Easy Homemade Instant Oatmeal Packets

Make homemade instant oatmeal packets for an easy way to start the day! Combine oats, dried fruit, and spices, plus plenty of options for your favorite flavors – say goodbye to Quaker instant oatmeal and make your own!

We love oatmeal at our house! My kids get excited when I make Instant Pot Oatmeal (adding fresh fruit as a topping), Blueberry Baked Oatmeal, and Leftover Oatmeal Cakes.

And I remember eating instant oatmeal almost every morning growing up. My favorite flavor was maple brown sugar. If the dark brown packages were gone, I’d choose cinnamon and spice next.

I felt like such a big kid being awake before everyone else, making my breakfast all by myself. Like my mom trusted me (and my cooking skills) enough not to set the house on fire.

As my kids have gotten older, I’ve tried to pass on cooking skills to them as well. And one of the easiest places to start is homemade instant oatmeal packets.

HOMEMADE INSTANT OATMEAL PACKETS

Whether you’re feeding small children or yourself, these instant oatmeal packets are a great choice! They’re:

• Frugal. Oatmeal for breakfast is one of the cheapest options out there!
• Simple. Made with wholesome foods and real ingredients.
• Kid-friendly. Great for kids to help put together.
• Quick and easy to make in the mornings.
• Can even take on the go! Just bring a packet with you and add hot water.
• Have lots of options for delicious flavors.
• A yummy way to start the day!

DIY INSTANT OATMEAL PACKETS INGREDIENTS

The specific ingredients you’ll need for DIY instant oatmeal packets will depend on which flavor(s) you choose to make, but they all start with 3 basics and go from there.

• Oats
• Dried Fruit
• Spices
• Cream Option (optional)
• Nuts (optional)
• Seeds (optional)
• Sweeteners (optional)
• Healthy Fat (optional)

Let’s talk about the best options for each oatmeal packet recipe ingredient.

OATS

I like to use rolled oats (or old fashioned oats) because they’re less processed than instant oats and more affordable than steel-cut. Quick oats work too. And you can choose gluten free oatmeal if needed.

The amount of oats you use will depend on the age and appetites of the person eating them, but I’ve found these measurements worked when our kids were younger:

• 1-3 years old: ¼ cup
• 3-5 years old: ⅓ cup
• 5-7 years old: ½ cup

You can use up to ¾ cup for a larger bowl of instant oatmeal and adjust your fruits, spices, and optional ingredients accordingly.

Tip: Want your oatmeal to taste and feel more like the boxed packets? Add 1 tablespoon of oat flour per ½ cup of oats!

DRIED FRUIT (VS. FREEZE DRIED VS. FRESH)

• A good rule of thumb is to use a ratio of 1:2 for dried fruit to oats. For example, you’d go with ¼ cup of dried fruit with ½ cup of oats for breakfast. The dried fruit measurement should be total, so reduce as necessary (or not!) if you’re mixing and matching multiple types.
• I use dehydrated fruit in this recipe because the point is to make several bags ahead of time. If your kids don’t mind adding fresh fruit to oats (and you’re comfortable with them potentially needing a knife without you supervising), feel free to use whatever fresh fruit you have on hand. For quicker mornings and more independence, dried fruit is the way to go!
• You can also use freeze-dried fruit, although it’s pricier. Homemade dehydrated fruit is by far the most frugal option.
• Have fun with flavors! Try raisins, dehydrated cranberries or apples, strawberries, banana chips, dried pineapple, coconut flakes, and more!

SPICES

• A little bit of spice goes a long way in a small package of oatmeal, so start with ¼ teaspoon and add more from there. Cinnamon is the most popular spice, but you can add Pumpkin Pie Spice, apple pie spice, or mix and match cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and allspice from the cabinet.
• Salt is also an option, although personally, we don’t add any. A pinch of salt per packet will enhance the flavor, but any more than that will simply make the oatmeal taste salty. Use cautiously and remember that you can always add more if you want.

Psst! If you’re going to add salt, I highly recommend Ava Jane’s Kitchen. You may think all salt is created equal, but unfortunately, 90% of the salt produced around the world contains microplastics (gross, right?). Ava Jane’s Kitchen is an exception. Their salt is 100% microplastic-free, and it’s SO GOOD! Plus, you can get a free 8oz. bag of sea salt (just pay shipping and handling!)

