Spiced Irish Oatmeal With Cream and Crunchy Sugar Recipe (2024)

Well, first of all, I'm grateful I used a 2-quart baking dish, because it was all I could do to get it in the oven without overflowing and spilling. On what postmodern New York planet did you get everything to fit in a 1-1/2-quart baking dish? Do the math ... 7 cups of liquid is nearly 2 quarts. After 40 minutes it was still liquid, and it overflowed the too-small pan and spilled everywhere. Merry Christmas! USE A BIGGER PAN, and do your math beforehand.

Thanks to everyone for your comments. I made the recipe as written (I used Trader Joe's organic steel-cut oats), but instead of the 1.5 quart dish I used a 3.5 quart Dutch oven. It turned out perfectly - no excess liquid -- and the whole family devoured it. I served it with sliced bananas, raisins, and almonds. The pinch of sea salt at the end is crucial; it rounds out the flavors. I hope this note is helpful to readers considering making this!

I am grateful to Ms. Clark for sharing this recipe - in my oatmeal-loving household, this dish was a big hit. To quote my husband, "This tastes like something they would serve for breakfast at a high-end Scottish inn." This recipe is worth making for the visual effects alone - the bubbly sugar-and-butter topping is lovely. To Christa: thank you for the suggestion of using a larger baking dish. Sorry to hear about your mess, but you earned stars in your heavenly crown by warning us.

If you have a big Le Creuset or other heavy duty Dutch oven, dump the boiling water and cream in with the oats and put the whole thing in the oven. Worked great, saved a step, and less to clean up

I made this this weekend - it was delicious but I did not think that the baking was useful in improving the taste or texture. To make this easier, I would use a deep pot and definitely toast the oatmeal in butter with the spices but then just add the water to the pot and simmer in the pot until almost completely cooked -THEN put in a baking dish and top with the sugar and butter and then bake the final 15-20 min. Voila - no boiling over and anxious attempts to put an overflowing pan in the oven

Um, so how did it taste?

As Christa noted, do NOT use a 1.5 qt baking dish, there is no way this fits in one . I used a standard 9 x 13 casserole dish (3 qt) and it was perfect. The amount of water was fine, probably because some evaporates during baking. I didn't have Demerara, so used brown sugar instead and since I don't really like my oatmeal sweet, I just sprinkled it on, no measurement, but would guess I used less than 1/4 cup. Anyway, it tasted great. Really enjoyed the cinnamon/cardamom flavor combination.

I had success assembling the night before and baking in the morning—using cold instead of boiling water. I halved the recipe and used a ratio of 3 cups liquid to 1 cup steel cut oats per my package instructions. They didn’t need the extra liquid or the extra 10 mins. After baking 40 mins uncovered in a 2 qt, 8 x 8 x 2 in Pyrex dish, they absorbed most of the liquid and were tender, so I added the sugar-butter topping which caramelized in 15 mins. Sea salt at the end really brings out the flavors

@Christa is right about the need for a larger baking dish. Also — Next time I reducing the sugar by half. But this was great — liked by kids and adults alike.

I cut the recipe in half and baked it in a 1-quart baking dish -- it was tricky maneuvering the pan of boiling water to the oven, so I'd use a slightly larger dish next time (clearly, the recommended size baking dish in the recipe is a potentially dangerous / messy error). I used 2% milk instead of cream, since this wasn't a special occasion, and I found it plenty rich, and just sweet enough. We ate it with more milk and some toasted walnuts, and it was delish.

Me too, Christina! I'm the 3 bears, too big; too small but never just the right size. I put a pan underneath. As it cooked, I added hot water and stirred reg like congee. Buttering the dish is not necessary; just stir. I threw candied sugar, dates and dried cherries in it (leftovers from baking) and on top butter, pecans, raw sugar and a final sprinkle of salt. Very good!

This recipe takes _forever_. Next time I'll cook the oats in the traditional way (hot milk with spices in a pot) then layer into pan, top with sugar/butter, and bake to finish.

I made it dairy free by swapping oat milk for cream and earth balance for butter. I also used rolled oats instead of steel cut, and cut down the water accordingly. I used the oats-water ratio recommended on the rolled oats box—3.5 C water for 2C. It fit in a 2 quart baking dish and seemed right on texture—not too watery.

