Cheesy savory oats with a soft egg
Oats cooked in broth and stirred with cheddar turn creamy like grits, and an egg cooked right on top makes it a real dinner in 20 minutes.
- 20 min total
- 15 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 2
- About $1.53 a serving
- 370 calories
Dolly says: I’d make this on a weeknight. It’s on the table in 20 minutes.
Ingredients
For 2 servings.
- 2 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup rolled oats
- ½ cup cheddar cheese, grated
- 2 large eggs
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced (optional)
- 1 tsp hot sauce, for serving (optional)
From your pantry
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 1 tbsp water
Each serving has about 370 calories, 20 g protein, 33 g carbs and 18 g fat, and costs about $1.53 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No chicken broth? Vegetable broth or bone broth works.
- No cheddar cheese? Shredded cheddar or monterey jack cheese or mexican blend cheese works.
- No green onions? Chives work.
- No hot sauce? Sriracha works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
Bring the broth in a medium over high heat.
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
Saucepan. A saucepan is a pot with tall, straight sides and one long handle. It’s for things that need depth, like rice, sauces or a few boiled eggs.
How you’ll know: The food fills it about halfway, leaving room to bubble without spilling over.
High heat
Stir in the oats, salt and pepper, to medium and , stirring often, 5 minutes, until thick and creamy.
Reduce the heat. It means turning the burner down, usually to medium-low or low, so food cooks gently instead of hard. Electric burners cool slowly, so lift the pan off for a moment if it’s bubbling hard.
How you’ll know: Within a minute the bubbling calms to a gentle simmer, or the sizzle turns quiet.
Simmer. Simmering means keeping a liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles rising gently. It cooks food evenly and lets a sauce thicken without scorching on the bottom.
How you’ll know: Small, lazy bubbles break the surface every second or so, and nothing is churning.
Medium heatTimer: 5 min
Take the pan off the heat and stir in the cheddar until it .
Melt. Melting means gently heating something solid, like butter or cheese, until it turns liquid. Low or medium heat keeps it from browning or burning.
How you’ll know: It’s smooth and liquid, and butter may foam a little but hasn’t turned brown.
Make two small wells in the oats with the back of a spoon and crack an egg into each. the water around the edge of the pan.
Drizzle. Drizzling means pouring a thin, slow stream over the top of something. A thin stream spreads a little flavor a long way.
How you’ll know: You see thin lines across the food, not a puddle collecting underneath.
Dolly’s tip: The water turns to steam under the lid, which cooks the tops of the eggs.Put the pan back on low heat, cover, and cook 5 to 6 minutes, until the whites are completely set and the yolks are just .
Thicken. Thickening means cooking a sauce or soup until it’s less runny, by simmering it down or adding something like cornstarch. A thicker sauce clings to food instead of pooling on the plate.
How you’ll know: It coats the back of a spoon, and a line drawn through it with your finger holds its shape.
Low heatTimer: 5 min 30 sec
Food safety: For the safest eggs, cook until the whites are fully set and the yolks begin to thicken. Dishes made with eggs are done at 160°F.
Spoon into bowls, one egg each, and top with green onions and a few shakes of hot sauce.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
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