One-Serving Dark Chocolate Microwave Oatmeal
I posted this recipe in an Instagram Reel about a year ago, but that's not even faintly helpful for those of you who are not on Instagram. So, I'm giving this its own post so I can easily link to it in the future.
It's basically the same thing as the one-serving microwave oats I've posted before, just with a few tweaks.
First up, you mix ½ cup of old-fashioned oats, a pinch of salt, ½ tablespoon of sugar, and a tablespoon of cocoa powder together.
Use a bowl big enough to allow for the oats to bubble up while they cook; otherwise you will have boil-over.
I always use dark chocolate cocoa powder because it has such a wonderfully rich chocolate flavor. I use dark chocolate cocoa powder in everything I possibly can, actually.
(It made my list of favorite flavor enhancers, after all!)
Then you'll need ¾ cup of liquid; I like to use ½ cup milk and ¼ cup of leftover coffee.
But you could use non-dairy milk, you could use water, you could use nothing but coffee...it's really up to you!
I also add a splash of imitation vanilla (it's SO much cheaper and you cannot tell the difference in an application like this).
Once you add the liquid to the dry ingredients, whisk it all up. Incidentally: a good mini whisk will make your kitchen life 73% better.
Then I microwave mine for 2 minutes, give it a stir, and microwave it for one more minute.
Microwaves vary like crazy, so you're gonna have to experiment with yours to figure out the sweet spot.
I like to top my oatmeal with bananas.
And heavy cream, if I have it. On this day I only had half and half. 😉
I just make these from memory, but if you'd like a printable, just scroll down!
One-Serving Dark Chocolate Microwave Oatmeal
These oats take just a few minutes to throw together, and they can be made dairy-free!
Ingredients
- ½ cup old-fashioned rolled oats
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ½ tablespoon sugar (more or less as desired)
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
- ½ cup milk
- ¼ cup cold coffee
- ¼ teaspoon imitation vanilla
Instructions
Notes
The liquids are customizable; sub water or non-dairy milk for some or all of the coffee/milk in the recipe.
These oats are not super sweet; just add more sugar for a sweeter experience!
Make sure you use a bowl large enough to allow the oats to bubble up while cooking.
Microwaves vary, so adjust the cooking time as necessary.
Nutrition Information
Yield 1 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 263Total Fat 6gSaturated Fat 2gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 3gCholesterol 10mgSodium 315mgCarbohydrates 43gFiber 5gSugar 13gProtein 10g
I'm drooling. I eat oatmeal for breakfast every day but eating chocolate interferes with my sleep so I have essentially given it up. Not to fear, I have consumed a large amount of chocolate in my lifetime and I figure my body has just used up its ability to process chocolate.
Ohh, man. So even if you eat it at breakfast, it affects your sleep?
@K D, my sister has to be pretty cautious because chocolate will put her to sleep. Crazy. Figured that out one Christmas when we were kids and Mom made all the chocolate-dipped candy.
@K D, I developed an intolerance to chocolate in my late 30s, so now I eat carob. I have carob powder, carob chips, carob covered nuts. (Nuts.com is the best place for it, you can even get unsweetened chips to use for baking chocolate.) It's an exact dupe, but it's close enough, and I even make hot carob drinks in winter! Might be something to try <3
@Rachel, *not an exact dupe
@Kristen,
Yes. It can impact my sleep for several nights.
@K D, chocolate after 5 pm interrupts my husband’s sleep but carob doesn’t bother him at all.
This might be the only way I would actually like oatmeal, but I also know it would be a very bad idea for me to eat it. Because I would really want to, and it would not be helpful to my body. I will admire it from afar, though. 🙂
Sounds like an absolutely yummy breakfast. And less calories than donuts or pastries, I’d wager.
Thank you for the instructions how to do oatmeal with a micro wave. I do not own a microwave (intentionally) but there is one in the office I can use. From now on I will bring the ingredients with me to the office and prepare it all there when I feel hungry!
