and about. Even better than 5 minute oats!
Heather's Homemade Home
March 28, 2012 at 1:17 amThis is wonderful! I just bought the oats today from Trader Joe’s and thought there must be a way to do this myself. I googled and here you are! Thanks for the inspiration:)
erin
January 28, 2012 at 1:32 pmWe did this! I love it and posted about it here…
http://abirdandabean.blogspot.com/2012/01/what-weve-been-eating-2.html
I linked back to you!
THanks Amy!
Fresh Baked by Faith
January 27, 2012 at 2:17 amMy husband and I eat oatmeal every morning too. We love steel cut oats but they take so much longer to cook. I will be trying this for sure. Thanks!
Nat
January 8, 2012 at 9:19 pmLoved this so much, I tweeted it! Thank you for posting!
Jen
January 3, 2012 at 1:00 amThis is a wonderful idea! I usually make steel cut oats on day one and put the other 3 servings in the fridge. This is a great idea to make a larger batch and have them ready!
erin
January 2, 2012 at 1:53 pmI did it! My kids LOVE them too!
Andrea - Under a Blue Moon
January 2, 2012 at 5:18 amThis is genius! I was looking online for the nutritional information for the Trader Joe’s frozen oatmeal and found your blog. What a great tip – thank you!
Corn in my Coffee-Pot
December 28, 2011 at 9:27 pmhmmm… i may give this one a try!
Pat
nancy
November 19, 2011 at 11:23 pmthanks for sharing! what a great idea. i just cooked my oatmeal to do this. it’s cooling a bit and then i’m dishing it into my muffin tins. can’t wait to have it this next week for breakfast.
erin
November 17, 2011 at 12:44 pmGenius! Good job! Dang-it I love everything about T;j.s!! 🙂
gotjoy3
November 16, 2011 at 11:57 pmLove it. Thanks for sharing this.
Miss Mary
November 17, 2011 at 1:47 amyou have converted me to steel cut oats, but I hated the time it took….now you have revolutionized my mornings….thank you
Jenn
November 17, 2011 at 12:30 amThe first steel cut oats I had were the frozen ones from Trader Joes. I love this idea because I tire of oatmeal daily when I make a batch. I am doing this soon.
rkbsnana
November 16, 2011 at 11:45 pmWow! I’m impressed.
Andrea @ The Greenbacks Gal
November 16, 2011 at 5:40 pmLike Merchant Ships featured this and I pinned it! Love this idea – gonna do it this afternoon!