Nutty Raisin Oatmeal {a.k.a. How To Make Oatmeal perfectly every single time}

Today I’m sharing one of my family’s favorite breakfasts, this irresistible Nutty Raisin Oatmeal – a recipe that your family is sure to love too.

This hearty oatmeal recipe is filled with chewy raisins, crunchy nuts, brown sugar, and butter. It shows up on our breakfast table at least a couple of days each month – if not more often than that.

My family’s love of oatmeal is a well-documented thing. You can check out all of the oatmeal recipes on this website for proof of that.

Stovetop Oatmeal Recipes

This is the perfect recipe to teach you how easy it is if you’re new to the stovetop method of cooking oatmeal. It requires hardly any more effort than the instant kind and tastes far and away better than anything that comes from a packet.

To make oatmeal from scratch, simply bring rolled oats, water, and a pinch of salt to a boil in a saucepan covered with a lid. Simmer the oats until the water is fully absorbed and the oatmeal has reached your desired consistency.

This whole recipe will only take a few minutes. Keep in mind that if you want a chewier texture, you should cook your oats for less time. If you prefer a creamier texture, continue cooking your oats a while longer.

A few of our favorite stove-top oatmeal recipes are Peaches and Cream Oatmeal, Hawaiian Oatmeal, and Pumpkin Pie Oatmeal.

Old Fashioned Oats vs Steel Cut Oats

The oats in this, and many of my favorite stovetop oatmeal recipes, call for rolled oats. Rolled oats are sometimes called old-fashioned oats and take just minutes to cook unlike steel-cut oats (sometimes called Scottish Oats).

Steel-cut oats take a bit longer to cook (up to 30 minutes), so be sure to use plain old rolled oats when following this recipe.

While they don’t cook as quickly as other breakfast recipes, steel-cut oatmeal recipes are definitely worth making. I love steel-cut oats in Baked Pumpkin Spice Steel Cut Oatmeal and Peach Oatmeal with Cranberries and Almonds.

To have steel-cut oats ready to go by the time you wake up, give this Overnight Steel Cut Oat Recipe a try, too.

How To Make Oatmeal

1. Place the oats, salt, and water in a small saucepan. Cover with lid and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the nuts and raisins and stir to combine.
2. Immediately uncover, stir and reduce heat to the lowest setting. Let it simmer just until the water is absorbed and the oats are as creamy or chewy as you like. This should only take a few minutes.
3. Scoop into bowls. Stir in the sweetener of your choice and butter if desired. Add a splash of milk or cream, if desired, and serve immediately.

Oatmeal Add Ins

Traditional stovetop oatmeal is still the most frequently served hot breakfast in my home. One of the reasons we love it so much is that it’s so easy to take the same basic recipe and make it taste wildly different depending on what you add to it.

A while back, I started adding nuts to our usual bowls of oatmeal with raisins. The nuts add a soft bit of crunch with the creamy oats and the chewy raisins.

A pat of butter on top of a bowl of creamy warm oats just before serving is a marvelous addition. The taste of warm butter melting on top of creamy oats and sweet raisins is hard to beat first thing in the morning!

Adding a favorite sweetener is a big part of creating a delicious bowl of warm oatmeal that everyone will enjoy. In this and many of my oatmeal recipes, brown sugar is my go-to ingredient. Maple syrup, honey, or agave nectar are also wonderful sweeteners.

Spices like cinnamon and nutmeg can add an excellent note of flavor to a plain bowl of oats. This recipe has plenty of natural flavor from the nuts and raisins so I don’t usually feel the need to add any additional spices but I use them often in recipes like Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal and Carrot Cake Oatmeal.

Just about any fruit and nut combination has made its way into a bowl of oats at our breakfast table at one time or another.

Sliced bananas and blueberries, pears and peaches, raspberries and apricots, all can turn a simple bowl of oats into a special treat. Dried fruits like the raisins in this recipe are always a hit as well.

Oatmeal Recipes

Oatmeal recipes can be simple, featuring just a touch of your favorite sweetener and fruit, or full of every favorite add-in like in my Holiday Oatmeal that includes all sorts of dried fruit, fresh apples, nuts, and spices.

Some of us have even been known to turn our breakfast into dessert, like in this Chocolate Breakfast Oatmeal.

Baked Oatmeals are another big favorite here, from the Best Ever Baked Oatmeal to the fancier Apple Pie Baked Oatmeal and Peanut Butter and Banana Baked Oatmeal.

Slow Cooker Oatmeals are a winter weekend hit. I typically stir together all the ingredients in the crockpot and then enjoy a lazy morning with a cup of coffee and a book. An hour later, I stir once more and either serve it or allow it to thicken a bit more.

Slow Cooker Oatmeal with Berries, Bananas, and Pecans was the first recipe we tried and we just fell in love with it. And this Cranberry Almond Oatmeal is another one that we love as well.

{originally published 5/17/12 – recipe notes and photos updated 2/7/22}