A couple of weeks ago, I shared a picture of a gorgeous bowl of oatmeal on my Facebook page, above which the original poster had asked their readers to share what their favorite ingredient to add to their oatmeal was.
Little did I know that reading the answers to that question would lead me to meet the new love of my life: Egg White Oatmeal.
I mean, seriously. This stuff is so good, I think I want to marry it.
There’s this one major problem, though… how does one put a ring around a bowl of oatmeal?
Alright, alright… enough with the silly comments. I’m done now, promise. You can keep on reading.
Honestly before that day, I had never heard of adding egg whites to oatmeal, and oddly enough, the thought had never even occurred to me!
Considering the fact that I eat a great deal of protein every day and that my three main sources of protein are whey protein powder, Greek yogurt and egg whites, I’m really surprised that I had never ever thought of it.
After all, both the whey and yogurt had already found their way to my bowl of warm cereal…
Guess it was only a matter of time before the egg whites got there too.
Frankly, they are by far the better of the 3.
There’s just something about them that changes the entire structure of the dish. They really turn ordinary oatmeal into a bowl of dreamy, fluffy, airy, creamy and chewy cereal.
Plus, they take a lot of expansion, so you suddenly feel like you have four times as much oatmeal in your pot.
But don’t take my word for it… give it a try!
Chances are, you’ll never want to have another bowl of plain oatmeal again.
You’ll always be reaching for that carton of egg whites!
INGREDIENTS
- ½ cup old fashioned rolled oats
- 1½ cup water
- ½ cup egg whites
- 1 small apple, peel on, cored and cut into bite size chunks
- Ground cinnamon to taste
INSTRUCTIONS
- Bring water to the boil and add oats. If you want your apple cooked, add it now.
- Lower heat and simmer until about three quarters of the water is absorbed, about 5 minutes.
- Slowly pour in egg whites while whisking constantly so the whites don't cook but rather turn into a nice, thick consistency.
- Continue cooking / whisking over low heat for about one minute until mixture becomes thick and fluffy and airy.
- Turn off the heat and stir in cinnamon, as well as your apple if you prefer to keep it raw and haven't added it at the beginning.
- You can also add half your apple at the beginning and save the other half for the end. You could even save a few chunks to garnish your oatmeal.
- Transfer to serving bowl and enjoy immediately.
Ready…
Set…
GO!
Oh, how I wish you could taste this…
Haha we just got into it too and really enjoy it! Doesn’t it become so fluffy! I’ve even started enjoying egg whites with overnight oats – microwaved briefly in breakfast bowl until cooked (kind of scrambled really), before adding a big spoonful of overnight oats from the fridge. What a way to crank that protein on the first meal of the day huh!
Fluffy is right, with a capital F!!!
Not sure that I would be a big fan of the scrambled whites, though… Even when conventionally cooked, when you reheat egg white oatmeal in the microwave, the whites sort of scramble and I don’t really care for it. I think I’ll pass on the overnight version!
Or not… I’m sort of curious, still!
I HAVE heard of adding egg Whites to oats before but it was for over night oats that also included microwaving it beforehand. Your method is simpler. And your words might have won me over.
Hope you give them a try, Kammie, really! Like me, you’ll probably wonder how you managed to go so long without them!
I have never heard about this, but i am going to take your word for it and try one of these days.
Wow, this looks so good! What a great idea. I might try it with a banana or with a pear!
Wow, thanks for the inspiration! Tried it today with a red pear and a hint of cardamom, cinnamon and nutmeg. AH-MA-ZING is what it was. I also tried with a banana and cocoa powder before. Not bad at all… I think I’ll try peaches and “cream” next!
or what about the addition strawberries? That seems so good aswell
Totally agree! I have to try!
I tried it I loved it. I added some sievia to it to sweeten it up so. But is was yummy
I like my oatmeal cold, and very dense/chewy… If I made these and let them sit in the fridge for a while do you think they would ‘thicken’ up much, or would they remain soft? I like the idea of the increased volume… I have heard somewhere that whipping the egg whites before adding them to the oats helps add more volume!
To be honest, Nikki, I have no idea, but I certainly want to give it a try now! I too, happen to love cold oats. I tend to believe that they would become thick and chewy… as for beating the egg whites, you do beat them with a whisk as you incorporate them to the oats, so they do pick up a lot of volume and become very airy and fluffy. Seriously, if you’re into oats, this is something you definitely want to try. And if you do throw them in the fridge, please, please, let me know how they were!
Ok, so I just made a similar rendition of this.
I cooked 1/2 cup oats in 1 cup water, then added 1/3 cup pumpkin puree with cinnamon and stevia, and then added 3 egg whites which I had beaten with an electric mixer until firm. I cooked this for a looong time as I wanted to make sure the eggs were cooked, are cause they were sooo fluffy I couldn’t tell. In the end it was too moist and fluffy for my liking, though extremely voluminous (which I DID like). I spread it all out on a large plate and stuck it in the freezer for bout 10-15 min. to completely cool. This did help firm it up, but in the process of mixing, cooking for so long, and then cooling, it lost all the extra volume I created by beating the egg whites, so I might as well have just ‘whipped’ them in as you suggest.
So, verdict is – yes, they do thicken up fairly well after cooling, but loses a bit of volume.
Yikes! Sounds like you went through a lot of trouble! I think I’ll try the standard method and stick them in the fridge after… or maybe fluff the egg whites and add them to cold overnight refrigerator oats? That might be worth a shot. I think I’ll give that a go this week-end. Will let you know how it went.
Sounds good, looking forward to hearing how it turns out for ya!
It’s all fun food-experimentation… finding out what works and what doesn’t. And of course, it all depends on what you are going for. If someone likes really cloud-fluffy and moist oatmeal, they would be in love with the recipe I used.
Next time I try the eggy-oats thing, I think I will try your method of whisking in the whites, and then letting it cool.
Today I’m having oatmeal 3 times… is that too much? Oh well.
1. Steel-cut oats with a mashed banana cooked in, and mixed with cocoa powder, and a chopped apple.
2. Oat bran with raspberries topped with peanut sauce (peanut flour mixed with water enough to create a sauce-like consistency) — think PB&J!! YUM!
3. Oatmeal pancakes… with ummm… more raspberries.
Apparently I can’t keep up with myself and all the different ways I want to eat oatmeal in a day! When I really want THICK oats, I simply pour hot water over a bowl of quick oats and let it soak for a while. Last night I did this and then mixed in a blended pumpkin-plain yogurt-banana-cinnamon, nutmeg, & stevia mix. HEAVEN right there in my bowl I tell you.
Wow, ok, you do love your oatmeal, Nikki!
Finally, I opted to go with the warm version this morning. I might try the overnight tomorrow morning, if I don’t forget to soak the oats again…
Mind you, you really tempted me with the pancakes thing. Now I’m craving oatmeal cottage cheese pancakes! Topped with warm banana slices… OH YUM!
Errrm, yeah. I kinda do love it! I actually like it so much I start thinking it must be unhealthy and feel guilty about eating it! Wow, cottage cheese in the pancakes??!! HELLO YUM! Never tried but I’m thinking slight hints of cheesecake goodness?! I also really love adding a blend of yogurt, pumpkin/squash + cinnamon, nutmeg, and stevia! I like to pour this over quick oats which I have just poured enough hot water over to get them all wet, but no more, so they are extremely thick. SO GOOD! Well, I’m off to make my oatmeal-full lunch right now! Cheers!
Check these pancakes out, Nikki… I think THAT’s what I’m having for breakfast tomorrow… but with bananas instead of raspberries! HELLO YUM ALRIGHT!