An Oat Lover's Guide to All the Types of Oats (2024)

Unpopular opinion, but I prefer quick-cooking oats to old-fashioned oats in baked goods, like cookies, fruit crisps, and granola (and, okay, in my morning bowl of oatmeal too). While many assume quick-cooking oats are mushy baby food, stick with me. They have a lot going for them. Despite the grain being comparatively smaller, when it comes to baking, quick-cooking is capable of some pretty impressive craggy crispiness. Oh, and if you are Team Clumpy Granola, wowza, are you in for a treat.

But there are lots of other types of oats at the supermarket. Confused about the sheer variety? Let’s peruse the cereal aisle together. Here are all the different varieties of oats and how best to use each—and we’ll see if I can persuade you that quick-cooking is where it’s at.

Types of Oats

Oats are a gluten-free whole grain. In their purest (read: unprocessed) form, they’re covered in an inedible hull. But once this hull is removed, all the fun begins.

Oat Groats

Oat groats are the oat grains in their rawest state—essentially the whole, intact kernel. Groats should be cooked, as they are more easily digestible if you do so. Because they’re so unprocessed, they take the most cook time to soften. To speed things along, soak them overnight before you plan to cook with them. Groats are delightfully chewy, toothsome, and nutty, and are what the other varieties of oats are derived from.

Steel-Cut or Irish Oats

Steel-cut or Irish oats are groats that have been sliced with a steel blade into coarse little bits. They almost look like cut-up grains of rice. Steel-cut oats are more processed than groats, so they cook up slightly faster. They’re chewier than your standard instant oatmeal because they absorb less water than their more-processed brethren. Although they make for a lovely breakfast bowl, I don’t typically bake with them unless I’m making baked oatmeal. In other applications, such as a crumble or an oatmeal cookie dough, steel-cut oats tend to stay too chewy and tough.

Scottish Oats

Scottish oats are made by milling groats, rather than slicing them. They produce a creamier cereal than steel-cut. Due to their finer grain than steel-cut oats, they perform well in baking projects and make for an exceptionally rich, velvety morning porridge.

Rolled or Old-Fashioned Oats

Rolled oats are made by steaming groats, then flattening them with a roller (hence the name). They are probably the most common oat to make its way into your morning bowl. But they’re also great in cookies, fruit crisps, and granolas. Many people love them in sweets for their flavor and texture, like in these Banana Oat Pancakes.

Quick-Cooking Oats

Quick-cooking oats are processed just as old-fashioned ones are, but they are rolled thinner, sliced finer, and thus cook faster (which is nice when you are in a rush). They produce the creamiest of oatmeals. Quick-cooking oats are also excellent for baking: They bake up crispy, in this uniquely delicate way, especially when used in a topping over fruit. They also add excellent texture to cookies, but without screaming, “I’m healthy!” And they yield the clumpiest granola without the addition of an egg white.

Instant Oats

Instant oats are typically the oats you find in ready-to-microwave packets that have already been sweetened and flavored. Sometimes (if you’re me) quick-cooking and instant are referred to interchangeably, but typically “instant” refers to oats that are precooked (though not always) and often with a combination of add-ins.

So there you have it: We’ve traversed the aisle, you’ve met all the types of oats, and my fingers are crossed that you just grabbed yourself a container of the quick-cooking variety to bake up a storm.

Oat-standing Granola