Homemade Instant Oatmeal Packets

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Looking to make some homemade instant Oatmeal Packets? Save time and money by making your own instant oatmeal. SO easy and frugal to make and easy to customize to tastes and dietary needs!

Save time and money by making your own instant oatmeal in fun flavors! SO easy and frugal to make! #instantoatmeal #homemadeoatmeal #frugaloatmeal #makeyourown #instantoatmealrecipe #homemadeinstantoatmeal #organic #gluten free #allergenfriendly

Homemade Instant Oatmeal Packets

I’m one of those people that needs breakfast right away every single morning. (Unlike my hubby who rarely wants breakfast.) I wake up a hungry bear that needs something satisfying to eat!

I love having something pre-made and ready to go, it’s easy to grab while I’m working or before I need to run out the door. One easy and mostly healthy breakfast food is instant oatmeal. Pre-made in those little packages they are very easy to pack for lunches or to grab from the cupboard. Too bad they are so expensive and have some ickies in them. Let’s take a look:

 

Oat(s) Whole Grain Rolled, Sugar,  Natural Flavors, Salt, Calcium Carbonate, Guar Gum, Oat(s) Flour, Caramel Color, Iron Reduced, Vitamin A Palmitate

Yummy, fake coloring and mysterious “natural flavors”. Just what I wanted in a breakfast!

Not.

They’re also not very cost-effective.

The regular price of this on Amazon for a 12 count box is around $3.50.

Plus, they’re often made in facilities that contain a number of allergens.

We can make our own homemade Instant Oatmeal Pack with organic, gluten-free, allergen-friendly ingredients at a fraction of the cost! So let’s mix some up!

Instant Oatmeal Packets

Make Your Own Instant Oatmeal Packets

What You Need:

  • 1/2 cup quick oats
  • 2 teaspoons powdered milk (optional)
  • 1 Tablespoon sugar (brown sugar, succant, turbinado, honey granules, etc)
  • Snack-sized plastic bags or jelly jars
Since these are so hard to make ( 🙂 ) I thought I better include a picture tutorial.
Here are the ingredients.
— I buy some of my ingredients in bulk from Azure Standard, you can learn more about that with my Beginners Guide to Azure Standard.
In your little baggie or jar, add the powdered milk or whey.
This just makes your oatmeal extra creamy, if you’d like to make these dairy free you can leave it out or use Powdered Coconut Milk .
Add the sugar.
Add the oats.

Tada!! Instant oatmeal!

To make oatmeal, Pour in a bowl (or leave in the jar) and add 3/4 cup of hot water or milk and stir it up.

Instant Oatmeal in Jars

Want to print the recipe for homemade oatmeal packets? Grab it below:

5 from 2 votes
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Homemade Instant Oatmeal Packets

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup quick oats
  • 2 teaspoons powdered milk optional
  • 1 Tablespoon sugar brown sugar, succant, turbinado, honey granules, etc
  • Snack-sized plastic bags or jelly jars

Instructions

  1. In your little baggie or jar, add the powdered milk or whey.
  2. Add the sugar.
  3. Add the oats.
  4. Optional: You can add dried fruit to your packs to make different flavors.
  5. Tada!! Instant oatmeal! To make oatmeal, Pour in a bowl (or leave in jar) and add 3/4 cup of hot water or milk and stir it up.

Recipe Notes

If you'd rather, you could also just times this recipe by 5 or 10 and place the whole thing in a jar to keep at home. When you want to make a packet, just measure out a little more than 1/2 cup of mix for each bowl.  Then add 3/4 cup of hot water or milk and stir it up.

What to do with Instant Oatmeal Packets

You can make your oatmeal packs in bags OR in jelly jars.

If you’d rather, you could also just times this recipe by 5 or 10 and place the whole thing in a jar to keep at home. When you want to make a packet, just measure out a little more than 1/2 cup of mix for each bowl.  Then add 3/4 cup of hot water or milk and stir it up.

Want to add make some different flavored oatmeal? You can add dried fruit or nuts to your oatmeal packs to make different flavors.

–Get some great ideas on how to Make Perfect Oatmeal and add in ideas here!

Homemade Instant Oatmeal

It takes about a whole 5 minutes to make up a bunch of these. It’s so fast but it will save you lots of breakfast prep-time in the future!

It’s also very frugal! I paid $3.60 for 5 pounds of organic oats. There are 5 cups of oats in a pound so each 1/2 c. of oats per recipe cost me $0.07. The sugar and powdered milk are really small amounts but I will guess it costs about $0.15 for each “packet”, including the oats. That makes the total $1.80 for a 12 count (which is what’s in each store-bought box). That’s a savings of $1.70 per box! About 50% off the cost of the store-bought and my version is even organic, gluten free and can easily be made allergen friendly!

bookcoversmallerLooking for more mixes that you can make quickly and easily? My book, Little House Living: The Make Your Own Guide to a Frugal, Simple, and Self Sufficient Life has over 130 recipes just like this one that are perfect for your household.

