Toasted Oatmeal with Strawberry Chia Jam and Coconut Whipped Cream
Three healthy recipes in one bowl: the best toasted oatmeal, strawberry chia jam and coconut whipped cream. This breakfast is vegan and gluten free.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on August 29, 2024
Other potential titles for this post included, “Three of my favorite things” or “Recipes I’ve Been Meaning to Tell You About.” I’ve been feeling under the weather for the past week, but now that I can finally smell and taste properly again, I’m back to make up for my absence with three recipes in one. (A better blogger would have recipes on reserve for occasions like these, but then again, I have to be sufficiently excited about a recipe to post it and I could hardly stand to sit on a good one.)
Each component is delightful on its own, but they just so happen to combine marvelously well in one breakfast bowl. Nutty, fruity, creamy—yes, more, please.
I’ll give you a rundown of each. The oatmeal cooking technique, which I discovered in Megan Gordan’s Whole-Grain Mornings cookbook, yields nutty and fluffy (not at all mushy) oatmeal.
The strawberry chia jam utilizes summer’s finest [frozen] strawberries, a dollop of natural sweetener and thickens with the help of “superfood” chia seeds. It cooks down in under thirty minutes and tastes much fresher and brighter than store-bought jams.
Lastly, coconut whipped cream has already taken the internet by storm, for good reason. I like it just as much, if not more than, freshly whipped cream. It’s better for you, too.
Since I haven’t been feeling well, I’ve been paying extra attention to the fuel that I’ve been consuming. I’m not a nutritionist, but I believe that this breakfast is excellent fuel. It’s full of whole grains, seeds, fruit and healthy fat. And more than that, it’s crazy delicious and brightens up dreary winter mornings with a swirl of shocking pink. Can’t beat that!
I should mention that while I was snuggled up with sweet Cookie in front of the TV (House of Cards season two!), I researched foods that heal and fight inflammation. The internet says those foods are vegetables, fruits, whole grains, seeds… everything I’m already accustomed to eating! High five, self. Way to treat yourself kindly, recipe makers. Hope you enjoy these recipes as much as I do.
Toasted Oatmeal with Strawberry Chia Jam and Coconut Whipped Cream
Three healthy recipes in one bowl: the best toasted oatmeal, (frozen) strawberry chia jam and coconut whipped cream. This breakfast is easily vegan and gluten free (see notes). If you’re making the coconut whipped cream, be sure to chill your coconut milk overnight, and place your mixing bowl in the freezer at least 30 minutes.
Ingredients
Strawberry chia jam (yields about 1 cup, you might want to double these amounts so you’ll have more for later)
- 1 bag (12 ounces) frozen organic strawberries or other berries*
- 2 to 3 tablespoons honey, maple syrup or agave nectar
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
Toasted oatmeal
- 1 to 2 tablespoons coconut oil or butter
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 1 ½ cups + 2 tablespoons water
- ½ cup milk of choice (I used light coconut milk)
- Generous pinch kosher or sea salt
- Pinch of ground cinnamon (optional)
- Pinch of ground ginger (optional)
- Optional mix-ins: flax seeds, shredded coconut, toasted nuts, etc.
Coconut whipped cream
- 1 can (14 ounces) full fat coconut milk, chilled at least 10 hours (the coconut milk MUST be full fat and MUST be refrigerated for at least 10 hours. Put a mixing bowl in the freezer or refrigerator to chill while you’re at it.)
- 1 tablespoon honey, maple syrup or agave nectar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- The strawberry chia jam takes the longest to make, so let’s start with the jam: In a medium saucepan, combine the berries (no need to defrost if they are frozen) and sweetener. Cover and bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently. Once the berries are warmed throughout and saucy (5 minutes or more), lightly mash the berries with a potato masher or fork.
- Reduce the heat to medium low. Stir in the chia seeds and cook, stirring frequently, until the jam is reduced and looking, for lack of better term, jammy (15 to 20 minutes). Note that the jam will further thicken up as it cools. Remove the pan from heat and add more sweetener if you’d like.
- Make the oatmeal: Melt the coconut oil/butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the oats and toast over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until they start smelling fragrant and toasty, around 6 to 8 minutes.
- In a large, heavy bottomed pot, combine the milk, water, salt, cinnamon and ginger. Bring the mixture to a slow boil over medium heat. Add the toasted oats and gently stir once or twice to incorporate the oats into the liquid. Cover the pot and turn off the heat. Let the oats sit on the burner, untouched, for 7 minutes. After 7 minutes, uncover and check the oats. Mine were perfectly done at this point, but if yours are wetter than you’d like, let them continue to absorb water in a covered pot for a few more minutes.
