Should You Soak Oatmeal or Not?

Oatmeal does not necessarily have to be soaked before consumption, the stomach can also digest it unprocessed. Eating oatmeal raw is by no means harmful. However, if you want to do something good for your body, soaking in oatmeal brings an important benefit to your nutrient supply.

What does soaking oatmeal bring?

Oatmeal contains phytic acid. This acid binds the minerals and trace elements contained in oatmeal such as iron, calcium, magnesium, and zinc. This makes it difficult for the body to absorb these substances. However, if you soak the oat flakes for at least 30 minutes before eating, the phytic acid is broken down and its content in the oat flakes is reduced. In this way, the nutrients can be better absorbed by the body. The digestibility is also increased by soaking.

This is probably why cold-prepared overnight oats have become so popular.

Soaking Oatmeal for Breakfast

Soaking the oat flakes overnight does not only offer this advantage: Breakfast goes much faster in the morning if the basis could be prepared the day before. Here’s a recipe for soaking oatmeal: use twice as much liquid as oatmeal to soak, so you don’t have to drain off the water at the end. Soaking the oat flakes is particularly effective in an acidic environment. You are therefore welcome to try it with sour milk products or fruit juices. Alternatively, you can briefly roast the oat flakes in a pan without fat before eating.

Can you cook the oatmeal instead?

Mistakenly, boiling oatmeal in water or milk cannot replace soaking, it does not have the same desired effect. Unfortunately, the process of soaking cannot be “shortened”. In addition, the vitamin content is reduced by heating. Instead of cooking it, you can use our recipe to make porridge in the microwave.

Oatmeal is healthy and versatile

Oat flakes contain many valuable minerals, have a high biotin content, and have soluble fiber that has a positive effect on digestion. Among other things, the roughage prevents a rapid increase in blood sugar levels and keeps us full for a very long time. Oatmeal can be used in all sorts of dishes. They are ideal for a balanced breakfast in the form of muesli, porridge, overnight oats, or Bircher muesli. Try our oatmeal porridge recipe or the recipe for oat milk porridge with apple. Or do you already know our recipe for oatmeal soup? Fresh fruit and a few nuts are wonderful to round off the taste. As a healthy snack for in between, the oat flakes can also be wonderfully processed into muesli bars or biscuits. They also taste great in savory bread or sweet cakes.