Creamy Maple Brown Sugar Oatmeal

This Maple Brown Sugar Oatmeal has the perfect amount of sweet. It’s totally creamy, and you can customize it with berries, apple slices, jam, maple syrup, and more.

Table of Contents

• What You’ll Need
• How to Make Maple Brown Sugar Oatmeal
• Tips for Success
• Topping Ideas
• Get the Recipe
• More Breakfast Ideas to Try

There is a book series my kiddo loves called Fablehaven, which is about a brother and sister who go to live with their grandparents on a sanctuary for mythical creatures. Every morning the grandmother makes a hearty breakfast. One of our favorite mornings in that book is when she makes a creamy oatmeal just like this one, and serves it with a huge spread of all the possible toppings you could use. Cinnamon sugar, maple syrup, fresh fruit, nuts, you name it. Thanks to Fablehaven, we now serve oatmeal with a toppings bar.

This oatmeal only takes 15 minutes to make and it’s easily customized with your favorite add-ins. Round up some berries, nuts, graham crackers, and whatever else you like on your oatmeal, and create your own spread!

What You’ll Need

You’ll need just 5 ingredients to put this hearty breakfast together (minus toppings, of course). Scroll down to the recipe card for specific amounts.

• Milk: Any kind of milk is fine, including soy, coconut or oat milk.
• Oats: I use old-fashioned rolled oats.
• Brown Sugar: Packed. Light or dark brown sugar works.
• Maple Syrup: For a hint of sweetness. You can also use agave or honey.
• Salt: You’ll need just a pinch of kosher salt.

Why Add Salt to Oatmeal?

Good question. The answer is that salt helps to enhance the flavors in whatever you’re making (in this recipe, the brown sugar and maple syrup), and also ensures that it is not overly sweet. This concept usually applies to desserts but, in this case, it also applies to breakfast.

How to Make Maple Brown Sugar Oatmeal

Add Ingredients to Saucepan: Combine all the ingredients in a medium-sized saucepan and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium and cook at a gentle boil, stirring frequently, until the milk is absorbed and the oatmeal has a creamy texture. About 5 minutes.

Let Cool and Enjoy: Remove from the heat and set aside to cool for a few minutes. Ladle into bowls and enjoy a warm, hearty breakfast!

What is the Ratio of Liquid to Oatmeal?

If you guessed 2:1, you’re right! This recipe, for example, uses 2 cups of a liquid and 1 cup of oats, but you could also use 1 cup of a liquid and 1/2 cup of oats, etc. As far as liquid goes, milk or water both work but I prefer to use milk.

Tips for Success

As you can see, making this oatmeal is a breeze, but here are some extra tips to help you get the best results:

• Use Old Fashioned Oats: They take a little longer than quick oats to cook, but they have a better texture/consistency. I would also avoid using steel cut oats because those are cooked differently. I do have an easy recipe for Creamy Steel Cut Oats though!
• Maple Syrup Substitute: If you’re out of maple syrup, honey or agave also works as a sweetener in this oatmeal recipe.
• What to do with leftovers? There usually aren’t any leftovers with this recipe, and unlike steel cut oats, I don’t really recommend saving oatmeal made with old fashioned oats. However, I do have a recipe that uses leftover oatmeal to make bread. I will come back and link the recipe here as soon as I post it.

Topping Ideas

In terms of toppings, the options are almost endless for oatmeal! Animal crackers and sliced bananas used to be my son’s favorites when he was a toddler. Now he mixes it up every time!

• Fresh fruit: blueberries, sliced apples, diced mango, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries, peeled & sliced kiwi and sliced bananas.
• Dried fruit: raisins, currants, dried cranberries and finely chopped pitted dates.
• Jams, Preserved and Fruit Butters: Strawberry jam, raspberries jam, blueberry jam, apple butter, there are so many options.
• Animal crackers or crushed graham crackers
• Ground cinnamon: sprinkling a bit of this on top of your oatmeal smells so good.
• Almond butter or peanut butter: Swirl these into the oatmeal same as with the jams.

See what I mean? Endless!

Maple Brown Sugar Oatmeal Recipe

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If you like a touch of sweetness in the morning, Creamy Maple Brown Sugar Oatmeal is the breakfast for you! Customize it with fresh fruit, nuts, maple syrup, or whatever else you like. 

• Author: Rustic Family Recipes
• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 10 minutes
• Total Time: 15 minutes
• Yield: 2-3 servings
• Category: Breakfast
• Method: Stovetop
• Cuisine: American

Ingredients

• 2 cups milk (any kind of milk, including soy, coconut or oat milk)
• 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• 2 teaspoons brown sugar, packed
• 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
• Pinch of kosher salt

Instructions

Combine all the ingredients in a medium-sized saucepan and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook at a gentle boil, stirring frequently, until the milk is absorbed and the oatmeal has a creamy texture. About 5-8 minutes.

Remove from the heat and set aside to cool for a few minutes. This will allow the oats to soak up a bit more liquid.

Ladle into bowls, add your favorite toppings and enjoy a warm, hearty breakfast!

Last Step:

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Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 bowl
• Calories: 379
• Sugar: 21g
• Fat: 11g
• Carbohydrates: 55g
• Protein: 14g

Keywords: maple brown sugar oatmeal, easy oatmeal recipe

More Breakfast Ideas to Try

• Creamy Steel Cut Oats
• Easy Blueberry Scones
• Fluffy Homemade Popovers
• Spinach and Cheese Croissant Strata

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