Vegetable Oats Upma for Healthy Breakfast

Oats have become quite a popular choice for breakfast thanks to its immense health benefit, but who said you only can enjoy it as a porridge? Try this yummy vegetable oats upma and kick off your day with right amount of fiber and protein!

I had already hinted you guys about my love affair with oats very recently in my banana oats smoothie recipe; now let me share more juicy details about it!

If you are trying to search for healthy or weightloss recipes on Google, chances are you might have stumbled upon many recipes using oats! You will mostly see oats porridge recipes, but this magic whole-grain is much more than just porridge!

Oat is one of the healthiest whole-grain available to us. It has secured its permanent place in weightloss industry only because of its superpower!

It is a great source of essential vitamins, minerals, fibers & anti-oxidants and is a great substitute of rice if you want to control your carb intake.

Oat has proven benefit in weightloss, blood sugar control and reduced risk of heart diseases. But I am sure you already know all of this above.

If you are getting overwhelmed with different varieties of oats used for same recipe coming from different websites, then worry not!

I have decided to decode “oats” for you once and for all! I strongly recommend you bookmark this page for your easy future reference as it may get confusing at times with so many types of oats available in the market today.

Let’s talk about the different types of oats we get in the supermarket these days (or you can buy online too just like me!) – old fashioned rolled oats, steel cut oats and quick cooking oats.

Each of the types has its own advantage and disadvantages over the other and we will talk about exactly that!

Steel cut oat is the least processed version of the wholegrain and contains maximum amount of fiber among the three varieties.

It also takes more time to cook but if you can use an instant pot or our good old Indian pressure cooker, you won’t have to worry about cooking time. Just soak it for at least 6 hours or overnight and you are good to go!

Next comes old fashioned rolled oats which is my favorite type of oat. It is little more processed than steel cut type having gone through a steaming and flattening process.

It takes much lesser time to cook compared to steel cut oats. My usual method of cooking rolled oats is to soak them in super-hot water for 20 to 30 minutes before I use it to cook any of my favorite oat recipes and the same goes for my vegetable oats upma.

The most processed version of oat is the quick cooking oats which is the most common variety available on the shelf. But this one has least amount of fiber among the three as it is most processed and cooks very fast.

You don’t need to soak them at all. I only use this variety when I am pressed for time but still needs something healthy to eat. I use rolled oats in most of my recipes and this vegetable oats upma is not an exception as well.

Rolled oats has a crunchy bite to it which I like compared to the smooth texture of quick cooking oats; but you can replace rolled oats with quick cooking version in most of my oats recipes by only reducing the cooking time.

I am using this brand of rolled oats for more than 2 years now and their quality has always impressed me!

Why this vegetable oats upma is the best healthy kick for your body first thing in the morning?

This vegetable oats upma is a powerhouse of nutrients – you get right amount of protein and fiber with minimal amount of fat. It keeps you full for a longer time and provide you ample energy to complete your chores efficiently!

I also sprinkle handful of roasted peanuts on top of my oats upma which is a fantastic source of good fat as research suggests that peanuts are every bit as good for heart health as more expensive nuts like walnut or almonds. So don’t skip peanuts!

To take this oats upma a notch up, you can drizzle a teaspoon of melted ghee on top of the hot bowl of oats upma and it will take the taste to a different level altogether.

Don’t worry, ghee is not an enemy of your weightloss journey, you can consume it with moderation and get amazing health benefit as it is a rare source of SCFA (Short Chain Fatty Acid); but I will save more details for a later post.

Today it’s all about the vegetable oats upma which is very easy to make, takes only about 30 minutes if you need to chop all the veggies.

If you have your meal prep done, then it would take 15 minutes max. Top it up with a sunny side up and your morning is all set! Enjoy!

More delicious & healthy oats recipe from Flavor Quotient

Vegetable Oats Upma | Power Packed Oats Breakfast Recipe

Save Print

Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

30 mins

Author: Priyanka

Recipe type: Breakfast

Cuisine: Indian

Serves: 2 Servings

Ingredients

Rolled oats (or instant/quick cooking oats) – ½ cup
Oil of your choice – 2 tbsp (You can use mustard oil, cold pressed sunflower or coconut oil)
Onion – 1, medium, finely chopped (about half a cup of chopped onion)
Curry leaves – 2 sprigs (about 10 to 12 leaves)
Whole mustard – ½ tsp
Green chilli – 2, finely chopped
Green beans – 10 to 12, chopped into small pieces
Carrot – 1, large, chopped into small pieces
Tomato – 1, medium, finely chopped
Ginger paste – 1 tsp
Red chilli powder – ¼ tsp
Black pepper powder – ¼ tsp or more as per your taste
Roasted peanuts – ¼ cup
Salt to taste
Freshly chopped coriander leaves – ½ cup

Instructions

Wash the rolled oats under running water for 3 to 4 times. Then soak the oats in boiling hot water for 15 minutes (you don’t have to put it on flame). If you are using quick cooking oats, you can directly use it without washing or soaking.
In a small wok, add the oil. Once oil is hot, lower the heat and add mustard seeds and curry leaves. Let the seeds splutter for few seconds.
Now add chopped onion and green chillies. Sauté them for 5 minutes on medium flame or until the onion turn golden brown and translucent.
Next add chopped beans and carrots. Sauté the veggies on low to medium flame for 10 minutes.
Next add the ginger paste and tomatoes. Season with salt to taste and keep cooking until the tomatoes are mushy and completely mixed through.
Now add the spices – chilli powder and black pepper powder. Mix everything well so that veggies are well-coated with the spices. Sprinkle a splash of water if the spices start to stick.
Next add the soaked and drained oats which would have softened by now. Stir everything well to mix thoroughly.
Let the oats cook on low flame for 8 to 10 minutes. You may cover the wok for faster cooking.
Check and adjust seasoning if needed. If the oats start to stick too much, then add just a little water to prevent that; but don’t add too much water as then the consistency will be too gloopy.
Finally add the chopped coriander leaves and roasted peanuts. Give a final stir to mix them well.
Your yummy and nutritious oats upma breakfast is ready to serve! Enjoy!

Notes

Note: I didn't add red chilli powder and black pepper powder when I shot the video of this recipe as I was particularly looking for a milder version of oats upma for myself. If you want to have a spicy kick, please do add red chilli powder and freshly crushed black pepper.