Is Oatmeal Keto-Friendly?

Written by Keto Lifehacker Team in Food

keto oatmeal

One of the most difficult aspects of transitioning to the keto diet for me personally was breakfast. Before I started following a low carb diet, I was a huge fan of cereals, waffles and pancakes, and breakfast burritos.

I’ve noticed it’s a pretty common issue that a lot of people face, because eating eggs every single morning does tend to get a little boring.

After doing some research, I noticed there weren’t a lot of resources available for those that wanted to know if oatmeal was a good option on the keto diet, so i decided to write this guide on assessing oatmeal’s nutrition, and decided to provide some of my favorite oatmeal-inspired keto-friendly recipes at the end.

Nutrition Breakdown of Oatmeal

When looking into the nutrition breakdown of oatmeal, you basically have two ways to look at it. There’s steel cut oatmeal, and instant oatmeal, and they tend to have pretty different nutrition facts and glycemic indexes.

The nutrition breakdown of one serving of steel cut oatmeal is as follows:

  • Total Calories – 170
  • Total Carbohydrates – 29 grams
    • Dietary Fiber – 5 grams
    • Sugars – 0 grams
  • Protein – 7 grams
  • Total Fat – 3 grams
    • Saturated Fat – 0.5 grams
  • Iron – 1.8 milligrams (10% of Recommended Daily Value)
  • Calcium – 20 milligrams (2% of Recommended Daily Value)

Steel Cut Oatmeal has a Glycemic Index of about 55 on average.

The nutritional breakdown for a single serving of instant oatmeal (without added sugars or fruits) is as follows:

  • Total Calories – 158
  • Total Carbohydrates – 27 grams
    • Dietary Fiber – 4 grams
    • Sugars – 1.1 grams
  • Total Fat – 3.2 grams
    • Saturated Fat – 0.5 grams
    • Polyunsaturated Fat – 1 gram
    • Monounsaturated Fat – 0.9 grams
  • Protein – 143 milligrams
  • Sodium – 115 milligrams (4% of Recommended Daily Value)
  • Vitamin A – 20% of Recommended Daily Value
  • Calcium – 18% of Recommended Daily Value
  • Iron – 77% of Recommended Daily Value
  • Vitamin B-6 – 35% of Recommended Daily Value
  • Magnesium – 15% of Recommended Daily Value

Instant oatmeal has an average glycemic index value of about 83

When it comes to benefits, both steel cut and instant oatmeal get the majority of benefits from the fact that they are both great sources of a specific type of soluble fiber known as Beta-Glucan.

On its own, Beta-Glucan has also been known for properties that lower blood sugar levels, but these are often counteracted when consumed with Oatmeal, which is relatively high on the glycemic index.

Benefits of Beta-Glucan include:

    • Asthma treatment
    • Allergy treatment
    • Diabetes treatment
    • Reduced cholesterol levels
    • Improved skin elasticity
    • Improved rheumatoid arthritis
    • Crohn’s disease treatment
    • Fibromyalgia treatment

Recent studies have also linked increased amounts of Beta-Glucan from the diet to improved overall immune system responses, which can boost longevity and keep you from getting sick.

Apart from Beta-Glucan, oatmeal is also rich in antioxidants, which have restorative properties that can help fight against cancer, and slow down the effects of aging on the body.

Is Oatmeal Keto Friendly?

Based on the moderate and high glycemic index levels, along with the high net carb counts, both steel cut and instant oatmeal are unfortunately not keto-friendly.

When following a keto diet, it’s best to aim for no more than 20 net carbs, and 50 total carbs per day. Net carbs are calculated by subtracting fiber and sugar alcohols from the total carbohydrate count on each food’s nutrition facts.

With both variants of oatmeal presenting net carb counts well over 20, it’s definitely advised to stay away from oatmeal when trying to maintain a consistent state of ketosis.

