We Tested 13 Instant Oatmeal: These Are the Ones Worth Buying

When you’re busy, the 10 minutes it takes to cook oatmeal and the two or three minutes for instant oatmeal can mean the difference between being late and arriving right on time. Instant oats make it easy to whip up a hearty breakfast in minutes, but that kind of convenience can come at a cost: Because they’re finer than rolled oats and often pre-steamed for faster cooking, they can be gummy and bland.

To find the best instant oatmeal for your busy mornings, we tested 13 widely available brands. We cooked them according to the package directions and enjoyed them plain and in random order, not knowing which brand was which. We then compiled the results and crowned an overall winner and runner-up.

The criteria

The best oatmeal has a warm, nutty flavor with just enough seasoning to enhance the oats. They should not taste bland or bland. While cooking, the oats should release just enough starch to thicken the mixture: too much starch and the oats become heavy. The oats should also maintain a slightly chewy texture. It’s a balance. The oats should not be dry and firm, nor wet and velvety. Your spoon should slide in effortlessly.

A good bowl of instant oatmeal should be hearty and creamy, and shouldn’t start to coagulate into a solid mass as soon as it starts to cool. In evaluating oatmeal, we also paid attention to non-oat ingredients: If additional seeds or other grains were added, did they add a satisfying crunch and burst, or did their flavors overpower those of the oats?

Overall winner

Bob’s Red Mill Organic Classic Oat Cup

This instant oatmeal, presented in pre-portioned cups, stood out from the crowd. Compared to other oatmeal, which dissolves far too easily and becomes slimy, the oats here retain their shape well. Everyone enjoyed the satisfying chew of the oatmeal, enhanced by the addition of chia and flax seeds.
Our associate editorial director, Megan, loved the hearty mouthfeel of the oatmeal. “It’s quite thick and creamy, with a nice chewiness to it,” she said. Laila, our associate food editor, agreed. “I liked the different textures,” she noted, while praising the flavor and touch of salt. “It works great as a hearty porridge.” However, these oats were a little dry for Genevieve, our editor, who said she could use a little milk or cream. But overall, we all still enjoyed the texture and flavor of this oatmeal.

Finalist

365 by Whole Foods Organic Instant Oatmeal (Original)

Our runner-up, 365 by Whole Foods Organic Instant Oatmeal (Original) comes in a classic pre-portioned pouch. If you want a blank canvas without the seeds found in our winner, this is the best bet. It’s dense, chewy and unapologetically oatmeal. Megan called it “simple, but harmless,” while Laila and I enjoyed the flavor. I noticed that it tasted nutty and looked like real oats. Laila accepted. “There’s a gentle warmth to it,” she says.

The suitors

• Better Oats Steel Cut Instant Oatmeal
• Bob’s Red Mill Organic Classic Oat Cup
• Bowl and Basket
• Iberia instant oats
• Nature’s Promise Instant Oatmeal
• McCann’s Instant Irish Oatmeal
• Purely Elizabeth Original Superfood Oatmeal Packet
• Quaker Oats Instant Oatmeal
• Trader Joe’s Unsweetened Oatmeal
• Wegmans Organic Instant Oatmeal
• Wegmans Original Instant Oatmeal
• Woodstock Organic Instant Oatmeal
• 365 by Whole Foods Organic Instant Oatmeal, Original

Key Takeaways and Conclusion

Three factors made our winner, Bob’s Red Mill, stand out: the robustness of the oats, the addition of salt, and the addition of chia and flax seeds.

Instant oatmeal is often pre-steamed and rolled thinner than rolled oats, and some brands cut the oatmeal into smaller pieces to further speed up the cooking process. Depending on how finely you process the oats and how much water the recipe calls for, the final texture can range from a thick, gummy soup to a dense brick of hard oats. Our editors liked that our winner had a pleasant chew, indicating that it was probably processed less finely than some other oats. Although our winner could have used a little more liquid to keep it from drying out, there’s nothing a little extra milk or cream can’t fix.

Our winner has a longer ingredient list than most. While many brands contain just one ingredient: oats, Bob’s Red Mill Instant Oats consist of whole grain oats, chia seeds, flax seeds, and salt.

Much of the oats we tasted were extremely bland. Editors used words like “paper” and “cardboard” to describe them. However, our winner had a distinct grainy flavor and warm nutty taste that others didn’t have, which was enhanced by the addition of salt. Chia and flax seeds add extra punch and crunch, making it a satisfying bite.

It’s worth noting what our winners and runners-up don’t contain: additives such as stearic acid and guar gum, which are used to thicken and stabilize various foods. We suspect these additions contributed to the gummy character we detected in several other brands.

If you prefer a blanker canvas than what Bob’s Red Mill offers, Whole Foods Instant Oatmeal is a good choice for an oatmeal that you can make with your own toppings, like nuts, maple syrup, and a little milk.

Our testing methodology

All taste tests are carried out with completely hidden brands and without discussion. Tasters taste samples in random order. For example, taster A may taste sample 1 first, while taster B will taste sample 6 first. This is to prevent palate fatigue from unfairly giving an advantage to one sample. Tasters are invited to fill out tasting sheets, classifying the samples according to different criteria. All data is tabulated and results are calculated without editorial input to provide the most unbiased representation of actual results possible.