Here’s how you can use your everyday oats and make a savory breakfast dish with it that is also something different than the usual. Oats Upma is an easy and delicious breakfast recipe perfect for your quick mornings. Made with quick-cooking oats and the goodness of mixed vegetables, this upma variation gets ready in just 30 minutes, is wholesome as well as great for the taste buds too. This simple recipe is also vegan.
Know This Oats Upma Recipe
If you love the classic South Indian Rava Upma as the ultimate dish for your morning meals, then this Oats Upma will also become your favorite in no time.
Oats Upma is a savory, healthy breakfast dish made with quick-cooking or rolled oats, vegetables, and simple spices. It’s a lighter, fiber-rich twist on traditional upma and comes together quickly, making it ideal for busy mornings.
The oats are lightly roasted, then cooked with tempered spices & lentils, together with cashews, sautéed onions, green chilies, ginger, and assorted vegetables like carrots, peas, or beans.
Finished with lemon juice and fresh coriander, oats upma is wholesome, filling, and naturally vegan.
The best part about this recipe is that it is even more healthy than your basic rava upma made with cream of wheat (or suji/rava).
This sumptuous Oats Upma is super easy to prepare and takes only 30 minutes to cook, from start to finish.
I make this dish the same way I make the regular upma, but with a mix of finely chopped veggies. So, this enhances the health quotient of this particular upma recipe with oats.
To make the Oats Upma, you could use any variety of oats. Only ensure that you add enough water and adjust the cooking time according to the kind of oats you have used.
I have made the recipe with quick cooking oats, which takes less time to cook as well as needs less water to soften as compared to rolled oats or steel cut oats.
So, if you have quick cooking oats, some vegetables and the usual South Indian aromatics and spices, making this Oats Upma is a breeze.
For the choice of fat, if you want to give an authentic touch to this dish, use coconut oil. But if you have an aversion towards this oil, then use any other neutral flavored oil to cook this upma.
You can technically make the Oats Upma without the vegetables, but the taste and texture the veggies bring in is just too good (of course, not to forget, the nutritional boost too). So, I definitely recommend including them.
My choice of veggies for this Oats Upma are carrots, French beans and green peas. You can customize by adding your choice of vegetables like capsicum, cauliflower, broccoli, baby corn, cabbage, steamed/canned corn kernels etc.
You can even leave out the urad dal, if you don’t have it. This upma will taste just as fab without it too.
Oats in general have become very popular lately, which is exciting because we love Oats Recipes. In addition to this Oats Upma, here are some of my other favorite recipes with oats that you can try:
- Oats Idli: Soft, yum idlis made with oats flour
- Oats Khichdi: Savory, spiced moong lentils and oats porridge
- Oats Dosa: Crispy crepes made with oats flour, spices and herbs
How to Make Oats Upma
Roast The Oats
1. Heat ½ teaspoon oil in a shallow frying pan. Add 1 cup (100 grams) quick cooking oats.
2. Stir and roast on low heat till the oats turn crisp. Continue stirring so the oats do not get browned from the bottom. Stir for about 3 to 4 minutes.
Note: There is no need to brown the oats. You really just want a bit of crispness.
3. Next, remove the oats on a plate or mixing bowl and keep aside.
Fry Spices & Nuts
4. Now, in the same pan, heat 2 tablespoons oil. Add 1 teaspoon mustard seeds, stir and fry on medium-low heat until the seeds crackle.
5. Next, add 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, 1 teaspoon chana dal, 1 teaspoon urad dal (optional) and 8 to 10 cashews.
6. Stir and fry the mixture until the chana dal gets golden browned. Meanwhile the cashews would also turn a light golden or golden and the cumin seeds will also get fried well.
Sauté Onions & Aromatics
7. Next, add ¼ cup tightly packed finely chopped onions.
8. Then, stir and sauté till the onions soften and become translucent.
9. Next, add ½ teaspoon finely chopped ginger, 1 or 2 chopped green chilies and 7 to 8 large curry leaves (or 10 to 12 medium to small curry leaves).
Stir and sauté for half a minute.
Note: You can also add deseeded broken dried red chillies or a mixture of both green and dried red chillies.
Add Vegetables
10. Then, add ¼ cup finely chopped carrots, ¼ cup finely chopped French beans and ¼ cup green peas (fresh or frozen).
Note: Other vegetables that you can add are baby corn, capsicum (bell pepper), broccoli and cabbage. You can also add steamed corn or canned cooked corn kernels.
