Originally published Set 14, 2016
During the beginning of our debt payoff, we had a strict Sunday-only policy for cold cereal. On the other six days of the week we would have a hot breakfast of pancakes, waffles, oatmeal, cream of wheat, or eggs.
When I began to feel sick while pregnant with my youngest, we started having cold cereal frequently again. Not only can I eat cold cereal for every meal when I’m pregnant, I love that the kids can completely serve themselves.
The downside of cereal is that it can get expensive. I aim for $1.50 or less per box and I stock up when I find great deals, but we go through it pretty fast. Also, cereal isn’t as filling as other breakfast options, so kids get hungrier faster.
During law school, I started making homemade individual oatmeal packets. It was super convenient and very cheap. I could get creative with the mix-ins and make the packets in the size that worked best for us. In addition to being relatively expensive, the store-bought oatmeal packets get boring fast and are way too small for a meal.
It has been a while since I made homemade oatmeal packets, but I decided that I need to get back to it so that the kids have a non-cereal breakfast that they can make themselves.
Letting the kids help make instant oatmeal packets
So last night we had oatmeal for dinner. At first the kids weren’t excited, but I won them over when I invited them to be my taste-testers. I was experimenting with several different varieties so that I could find the ones they liked best. They were happy to give their opinions.
Once we decided on our favorite variety, the kids were eager to help me fill the packets in an assembly line style. Getting them involved really helped them take ownership of the project and get pumped about oatmeal. By the end, they were bubbling with excitement about getting to make their own oatmeal the next morning.
What’s the big deal about individual oatmeal packets?
I’m glad you asked. Here are the benefits I see:
- The kids can make it themselves. This is huge!
- They are cheap! The are definitely cheaper than their store-bought counterpart. Buying ingredients in bulk makes them super cheap. I didn’t do the price breakdown this time because I had all the ingredients at home already.
- I know what is in them. No weird ingredients or preservatives to fret about.
Hey wait! This isn’t simpler!
My husband, a big eater and an accomplished oatmeal maker, was quick to question the idea of individual oatmeal packets. To him the “individualizing” process just complicated things. When we’re all eating oatmeal together, he makes a big pot of old fashioned oats. He gets the perfect consistency with the right amount of salt and sugar every time even though he never measures (an accomplishment I can’t claim).
We will still do this when we’re eating together and there is a grown-up awake before the kids are so famished they just have to eat something. For mornings when they beat us out of bed, though, having a good option for the kids to be self-sufficient for breakfast is glorious.
Assembling individual instant oatmeal packets
Now that you get why individual oatmeal packets are worth the effort for me, you might think that assembling them individually, assembly-line-style is silly. You might be tempted to make a “big batch” and mix everything in a bowl, then scoop it out into individual bags.
Now that works well for things like homemade pancake mix, where all of the ingredients are equally weighted, but it doesn’t work so well for oatmeal packets where you’re combining grainy or powdery ingredients with solid ingredients like oats or raisins. Some ingredients will tend to sink while others will float in your mixing bowl of dry ingredients.
My process for making homemade instant oatmeal packets
Okay friends, if you’re convinced that DIY oatmeal packets will be a good fit for your family’s breakfast routine, then you’re probably eager to get the details, so here goes!
I start by making some oat flour. This is completely optional, so if this sounds like too much of a bother, just pretend I didn’t say anything about it.
Blend a couple of cups of oats up in my blender. I have an awesome Blendtec, so it turns my oats into flour in literally two seconds with barely any effort. However, if you just had a regular blender, you should be fine as long as you don’t put too much in at a time.
Individual Instant Oatmeal Packet Recipe
The individual oatmeal packets that I make are about twice as big as the ones you buy at the store. The store-bought envelopes aren’t big enough to fill anyone in my family up, so we double it right from the start. If one of the store-bought oatmeal packets satisfies you, you’ll want to cut this recipe in half.
Add 1/2 cup quick oats to each zip-top bag. The snack-size bags are just perfect for oatmeal packets, and I continue reusing the same bags.
Add 1/8 teaspoon salt (Pretty much equal to a “pinch”)
Add 1/2 Tablespoon of sugar (I like brown sugar, so that’s what I use, but you can sub in whatever amount of whatever sweetener suits your fancy.)
–Okay if you want to be boring, you could just stop here. In fact, that’s what I do when I’m just making it to eat right away, but when I’m making packets I like to put in a little more effort (because it really is a little effort when I’m making them in bulk, as opposed to grabbing more things out of the cupboard every single time). —
Add 1 Tablespoon of oat flour (What you just made in your blender. This is completely optional, but makes the oatmeal a little thicker.)
Add 1/2 Tablespoon of powdered milk/creamer (Also completely optional. You could use powdered coffee creamer, but since we’re not coffee drinkers, I don’t have any creamer on hand. This just makes the oatmeal a little creamier.)
Add 1/8 teaspoon of cinnamon (Depending on the flavor you’re going for, you might choose other spices, but I’ve found that cinnamon goes well with most mix-ins we like to use.)