- Make the coconut whipped cream: Pull out the chilled can of coconut milk and mixing bowl. The coconut cream should have separated from the liquid by now. Flip the can over and open it from the bottom with a can opener. Pour out the coconut water (reserve for smoothies if you’d like).
- Scoop the solid coconut cream into the chilled bowl. Using an electric hand mixer, beat the cream until fluffy and smooth. Add the sweetener and vanilla extract and gently blend again to combine. Use the coconut cream immediately or cover and store in the fridge for later (it will be soft at room temperature and firm when cold).
Notes
Oatmeal recipe adapted from Megan Gordan’s Whole-Grain Mornings cookbook. Chia jam and coconut whipped cream cooking techniques adapted from Angela Liddon’s forthcoming The Oh She Glows Cookbook. (You can pre-order it now! Angela has a step-by-step coconut whipped cream tutorial here and a recipe for blueberry vanilla chia jam here.)
*On using frozen berries: I really recommend frozen berries for this jam. They break down especially well once heated and taste better than off-season berries. Angela says that fresh strawberries don’t break down as well as other berries, so if you’re using fresh strawberries, she recommends breaking them down in a food processor before cooking.
Recipe yields 2 very large or 4 moderate portions. Store leftover components separately in the refrigerator, covered. You might want to add a bit of water while reheating the oats.
Make it gluten free: Use certified gluten-free oats.
Make it vegan: Use coconut oil instead of butter and maple syrup or agave nectar instead of honey.
If you want to add more protein to this breakfast, top your oatmeal with nuts and/or Greek yogurt.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
Can you store the toasted oatmeal after making it??
The toasted oats or cooked oatmeal? The toasted oats should keep well for a while.
This oatmeal is a dream come true! I’m a huge fan of oatmeal and I loved this recipe so much that I linked it on my blog under the healthy food inspiration post, I hope it’s no inconvenience for you, otherwise let me know ;)
Thanks, Jordina! You’re always welcome to link to my posts. :)
Just wanted to say thanks so much for sharing this awesome recipe! To be honest I’m not a very good cook so I was a little worried about trying to make this as it seemed like there was a lot of parts to it. However, after my first ever attempt at this recipe it turned out great and my mom really enjoyed it too. I also swapped the strawberries for blueberries and it was delicious. Loved how there was plenty of jam and cream leftover to make it again quickly the next day.
Thank you, Bridget! So glad you both enjoyed the oatmeal.
If chia seeds gel without cooking, what does cooking them in the jam do? I need to try some chia seeds!
That is a good question, Mary Ellen! I suppose that if you give them time to soak up juice while the juices are condensing by cooking as well, you have jam right away. Could be wrong…
Did not make the jam as I have never bought (or even tried) chia seeds before; however I did make the toasted oatmeal and the coconut whipped cream, and I loved both! With a handful of fresh blueberries, it’s been the perfect segway-into-fall breakfast !
Yay! Thanks, Hayley!
I wanted to try this recipe but add quinoa for protein. Would you recommend toasting the quinoa with the oatmeal or cooking it prior?! Thanks!!
Hi Rosie! I think you would need to cook it separately since quinoa requires more cooking time than these oats do. I just ran across this Bon Appetit recipe that combines the two.
hello! how long would the strawberry/chia jam last? I’m thinking of making an extra big batch of it but wondering if it holds up in the fridge like a traditional jam.
My kids and I loved loved loved this recipe but couldn’t make the coconut cream because it was frozen so solid in the tin there was no way to get it out unless we used a hammer and chisel. Any suggestions for next time as we’d really like to try the cream.
Hmmm, I haven’t had that happen. Did you refrigerate the can or freeze it? It should be in the refrigerator. You might try a different brand of coconut milk next time, and if it’s rock hard, let it warm at room temperature for a bit before trying again.
Kate- you are such a whiz with these recipes. I really enjoy coming onto your site and finding new recipes. Your banana bread and pumpkin muffins are a regular recipe for me especially in the fall! I am making the jam right now and it smells heavenly. Thanks for all of your work!
Thank you so much, Kara! I appreciate your kind words.
I was looking for something a little different for breakfast so I made your recipe for toasted oatmeal with strawberry chia jam and whipped coconut milk. What a bowl of deliciousness! I have my 3rd batch of oats toasting now and my kitchen smells like popcorn. Thank you for sharing such a different easy yummy recipe!
Thank you, Missy! So glad you enjoy it.
Holy moly, this was good! I made this for supper tonight and I couldn’t get enough of it. I already had blueberries in the freezer, so that’s what I used. The hubs loved it too! I’m two for two with your recipes. I made the spicy lentil soup last week – amazing! I’ll be making two more of your recipes in the coming week. So glad I found your blog!