“AND CREAM”

You have two options to turn any instant oatmeal recipe into an “and cream” version (think the Quaker instant oatmeal flavor peaches and cream):

• Add 1 Tablespoon of powdered milk to the dry components, OR
• Substitute ¼ cup of milk for part of the water when cooking

Adding powdered milk to the individual packets makes it easier to prep ahead. You can choose a packet and make it the same way every time.

Using milk in cooking is a bit healthier option, since you eliminate the slightly processed powdered milk, but it is likely more difficult for smaller kids with both measuring and pouring from a potentially heavy and full container of milk.

Simply choose whichever is best for you in this season. Either option is better than store-bought oatmeal packets! If you choose to cook with milk, make sure to label those oatmeal packets with a reminder.

NUTS

If you want to add nuts, stir them in after cooking the oatmeal, or they lose their crunch and don’t taste nearly as good. We only add nuts beforehand when making the Amish flavor (my favorite right now, recipe below); otherwise, we wait until there are only crumbs left in the packages of nuts and then add those to our homemade instant oatmeal recipes.

SEEDS

You can increase the protein in your oatmeal packets by adding 1 Tablespoon of one of these seed suggestions:

Chia seeds will absorb quite a bit of moisture as they cook and sit, so you might need to add more liquid upfront. Flaxseed and oat bran will absorb a little, and hemp hearts and sunflower seeds won’t absorb any at all.

SWEETENERS

Adding sweeteners to your homemade instant oatmeal packets is also optional, but can be a great baby step if you’re switching from Quaker instant oatmeal to homemade or just trying to eat less sugar.

• You should not feel guilty for adding sweetener if it means oatmeal for breakfast. I’ve found that one teaspoon of brown sugar OR 1 Tablespoon of maple syrup tends to be sufficient when you’re combining it with the naturally sweet dried fruit.
• Although better for you, I purposely don’t use coconut sugar, palm sugar, or any other less processed granulated sugar in oatmeal. I’ve found that these sweeteners aren’t as sweet, which means having to use more to please the taste buds.
• Personally, I’d rather use less sugar than more, even if it means using a less healthy option during the transition. Plus, the better-quality sugars cost twice as much, a fact you can’t overlook when you’re trying to make one of the most frugal breakfasts known to man.
• Whichever you decide, add dry sugar to the dry packets or maple syrup (or honey, if you prefer) just after cooking. Like adding cream, choose whichever fits the cooking capabilities of your kids or the amount of time you have in the mornings.
• You can also add chocolate chips to your instant oatmeal packets! They’ll melt when you cook the oatmeal, giving you chocolate instant oatmeal. Yum! Start with 1 Tablespoon of mini chocolate chips.

HEALTHY FAT

This is totally optional, but one Tablespoon of butter or coconut oil is a tasty option to add to instant oatmeal, and it makes for a smooth, creamy texture. My daughter likes butter in her oatmeal, but my son doesn’t.

Peanut butter counts in the Healthy Fat category, too. It’s best stirred into the warm oatmeal.

Obviously, this is something you can’t add to dry packets, so if this is breakfast for young kids, make sure they can measure butter or coconut oil on their own to add after cooking.

HOMEMADE INSTANT OATMEAL FLAVORS

When you learn how to make instant oatmeal packets yourself, you have UNLIMITED flavor combinations. My kids helped me choose the flavors for these photos, and it was so neat to watch their wheels turn as they paired fruits and spices, each to suit their own unique personality.

The most frugal option is to make your oatmeal based on what you already have in the house, but I’ve also put together a few combinations for those who struggle with creativity in the kitchen. Add any of these to ½ cup of oats:

• Strawberries / Blueberries / Peaches & Cream: ¼ cup dehydrated fruit + cream option
• Apples & Cinnamon: ¼ cup dehydrated apples + ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• Raisins & Spice: ¼ cup raisins + ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• Banana Bread: ¼ cup dehydrated bananas + ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• Amish Style: 2 Tablespoons raisins + 2 Tablespoons dehydrated apples + ¼ teaspoon cinnamon + 2 Tablespoons chopped pecans

In the end, add whatever you want – that’s the beauty of doing it yourself! Besides, we’re not that fancy. Sticking to basic dried fruit + spice and/or cream makes it easier to make a big batch of these upfront (meaning less work for breakfast with each subsequent week!).

