Home · Recipes · Breakfast & Brunch Shrimp and Cheddar Oatmeal Author: Maryanne CabreraPublished: Apr 6, 2015Updated: Oct 5, 2023 View Recipe14 ReviewsThis post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy. Disclosure: This Shrimp and Cheddar Oatmeal recipe post is sponsored by Pacific Foods. As always, all opinions expressed here are entirely my own. Savory Breakfast Oatmeal For the longest time, I refused to try savory oatmeals. I have always associated oatmeal with sweet berries, dried fruits, honey and chocolate. The idea of adding an egg on my oatmeal gave me goosebumps… until one day I finally tried it and fell madly in love. (Proof: my Asian congee-style oats that I shared last week.) It’s good to try new things. You’ll never know what you’ve been missing out on until you give it a try. Ready To Eat Steel-Cut Oatmeal I’m a big fan of oatmeal, especially steel-cut oatmeal. The only problem: steel-cut oats take a long time to cook. Last year I learned about overnight steel cut oats. The night before, you bring a pot of water to a boil, add the steel-cut oats, cover the pot, and let it sit overnight. The following morning, simply reheat the pot until the oatmeal is warm, and you’ve got a quick steel-cut oatmeal breakfast! I didn’t think it could get any easier. And then Pacific Foods send me samples of their new ready to eat steel-cut oatmeal. They’re pre-cooked, meaning you can eat it out of the box or take the little effort to reheat them. The oatmeals come in five flavors. My favorite is the unsweetened one because it affords me the most freedom and creativity. Healthier & Quicker Version of Shrimp and Grits My newfound love of savory oatmeal prompted me to make this ultimate brunch oatmeal. I love shrimp and grits. However, grits can take up to an hour to cook. When hunger strikes during my lazy weekend mornings, I need food fast! That’s what led me to experiment with this easier (and healthier) shrimp and cheddar oatmeal. It’s my oatmeal take on cheesy grits. Best part-it takes less than 15 minutes to make! Yes, shrimp and cheesy oatmeal. It may sound strange, but don’t knock it down until you give it a try! Ingredients needed are simple: unsweetened cooked steel-cut oatmeal, shrimp, bacon, garlic, chives, and shredded sharp cheddar cheese. First, I cooked the bacon and used the rendered bacon fat to quickly sauté the shrimp with some minced garlic. I saved the remaining rendered fat to drizzle on the finish oats. Would you believe that cooking the bacon was the most time consuming part of the dish? YES. I kid you not. Heat up the oats and stir in the cheddar cheese. It only takes seconds for the cheese to melt thus creating a super creamy oatmeal. Top the cheddar oatmeal with bacon, shrimp, and chives. Drizzle a tiny bit of the bacon/shrimp oil over the oats. Enjoy immediately! Shrimp and Cheddar Oatmeal Savory oatmeal featuring shrimp, cheddar, and bacon. A delicious way to start the day! Prep Time: 5 minutes minutesCook Time: 10 minutes minutesTotal Time: 15 minutes minutes Servings: 1 Print Recipe Pin Recipe Rate Recipe Ingredients1 package Pacific Organic Steel-Cut Oatmeal unsweetened⅓ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese1 slice thick bacon1 garlic clove, minced4 medium sized shrimp, fresh or frozen*kosher salt, to tastefresh ground black pepper, to tastechopped chives or green onions, to garnish Instructions Place bacon slice in a cold pan. Set over low-medium heat and slowly cook. As bacon starts to curl, turn over and cook on the other side. Continue to cook and turn over, as needed until bacon is browned to your desired level of crispness. As the bacon cooks, it will render fat. Keep rendered fat to cook shrimp. Transfer cooked bacon to a paper towel lined plate and allow to slightly cool.In the same pan you cooked bacon, add 1 Tbsp of reserved bacon fat. Set over medium heat. Once pan is hot, add garlic. Cook for 30 seconds until fragrant, then add shrimp. Season with salt and pepper. Allow to cook on one side 45-60 seconds. As shrimp starts to get pink, flip over to the other side. Cook for another 45-60 seconds until shrimp is pink. Remove from heat.Pour oatmeal into a microwave safe container. Microwave for 2 minutes, or until warm. Add shredded cheddar cheese. Stir to combine. Transfer cheesy oatmeal to serving plate. Add cooked shrimp, crumbled bacon, and chives. Drizzle bacon oil, if desired. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Enjoy immediately. Notes* I prefer to buy shrimp with shells. Peel shell before cooking. If using frozen shrimp, follow package instructions regarding defrosting shrimp. Author: Maryanne Cabrera Course: Breakfast, Main CourseCuisine: AmericanKeyword: savory oatmeal, steel cut oats, shrimp and grits, cheddar oatmeal Did you make this recipe?Show us on Instagram! Tag @littleepicurean and hashtag #littleepicurean.
Alex says: April 7, 2015 Wow! This is one of the wildest things you’ve made, and it did not disappoint; cheddar and oatmeal are not the most typical of combinations. I love the photos too. Reply
Jeni says: April 7, 2015 WOW! Great recipe! This is a fabulous idea that I never would have thought of! Can’t wait to try it! Reply
Maryanne Cabrera says: April 9, 2015 Thanks Jeni! I thought I was crazy to put cheese in oatmeal but it turned out to be great! Hope you try it out :)
Tina @ Just Putzing Around the Kitchen says: April 7, 2015 Savory oatmeal??? You are literally blowing my mind with this. I don’t love grits, but your oatmeal looks so good I’d be willing to give this a try! Reply
Maryanne Cabrera says: April 9, 2015 YES! Savory oatmeal! Never thought I’d like it, but it’s quite good :) The texture of this is less like grits and more like porridge :)
Kelly - Life Made Sweeter says: April 8, 2015 This looks fantastic, MaryanneI love oatmeal but have never tried a savory version either. I love all the ingredients so would definitely try this :) Reply
Jocelyn (Grandbaby cakes) says: April 8, 2015 I couldn’t stop gawking at the amazingness of this on insta like seriously!! It is fantastic! Reply
Sarah @ SnixyKitchen says: April 12, 2015 I’ve never had savory oatmeal, but I’ve been craving this dish since I first saw it in my feed earlier in the week! This is so creative and who doesn’t love a meal that can come together fast (so you can avoid getting hangry while you wait for grits!). Reply
Julie | Small Green Kitchen says: August 30, 2015 This is simply stunning, Maryanne! Shrimp and grits is a favorite of mine; I love the healthier twist you brought to the classic. :) Reply
MAYA BERMUDA says: April 17, 2016 Love this! I first tried shrimps and grits when visiting family in Atlanta years ago. Always wondered if I could do the same with my oats. We use Bobs red mill ORGANIC Scottish oats. I did a web search to see if someone out there had done shrimps and oats, and found your page! I will give it a go sans cheese for the first time, then throw in some cheddar when I am ready to dabble in something more exciting. Happy eating, from sunny Bermuda! Reply
Maryanne Cabrera says: April 19, 2016 Thanks Maya! I’m so glad you found me. Happy cooking! Hope you fall in love with savory oats! :)