Add your favorite mix-ins (Raisins, dried cranberries, dried apples, etc)
When all of the ingredients are in your little bag, zip it up! try to get as much air out as possible. You can mix it up in the baggie or wait until you dump it in the bowl to use it.
How to use your instant oatmeal packets
Pour contents of packet into a microwave bowl. Stir dry contents so they are well-mixed.
Stir in 3/4 cup water.
Microwave for 1.5 to 2 minutes on high. Two minutes is perfect for me, but we have a wimpy microwave. It’s been with us through 11 years of marriage, and it keeps working, but it’s not fast.
How about you?
- Have you ever made individual oatmeal packets?
- What are your family’s favorite oatmeal mix-ins?
- ½ cup quick oats
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ½ Tablespoon of sugar
- 1 Tablespoon of oat flour (oats blended in blender)
- ½ Tablespoon of powdered milk
- ⅛ teaspoon of cinnamon
- mix-ins like raisins, dried fruit, etc
- Add ½ cup quick oats to each zip-top bag. The snack-size bags are just perfect for oatmeal packets (and I continue reusing the same ones.)
- Add ⅛ teaspoon salt (pretty much equal to a "pinch")
- Add ½ Tablespoon of sugar (I like brown sugar, so that's what I use, but you can sub in whatever amount of whatever sweetener suits your fancy.
- --Okay if you want to be boring, you could just stop here. In fact, that's what I do when I'm just making it to eat right away, but when I'm making packets I like to put in a little more effort (because it really is a little effort when I'm making them in bulk, as opposed to grabbing more things out of the cupboard every single time). ---
- Add 1 Tablespoon of oat flour (What you just made in your blender. This is completely optional, but makes the oatmeal a little thicker.)
- Add ½ Tablespoon of powdered milk (Also completely optional. You could use powdered coffee creamer, but since we're not coffee drinkers, I don't have any creamer on hand. This just makes the oatmeal a little creamier.)
- Add ⅛ teaspoon of cinnamon (Depending on the flavor you're going for, you might choose other spices, but I've found that cinnamon goes well with most mix-ins we like to use.)
- Add your favorite mix-ins (Raisins, dried cranberries, dried apples, etc)
- When all of the ingredients are in your little bag, zip it up! Try to get as much air out as possible. You can mix it up in the baggie or wait until you dump it in the bowl to use it.
- To use your oatmeal packets: Pour contents of packet into a microwave bowl. Stir dry contents so they are well-mixed. Stir in ¾ cup water.
- Microwave for 1.5 to 2 minutes on high.
- NOTE: The individual oatmeal packets that I make are about twice as big as the ones you buy at the store. The store-bought envelopes aren't big enough to fill anyone in my family up, so we double it right from the start. If one of the store-bought oatmeal packets satisfies you, you'll want to cut this recipe in half.
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These individual packets sound very useful. I usually make each bowl separately, but it does mean I have to measure ingredients in the morning! I don’t eat regular oatmeal much anymore, greatly preferring steel-cut. However, I have found that it does better when microwaving if done at 50% power, otherwise it bubbles over.
Thank you for such a cool recipe. I work at a school and have to be there by 7:30 am. Way too early for me to eat! Making these little packets allows me to bring my bkfst, it doesn’t require refrigeration and I can pop it in the microwave for a hearty healthy meal that is so much better than the store bought stuff. The oatmeal is nice and thick with adding the pulverized oats and creamy with adding the non dairy creamer powder. It does make a huge amount as was mentioned earlier. You won’t be hungry all am after eating one!
I’m glad it worked well for you Janet! I made the bigger quantity because my kids and husband would use 2-3 of the store-bought packets at a time. 🙂
Making individual packets seems like too much work for lazy ol’ me, so we use a different method to stretch those pricey individual packets. We mix one packet with roughly an equal amount of plain oats. We find the flavor isn’t cut down enough to cause issue, it rounds up the serving to a more reasonable size, and keeps the cost of breakfast down without too much effort. It also helps that I generally only buy the individual packets when on sale or from the damaged markdow bin.
I make these a lot to keep in the pantry. I put mine is ready to use containers though. Some days, the one minute time savings, means the difference between eating and not! I like overnight oats (the mix, fresh milk, then into the fridge overnight to be eaten cold the next day) in the summer and regular style hot in winter.
I feel like a dum-dum because it really has never crossed my mind to make my own oatmeal packets! I have the maple and brown sugar variety at least 4 times per week at work! What a frugal fail for me! 🙂
I used to do this for my oatmeal. I am the only person in my household who likes to eat oatmeal. I’d store them in half pint mason jars so when I make them I’d just take off the lid add the water and eat out of the container.
I don’t make mine in single-servings like you do, but I made my own “fancy oatmeal mix” when our grocery store didn’t have the variety I was looking for. It’ll probably take me a while to get the proportions right, but I just shake up the bag before I scoop it out so I get some of everything! “Everything” includes chia seeds, ground flax, walnut pieces and chocolate chips — it’s so easy, so cheap, and super satisfying!