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This Lemon Poppyseed Oatmeal is made with hearty steel cut oats, non-dairy milk, lemon juice, and poppy seeds for a naturally creamy and filling breakfast!
Happy New Year, friends! I had a some much-needed time away from my screen and spent most of my time relaxing with family and friends. That was great, but I’m also excited to get back into my work routine 🙂 Anyways, onto today’s recipe!
Winter can be kind of weird in terms of food cravings – you want something hearty and cozy because it’s cold, but you also don’t want it to be totally void of nutrition and/or leave you with a food coma afterwards. Enter this Lemon Poppyseed Oatmeal!
INGREDIENTS FOR LEMON POPPYSEED OATMEAL
This Lemon Poppyseed Oatmeal is creamy and filling, but won’t weigh you down. It also comes together with only 6 plant-based ingredients, including:
- Steel-Cut Oats: I prefer steel-cut oatmeal because it has a heartier texture and bite, while rolled and quick oats tend to turn to mush.
- Lemon Juice: for some bright & zippy lemon flavor. I like to use Meyer Lemons, but regular lemons will work as well!
- Poppy Seeds: for added crunch + fun
- Non-dairy Milk: to make the oats creamyyyy
- Sweetener of Choice + Vanilla Extract: both of which help to balance the tartness of the lemon juice. I used Maple Syrup, but brown sugar, coconut sugar, or agave will also work well here.
HOW TO MAKE LEMON POPPYSEED OATMEAL
- Add then oats, non-dairy milk, lemon juice, sweetener, and a pinch of salt to a large pot and bring to a boil
- Simmer over medium-low heat for 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally
- Stir in the poppy seeds, adjust sweetener to taste, then serve as desired!
Note: Steel cut oats take longer to cook than rolled or quick oats because they are less processed / flattened. To make them cook faster, I like to add a little extra liquid to my pot and cook the mixture at a higher heat. You can also soak your oats in water overnight, then drain and rinse them the next day before cooking. The overnight soak will soften the oats and cut your cooking time in half 🙂
WAYS TO SERVE LEMON POPPYSEED OATMEAL
I absolutely love the flavor of this oatmeal, so I like to keep my toppings pretty simple! You can’t go wrong with some fresh or frozen berries and a dollop of coconut yogurt or nut butter. If you’re looking for a little extra crunch, this Easy Vegan Granola would be perfect!
And in case you were wondering, this recipe is totally meal-prep friendly, too! It can be eaten hot or cold – it will thicken once you store it in the fridge, so I suggest cooking it with a little extra water when you prep, or thinning it out with more water or non-dairy milk when you serve it.
If you’re looking for more hearty oatmeal recipes, you’ll also love this Instant Pot Steel Cut Oatmeal, this Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal, this Maple Pecan Baked Oatmeal, and these PB&J Overnight Oats!
Finally, if you make this recipe and decide to share it on Facebook or Instagram, don’t forget to tag me @FromMyBowl + #FromMyBowl! I love seeing your delicious recreations 🙂
PrintLemon Poppyseed Oatmeal
This Lemon Poppyseed Oatmeal is made with hearty steel cut oats, non-dairy milk, lemon juice, and poppy seeds for a naturally creamy and filling breakfast!
- Prep Time: 5 Minutes
- Cook Time: 25 Minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: Serves 2 - 4 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 cup (175 g) steel-cut oats*
- 4 cups (940 ml) non-dairy milk
- Juice of 1 large or 2 small lemons
- 2 tablespoons grade A maple syrup (or other sweetener of choice), plus more to taste
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Generous pinch of salt
- 1 1/2 tablespoons poppy seed
Instructions
- Add the oats, milk, lemon juice, maple syrup, vanilla, and salt to a large, non-stick pot over high heat. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low to keep at a simmer.
- Cook for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent anything from sticking to the bottom of the pot. Turn off the heat once the oats are tender and have thickened to your liking, then stir in the poppy seeds. Add any additional sweetener to taste, if necessary.
