This creamy oatmeal recipe is a basic recipe using oatmeal, milk, cinnamon, and water. The trick to making it creamy lies in the timing with which you add the ingredients.
Oatmeal Recipe - Old Fashioned Creamy Avena
Growing up, my mom would make oatmeal for breakfast very often, and had a very particular way of serving this nutritious dish. She always served it with toasted French bread with butter. To this day, we serve it like that at home, and my siblings also eat it the same way with their families!
At home, my son and I love oatmeal. We can have it frequently and not get tired of it. My husband, on the other hand, doesn’t like oatmeal, but not because he hasn’t been exposed to it. He grew up eating oatmeal every single day, and they would serve it piping hot in his house, even if it was the middle of summer. Because of this, he grew tired of it, and says he’s eaten enough oatmeal for one lifetime!
Creamy Mexican Oatmeal with Cinnamon
This oatmeal recipe is prepared on the stovetop. However, I know that there are many versions that can be made using the Instant Pot, slow cooker, and even the microwave, but this is the old-fashioned way, and I promise you will love it!
Nowadays, I know that many families don’t have the time to prepare a breakfast completely from scratch, but thankfully you can make this creamy oatmeal the night before and just reheat it in the morning. I like to make a big batch and store it in the fridge (it also keeps well I the freezer). You can even store it in single-serving containers for when you’re in a hurry.
How to make Oatmeal Recipe
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 Cinnamon stick
- 2 cups of water
- 1 Cup Old Fashioned Oats
- 1 cup of milk*
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Sugar (optional)
NOTES:
- * If you want your oatmeal to be more watery, add ¼ cup more milk.
- *To sweeten your oatmeal, you can use regular sugar or dark brown sugar. I personally like to add dark brown sugar at the serving time.
- * Please, if you are lactose intolerant, use lactose-free milk. Or, you can substitute regular milk for a vegan version like oat, almond, or soy milk.
INSTRUCTIONS:
- Place the two cups of water and the cinnamon stick in a medium-size saucepan and turn the heat to high.
- Afterward, the water starts boiling, add the Old Fashioned Oats and reduce the heat to medium. Cook for five minutes.
- After the five minutes, pour in the milk and stir well. Keep cooking for five more minutes, stirring from time to time to keep the oatmeal from sticking to the saucepan.
- Eventually, the oatmeal will become thick and creamy, then remove from the heat. Serve it in bowls, sprinkle with some ground cinnamon, and sweeten with your sweetener of choice (I recommend dark brown sugar).
Good additions to your oatmeal include chopped apples, pecans, and bananas.
As I mentioned above, this is the way my mom cooked oatmeal at home for my siblings and I. Your mom or yourself might have a special way of cooking oatmeal, or there might be a special ingredient that you add. Please share it with us in the comments section below. Enjoy!
📖 Recipe
Oatmeal Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 cups of water
- 1 Cinnamon stick
- 1 cup Old Fashioned Oats
- 1 cup of milk*
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Sugar optional
Instructions
- Place the two cups of water and the cinnamon stick in a medium-size saucepan and turn the heat to high.
- Afterward, the water starts boiling, add the Old Fashioned Oats and reduce the heat to medium. Cook for five minutes.
- After the five minutes, pour in the milk and stir well. Keep cooking for five more minutes, stirring from time to time to keep the oatmeal from sticking to the saucepan.
- Eventually, the oatmeal will become thick and creamy, then remove from the heat. Serve it in bowls, sprinkle with some ground cinnamon, and sweeten with your sweetener of choice (I recommend dark brown sugar).
GOOD ADDITIONS TO YOUR OATMEAL INCLUDE CHOPPED APPLES, PECANS, AND BANANAS.
Video
Notes
- * If you want your oatmeal to be more watery, add ¼ cup more milk.
- *To sweeten your oatmeal, you can use regular sugar or dark brown sugar. I personally like to add dark brown sugar at the serving time.
- * Please, if you are lactose intolerant, use a lactose-free milk. Or, you can substitute regular milk for a vegan version like oat, almond, or soy milk.
Melissa white
do you have the recipe for making it in a crock pot we had it in mexico and it waS in a huge pot at the hotel and we loved it would like to try in the crock pot
Mely Martínez
Hello Melissa,
Place all the ingredients into a crockpot and cook for 2 hours in the low setting.
