Homemade Instant Oatmeal Packets for 15 Cents

Make-ahead breakfasts don’t have to be complicated or time-consuming. Homemade Instant Oatmeal Packet takes about five minutes to make a couple of weeks’ worth. These oatmeal packs are way cheaper to make than store-bought and you can customize your own flavors to suit each family member’s tastes on a budget!

You’ll need three basic ingredients that you likely already have in the pantry. To make the base of each oatmeal pack: Oats, Brown Sugar, and Salt. Jazz them up by adding in a few fun mix ins (I have some suggestions for you below).

But, it’s definitely not necessary. When making this batch, I left several plain and it tastes just fine on its own!

🍽️ Why This Recipe Works

Cheap – Like I mentioned, these are going to come in at 15 cents per serving! That is literally just pennies to serve your family breakfast.

Fast to Prep – These will take you about 5-7 minutes to prep an entire container of oatmeal. This will be one of the fastest meal prep “recipes” you prepare.

Versatile – Think about adding other mix ins that you and your family may enjoy so it isn’t the same each day. Since this is a true frugal meal, I suggest you go through your pantry and grab that ⅓ leftover bag of Craisins and mix them into a few bags.

Do you have 2-3 tablespoons leftover of slivered almonds or random nuts like that from a recipe? Toss them into a couple bags. This is the time to clean out and feel so good about it.

Make in Jars – Another great option for these is to make them in jars like we do the overnight oats so you can simply add in the water in the morning and zap in the microwave for a minute.

If you use this option, you will be making about 5-10 at a time as space is an issue, but I love how you can make the mornings go much faster.

🍓 Ingredients

All you need are three main ingredients plus any add-ins you want to include. It’s your breakfast, so go as wild as you wish!

Quick Oats: They are super inexpensive and are the most important ingredient. You can make several packets for pennies!  (cost: $0.9)

Brown Sugar: Sweeten the deal with some tasty brown sugar. It’s the perfect sweetener option for these oatmeal packets. Plus, it’s very inexpensive per serving as well.  (cost: $0.05)

Salt: A little bit of salt actually makes the oats even sweeter. (I know that sounds crazy, but it’s true) It’s a great way to enhance sweetness in many recipes.  (cost: negligible)

🤑 Cost Breakdown

The cost for the base is about $0.15, and I’m rounding up. Of course, the cost will increase depending on the mix-ins you add. That is also why I suggest adding from what you already have, use those random partial leftovers here. But because the base recipe is so inexpensive, you can get creative with the add-ins and they’ll still be pretty frugal!

Cost of Container of Quick Oats (Walmart Brand) $2.70 for 30 servings = $.09/cents per serving

Cost of Bag of Brown Sugar (Walmart Brand) $1.54 for 30 servings = $.05/cents per serving

Try my healthy oatmeal waffles for another tasty oatmeal recipe.

📝 Instructions

Step One: Layer ½ cup of oats, two teaspoons brown sugar and sprinkle of salt (optional) into a snack size Ziploc baggie.

Step Two: Add in any additional mix-ins to create the flavor of your choice. This will increase your price per bag but gives you more options for variety so you won’t get bored and eat out.

That’s it, really. Very, very simple. And if you work assembly line style you can be done in about 5-7 minutes. Not bad for a month of breakfasts!

Heating Instructions – Microwave

Step One: When heating up, add in ¾ cup of water and the oat packet to a bowl and stir.

Step Two: Microwave for one minute. Stir, and depending on your microwave, you may need an additional 30 seconds.

We like to prepare ours with almond milk occasionally. But preparing with water makes it easier to take to work, since you don’t have to travel with a liquid as well. Another option is to add a tablespoon of powdered milk to your mix.

Heating Up Instructions – Stove Top

Step One: Pour one bag of oats into a bowl or mug.

Step Two: Heat up boiling water and pour ¾ of a cup of water over the oats and stir to combine. Allow to sit for about two minutes to get soft and creamy. Depending on how thick or thin you like it, add a little bit more water as it starts to settle.

Make Overnight Oats Version

For 2 servings:

Step One: Combine one cup of the oats mixture with ¾ cup of milk (whichever you choose) and a container of greek yogurt. Stir to combine.

Step Two: Place it into two glass containers and allow to sit in the refrigerator overnight and in the morning it will be thick and creamy. Ready to eat.

🍇 Variations

Be sure to play around with mix-ins to keep boredom and “I’m so sick of eating this for the 15th morning in a row!” at bay. Here are a few of our favorite mix-ins for the homemade oatmeal packets that we’ve personally tried. Please feel free to leave your flavor combo suggestions in the comments below!

• Cinnamon and raisins (my favorite)
• Chocolate chip and coconut flakes (strange combo, but good!)
• Chopped walnuts, cinnamon, and maple syrup* (my husband’s favorite)
• Chocolate chip
• Powdered Peanut Butter like we used in the Peanut Butter Overnight Oats

* I haven’t figured out a way to store the maple syrup with the oatmeal itself. So we add in the cinnamon and walnuts with the oatmeal, then pack the maple syrup in the world’s tiniest container so my husband can heat it up at work. So while tasty, this flavor isn’t made too often because it tastes off without the maple.

We’ve kept these in the cupboards for at least three months and the flavor is still great, so they store very well! If you’re storing semi long term and adding mix-ins, I’d go according to your most perishable ingredient as a guideline for how long it can be stored.

I hope you enjoy, and please let me know if you decide to make these homemade oatmeal packets yourself and start saving money on your groceries each week.

Recipe FAQ

Here are some common questions to making these homemade oatmeal packets!

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