11. Stir and sauté for 2 minutes.
12. Then, add 1.25 cups water.
Simmer Vegetables
13. Now, cover the pan with its lid.
14. On medium heat, simmer the vegetable mixture for 8 to 9 minutes or until the vegetables are almost cooked.
Make Oats Upma
15. Once the veggies are almost done, add the roasted oats.
16. Stir and mix lightly.
17. Add salt as required.
18. Mix very well.
Cook Oats Upma
19. Cover the pan with its lid and cook Oats Upma on low to medium-low heat for 7 to 8 minutes.
20. In the below image, you can see that the Oats Upma is done and steamed well. If the mixture looks very dry, you can sprinkle some water, mix again and cook for a couple of minutes.
21. Lastly, add 1 to 2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves and mix well.
22. Drizzle some lemon juice and serve Oats Upma hot with coconut chutney or just as is. For added texture and flavor, top with some fresh grated coconut.
Serving Suggestions: Serve Oats Upma drizzled with some lemon or lime juice or with a side of Coconut Chutney. You can also have it as an evening snack or as breakfast with a cup of hot Masala Chai or the South Indian Filter Coffee.
Storage Suggestions: Oats Upma is best had hot or warm. If you have any leftovers, store in an air-tight container or jar in the refrigerator for a day only. Reheat with a sprinkling of water, in a microwave oven or steam in a pan or Instant Pot for a few minutes.
If you enjoy Indian-style savory oats recipes for breakfast, try my Oats Chilla and Oats Dosa. For something simple and comforting, you can also check out my Oats Porridge.”
Expert Tips
- Oats: You can use any variety of oats like rolled oats, steel-cut oats or instant oats. Do remember to add water according to the type of oats you are using.
- Vegetables: The addition of veggies is optional, but I definitely suggest to add them. They provide great flavor, make the dish more filling, add an amazing texture and also result in more health benefits. Include your favorites. The more, the better!
- Nuts: You can skip the cashews completely or even replace them with roasted peanuts.
- Spice level:You can skip the green chilies or even add both dried red chilies and green chilies. For a bit of heat and spice, add crushed black pepper or red chili flakes.
- Oil: Make your Oats Upma in any neutral flavored oil or coconut oil. You can make it with ghee (clarified butter) as well.
- Scaling: This recipe of Oats Upma can easily be scaled to make for more servings.
FAQs
Rolled oats, steel cut oats or instant oats – all work. Rolled oats or steel cut oats will give more texture and chewiness. Both also take longer to cook and need more water. That said, rolled oats and steel cuts oats are a better choice as they are healthier.
Yes, you can. But to maintain the flavor and a bit of heat, I recommend adding some crushed black pepper or crushed red chillies.
Yes, but I recommend adding them as they improve the taste, texture and nutrition of the dish.
Yes. You can cook it in advance and refrigerate it for a day. Reheat with a sprinkle of water in a pan or microwave before serving.
More Oats Recipes You May Like:
- Oats Chilla – Savory oat pancakes with oats, gram flour, vegetables and spices.
- Oats Porridge – A light, nourishing oats breakfast made with milk or water.
- Oats Uttapam – Soft, thick pancakes made with oats, semolina, veggies, herbs and spices.
- Overnight Oats – A no-cook breakfast made with oats soaked in water or milk, and topped with fruits or nuts.
If you’ve tried this recipe, please rate it in the recipe card or leave a comment below – I’d love to hear your feedback. For more vegetarian inspiration, sign up for my email updates or follow me on Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, Pinterest or X.
Oats Upma Recipe (Indian Savory Oats)
Ingredients
For roasting oats
- 1 cup (100 grams) quick cooking oats
- ½ teaspoon oil – any neutral oil
Other ingredients
- ¼ cup onions – tightly packed, finely chopped
- ¼ cup carrots – finely chopped
- ¼ cup french beans – finely chopped
- ¼ cup green peas – fresh or frozen
- 7 to 8 curry leaves – large or 10 to 12 medium to small curry leaves
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon chana dal – optional
- 1 teaspoon urad dal – optional
- 8 to 10 cashews or roasted peanuts
- ½ teaspoon ginger – finely chopped
- 1 or 2 green chillies – chopped
- 1 to 2 tablespoons coriander leaves – chopped (cilantro)
- 1.25 cups water or add as required
- 2 tablespoons oil – any neutral oil or coconut oil
- salt as required
Instructions
Roasting oats
- Heat ½ teaspoon oil in a pan. Add 1 cup quick cooking oats.