Esther
Great recipe. I have used greek yogurt instead of milk. It makes it super creamy. I also add raisins, cinnamon, and a spoon of vanilla extract.
Ashley
Thanks so muchhhh for this recipeeee!!! I have been trying to make this for years but something is always off lol now I can enjoy my oatmeal daily and NOT by chance
Mely Martínez
Hello Ashley,
Enjoy your creamy oatmeal.
AG
Love the cinnamon bit and I also like using dark brown sugar! With soy milk is also good.
Mely Martínez
Hello AG,
Thank you for trying the recipe, and for the tip about using Soy Milk.
Clara Diez
Thank you for this recipe. My abuelita used to make it just like this, but I didn’t know how to make it.
Darlene
Just had your oatmeal and it was great as creamy as my mother use to make it....The only difference was I added apple sauce as my sweeter
Mely Martínez
Hello Darlene,
Thank you for trying the Oatmeal recipe. Love the idea of adding apple sauce as a sweetener.
I need to try it soon.
Montez
This is the best oatmeal recipe ever!!! Love the flavour of the cinnamon stick and milk.
Mely Martínez
Hello Montez,
Thank you for trying the oatmeal recipe.
olive
We do all this steps and at serving put a teaspoon of butter and brown sugar
Alisha
I love this recipe & so do my kids! I make it often, thank you!!!
ana chavez
My mom used to serve it with homemade flour tortillas and butter 😀 delicioso.
Leslie G.
I’ve been looking for a recipe like this for years! My great regret is that I never paid attention to how my mom made her creamy oatmeal. This recipe is, by far, the closest I’ve found. Thank you.
Mely Martínez
Hello Leslie,
I hope you enjoy your creamy oatmeal.
Melissa
I love this recipe! Brings back childhood memories. Waking up to atole and buñuelos was the best! Thank you for sharing! Headed to the kitchen to make some more!
Noemi
My mom uses carnation evaporated milk. Will that work too?
Mely Martínez
Hello Noemi,
Yes, you can use it. I bet it is tasty!
B. Lozano
Mely , I want to thank you for bringing back a memory. My mom called it moche’ when we were growing up! Might be wrong spelling but can’t find it anywhere? Have you ever heard of it being called this in Spanish?
Mely Martínez
Helo B. Lozano,
maybe is a local name, I never heard about Moche. Some regions have a particular name for ingredients or meals.
Noemi
OMG, I just realized our names are both Noemi and Yes, My Mom uses both evaporated milk and milk. After I boil the water with cinnamon, I add a can of Evaporated milk and then the milk. I make a big batch to use for left overs. Thank you so much for reminding me of the pan frances! That's how we would eat it and it was so delicious!
Mely Martínez
Hello Noemi,
Enjoy your oatmeal with a toasted pan francés with butter.
Analee
I've been wanting to try this for a few days now! Is the liquid supposed to boil out & be absorbed by the oatmeal? Gracias por compartir!
Mely Martínez
Hello Analee,
Yes, let it absorb the liquid a little bit.
Theo
HI,
Thank you for this recipe.
Can I make this using my instaPot or crock pot? what would be the steps, setting and timing?
Thank you so much
mmartinez
Hello Theo,
I have never made this in the instant pot. Sorry, I can give you any advice about it. But now you gave me an idea to try it.
Suzan.
Could this be made with quick cooking rolled oats?
mmartinez
Hello Suzan.
Yes, you can use Quick oats, it will take less time to cook.
Victor
This is exactly how my Grandma would make her oatmeal. With half a buttered francecisto. This would give us the energy needed to get us to lunch. Thank you Mely posting it.
mmartinez
Hola Victor,
So nice to see that other families have the same traditions. Creamy Warm oatmeal with a pan tostado with butter tastes amazing!
Marielle
The oatmeal was perfect for this cloudy day. I loved that sugar was optional and the creamy consistency is perfect. I added an extra 1/4 cup of milk like your recipe suggests.
Mely Martínez
Hello Marielle,
That extra milk sure makes the oatmeal extra creamy.
Happy cooking!
Joelett
Exactly how my mom used to make it.. perfect!!
Edilia
Que rico! Al fin puedo hacer mi avena correctamente ☺️