Instant Pot Gingerbread Oatmeal

Sweet and spicy Instant Pot Gingerbread Oatmeal is a wonderfully cozy and warm breakfast for colder days, made easily in your Instant Pot in 20 minutes. Instructions included for rolled oats or steel cut oats!

Everyone is so busy making gingerbread cookies, I decided I wanted the same flavors in my breakfast.

Using my Instant Pot is the only way I make oatmeal anymore. It’s hands-off, no guessing on time, dump everything in and go method. Perfect for busy mornings!

What are the ingredients in this Instant Pot Gingerbread Oatmeal?

If you’ve made any of my Instant Pot oatmeal recipes before, you’ll know they’re generally made with pantry supplies, including oats, sweetener and spices. This gingerbread version is no exception!

Here are the ingredients I used in this recipe and any possible substitutions:

• oats – Instructions are included for both rolled oats and steel cut oats. Any quick cooking version will be slightly less than the noted cook time for that type.
• unsweetened almond milk & water – I prefer to use a mix of water and unsweetened almond milk for my Instant Pot oatmeal recipes. If you’d like to use all one or the other, go for it. What’s more important is the oats to liquid ratio, which will change depending on the kind of oats you use. I recommend sticking with non-dairy milk.
• brown sugar – I always have brown sugar on hand for baking, and I think it’s a great sweetener for this recipe. However, if you have molasses in the pantry and want to go all out, swap the brown sugar for 1-2 teaspoons of molasses. Go easy – it’s way more intense than brown sugar. You can always add more later.
• ground cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg & cloves – These spices make up the gingerbread flavor. The cinnamon and ginger are on the heavier side, followed by the allspice and nutmeg. I used the least amount of cloves because it’s got the strongest flavor overall. If you have premade gingerbread spice, feel free to use that instead.
• salt – As with all cooking, but especially this oatmeal recipe, adding a good amount of fine sea salt into the pot really helps the flavors of the spices and sweetener shine.

How do you make this Instant Pot Gingerbread Oatmeal?

Making oatmeal in your Instant Pot is such an easy, hands-off, dependable way to go. This recipe can be made quickly during busy mornings or while you’re doing 17 other things on the weekend.

For this recipe, you really do just dump everything into your Instant Pot liner and set the pressure cook function. It’s that easy, I promise.

I’ve included instructions for both rolled oats and steel cut oats. Follow the directions and cook time for your kind of oats for the best result.

When you open up the Instant Pot after cooking, the oats will look a little weird, no matter the kind. Give them a good stir, and everything should start to thicken up and look more like regular oatmeal!

Serve immediately with your favorite toppings. For this recipe, I added a little more brown sugar, crushed ginger cookies, and some pomegranate seeds for color.

Using rolled oats vs. steel cut oats:

I’ve included instructions in the recipe for both rolled oats and steel cut oats.

Depending on the kind of oats you use, there are two things that change:

• the cook time – Steel cut oats require a longer cook time because they are less processed than rolled oats. Rolled oats have been… rolled and flattened (hence the name) so they cook much faster.
• the oat to liquid ratio – For the same reason the cook time changes, the amount of liquid used also changes depending on the kind of oats. Steel cut oats require more liquid for cooking than rolled oats.

There are other styles of oats at the grocery store, such as quick cooking steel cut oats, thick cut rolled oats, quick cooking oats, and more. The exact style of each brand varies, so it’s tough to gauge cook times for every kind.

My advice is to start with the kind of oats you have and go from those directions. For example, if you’ve got quick cooking steel cut oats, they’ll probably cook a little faster than regular steel cut oats (5 minutes high pressure), but still may take longer than rolled oats (2 minutes high pressure).

In this case, I would start with 4 minutes high pressure and then adjust next time I make the recipe.

How do you meal prep this Instant Pot Gingerbread Oatmeal?

There are a couple ways to save time by preparing this recipe ahead of time. Here are a couple options:

1. Complete prep: Prepare the recipe from start to finish. Then, store your cooked oatmeal in single servings so you can quickly reheat and eat during the week.
2. Prep dry ingredients only: You can mix up all the dry ingredients ahead of time, and even leave them in your Instant Pot liner. In the morning, pour in the milk & water, and cook!
3. Cook & freeze: Prepare the recipe from start to finish, then freeze in 1-Cup Souper Cubes Trays (affiliate link!) for individual portions.

What should you serve with this oatmeal recipe?

You can load this gingerbread oatmeal with toppings, serve with other breakfast sides, or simply eat on its own.

Some topping ideas to turn this gingerbread oatmeal into a breakfast masterpiece:

• Sprinkle with brown sugar, pomegranate seeds and ginger crisp cookies, as pictured! The pom seeds actually tasted wonderful on top.
• Add a ton of berries on top, including blueberries, raspberries and strawberries. Berries always go on top of oatmeal.
• Add some diced pear or apple – these flavors would go so well with the gingerbread spices!

What Instant Pot model do you use?

I recommend the Instant Pot Duo Plus 6 Qt (affiliate link!) if you’re just starting out with an Instant Pot and you’re trying to serve two or more people.

This recipe was tested only in a 6 quart size Instant Pot.

I have upgraded my Instant Pot to the 6 quart plus sous vide option, but I don’t think that’s necessary for beginners.

How to store cooked gingerbread oatmeal:

Store cooked gingerbread oatmeal in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

How to freeze cooked gingerbread oatmeal:

Cooked oatmeal can be frozen in an airtight container for 3-6 months for best quality.

The best method to freeze is to portion into 1-Cup Souper Cubes Trays (affiliate link!), freeze overnight, and then store in an airtight freezer safe bag.

How to reheat cooked gingerbread oatmeal:

To reheat from the fridge, add your milk of choice and cook in the microwave for 30 second intervals, stirring in between. You can also reheat on the stovetop in a small pan on low with some additional milk.

This recipe would reheat really well in a HotLogic Mini Oven (affiliate link!) with some additional milk.

I recommend thawing frozen oatmeal cubes overnight before reheating. Meal planning can help with this!