I love this method for oatmeal. Chewy and delicious. Toasting makes anything taste better. I am topping with homemade pumpkin butter but once thats all eaten i’ll be making this chia seed jam. Yummers! Thanks for another great recipe!
Thank you, Katherine! Glad you enjoyed the oats!
is that a cast iron pan you used to toast the oats? would any pan/skillet do?
So wonderful! I only had fresh, but in season and sweet, strawberries. I cut them up and made a puree using my Nurtibullet. It worked great and because the strawberries were already sweet, I used minimal additional sweeteners. Very filling and flavors work together wonderfully. Thanks for sharing. You have a new follower in me.
So I’m really excited to try this strawberry jam, it looks so yummy!!! Have you ever frozen the jam after making or do you know if it would freeze well?? Thank you!!
I haven’t tried that myself, Krista, but I would think this is better fresh rather than thawed– the gelatinous texture of the chia seeds would probably go funky after freezing.
Definitely my favourite oatmeal recipe. Always come back to it when I feel like having a healthy breakfast. Or when I’m too lazy to bother to actually cook something :) What I love the most is that the recipe is open to countless modifications and really lets you interpret the oatmeal however you wish to. You’re such a huge inspiration, Kate ♥♥
You are sweet, Gaba! It is a great recipe to make your own. Thank you so much for your comment and review!
So far I’ve made the strawberry chia jam. It is incredible! I used maple syrup as the sweetener. Thanks!!
Wonderful, Alice! Thanks for sharing.
Talk about a warm, cozy breakfast that feels absolutely decadent – love each of these components together, and appreciate how versatile they are separate! Thanks for another great recipe.
You’re welcome, Taija!
First time I’ve tried a recipe other than plain oatmeal.
WOW! This tasted great! I used blackberry jam and just added water and the chia seeds simmering it for about 20 mins.
I love the coconut whipped cream! Going to use it instead of regular cream from now on. Thank you!
That sounds great! Thanks for sharing, Rebecca.
Hi Kate,
I love your website and can’t wait to try this delicious oatmeal. I am wondering if it’s ok to store the leftover whip cream and if so how long will it keep?
Thank you!
Hi! Use the coconut cream immediately or cover and store in the fridge for later (it will be soft at room temperature and firm when cold). I find it keeps ok for a day. It will start to loose some of its height.
I don’t own a beater. Will a whisk work?
Hi! I don’t know if that would work to get it fluffy to get enough air into it. You could try! Let me know if you do.
This breakfast delivers a serious dopamine hit – bringing about intense feelings of self-love and the abiding adoration of others.
Trust me.
Can you make the oats ahead of time to eat the next day?
Hi Catherine! That should work. Let me know what you think!
Dear Kate,
When I first found out that I can’t have gluten, oats, rice, vinegar, sugar I thought, “But the gluten-free aisle is full of rice and oats!”
Gradually I began to experiment and I discovered for example that I could make a nice roux with coconut oil and quinoa flour.u
Sometime after finding your website my repertoire exploded! And this recipe was a particular joy. I successfully substituted the oats with amaranth. The main change this caused was a longer cooking time. And being able to make some jam so easily made me feel good about myself.
I should be able to eat normally again in a few years. It’ll be interesting to see which of the adaptations I’ve made that I choose to keep.
In the meantime, thank you so much for your cooking nerdiness! It is much appreciated and put to very good use in my kitchen.
Warm, warm regards,
Bola
I loved the chia jam! I mixed it with some cashew milk and extra chia seeds to make a creamy strawberry pudding! The oatmeal kind of had a strawberries and cream flavor.
Wonderful, Prisha! Thank you for your review.
I’m wondering if you think that the honey, maple syrup, or agave nectar are necessary for the “jammy” effect of this recipe. I often get an unwelcome red skin flush from these sweeteners. I’d like to try pure stevia instead–not the common commercial kind that’s usually laced with maltodextrin, but the pure stuff. If you think that might work, how much stevia would you use?
Hi, I recommend best results as I listed in the recipe, sorry!
What is the serving size for this dish in ounces, does anyone know?
The recipe is absolutely indulgent and delicious! I’ve never made toasted oats but the texture difference is really nice and not too much effort. I just used store bought coconut whip but otherwise made as written. Will definitely make again
That’s great to hear, Blythe!
I just discovered your posts. They look great and I was going to try the toasted oatmeal w/strawberry chia jam tomorrow but I have steel cut oats. I don’t think that is what you used because they cooked in 7 minutes. Can you (or have you) ever used steel cut oats? If so, do you cook them differently. Thank you! Joyce
This was a lucious way to have oats! Absolutely delicious! I will say that next time I’ll make at least a double batch since this is quite a mess to clean. However, well worth it!
lushious*