- Serve as desired; store leftovers in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Time Saving Hacks: steel-cut oats will cook in about half of the time when soaked overnight in water! Simply place your oats in a large bowl with double the water and stick it in the fridge before you go to bed. Drain and rinse the oats, then add them to a pot with the remaining ingredients 🙂
- Substitutions: I enjoy this recipe best with steel-cut oats, but it can also be made with quick-cooking or rolled oats; if you choose to use one of those, reduce the cooking liquid to 2 cups and simmer the oats for 5 to 10 minutes, until your desired creaminess is reached. You can also replace up to half of the non-dairy milk with water for a less creamy version.
Keywords: lemon poppyseed oatmeal, lemon poppyseed oats, lemon oatmeal, lemon oats, vegan oatmeal, dairy free oatmeal, spring oatmeal recipes
Looks amazing. How many tablespoons of lemon juice you’d suggest substituting for the fresh squeezed meter lemons? I understand it will need more sweetener to balance the sour taste of the regular lemon juice.
I would use an equal amount of regular lemon juice (2-4 tbsp) and add more sweetener as necessary
I made this recipe and it was very refreshing and tasty. The lemon flavor is mild, just the way I like it and the poppy seeds provide the perfect crunch. This oatmeal goes well with a heaping cup of fresh blueberries. Thanks Caitlin for another amazing breakfast recipe.
★★★★★
You are always welcome!
Has anyone tried adapting this to the InstantPot? Just wondering about amount of liquid and time. Thanks!
Hi Arj, I would recommend following this guide on my blog for the cook time and dry-wet ratio!
Popping in (no pun intended) to say that this is truly my favorite oatmeal recipe to date. I was a fan already, but this recipe got me craving oatmeal on the daily. So creamy, and topped with blueberries is THE way to go!
★★★★★
Appreciate the feedback, Megan! So glad you liked it!
Aaamazing! This recipe made some of the best oatmeal I’ve ever had! I sweetened it with Stevia and it turned out great. It tastes like a lemon poppyseed muffin.
★★★★★
Glad it turned out amazing, Anastasia!
I struggle with breakfast, healthy foods, and more! I never really liked oatmeal but dang this is tasty and easy!!!
★★★★★
Glad you found my recipe and liked it, Jocie! ♥
serieusly this was delicious..like a creamy healthy dessert for breakfast. make it 😀
★★★★★
made it with normal oats works great
★★★★★
Where has this been all my life?
I prepped this for breakfast this week and I can’t stop eating it. So delicious!!!
I ate it cold one day and then added a blueberries the next. Yummy.
★★★★★
Thanks for the nice words!
I added a pinch of Turmeric to give it that yellow golden colour! It was so good and refreshing! I used 3x cups of soy mylk and 1/3 cup of lemon juice. Mmm!!
★★★★★
Glad you enjoyed it!
This was really good! I topped mine with some raspberries and a good drizzle of tahini
★★★★★
Sounds great!
Could you sub chia seeds for poppy seeds?
If you don’t have them you could leave them out entirely. But adding chia seeds could be nice for a little extra nutrition!
Thank you for this recipe, it was really good! I love you & Jesus loves you!
★★★★★
Thank you so much!
Overall, I really like this recipe, except that it was too tart. That being said, maybe my “large lemon” was just a lot larger than normal?
I have to add a lot more sugar then I wanted to in order to counteract the sweetness.
★★★★
Very well could be a larger lemon! But customizing to your taste is the best bet!
This recipe seriously made my week! It tastes so fresh but is also comforting. Love it with fresh raspberries. Thanks for sharing!
★★★★★
So glad you found it comforting!
If you pre-soak the oats overnight, do you still use the same amount of liquid?
That’s right!
I make virtually this exact recipe as overnight oats! Love it with fresh berries, particularly blueberries like you said, and coconut flakes!
The fresh fruit totally makes it!