Apple cinnamon Instant Pot Oatmeal is a delicious breakfast that cooks in just 1 minute! An easily customizable base oatmeal recipe that is easy to make and keep warm.
Why I Love Instant Pot Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal
I hope that picture is of Instant Pot Oatmeal is making you as hungry as it’s making me!! This oatmeal recipe is one of my favorite breakfast dishes to make for my kids.
I used to hate making oatmeal because I would inevitably end up burning a little on the bottom of the pan and it took so much time to babysit it in the pot. This is SO EASY though. And since my 3 year old will eat 3 oatmeal packets, these whole oats are a bit more filling which, in turn, makes it more cost-effective. Win-win!
I can cook oatmeal in just 1 minute and, if they are still sleeping, the Instant Pot will keep it nice and warm until they wake up. I love this apple cinnamon version but I’ll give you the basic recipe as well so you can make your own customized version!
Ingredients for Apple and Cinnamon Oatmeal
- Apples
- Butter
- Brown sugar
- Cinnamon
- Salt
- Old-Fashioned Oats
- Water
How to Make Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal in the Instant Pot
- I start by chopping an apple. I just use whatever I have in my fridge, any kind will do. Use your favorite!
- Then I saute the apples in a little bit of butter to get them slightly browned and caramelized before we pressure cook them.
- Then, it’s easy! You just throw everything else into the Instant Pot and mix it up.
- Now, this is what it will look like once you put the water in. I know, it’s a lot of water. But the instant pot oatmeal really needs that much! It comes out perfect.
- You’ll want to flip this seal to the “sealing” position and then use porridge mode. For 1 minute!!!!!! That’s all it takes. It takes about 10 minutes longer than that because it has to pressurize and then you have to vent the Instant Pot, but still. So fast and minimal work.
- Here is what it looks like all cooked up!! The apples are the perfect softness, too. I like them to be the same texture as the oatmeal.
- And then if you’re me and you forgot to add the cinnamon, you can add it now. HA. I’m sooooo good at documenting my mistakes for you guys!
What If This Recipe Makes My Instant Pot Give a Burn Notice?
This actually can happen if you have a larger sized Instant Pot, and I’m not sure why. But fears aside, even if you get the notice that the oatmeal has been burnt, if you followed the recipe exactly you’ll be fine. The bottom of the oatmeal will be a nice golden color, not burnt.
To completely avoid getting a burn notice, use the pot in pot method. Mix all of the instant pot oatmeal ingredients in a smaller, ovenproof dish that fits inside of your instant pot.
Pour 1 cup of water in the bottom of the instant pot around the dish. Follow the pressure cooking recipe as directed.
There you have it!! An amazing, delicious, fragrant, fruit packed breakfast! I hope you love it. We also love making fruit and cream versions of our instant pot oatmeal. So delectable. Here is the apple cinnamon Instant Pot oatmeal recipe. Scroll further for the basic Instant Pot Oatmeal version!
Instant Pot Oatmeal Apple Tips & Tricks
- To keep your instant pot apple oatmeal warm, simply leave it in the instant pot on the warm setting.
- Quick oats will not cook the same way as old-fashioned oats and could give a burn notice and actually burn. Steel-cut oats will cook similarly and should work in this recipe.
- You can make any kind of oatmeal in the instant pot. I have recipes for peaches and cream oatmeal, maple and brown sugar oatmeal, and pecan raisin oatmeal.
Toppings for Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal
- Pecans
- Walnuts
- Almonds
- Raisins
- Dried Cranberries
Storing Apple Oatmeal
Apple oatmeal can be stored in the refrigerator for a few days.
To reheat, place about 1 cup in a microwave safe bowl with 1 tablespoon of water or milk. Microwave until warmed through, about 1 minute depending on your microwave. Stir and add in more water or milk for desired consistency.
Apple oatmeal shouldn’t be frozen – it will be very mushy once thawed.
More Breakfast Ideas
Looking for more amazing breakfast ideas? Check out these Easy Blueberry Muffins! Or maybe you want directions for using steel cut oats? Check out this Instant Pot Steel Cut Oatmeal recipe for those directions.
Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal (Instant Pot)
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 apples your choice of variety
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 6 tablespoons brown sugar use less if desired
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 cups oats old-fashioned, NOT quick
- 3 1/2 cups water
Instructions
- Chop apples into 1/2-inch square cubes.
- Turn on Instant Pot saute mode. Melt butter and saute apples for 3 minutes.
- Cancel saute mode.
- Add the rest of the ingredients
- Press porridge mode and set the time for 1 minute. Make sure the vent is in the "sealing" position (see note).
- When the Instant pot beeps, carefully move the vent to the “venting” position. I use a wooden spoon to do this to avoid burns. Let it vent completely before opening.
