This Protein Powder Oatmeal is a healthy, creamy, high-protein oatmeal breakfast bowl perfect for any day of the week. Plus, this oatmeal recipe is dairy-free, vegan-friendly, and ready in under 10 minutes!
Protein powder oatmeal is the 10-minute alternative to my popular Overnight Oats with Protein Powder. It has about three times more protein content than my chocolate peanut butter overnight oats so it’s a fantastic breakfast idea for recovery after a hard workout.
Why You Should Add Protein Powder To Oatmeal
Adding protein powder to oatmeal is a healthy and tasty way to boost your morning protein intake. Protein keeps you full for longer (source), and it makes your bowl of oatmeal much more satisfying.
So, let me share with you how you can add protein powder to your oatmeal like a pro to make a creamy oatmeal bowl and turn a classic porridge into a protein powerhouse.
Ingredients
It’s very easy to make oatmeal but a bit trickier to add protein powder. In fact, protein powder is highly liquid absorbent, and therefore, it can dry out oatmeal pretty fast.
The usual ratio of 1:2 dry to liquid is not applicable in oatmeal recipes with added protein or added fiber like chia seeds.
So to make creamy protein oatmeal, you need to increase your liquid ingredients.
- Old-Fashioned Oat or quick oats – I didn’t try the recipe with steel-cut oats, so I can’t recommend that option. If you have steel-cut oats, try my Protein Steel Cut Oats. In this recipe, it will probably take longer to cook and request more liquid since it has more fiber.
- Unsweetened Almond Milk or your favorite non-dairy milk, including oat milk, coconut, or soy milk.
- Vanilla Protein Powder or chocolate protein powder for a chocolate oatmeal flavor. You might see many recipes calling for egg whites, but it’s obviously not vegan!
- Maple Syrup or any sweetener you like, including granulated sweeteners like sugar or coconut sugar. I like the flavor of maple syrup in vanilla oatmeal. You can use crystal sugar-free sweeteners if you like them.
- A pinch of Salt – to boost the flavor. While it’s totally optional, I always add it.
How To Make Protein Powder Oatmeal
This oatmeal can be made on a stovetop in a saucepan or in the microwave.
Stove Method
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk your protein powder, oats, and salt. Set aside.
- Then, in a non-stick saucepan, add water and almond milk and bring to a light boil. Reduce to low heat.
- Now, stir in rolled oats mixture prepared in before, maple syrup, and salt.
- Cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally or until the liquid has almost totally evaporated and the oats start to soften.
- Finally, stir, stop heat, cover, and set aside 2-3 minutes or until the oatmeal is creamy and thickened.
- Remove from heat and stir in some optional ingredients like 1/4 cup mashed bananas, a tablespoon of peanut butter, or almond butter for flavor and extra plant-based proteins.
Microwave Option
- In a microwave-safe bowl, stir the quick oat (quick oats cook better in the microwave than rolled oats), protein powder, and salt.
- Then, stir in liquid ingredients: almond milk and maple syrup.
- Microwave in bursts of 1 minute, stir and check the consistency. Stop when the texture is creamy, and the liquid has evaporated. It generally takes the same time as in a saucepan, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Then, stir in the remaining ingredients. Cover and set aside 2 to 3 minutes. Note that microwave cooking time depends on the type of oats you use: quick oats cook faster and better in the microwave than old-fashioned oats.
Serving Protein Oatmeal
Serve this oatmeal recipe with some delicious toppings, including:
- Drizzle of almond milk
- Fresh berries – strawberries are great!
- Drizzle of nut or seed butter – peanut butter, almond butter, sunflower butter
- Drizzle of maple syrup
- Crushed nuts like almonds or peanuts
- Shredded coconut
- Vegan whipped cream
Tips for Choosing Protein Powder For Oatmeal
There’s no good or bad protein powder to add to your oatmeal recipe. They basically all work the same way, but we always choose to use plant-based protein powder for our recipe.
Plant-based proteins are less liquid-absorbent, create creamier oatmeal, and are, of course, vegan-friendly. The main difference between protein powders are:
- Their flavor – Some protein powders have a strong earthy flavor, like hemp protein powder.
- Rate of liquid absorbance – some protein powders need more liquid to dissolve than others.
- Protein content – it varies from 25 grams to 35 grams per scoop, and the scoop size also varies. That’s why we measure protein powder with standard measuring scoops in our high protein recipes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Old-fashioned rolled oats are the most nutritious version of oats for breakfast.
It’s higher in fiber and adds more texture to the oatmeal.
However, it takes longer to cook, especially if you use your microwave. So for a microwave method, quick oats are the best choice.
You can add some chia seeds to the oatmeal when you add the rolled oats, stir in 1-2 teaspoons of chia seeds.
However, this makes the oatmeal dryer, so you may want to increase your almond milk by 1/4 cup to keep a creamy texture.
You can skip the maple syrup and instead add a small mashed banana at the end in your hot cooked oatmeal for sweetens and extra creaminess.
Cooked oatmeal won’t store very well even in your fridge. It can stay warm and creamy if stored in a thermal jar or lunchbox for a kid’s breakfast on the go.
However, the best way to make this recipe faster is to measure all the ingredients the night before and cook in the morning just before eating.
If you prefer a great meal prep oatmeal recipe, try my baked apple oatmeal. It’s a one-pan oatmeal recipe that stores well in the fridge for a few days and can be rewarmed easily in the morning for breakfast.
More Vegan Protein Powder Recipes
Below I listed a range of delicious protein powder recipes for you to try.
Did You Like This Recipe?
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Protein Powder Oatmeal
Ingredients
- ½ cup Old-Fashioned Rolled Oats - or quick oat for the microwave option
- ½ cup Unsweetened Almond Milk
- ⅓ cup Cold Water
- 3 tablespoons Vanilla Protein Powder
- 1 tablespoon Maple Syrup
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
To serve
- 1-2 teaspoons Peanut Butter (Unsalted)
- ¼ cup Berries
- 1 tablespoon Chopped Nuts - or chocolate chips
Instructions
Stove method
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk protein powder, rolled oats, and salt. Set aside.
- In a small saucepan, add almond milk, cold water and bring to a light boil.
- Reduce to low heat, stir in the dry ingredients mixed before, maple syrup, and salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until all the liquid is almost absorbed by oats and the texture of the oats softened.
- Remove from the heat. Cover and set aside for a few minutes until creamy and thick.
- Serve with berries, a drizzle of extra almond milk, a dollop of peanut butter, and chocolate chips.
Microwave option
- In a microwave-safe bowl, stir quick oats (quick oats cook better in the microwave than rolled oats), protein powder, and salt. Then, stir in liquid ingredients: almond milk, water, and maple syrup.
- Microwave in bursts of 1 minute, stir and check the consistency. Stop when the texture is creamy and the liquid has evaporated. It generally takes the same time as in a saucepan or 2-3 minutes.
- Set aside a few minutes before serving.
The microwave recipe doesn’t mention water. Should that be part of the liquid ingredients or should the water not be added for the microwave one
Yes, water is needed too!
This is amazing!!!!!!
My protein clumps up and turns gummy when heated. What did you do about that?
It never happened to me, protein powder that contains additives like added thickeners and gums can react to eat. It means you will need to pick another source of protein powder for war recipes.