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
Ingredients
- 1 package Pacific Organic Steel-Cut Oatmeal unsweetened
- ⅓ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
- 1 slice thick bacon
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 4 medium sized shrimp, fresh or frozen*
- kosher salt, to taste
- fresh ground black pepper, to taste
- chopped 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
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.
Thank you Alex for being my cheese shredder :)
WOW! Great recipe! This is a fabulous idea that I never would have thought of! Can’t wait to try it!
Thanks Jeni! I thought I was crazy to put cheese in oatmeal but it turned out to be great! Hope you try it out :)
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!
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 :)
This looks fantastic, MaryanneI love oatmeal but have never tried a savory version either. I love all the ingredients so would definitely try this :)
Thanks Kelly! Give it a try! :)
I couldn’t stop gawking at the amazingness of this on insta like seriously!! It is fantastic!
Thank you so much Jocelyn!!! :)
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!).
This is simply stunning, Maryanne! Shrimp and grits is a favorite of mine; I love the healthier twist you brought to the classic. :)
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!
Thanks Maya! I’m so glad you found me. Happy cooking! Hope you fall in love with savory oats! :)