@Lea, I also do not own a microwave. I wonder if this might be a topic for Kristen to explore. . . not sure how it fits into frugal living, but certainly an interesting one.
Minus the coffee, the taste of which I can't stand, that looks sooooooo good. I have to eat chocolate a little more sparingly these days, but carob powder is a really good substitute, and the roasted carob powder (I buy Chatsworth brand, usually) is actually a little sweet, so less sugar needs to be added. On one of my indulgent days, I'm going to try this, substituting milk or water for the coffee and carob for the cocoa.
@JD, A fellow coffee-hater!
@WilliamB,
Hooray! I'm delighted to find you are one, too!
@JD, add me to the coffee hater list.
This sounds great and gives me an idea for the PB powder I have leftover.
It'll be a little simpler and less messy if you mix the dry ingredients before adding the liquid.
@WilliamB, I also have some PB powder to use that would make a nice protein-packed oatmeal using this recipe.
I microwave oatmeal for breakfast frequently--thanks for an idea to help me change it up!
I just might have to try this recipe today! It sure sounds good. I've never made microwave oatmeal from scratch before - I'm a little nervous it might not work well since I'm at high altitude (about 5,000 feet) . . . Gonna give it a go, though!
@Dori, I live at 6,500 and fix oatmeal every morning for my kids. While two boys like 1 minute oats (which I fix by pouring boiling water on the oats and letting them just sit for ten minutes), one boy likes old fashioned oats. I pour boiling water on his half cup and then microwave it for 25 seconds and let it sit for a few minutes and he likes that.
Starting with cold liquids, you'll have to microwave following more closely to Kristen's instructions above, but it should work fine. 🙂
@Dori, It should be fine. There isn't any leavening to be affected and 5000 feet isn't really high enough to materially affect the boiling point of water (it's 203F instead of 212F). The most you're likely to need to do is cook it a little longer.
@Dorinda, Thanks so much for the great high altitude cooking tips for the oatmeal! I was hoping maybe someone could share some ideas. I'm gonna give those a try.
Reading this reminded me of my mom putting chocolate milk powder in our malt o meal when we were little. I hadn’t thought of that in years! I wonder if I could persuade my grandkids to eat oatmeal with this recipe (minus the coffee - they are energetic enough!)
I must admit, the boys and I were inspired by your sauted apples reference a few weeks ago and have been adding sauted apples to our oatmeal (almost) every morning now. The local store having apples on sale for .50/lb and butter for 1.77/lb made me feel like I could splurge on that luxury. 🙂
Ooh, that is a very good butter price! I'm jealous!
@Kristen, I was low on butter and was wondering if I finally needed to cave and get butter when it was "on sale" for $3.50/lb instead of $5 regular price.
Me to my husband: I have lots of bread on hand. I think we need to pray, "Give us this day our daily butter" instead. 😉
And then one store had it for 1.77 (limit four) and ones for $2 (limit 5) and I was literally dancing for joy.
@Dorinda, I can see why you were dancing!
@Dorinda, That’s what butter was on sale for LAST year here in Phoenix. This year the “sales” are for $2.99 butter.
@Dorinda, wow, I am so jealous of those prices. Our discount grocery store brand butter is $6.99 a pound (Canadian) and the regular grocery store is $8.49 a pound. We're lucky now if we can get it on sale for $4.99. Last year that was the regular price, sadly.
Looks delicious! I also have recently discovered higher-quality cocoa powder. I actually bought it because I wanted to buy fair-trade cocoa; the chocolate industry is tragically reliant on enslaved and child labour. The side benefit was that the darker, richer cocoa tastes so much better!
When it comes to cooking and baking, I find that that generic store-brand ingredients tend to be just fine, but the cocoa--to borrow a phrase from you, Kristen--really blew my hair back. I first used it in Stella Parks' Devils Food Cake, which is a phenomenal recipe.
