Pan Fried Overnight Oats

Oats are my quick, easy and healthy "go to" options for breakfast. But, what happens when I've made overnight oats and I wake up in the morning to realize, I'm not in the mood for cold oats! Well, Pan Fried Overnight Oats Recipe to the rescue! You won't be able to resist these Pan Fried Overnight Oats, drizzled with maple syrup and a handful of blueberries - they are so yummy!

Why are oats healthy for breakfast?

I'm a firm believer in starting each day off with a healthy breakfast. Oats are amongst my top choices for numerous reasons:

• Oats are a gluten-free whole grain packed with a great source of important vitamins, minerals, fiber and antioxidants.
• Oats are nutrient dense - high in protein and low in calories.
• Oats contain both soluble and insoluble fiber helping to lower cholesterol and improve intestinal health and move things along (if you know what I mean!!).
• Oats keep you feeling full longer, and therefore help control your weight.
• Oats are an easy staple to keep in your pantry, so they are always readily available.

What are the different types of oats?

There are 4 forms of Oats: Groats, Steel-cut, Rolled, Instant. Oats in their raw form are not digestible and need to go through a milling process before we can consume them.

• Oat groats are minimally processed grains, with the hull removed, to make it more digestible. The bran and germ are retained which are very nutritious. The downside - cooking time for groats is 2X longer than that of rolled oats. (Cook time 45 min)
• Steel-cut oats are simply the cut-up version of oat groats. After de-hulling, the oat groats are coarsely chopped up by a steel metal blade. The texture and nutritional values of steel–cut oats are fairly similar to oat groats. (Cook time 20 - 30 min)
• Rolled oats are shaped like flat ovals and are the more processed version of the steel-cut oats or groat oats. After harvesting and de-hulling, the oats are flattened by rotating roller machines. The thickness of the rolled oats varies for different types oats. Old-fashioned rolled oats are slightly thicker than quick-cooking oats. Therefore, the thicker oats will require an increased cooking time and have a different texture. (Cook time 5 min)
• Instant Oats are pre-cooked, dried and rolled. The thickness of these oats is much thinner than the rolled oats. This shortens the cooking time by a lot and make them the most popular. (Soak time 1 - 2 min)

For Pan Fried Overnight Oats, I used Rolled Oats because I prefer the texture of the oats after being soaked overnight. Steel-cut oats are popular with many overnight oat recipes and work well also. Just use less of the plant-based milk in the recipe so the patties can hold together in the pan.

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