This recipe is what you need when you want to eat oatmeal for dinner but want to make it more substantial.
With a savory oatmeal base, topped with roasted vegetables, a fried egg, and bacon, this one-bowl meal is the perfect recipe for dinner.
Can Oatmeal Be Eaten for Dinner?
Oatmeal can be enjoyed at any time of the day, even at dinner! Oatmeal makes a great swap for rice and other grains when you want to build a substantial bowl of food that tastes great and is nutritious.
Unlike oatmeal for breakfast, oatmeal for dinner can be made savory and paired with proteins, roasted vegetables, sauces, and cheese.
There’s no wrong way of eating oatmeal for dinner and with this recipe, you’ll see that a change from sweet oats to savory is just the thing you need.
Related: How to Roast Vegetables
Dinner Oatmeal Ingredients
Most people prefer dinner oatmeal to be paired with savory ingredients. For this recipe you’ll need:
- Butternut squash: filling, nutritious, and easy to find fresh or frozen is the perfect veggie to roast
- Brussels sprouts: when roasted, they caramelize and taste delicious
- Olive oil: to season the veggies in the oven
- Salt and pepper: for seasoning
- Butter: a little to cook the onions and add flavor to the dinner oats
- Onion: the base to a great savory dish
- Old Fashioned oats: the star of the recipe. You can use quick-cooking but make sure to adjust the cooking time
- Water: there’s so much flavor in the recipe that water is a great base for savory oats.
- Cheddar cheese: combined with the oats, it makes a delicious savory and cheesy base that’s risotto-like.
- Eggs: the protein of this dinner oatmeal.
- Bacon: use regular or turkey, cooked crispy for tidbits of flavor.
How to Make Oatmeal for Dinner
Making this savory dinner oatmeal recipe is easy, and the oven does most of the work. Here is an overview of the kitchen to-dos:
- Prep the oven
Preheat the oven to 400F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. - Season and cook the veggies
Season the veggies with olive oil, salt, and pepper in a large bowl or toss them to coat directly on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Roast them for 20 to 22 minutes until they’re tender and golden brown. - Make the Dinner Oatmeal base
While the veggies cook, make the oatmeal base on the stove. - Fry up the eggs
Sunny side up or over easy, cook the eggs to your liking. Even scrambled work! - Assemble the bowls
Build a base of oats in the bowl, and top with roasted vegetables, and the cooked egg.
Watch this quick recipe video to see dinner oatmeal made from start to finish!
Is Nighttime Oatmeal Healthy?
Oatmeal is a terrific food to enjoy at night, for dinner, because it will keep you full for a long time. For this reason, it’s often recommended to eat oatmeal at night in many weight loss plans, so you can curb nighttime cravings and meet your goals.
When you’re full, you’re less likely to snack before bed; and if you’re trying to lose weight, this is always a great thing!
More Oatmeal Dinner Recipes
Love that you can build a nutritious meal with oatmeal for dinner? Here are a couple of other oatmeal recipes to consider:
- Savory Oatmeal with Egg & Bacon
- Savory Oats with Summer Vegetables
- Crockpot Oatmeal with Apples & Cinnamon
Dinner Oatmeal with Roasted Veggies
Oats for dinner are totally a thing! Especially when they’re delicious and keep you full longer because they’re topped with veggies, a fried egg, and bacon.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 24 minutes
- Total Time: 34 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Stovetop
Ingredients
- 16 ounce bag cubed butternut squash
- 8 ounces Brussels sprouts, halved
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon salt, divided
- 1 teaspoon black pepper, divided
- 1 tablespoon butter
- ½ cup onion, coarsely chopped
- 2 cups Old Fashioned Oats
- 2 cups water
- ½ cup shredded Sharp Cheddar cheese
- 4 eggs
- 2 strips cooked turkey bacon, crumbled
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment.
- In a large bowl, combine the butternut squash, Brussels sprouts, chopped onion, olive oil, ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper, toss to combine and transfer to the baking sheet.
- Bake for 20 to 22 minutes or until the veggies are tender and golden brown.
- While the veggies roast, in a medium pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the oats and cook for 30 seconds to toast. Add the water and bring to a simmer. Turn the heat to low and allow to simmer for 8 to 10 minutes until the oats reach a thick consistency, adding more water in if necessary. Stir in shredded cheese, season with remaining salt and black pepper. Keep warm.
- In a large greased non-stick pan, cook eggs sunny-side up or over easy.
- Scoop oats into a bowl, top with veggies, an egg, and sprinkle with bacon crumbles.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bowl
- Calories: 460
- Sugar: 6g
- Sodium: 816.3mg
- Fat: 16.9g
- Saturated Fat: 7.3g
- Trans Fat: 0.2g
- Carbohydrates: 56.7g
- Protein: 19.9g
Kari-Lynn Hughes
Mind blown. I never, ever imagined eating savory oats. I am trying to process this idea enough to give it a try! It looks delicious, but my brain just won’t make the leap!!!
Laura Fuentes
They are like cheesy grits. So, so good!!
Ellen
I bet this would also be good with Farro in place of the Oats….. I always have one or the other in the house…
★★★★
Laura Fuentes
Ellen, stay tuned because I have a Farro bowl coming up soon!
Johanna
I was out of eggs so I threw some chickpeas on the pan to roast with the vegetables for added protein. It came out amazing. I also can’t have dairy so I used a dairy-free cheese substitute and it was amazing. Dairy-free cheese can sometimes have a funny taste but not with the oats. They were savory and perfect!
Jessica
I didn’t have Brussels so I used broccoli like another person commented. Literally, from freezer and pantry to table in 30 minutes and I didn’t mess half my kitchen. I buy Quaker too because their oats are larger. Funny that you mentioned that, I thought I was the only one that noticed and bought them for that reason! Well, also because they are consistent in cooking and taste -not something guaranteed from generic oats. thanks for a great recipe!
Sarah
I made these last night. They were DELICIOUS. You’re right, they have the consistency of cheesy cheddar risotto but BETTER! And, it cooks so fast!
I doubled the veggies and the oats and now I have leftovers for lunch! To reheat the oats, I added a little more water and they were perfect. Five stars
Matt
My family loved this idea. I didn’t have Brussels so I used broccoli. Was amazing. thanks for another terrific recipe.
Fatima
I made these tonight. They came out wonderful. For a second, I thought it was rissotto but not. And so much faster than cooking rice! I think this will be my new go-to way of making bowls for dinner!!
Lisa
I made these two nights ago. I was skeptical about the cheesy oats but they taste like risotto! We used real bacon and a bit more cheese. This is one recipe we will make again and again! and yes, Quaker Oats are larger than the no-brand type and have better texture imho. Thanks for a great recipe!
Laura Fuentes
Thank you for trying these Lisa!
Karen
I am planning to make the Savoury Oats recipe tonight for dinner! Funny enough, your email arrived at THE best time! I was meal planning for the week and I need to find a way to cook up the rest of my fresh brussel sprouts (and coincidentally I have some butternut squash also in my cupboard!)
I am thinking I will do up the eggs scrambled instead of fried the way you did. My kids are scrambled fans.
I have never done oatmeal up this way, so I am curious!
Laura Fuentes
You’re gonna love these.
CandyC
I frequently have leftover roasted sweet potatoes and Brussels sprouts in the fridge so this will be a great way to use them up!
Laura Fuentes
That would make this meal come together super FAST!