Homemade Instant Oatmeal Packets - Six Figures Under (2024)

During the beginning of our debt payoff, we had a strict Sunday-only policy for cold cereal. On the other six days of the week we would have a hot breakfast of pancakes, waffles, oatmeal, cream of wheat, or eggs.

When I began to feel sick whilepregnant with myyoungest, we started having cold cereal frequently again. Not only can I eatcold cereal for every meal when I’m pregnant, I love that the kids can completely serve themselves.

The downside of cereal is that it can get expensive. I aim for $1.50 or less per box and I stock up when I find great deals, but we go through it pretty fast. Also, cereal isn’t as filling as other breakfast options, so kids get hungrier faster.

During law school, I started making homemade individual oatmeal packets. It was super convenient and very cheap. I could get creative with the mix-ins and make the packets in the size that worked best for us. In addition to being relatively expensive, the store-bought oatmeal packets get boring fast and areway too small for a meal.

It has been a while since I made homemade oatmeal packets, but I decided that I need to get back to it so that the kids have a non-cereal breakfast that they can make themselves.

Letting the kids help make instant oatmeal packets

So last night we hadoatmeal for dinner. At first the kids weren’t excited, but I won them over when I invited them to be my taste-testers. I was experimenting with several different varieties so that I could find the ones they liked best. They were happy to give their opinions.

Once we decided on our favorite variety, the kids were eager to help me fill the packets in an assembly line style. Getting them involved really helped them take ownership of the project and get pumped about oatmeal. By the end, they were bubbling with excitement about getting to make their own oatmeal the next morning.

What’s the big deal about individual oatmeal packets?

I’m glad you asked. Here are the benefits I see:

• The kids can make it themselves. This is huge!
• They are cheap! The are definitely cheaper than their store-bought counterpart. Buying ingredients in bulk makes them super cheap.I didn’t do the price breakdown this time because I had all the ingredients at home already.
• I know what is in them. No weird ingredients or preservatives to fret about.

Hey wait! This isn’t simpler!

My husband, a big eater and an accomplished oatmeal maker, was quick to question the idea of individual oatmeal packets. To him the “individualizing” process just complicated things. When we’re all eating oatmeal together, he makes a big pot of old fashioned oats. He gets the perfect consistency with the right amount of salt and sugar every time even though he never measures (an accomplishment I can’t claim).

We will still do this when we’re eating together and there is a grown-up awake before the kids are so famished they just have to eatsomething. For mornings when they beat us out of bed, though, having a good option forthe kids to beself-sufficient for breakfast is glorious.

Assembling individual instant oatmeal packets

Now that you get why individual oatmeal packets are worth the effort for me, you might think that assembling them individually, assembly-line-style is silly. You might be tempted to make a “big batch” and mix everything in a bowl, then scoop it out into individual bags.

Now that works well for things like homemade pancake mix, where all of the ingredients are equally weighted, but it doesn’t work so well for oatmeal packets where you’re combining grainy or powdery ingredients with solid ingredients like oats or raisins. Some ingredients will tend to sink while others will float in your mixing bowl of dry ingredients.

My process for making homemade instant oatmeal packets

Okay friends, if you’re convinced that DIY oatmeal packets will be a good fit for your family’s breakfast routine, then you’re probably eager to get the details, so here goes!

I start by making some oat flour. This is completely optional, so if this sounds like too much of a bother, just pretend I didn’t say anything about it.

Blend a couple of cups of oats up in my blender. I have an awesome Blendtec, so it turns my oats into flour in literally two seconds with barely any effort. However, if you just had a regular blender, you should be fine as long as you don’t put too much in at a time.

Individual Instant Oatmeal Packet Recipe

The individual oatmeal packets that I make are about twice as big as the ones you buy at the store. The store-bought envelopes aren’t big enough to fill anyone in my family up, so we double it right from the start. If one of the store-bought oatmeal packets satisfies you, you’ll want to cut this recipe in half.

Add 1/2 cup quick oats to each zip-top bag. The snack-size bags are just perfect for oatmeal packets, and I continue reusing the same bags.

Add 1/8 teaspoon salt (Pretty much equal to a “pinch”)

Add 1/2 Tablespoon of sugar (I like brown sugar, so that’s what I use, but you can sub in whatever amount of whatever sweetener suits your fancy.)

–Okay if you want to be boring, you could just stop here. In fact, that’s what I do when I’m just making it to eat right away, but when I’m making packets I like to put in a little more effort (because it really is a little effort when I’m making them in bulk, as opposed to grabbing more things out of the cupboard every single time). —

Add 1 Tablespoon ofoat flour (What you just made in your blender. This is completely optional, but makes the oatmeal a little thicker.)

Add 1/2 Tablespoon of powdered milk/creamer (Also completely optional. You could use powdered coffee creamer, but since we’re not coffee drinkers, I don’t have any creamer on hand. This just makes the oatmeal a little creamier.)

Add 1/8 teaspoon of cinnamon (Depending on the flavor you’re going for, you might choose other spices, but I’ve found that cinnamon goes well with most mix-ins we like to use.)

Add your favorite mix-ins (Raisins, dried cranberries, dried apples, etc)

When all of the ingredients are in your little bag, zip it up! try to get as much air out as possible. You can mix it up in the baggie or wait until you dump it in the bowl to use it.

How to use your instant oatmeal packets

Pour contents of packet into a microwave bowl. Stir dry contents so they are well-mixed.

Stir in3/4 cup water.

Microwave for 1.5 to 2 minutes on high. Two minutes is perfect for me, but we have a wimpy microwave. It’s been with us through 11 years of marriage, and it keeps working, but it’s not fast.

How about you?

• Have you ever made individual oatmeal packets?
• What are your family’s favorite oatmeal mix-ins?

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