@Meira@meirathebear, care to share the brand name and where you got your fair-trade cocoa? I am a fellow Canadian, although on the wet coast - always interested in Canadian sources for 'good' foods. Thanks!
You are so right about mini whisks, at least for me! I gave mine to my daughter because I thought I'd be fine without it and have spent the last four months missing it. There will be a new one in my Christmas stocking.
With grocery prices in the “should I faint now” range, I am cutting back in some areas. I just purchased some imitation vanilla for baking.. whenI was a young wife/mom,many moon ago, It’s all I could afford and no one complained about my cookies..so.. here we go again! Now, the price of sugar,flour, and BUTTER is through the roof.But we’ll have some Christmas cookies soon.. small splurges make life worth living. Hope you’re feeling a little less crispy today..I am having a crispy day (week???) myself!
@Madeline,
Several years ago, I believe Cook's Illustrated tested baked goods made with imitation vanilla vs "real" vanilla extract, and found that there was essentially no to *very, very slight* taste differences between the two types of baked goods. They suggested saving "the real stuff" for non-baked applications, such as vanilla cake frosting, etc. That convinced me to try imitation vanilla, and it tastes the same to me in the final products.
@Liz B., a year ago after Christmas I found a big bottle of double-strength pure vanilla on the clearance rack at a grocery store for $1.75. As only half as much is required, it has lasted well. I will be sad when it's all gone.
@Liz B., in their taste tests they added a splash of vodka with the imitation vanilla to whipped cream and no one could tell the difference. It was the missing hint of alcohol that people noticed when they used imitation vanilla.
They (and I for several years now) use Bakers imitation vanilla. Walmart sells it. People still flock to whatever I bring to parties, so it must not be noticeable. 🙂
That's sounds delightful. I also eat oatmeal almost everyday for breakfast. I typically put frozen unsweetened berries on top of mine with a teaspoon or two of splenda.
I avoid eating grains and sugar, so I make a "faux" oatmeal out of flax, coconut, and hemp seeds--I use some sweetener and cinnamon. But I put a block of 100% chocolate in it to melt in the center and it's really lovely with just a slight sweetness from the sweetener I add. Chocolate in the morning is a lovely thing on a cold day!
So happy to see someone else likes chocolate with their hot oatmeal! I make mine in the microwave also & add a spoon of ground flaxseed & wheatgerm. Then after it's cooked I mix in a Tlbs of peanut butter, then a half cup of applesauce. Then a banana if I have some & I use Fairlife chocolate milk. I love Fairlife because it's extra high in protein & lower in sugar. Also lactose free.
I love your idea about adding a little coffee, had never thought of that before.
Thank you so much for posting this, Kristen! I cannot wait to have this for my special Friday breakfast (I eat better on non-work days, ha! No rushing needed.). I'm going to top mine with banana also!
Thank you sooooooo much for this! It's in my near future. 🙂
Yum!
I do something very similiar, except I omit the sugar and mix in a ripe, mashed banana ☺️
What kind of cream should I pour in my oatmeal
Whatever you like! Milk, half and half, or heavy cream all work, but I like heavy cream the best. 😉
Kristen, my favorite part of this post is that "a good mini whisk will make your kitchen life 73% better." Where did you come up with 73%? Thanks for the laugh today.
Incidentally, dark chocolate makes almost anything better.
I don't think I ever responded to this...umm, 73% just seemed like the right number. Ha.
Makes for a great dessert! Having some right now.
It is very easy to make your own vanilla with a relatively small outlay of money & time. All you need is a small bottle of inexpensive vodka and some vanilla beans, which can be ordered from Amazon. The ratio is 3 - 4 vanilla beans to 8 oz. vodka and let steep for about 6 months (or longer if you want). I usually buy a pint of vodka and add 8 or 10 vanilla beans directly into the bottle and store in a cabinet, shaking every so often. When the bottle gets low, you can just add more vodka.