Instant Pot Maple Brown Sugar Oatmeal

My favorite oatmeal breakfast as a kid, but made from scratch with rolled oats in 20 minutes! This Instant Pot Maple Brown Sugar Oatmeal is so tasty, super easy to prepare, and perfect for meal prep and busy mornings!

Quaker Oatmeal packets were my THING as a kid. I could make them myself, two packets right in a big cereal bowl. Water or milk, whatever I had. Microwave. Breakfast!!

Now, here I am making the same thing from scratch. No, I did not compare side by side. Yes, I’m a little biased. But this is better!!

This Instant Pot Maple Brown Sugar Oatmeal shows off the best reason to own an Instant Pot – you can dump everything in, put the lid on, set it and walk away.

Great for weekday mornings when you want breakfast to be making itself while you get ready!

Watch how to make this Instant Pot Maple Brown Sugar Oatmeal recipe (1 min):

What’s so great about this Instant Pot Maple Brown Sugar Oatmeal?

Okay, I know it’s just oatmeal, but I get excited about new recipes that I know I will be making over and over and over again!

Here are a few things I particularly enjoy about this oatmeal:

• It tastes just like Maple Brown Sugar oatmeal packets I ate as a kid! But probably healthier 😎
• It’s incredibly easy to make – just dump the ingredients in and set the cook time
• It’s made from pantry staples, meaning you may have everything you need at home already!
• Using the Instant Pot means you can make this recipe anywhere, and you don’t have to babysit the stovetop
• Takes about 20 minutes total – a minute or two to dump everything in, then about 16-19 minutes total to come to pressure, cook 2 minutes and a 5 minute natural pressure release

What’s in this Instant Pot Maple Brown Sugar Oatmeal?

This oatmeal breakfast recipe has very few ingredients – and you probably already have them at home! Especially if you love oatmeal 😍

Here are the ingredients in my version of Instant Pot Maple Brown Sugar Oatmeal:

• rolled oats – For this recipe, I used Bob’s Red Mill Rolled Oats. I have not tested this recipe with quick cooking oats but I do think it would take the same amount of cooking time. For steel cut oats, pressure cook for 6 minutes with a 10 minute Natural Pressure Release. For more steel cut oats recipes, try Apple Cinnamon Steel Cut Oats or Chocolate Banana Steel Cut Oats.
• unsweetened almond milk & water – I prefer to use a combination of water and unsweetened almond milk for my oatmeal. I like the slight creaminess the almond milk brings, but you can definitely just use water if you prefer.
• real maple syrup – This helps provide a lovely maple flavor and the sweetness we all love in our oatmeal.
• brown sugar – Again, this helps provide flavor and sweetness. I’m actually a little in awe of the brown sugar & maple flavor combo and how well they work together in small amounts.
• salt – Necessary to balance out all that sugar!

Which kind of oats should I use for this Instant Pot Maple Brown Sugar Oatmeal?

This recipe was specifically tested with rolled oats only, because that’s what I had in my pantry.

However, the recipe is based on the Instant Pot manual cook times for quick cooking oats, so I think the cook time for quick cooking oats would be the same. If you give it a try, let me know!

• rolled oats (or old-fashioned oats): This is what I used while testing this recipe. The consistency reminds me of the oatmeal packets I ate growing up, and these take less time to cook than steel cut oats.
• quick cooking oats (or instant oats): These are just rolled oats but a little more cut up and processed so they cook a little quicker. I believe that they will take the same amount or one less minute of time to cook in the Instant Pot, but I haven’t tested it yet! These may end up a little more mushy than rolled oats.
• steel cut oats: These oats are less processed than rolled oats or quick cooking oats, so they take more time to cook. If you’d like to make this recipe with steel cuts oats, try 6 minutes of high pressure cook time. I have not tested this.

If you want to know more details about the differences in these three kinds of oats, check out this very helpful article from The Kitchn on the differences in oats!

How do you make this Instant Pot Maple Brown Sugar Oatmeal?

Lucky for everyone, this recipe is incredibly easy to make! Here are the main steps:

Add all the ingredients to your Instant Pot. Stir it to mix and put the lid on. The easiest kind of Instant Pot recipe!

Cook on High Pressure or Manual for 2 minutes, followed by a 5 minute natural pressure release. Quick release the vent after the 5 minutes and remove the lid when it’s safe.

It might look weird right when you take the lid off, but just give it some time! Stir the oatmeal to fully combine the oats and remaining liquid until it looks good.

Serve with some almond milk, maple syrup, crushed walnuts and a sprinkle of brown sugar on top. Store in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

How can I make this recipe with steel cut oats?

If you’d like to make this recipe with steel cuts oats, try 6 minutes of high pressure cook time, followed by a 10 minute natural pressure release. I have not tested this cook time with this recipe specifically. 

This is based on my experience with making other recipes with steel cut oats in my Instant Pot. For more steel cut oats recipes, try Apple Cinnamon Steel Cut Oats or Chocolate Banana Steel Cut Oats.

Which model of Instant Pot do you use?

For all of my Instant Pot recipes, I use my Instant Pot Duo Plus 6 Qt (affiliate link!). This model is a little older now, but this recipe will work in any 6 quart instant pot.

I have not tested this recipe in a mini or 8-quart Instant Pot. 

Can I meal prep this Instant Pot Maple Brown Sugar Oatmeal?

Absolutely! Make a double or triple batch of the recipe and reheat on the stove or in the microwave as needed. It will last up to 5 days in a sealed container in the microwave.

I have not tested freezing this recipe.