This is an issue for many, as oatmeal is a staple meal for breakfast throughout the world. Fortunately, there are a few keto-friendly alternatives that share its texture and flavor, without risking spikes in your blood glucose levels or net carb counts.

I’ll get into some of my favorite keto-friendly substitutes for oatmeal below.

Keto-Friendly Oatmeal Alternatives

  • “No Oats” Low Carb Porridge

Ingredients:

Instructions:

    • Place all of the dry ingredients into a small saucepan, and mix them together
    • Add in the remaining ingredients to the mixture
    • Place that saucepan over medium heat, and whisk the ingredients together
    • Whisk for about 10 minutes until the whole mixture has thickened and started to become warm
    • Pour the mixture into a bowl and top with your favorite toppings
    • Good keto-friendly toppings include Monk Fruit Maple Syrup, chopped pecans, and blueberries

  • Vanilla Keto Overnight Oats

Ingredients:

Instructions:

    • Add all of the ingredients into a 12 fluid ounce or 350 ml container with a lid. (I like to use Mason Jars)
    • Stir the ingredients in the container until combined
    • Cover and set in fridge overnight for at least eight hours
    • On the next morning, add in the additional milk until the mixture reaches the consistency you’d like
    • Divide the mixture into two small serving bowls, and add toppings as desired

One variation on this recipe is with added ‘fudge’, using 2 tablespoons of cacao powder along with a tablespoon of sunflower butter. You can also opt for shredded unsweetened coconut, cacao nibs, and strawberries.

  • Overnight Keto Chia Pudding

Ingredients:

    • 1 cup of plant-based milk (options include: coconut, almond or macadamia)
    • 2 tablespoons of chia seeds
    • 5 to 6 vanilla stevia drops or any other preferred sugar-free sweetener to taste
    • Toppings of choice are optional (pecans, raspberries, blueberries, lily’s chocolate chips)

Instructions:

    • Mix the chia seeds together with your plant based milk thoroughly, add a cover and refrigerate the mixture overnight
    • Add more liquid as desired to reach the consistency you’d like
    • Sweeten with stevia or sugar-free sweetener of choice to taste and serve along with toppings of choice
    • Chia pudding can last for up to a week in an airtight container

  • Keto Brown Sugar Overnight “Oats”

Ingredients:

Instructions:

    • Place the milk, Brown Swerve, vanilla extract, and cinnamon together in a large bowl. Whisk to combine
    • Once the mixture is thoroughly combined, add in the hemp hearts, diced pecans, and the chia seeds
    • Mix thoroughly until everything is coated before covering and placing the bowl in the fridge for about 12 to 24 hours
    • Once ready to serve, divide the mixture between two to four containers (for two to four servings), and top with pecan as desired

  • Low Carb Peanut Butter Oatmeal

Ingredients:

Feel free to substitute peanut butter and powder for almond butter or sunflower seed butter

Instructions:

    • Add the coconut, hemp seeds, coconut flour, water, and plant based milk together into a medium saucepan
    • Bring the saucepan to a boil and let it simmer for two minutes until the combinations starts to thicken
    • Stir in the peanut butter or powder, along with the vanilla and cinnamon until combined
    • Serve with more milk and desired toppings.

Final Thoughts

As you can see, oatmeal isn’t technically keto-friendly, but that doesn’t mean that your breakfast options have to suffer for your diet.

Through whole low carb foods like chia seeds, hemp hearts, and pecans, you can easily replicate the consistency and taste of oatmeal without going overboard on net carbs. The recipes I’ve listed above are some of my personal favorites, but the combinations you can go after are really endless.

If you’re looking for some more inspiration, Matt and Megha of Keto Connect created a great video I often go back to that shows just how creative you can get with hemp hearts and chia seeds to help satisfy those oatmeal cravings. You can check it out below.

Do you have any favorite oatmeal alternative recipes for the keto diet? Drop them in the comments below! I’d love to check them out.

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