- Stir and roast on a low heat until the oats become crisp.
- Keep stirring continuously so that the oats do not get browned from the bottom. No need to brown the oats. You really just want a bit of crispyness.
- Remove oats in a plate or tray and set aside.
Sautéing onions and veggies
- In the same pan, heat 2 tablespoons oil. Add mustard seeds. Stir and fry until the mustard seeds crackle.
- Then add cumin seeds, chana dal & urad dal (optional) and, cashews.
- Stir and fry until the chana dal gets browned.
- Add finely chopped onions. Stir and sauté until the onions soften and turn translucent.
- Next add finely chopped ginger, chopped green chillies and curry leaves. Stir and sauté for half a minute.
Making oats upma
- Next add finely chopped carrots, finely chopped french beans and green peas, fresh or frozen. Stir and sauté for 2 minutes.
- Add water. Cover the pan with its lid.
- On a medium heat simmer and cook this mixture until the veggies are almost done. About 8 to 9 minutes.
- Add the roasted oats. Stir and mix lightly.
- Add salt as required. Mix very well.
- Cover the pan again with its lid and on a low to medium-low heat, steam for 7 to 8 minutes.
- Once done, add chopped coriander leaves.
- Stir and serve oats upma drizzled with some lemon or lime juice.
Serving suggestions
- Oats upma is best served hot or warm. Drizzle it with a bit of lemon juice and enjoy with your morning cup of tea. You can also serve it with a side of coconut chutney.
- You can also garnish with some chopped coriander leaves and fresh grated coconut while serving.
- You can also enjoy oats upma as a brunch or an evening snack.
Storage
- Oats upma is best had hot or warm. If you have any leftovers, store in an airtight container or jar, in the refrigerator for a day only.
- Reheat in a microwave oven with a drizzle of water, or steam in a pan or in the Instant pot for a few minutes.
Notes
- Use any type of oats, but adjust water and cooking time accordingly.
- Add your choice of vegetables for better taste and nutrition.
- Skip cashews or use roasted peanuts instead.
- Omit green chilies and add black pepper, or red chili flakes instead.
- Cook in coconut oil, ghee, or any neutral oil.
- Lightly roast oats before cooking to prevent stickiness.
- For slightly more softer texture, cover and rest the oats upma for 5 minutes after cooking.
- Recipe can be easily doubled or tripled.
Nutrition Info (Approximate Values)
Oats Upma recipe from the archives was first published on April 2015.
Since the time I’ve tried this recipe of upma with oats, I don’t think I’m liking any other version. Glad, that I came across this recipe here.
I am happy to hear that you liked the recipe! It’s always great when you find a version that you really enjoy. Thanks for trying it out!
Make it so often I soon won’t need to look at the recipe. Delicious healthy and filling and easy to make. Thank you for sharing.
Most welcome and thank you.
Dassana ji, My sister n and I are huge fans of your recipes and truly appreciate your work. Our homes are filled with the aromas of your hard work and our dining tables have tastier food, thanks to you. God bless you n your family❤️
I am yet to experiment with oats and has been on my list for long. Will definitely try this upma and am sure, it’s gonna turn out great, just like all yyour other recipes. Please suggest a brand of oats
Thank you so much Vindya. Glad to read your lovely comment. For this recipe, I don’t remember which brand of oats I had used. Usually I use any organic brand of rolled oats and quick cooking oats. Hope that helps.
Recipe sounds very good. Will try it soon. Also could you please post recipe for mushroom risotto.
Thanks Khaitan. I have noted down the recipe request and will try to post soon.
Tried out and it turned nice. Thank you for recipe.
welcome bhavya and thanks for the feedback.
Hi, if I use rolled oats for this recipe, how much would the cooking time change? Thanks!
lalita, rolled oats will take a longer time and may also need more water. i cannot tell the exact time. so the only thing is to check when the oats are cooking.
Great recipe. Made it several times for breakfast. It’s healthy with the Indian flavor. Thanks for sharing!
Welcome Deepta. Thanks for sharing positive feedback.
Made it a couple of days back but could not write here. I made oats upma for the first time by seeing ur recipe. My husband was amazed that even oats tasted soo gud. It was very tasty 🙂 . Thank u dassana. Also can u post lucknowi biryani or awadhi biryani . !
thank you chandana. oats do taste good in many recipes. you can even try preparing oats dosa, idli and chilla. thanks for sharing this positive review. i will be adding awadhi biryani. its in the drafts so will add in some days.
