This Hot Chocolate Oatmeal is like a breakfast dessert. The same easy to prepare oatmeal mixed in with decadent hot chocolate, and top with Strawberry, Banana and MORE!

We’ve been hit with a heavy snow fall few weeks ago. It was like making up  for the lack of snow for the past few years. It was fun and nice to look at at first, but now it’s a nightmare waking up seeing the melting snow on the ground. The roads and streets are slippery and dangerous to drive and walk on, it was not fun at all being outside. It was wet, snowy and cold. 

Cold weather like this made me turn to hot breakfast, and lately oatmeal has been my breakfast companion, and so far my relationship with oatmeal is getting stronger everyday.  It warms my stomach, it’s easy to prepare, it’s a healthy breakfast option, filling  and I find if fun making different variations and decorating it with toppings. 

Flavor of the Month: Hot Chocolate Oatmeal

This time around, I made a Hot Chocolate Oatmeal with Strawberry and Banana. This variation was inspired by “Champorado” or Chocolate Rice Pudding which is common in the Philippines were I grew up. It’s a mixture of sticky rice, cocoa powder, sugar and milk. This Hot Chocolate Oatmeal is a healthier version of that as it uses rolled oats and less sugar. I used cocoa powder to give this a nice chocolate flavor, but you can also used a Hot Chocolate powder if you have one on hand. I like using cocoa powder because this way I can control the amount of sugar that goes in the Oatmeal. I normally just add 2 1/2 tbsp of brown sugar for a single serving oatmeal of 1/4 cup. 

On the Side or Mix it in 

There’s two option that you can make this. First option, you can make the base oatmeal and make a hot chocolate have it on the side and pour it on top when ready to serve. This way you got to control how much hot chocolate you put in. This method will require the oatmeal to be in a very thick consistency because you need to add in the hot chocolate. 

Second option. Mix in the hot chocolate with the oatmeal. I like this better as I can just go right in and eat it, it’s also easier to adjust the consistency. But whichever you choose, you’ll end up with a nice decadent hot chocolate oatmeal. Don’t forget the toppings please. This is a simple recipe, let’s get started! 

Types of Oatmeal

Steel Cut Oats (Irish Oats) – This type of oats has a finer texture but is chewier than traditional oats, they are digested more slowly and it makes you feel full easily. This type is perfect for breakfast cereals as they make you feel full longer.

Rolled Oats (Old Fashioned) – This type of oats are flat, thin and have bigger pieces than Steel Cut Oats. It cooks faster, about 10 minutes for 1/3 cup (depending on how chewy you like it). Although filling, it is not as filling as using Steel Cut Oats, but if your recipe requires minimal cooking time or you do not have much time on hand, this is the perfect type of oats to use. I find that this type is also the one perfect for baking cookies, bars, bread or pancakes.

Quick Oats – This type of oats have flat, light and even thinner pieces as compared to Rolled Oats. This cooks in about 1-2 minutes and are perfect for recipes that calls for a very minimal cooking time. Although it is also a good option for breakfast, it is not as filling as using Steel Cut Oats and Rolled Oats.

Instant Oats – This type of oatmeal has been pre-cooked and dried, because of this, it require no cooking time at all. You just need to add boiling water and let sit for few minutes to soften. This type of oatmeal doesn’t have chewiness and texture and can get mushy at times. This if perfect option when you are traveling and you need something on the go. Simply add hot water and you have an instant breakfast with you.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup Rolled Oats
• 1 3/4 cup milk (Can be substituted with a mix of water and milk in any proportion)
• 2- 3 tbsp Brown sugar (can be substituted with other sweeter of your choice)
• 2 tbsp Cocoa Powder + 1 tbsp hot water
• 1 Banana – sliced
• 4 pieces Strawberry
• Toppings of your choice – I used coconut flakes, flax seeds, almonds, granola and fresh blueberry

Instructions:

Pour milk in a pan. Add rolled oats and simmer in medium heat for about 10 minutes. Make sure to stir from time to time to avoid sticking at the bottom and from forming a “film”  or “skin” on top. Add brown sugar.  Mix the cocoa powder and hot water until in forms into a smooth chocolate paste then add in the oatmeal mixture and stir to distribute. Cook for another 5 minutes. You can serve it as this stage but if you want a smoother creamier consistency, cover and cook in low heat for another 10 minutes. Taste and adjust sweetness as desired. The consistency of the oats will thicken as it cools, if you are serving it immediately, you can cook it a little bit longer to get a thick consistency. Cooking time is flexible, cook less or more time to adjust to the texture and consistency that you prefer.

Transfer in a bowl and arrange sliced Banana and Strawberry and other toppings of your choice. Enjoy!

Recipe Notes

I am using quite a lot of liquid here because I like my Oatmeal consistency to be not too thick and also because I like to cook it longer than 15 minutes for a smoother creamier texture. If you like a thick oatmeal, use 1 1/4 cup of liquid but bear in mind that the oatmeal thickens as it cools. If you are making it ahead of time (overnight), I suggest use 1 3/4 cups of liquid so that it wouldn’t be too thick the following day.

Re-heating

One tip when reheating it, if the consistency gets too thick for you, add few spoonful of water or milk to thin out the consistency. The oatmeal with or  without chia seed will thickens as it cools, even more when refrigerated. So to bring it back to nice consistency, you need to add a little bit of liquid. For single serving, add 1-2 tbsp of liquid and stir then simply pop it in the microwave for 1 minute. Take it out and stir again, adding more liquid as  necessary to achieve the consistency that you like. Return to microwave for another minute. Remove and add toppings as desired. Easy breezy! Enjoy

Featuted Posts:

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• Single Serving Hot Chocolate Oatmeal
• Single Serving Banana & Chia Seed Oatmeal
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• Single Serving Blueberry Banana Oatmeal
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