The Irish/steel-cut oats I cook (McCann's, regular, not quick-cooking) take 3-4 cups of water for every cup of oats. So I would not assume that 6 and1/2 cups of water is a typo or too much water for this amount of oats.

I just made this and it's wonderful! The addition of cardamom, as well as the pinch of flaky salt at the end, really make this dish special.I used a 9x13 gratin dish and found it still fairly wet at the 40 minute mark, so I left it in another 15 minutes before sprinkling with sugar at step 5.

Maybe do 20 mins, then 20 with raw sugar

Why do I think after reading the comments some of you are using sliced oats instead of oat groats? Oat groats (steel cut, because, how else?) are hard, nutty pieces that uncooked would break your teeth and they require this much liquid and this much time in the oven. We make these every week per recipe exactly because they are fabulous!

This is the perfect winter breakfast dish. I also used the larger dish, thank you! I divide up left overs for the perfect reheat breakfast for the week. It's delightful and satisfying - I add a little greek yogurt to add some more protein.

I’ve altered this recipe to fit my schedule (and save energy). I follow the directions until up to the point of adding the liquid but then I just take the pan off the burner, stir, throw a lid on it and go for a long walk (1.5-2 hrs). The oatmeal is perfectly done when I return for breakfast. Since it’s just me, I put the leftovers in the fridge for breakfast for the next several days. I skip the sugar, although the crunchy topping sounds divine.

I’ve always loved oatmeal, but my beloved has always found it gooey foul. So, I was excited to try this recipe (and note to those folks with small pans, you can easily cut the recipe in half — I’ve done it several times — but the cooking times remain the same), and it is a dream. I convinced my wife to try it, which she grudgingly did, muttering ick, ugh, slimey, eww, all the way until the spoon went up to her lips. AND SHE LOVES IT! No kidding, this is all she wants for breakfast now!

Definitely use a 2 1/2 or 3 quart enameled baking dish--you can sauté in it, skip the buttering and just pop it into the oven. I doubled the cinnamon and cardamom; added nutmeg, ginger, and cloves; substituted plain brown sugar; and decreased it to 1/3 cup (and I have a sweet tooth!). I also recommend switching to broil for the last 4 minutes or so--gets the top perfect.

After reading all the notes about water volume and messes, but still trusting Melissa Clark’s expertise, I decided to make 3/4 of the entire recipe in my 9x13 pan. It was perfect, not soggy and not spilling over. I eat a lot of cooked regular oatmeal, also Melissa’s granola recipe, so this adds one more delicious way for me to get my oats—and I love how simple it was and how delicious it is.

This was creamy, delicious comfort food! Took others recommendation and used less water. The sugar never became crunchy but perhaps with a minute under the broiler??

I made this in a 9x13 pan with half the amount of butter and light cream to make it more heart healthy. Turned out delicious. First time I made it with all the butter and light cream and noticed no difference in taste. I prefer my oatmeal looser so it was perfect for me with the listed amount if liquid.Only problem is I haven’t achieved carmelizing at the end. The butter and sugar just melt into the oatmeal and I did try broiling at the end. Suggestions needed!!

Made this with rolled oats, only 4 cups of water, a tsp of vanilla and baked for 20 minutes, then 15 more with the sugar. Sprinkled with a little sea salt and topped with whipped cream and sliced pears. Perfect.

A lot of work for a typical result. I can get this result with less effort using a more traditional approach (soak overnight)

I made this recipe exactly as instructed but the surface never caramelized or became crunchy. Anyone else have this problem? How did you tweak?

Love this so much! I cut the recipe in half and it was plenty for two of us. We had extra for the next day as well. I have made it with brown sugar instead of Demerara and it is still really good.

This was delicious. I cut the recipe in half, except the cardamom and cinnamon which I kept at full strength, and I used 3 cups of water instead of 3.25 because a lot of comments said the oatmeal came out a little soupy and I like my oatmeal to be thick. Half the recipe should have yielded 4 servings, but the two of us ate all of it because the servings were not very large and the oatmeal was so tasty.

definitely entering the weekly lunch rotation to replace my greek yogurt and berries. Easy to make on Sunday, Sunday lunch and 5 weekday lunches packed for work (+ bananas).