Do you like having easy mixes on hand for breakfast? Here are a few more you might enjoy:

Homemade Pancake and Waffle Mix

Homemade Muffin Mix Recipe

Simple Scone Mix Recipe

The Best Chocolate Muffin Mix Recipe

Sugar Doughnuts Muffin Mix

Homemade Cappuccino Mix Recipe

Find even more make ahead breakfast ideas!

Who knew that homemade instant oatmeal packets could be so easy! What mix do you want to see me make next? 

merissabio

This Homemade Instant Oatmeal Pack recipe was originally published on Little House Living in August 2012. It has been updated as of October 2019.

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50 Comments

  1. I have done this before. I used raisins for some and those toddler freeze dried fruits. My husband loved it. He takes his breakfast to work with him most days.

    1. I was just wondering how I was going to make fruit flavors and how expensive it would be to get dried fruit and then you reminded me of the perfect toddler freeze dried fruit, stocking up on the next sale!

  2. Perfect timing for this post! I am getting ready to send my oldest off to college and we are trying to figure out easy dorm foods! This will be perfect!!

  3. This is perfect timing for me too! I was just looking at the store ones yesterday because we need to take some for our backpacking trip but all of the weird ingredients scared me off from buying it! I had wondered if I could make my own. I think I could have fun with this! Thanks Merissa! 🙂

  4. This sounds like an interesting idea. How would you go about getting different flavors such as peach, strawberry, blueberry, banana, etc…?

      1. 5 stars
        What a find for me! I have a glut of both frozen fruit and fresh apples. I am wondering how/if I can convert this recipe for fruit bars? Any ideas from anyone, please & thank you!

  5. We just keep ours in a rubbermaid type container with a 1/3 C measuring cup in it. Children can fix their own, and no baggie waste. I used a label maker to put the instructions right on the container.

      1. Oh Thanks anyway. We are stationed overseas right now so I cant do the Azure right now. I was hoping it was somewhere that did shipping :). I do have their link in my faves though for when we move back next year.

  6. This is such a great idea! I get the organic oats from Azure too and eat them at home YET I’d buy the all natural oatmeal packets for my office. DOH. I don’t add milk or sugar but I do add golden raisins which I’ll just throw into the premeasured oats into each bag. Thanks!

  7. Oh wow! I wish I’d known about this recipe when the kids were at home!
    This is such a great idea…now that they are grown, I could still make some up and put them in a basket with some vintage bowls and spoons and make a gift set out of it!
    Oh man! My son would love this…he used to live off instant oatmeal. Well, he lived off quick oats too and learned to add his own stuff. So I KNOW HE’D LIKE IT~

    I’m pinning it to my recipe board! Thanks, Pat

  8. Does anyone know where I can pick up powdered milk without it costing me an arm and a leg? Every place that I have went around here the powdered milk is sky high.

  9. Did you know…… you do not need “instant” oatmeal to do this? I do not make packets because what do you do with the baggy when you are done?

    I buy thick cut old-fashioned oats (25lb organic from bob’s red something from a cash and carry)
    and use a plastic bowl like container with a lid (it has been a long time since I’ve hiked far enough to need breakfast). Usually I just measure out what I need at home…..one part oats to two parts water and micro-wave for one minute. If I have to take it somewhere (like school) I put my “stuff” into a smaller reusable plastic container. Raisins, ground psylliam and flax seed, walnuts, fruit (I am not a fan of sweet oatmeal, raisins seem sweet enough). I had not thought of using powder milk…..good idea!
    In season I bring apples, apricots, berries or whatever to add fresh. (nice post!)

  10. I have milk allergies in my kiddos. Is it ok to just omit the powdered milk and have them use milk to make it with instead of water? Thanks for the help.

  11. Ok, Help..I made them sans milk powder (don’t want to use that), kids not impressed..I refuse to buy boxed anymore..Any Suggestions..

    1. Try adding 1/8 teaspoon of salt to each baggie, and I’ll bet your kids will like it much better. I can’t eat oatmeal without a little added salt. And consider adding a tablespoon (or two) of dried fruit (I prefer raisins). Fruit adds natural sweetness, which is always a plus!

  12. I’m curious about the powdered whey. Is this the why I get at the nutrition store or is it different? where would I find powdered whey that you use for this recipe?