I was searching for vegetable oats recipe this morning and end up reading your recipe. I made it this morning and everyone in house ? love it
preety, glad to know this.
Thanks to giv us a good recipe.
welcome poornima
Hi Dassana,
I have been using your webpage since the time I started cooking 3 months back and I love the way the recipes are so clearly written. It’s even better when there are pictures 🙂
Just a quick question about oats upma – can I use rolled oats to make this?
thank you niveditha. you can use rolled oats to make the upma. could be that you might need to add some more water for cooking rolled oats. you can add 1.5 cups water overall.
Oats upmarket excellent
Can oats upma be given to 3 year old children
yes you can give oats upma to 3 year olds. oats is a healthy cereal, so you can include oats in the food that you prepare for your kids and family.
The mentioned recipe is awesome. Made it for the first time, really loved it. Thank you so much. I will keep visiting your website from now on for my weekend cooking adventures.
Thanks!
thankyou vicky and you are welcome 🙂
Very nice & detailed helpful recipe for the people who are unknown about cooking oats.
glad to know the recipe helped you rakhi tanks a ton 🙂
This recipe was awesome. Great vegan options.
I want more receipes for Oats
will try to add.
hey dassna i love all ur recipes. this one was so easy and quick. keep posting new recipes..
thanks suchi
Made it today. It was so deliciously creamy. The family loved it! Thanks!
welcome artika
Your recipes are mind blowing. I visit your website almost everyday for any veg recipes I need to make. The pictures with steps are so helpful as it’s easier for all of us to follow and not interpret every step. From all the ladies who are learning to cook and/or are looking for new recipes. This is your final destination.
Thank you Dassana for making us good cooks 🙂
welcome naureen. thanks for sharing your positive and encouraging feedback. glad to read your comment.
Hello there, I tried the recipe and has come out really well.. Do try your other recipes too soon..
thanks gowri for sharing positive feedback.
Hi
Ur recipe for dhokla was awesome.
Thank u
Plz do post doughnut recipe. As I live in a remote area my children’s want to have it and wish to make at home. So plz do post.
Thanks
welcome sunita. thanks for your positive feedback. i will try to post the recipe soon.
Tasty and Healthy recipe
thanks sajeda
Very nice, step to step demo, good recipe for morning breakfast
thanks sita
Nice recipe of oats upma….shall try n give the feedback soon….looking forward for more such healthy recipes..
thanks savita
Amazing recipe – made it for lunch and my husband loved it 🙂 Thank you Dassana amit.
welcome divya. glad to know this.
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe! I have been looking for a step-by-step recipe for oats upma since quite some time. I’m definitely making this for breakfast tomorrow 🙂
Welcome Noodle. Glad to know this.
Just made it for myself dinner as I usually do not eat carbs at night I was apprehensive at first as oats is a bit slimy when cooked and I love it the porridge way. But the upma was delicious.Enjoyed every bit of it. Thank you. =)
thanks shubha. good to know. if cooked correctly, then the oats do not become mushy or slimy.
Nyc receipe…….thanks for sharing
welcome ankit
Yummy and healthy recipe….
Can I use normal oats??
thanks suvidha. by normal oats you mean the rolled oats or the oats which are available in indian markets. the one i added are quaker cooking oats easily available in india.
Yea the oats which are available in Indian market…becoz I dont have cooking oats at my home, I have regular oats….so how can I use that?
suvidha, they are same oats. what we get in indian market are quick cooking oats.
Okay….thanks a lot….
welcome suvidhashelar
Hi,
I wanted to leave a comment on the popular malai kofta recipe., but was unable to. The recipe is super good and super simple.
the proportions in your recipes are perfect and can be followed blindly. Every one in my family appreciated. Thanks for all your hard work. God bless you.
regards,
nivedita.
thanks a lot nivedita. for some days now we have closed the comment on old recipes as we very short of time. will open the comments in near future. thanks again.
What can I use instead of chana/urd dal?
skip them.
Thanks dassana for such an awesome recipe
Today I tried oats upma recipe and instead of using chana dal I used gram flour and the taste was superb. My family members liked it very much. Thanks for delicious and healthy recipe. Good job
Keep it on.
thanks for the positive review swati. gram flour will give a nice and different taste. thanks for sharing.