HOW TO MAKE INSTANT OATMEAL PACKETS

The easiest way to make your own instant oatmeal packets is to mix everything up in a big bowl and portion out a heaping scoop into a plastic baggie (which you can re-use for future batches of instant oatmeal, by the way). But if you’re looking for a more hands-on activity, or are type-A when it comes to the ratio of fruit to oats (like me), here’s the method I use:

Step 1. Pull out all of your coffee mugs from the cabinet and set them on the table.

Step 2. Line each mug with a small resealable bag.

Step 3. Measure the oats into each mug. (Bigger kids can probably handle this step, but I don’t recommend letting the little ones do this part. Tiny flecks of rolled oats on the floor are a HUGE pain to clean up.)

Step 4. Let the smaller kids measure the dried fruit and/or nuts into each mug.

Tip: Give them the appropriate measuring tool and tell them how many scoops per mug.

Step 5. Finish off with the sweetener and/or powdered milk (if using).

Step 6. Seal the bags and store them in a basket on a shelf in the pantry that the kids can see and reach.

I once timed this process to see how long it took to make homemade instant oatmeal packets. In one hour, we made enough for six weeks’ worth of breakfast. How’s that for time well spent!

HOW TO MAKE INSTANT OATMEAL FROM A PACKET

You can always boil water on the stove and add it to the dry oatmeal, but that won’t work for little kids. But it’s still easy to teach them how to make instant oatmeal from one of these homemade packets!

Step 1. Empty an oatmeal packet into a heatproof bowl.

Step 2. Add ¾ cup water and stir.

This is a good amount of water for the ½ cup of oats, resulting in thick and creamy oatmeal. You’ll need less water for a smaller amount of oats. Remember, you can always add more water, but you can’t take water out!

Step 3. Place the bowl in the microwave and cook for 1 minute.

Step 4. Open the microwave and stir.

Step 5. Cook again for 30 seconds, if needed.

Step 6. Remove the hot bowl from the microwave, stir, and let it cool.

BEST INSTANT OATMEAL PACKET TIPS FOR KIDS

• Set out everything the kids will need for breakfast the night before: bowls, spoons, measuring cups, and a basket of oatmeal.
• Plug in the microwave if you know the kids will be awake before you.
• If you keep your water in a large jug or something that isn’t very kid-friendly, consider pouring some into a glass for them to measure from.
• Even better, measure the water for them into a glass the night before. Then in the morning, they simply empty the glass into the bowl, and they’re done!

If you’re not sure if your kids are ready to handle breakfast on their own, another awesome option is to make these packets but cook them individually in the slow cooker. You empty the packet and add water. They take the jar out in the morning. Find that method here.

Find more frugal, affordable, and awesome breakfast ideas here, or check out “The Healthy Lunchbox” – it’s one of the best eBooks I’ve read!

HOMEMADE INSTANT OATMEAL PACKETS FOR THE ADULTS

I know I’ve talked a lot about making these for kids in this post, but instant oatmeal packets work for a quick and easy breakfast for adults, too!

Since adults are less likely to have a morning snack than kids, we need to make sure our oatmeal is going to carry us through until lunchtime.

Oatmeal has plenty of carbohydrates, but on its own, it doesn’t have enough fat or protein to keep you going until lunch. Adding both will keep your blood sugar stable and give you the sustaining energy you need.

I dug into this in my High Protein Oatmeal recipe that I developed while training for a marathon, and there are plenty of options there for yummy additions to your bowl of oatmeal.

Since we’re trying to make homemade instant oatmeal packets, opt for the dry ingredients you can add ahead of time: protein powder, collagen, and seeds are easy to add to the packets, and a spoonful of butter, coconut oil, or nut butter plus a sprinkle of chopped nuts is easy to add afterwards.

HOMEMADE INSTANT OATMEAL RECIPE FAQS

MORE YUMMY OATMEAL RECIPES FOR BREAKFAST

Fight Inflation Workshop!

Sign up for my FREE Fight Inflation Workshop and learn simple strategies to save money, even with rising food costs!