Andy says
I’ve tried to make this in our 6 quart Instantpot a couple times- it never pressurizes, and I get the “Food Burn” warning. I also had a layer of oatmeal caked on the bottom of the pot. It tastes okay, but I wasn’t wowed. It might be good to have more specifics in the recipe. Should I stir the ingredients? Should the setting for oatmeal be on high, medium? Or low?- our instantpot still has those options, even for the porridge/oatmeal setting. Not sure why this one recipe doesn’t work for our pot 🙁
Kristi says
I can only cook so far pretty much recipe by recipe and THIS recipe is WONDERFUL and sooo DELICIOUS and hearty! I also feel healthier eating it than I do after the instant oatmeal packets. Not only was this a REALLY quick recipe but I felt confident after creating it bc it turned out sooo well. Thank you for this-I needed this and my kids enjoy it too!!
Alli says
I’m so happy to hear this, Kristi!! Thank you so much for letting me know you love it.
Alli says
Hi Kathy, I apologize that was worded in a confusing way. I’ve edited so hopefully it’s more clear! Since there is a saute step in this recipe for 3 minutes, I was referring to that but the actually pressure cook time is just 1 minute. Thanks for clarifying!
Jen says
…and now it reads “1 minutes”. LOL This is a terrific recipe! Thank you!
Diane says
This was my first Use of my InstantPot. I was nervous but followed the directions closely and the end product was delicious although I will probably ass another 1/2-1 cup of water since it thickened a bit more than I liked while sitting. Because I haven’t used the pot before but have read a lot before purchasing, I was aware of “burn” issues. I didn’t expect any but after a 8-9 min pressurizing the 1 minute cook time started and within 15-30 seconds I got a “food” and “burn” message. After about 10 seconds of watching the message, I cancelled the rest of the time and let it depressurize by itself before opening. The oatmeal was sticking to the bottom but with some strong scraping with a wooden spoon it mixed together fine and had no burn on the bottom or burned taste. I know this is long but wondered if you might tell me if this is a normal problem or another way so I won’t get the message. Thank you so much. It really was delicious and I will try again.
Alli says
Hi Diane! I’m glad you had a good first experience! What size IP do you have? Sometimes the IP can give a burn notice when cooking oatmeal. I don’t have this problem in my 6 quart but I have had reports of it happening in the 8 quart.
Diane Despres says
Thank you Alli. I have made this oatmeal recipe 5-6 times now and have had no problems at all with the “burn notice”now. I stir all the ingredients well before I turn on IP to the one minute. We love this recipe. It makes plenty to put 2 jars in the fridge for a quick breakfast later in the week. I add a bit of milk to the jar before cooking and break it up a bit and then microwave until hot, stirring occasionally. It is as good days later. Thanks so much for this recipe. I now use my IP almost daily for this and other recipes.
Alli says
Thank you so much for this comment, Diane! That is such a good idea to store it in jars, I hadn’t even thought of that. I so appreciate your review!
L Lowman says
I made the apple cinnamon instant pot oatmeal, doubling the amounts for a large group . I did add a couple of tablespoons of maple syrup, and the oatmeal turned out GREAT! I left it on warm for about an hour and a half to give everyone time to eat and did have to add additional hot water–without affecting the taste. It did stick a little in the bottom, but I wouldn’t say it “burned”.
Everyone loved the oatmeal, and the entire amount was gone! They are already eagerly awaiting the next round of instant pot oatmeal, so I’m going to try some flavor variations (maybe banana).
Alli says
So glad it turned out well for you! Thank you for letting me know. I have more flavor variations coming out soon! Banana would be excellent.
Alli says
So glad you liked it, Amber! I’ve noticed mine does that sometimes as well, but sometimes it’s fine. Weird! I’m going to try and figure out why it does that sometimes.
Julie says
Can this recipe be made ahead and re-heated?
Alli says
Yep! I add some liquid to it when I reheat.
Ania says
Hi Alli, Can I substitute the water for almond milk?
Alli says
Hi Ania, yes I think that will work. I’ve never tried it before but it’s low in fat so it shouldn’t separate.
Emily says
Can you double this recipe?
Alli says
Yep! Cook time stays the same.
Tania Gibbs says
Hello, thank you for putting this recipe together ❤ I’m new to instant pot and when I made this I got a burn message on my instant pot and sure enough it was stuck to the bottom. Should I leave spices on top of oat meal next time and not stir all ingredients?
Alli says
Hi Tania! What size instant pot do you have? Sometimes this can happen with the 8 quart. If you decrease the cooking time to two minutes that should help.
Bonnie says
12/02/18
Helllo,
This instant pot looks good but i do not have ine of them, only a crock pot. Can i use the one with the apples. I am retired amd thought it just looked so good. So my question is..can i use my crock pot and how long do you cook it for?? Thank you..love your recipes very much. Continue on with the awesome work you do. ???????????? Bonnie in Michigan.
Alli says
Hi Bonnie! Thanks so much for your kind words. I would probably just make this on the stovetop if you don’t have an Instant Pot. While you can make oatmeal in the crockpot, you would need to cook it for 6-8 hours and I’m not sure what the ratios for oatmeal to liquid would be. For the stovetop, you can follow the recipe as written, just sauteing the apples in a saucepan and then adding the rest of the ingredients to the same pan and boiling the oatmeal for 5 minutes, or until soft. Hope that helps!
Tracy says
This was awesome! My kids devoured it.
Alli says
So happy to hear that, Tracy!!
Alli says
Love instant pot oatmeal!