    Thank you. I love this idea

    Catherine

    1. I get it from my local co-op. I don’t think it’s the same as you would get in a nutrition store but I’m not sure. At my co-op it’s just a cheaper version of powdered milk!

  13. Ok..I have a challenge for you…Mac N Cheese..
    I want to make small packages for meal size portions….doing the noodles is easy and fun…but how do I make the dry cheese packets…? Any ideas? Please respond to [email protected]
    Thanks..love your blog…..and I love trying your recipes!

  14. My kids don’t care for the mixes.. I just take 1/4 cup oats (regular or quick) and 1/2 cup water. I nuke this for 45 seconds, stir, nuke for 30 seconds and let it sit a couple minutes. I stir in 1/2 tsp. white sugar then top with 1 tsp. brown sugar. And the milk on top (depending on allergies, the one tat kid can have).

    That’s is for the girls. The boys prefer 1/2 cup oats and 1 cup water.. Some times I use a tbs less water so it is thicker.

  15. HI Marissa. I love your site and have been having a great time trying all the homemade recipes. I recently started blogging to share updates with family that lives a few hours away. Is there a way I can share your recipes or other posts through my blog? I am new to this and don’t to be stealing or anything. Thanks!

  16. I’ve been following you for a long time, but I don’t think I’ve ever commented here! I saw this and did a little squeal! I have 5 children, ages 6 months to 12.5 years old and are we busy! We are home every morning, but Tuesdays are our homeschool co-op mornings and we end up buying bagels and/or english muffins (whole wheat) for a fast breakfast to get us out of the door. I can’t stand to buy cereal — I simply freeze when I get close to the check-out counter with those boxes! This is a great alternative! We have been making baked oat for a long time, but it’s not so conducive to speed or travel, even. Here is what I am thinking: make these in pint jars, add the hot water from teh stove (no microwave ehre) and then they can even take them in hand out the door! Now…..just to get them BACK in the house to wash…..

  17. Oats are a wonder food! I like the chewy version with old fashioned oats. The instant stuff makes more of a pudding (or baby food). I use plastic bowls with lids instead of baggies. We like to add anything from coconut to sunflower seeds to our oatmeal. At home, we add frozen banana chunks before we add the boiling water and plenty of cinnamon. Bananas get over ripe so fast, so I freeze them (peeled) they are easy to chop and excellent in smoothies, whipped they make a delicious ice-cream, etc.
    Love your site. Grateful for the lovely ideas.

  18. Thank you for sharing your ideas and creativity. I’am so excited to try your recipes with my family and make my life simple too!

  19. Absolutely love your page. Especially these breakfast oatmeal packs made in advance. My son loves the brown sugar version, however, my favorite is Apple’s, cinnamon & raisins. Do you have recipe for this?
    Thanks so very much!

  20. I am curious if you know a substitute for the powdered milk, something non-dairy? My kiddo is allergic and often we can’t use the store bought brands because of this. Thanks!

  21. What is involved in the making of “Quick Oats”? How do they make them “Quick”? I’ve always been a little suspicious of that.

  22. This also works great in small canning jars, makes no waste since the jars are reusable. They have a lid so you can make it and take it with you.

  23. I make mine all the time. I don’t use the powdered milk or whey. I just add water and then if I need a little milk I put it in when it comes out of the microwave. I add my own dried fruit too that way I don’t need sugar. The fruit is enough sweetness. I also add a little cinnamon if I’m using my dehydrated apples. Even have my hubby eating them and I take them to work. Even took them on vacation in Feb!!!

    1. They should work you just may have to warm them up a bit longer with the warm water or put them in the microwave to make sure they are cooked. They aren’t quite as “instant” as the quick cooking oats.

  24. Merissa,

    I currently buy the instant packets because i have no micro and also no time in the am. I heat my kettle pour the hot water over strir n go. Will that work with these? If so, I am SO in!!

  25. I didn’t have quick oats so just put traditional oats in my coffee grinder for 2-3 seconds. Worked great in the instant oatmeal packets.
    I don’t add sugar, but use dehydrated fruits and spices to give the oatmeal some sweetness and flavor. If really needed, I might add some stevia to the cooked oatmeal.

  26. 5 stars
    This is a great idea. I like to add a pinch of cinnamon as well, and raisins or fruit if I have some on hand. Obviously I add the toppings when making it. 🙂

  27. Hi Merissa,
    I want to thank you for sending your emails, your knowledge and compassion in sharing for people far and wide.
    I love learning new things. Through you I am doing that.
    I àm at the stage of my life that I am looking forward in really going frugal as the foods of yesteryear are not compatible with me no more. I maybe 60 but it’s never to late to learn new things
    I hope you and your family, your community are well.
    Please take care and stay safe.
    Leonie