Photo: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann
For veteran readers, you know at this point here at Skillet, we’re big fans of savory oatmeal. Bring on the eggs, meatballs, and MSG, please. And why stop there? Oats are your canvas, and today, we’re painting with pizza.
Oatmeal isn’t really the star of the show anyway—it’s more of the fiber-forward supporting cast. To make it taste great, combine mild, earthy oats with punchy flavors and textures. The best place to start looking is at your other favorite foods. As far as popular foods go, pizza is a great place to start. Pizza crust is plain bread. Oatmeal is plain oats. Anything that tastes good on pizza crust will taste good on oatmeal. It’s science.
Make your old-fashioned hot oatmeal according to the package directions, or as you normally like them. I boiled one cup of water and a half cup of oats until the water was fully absorbed and the groats were soft. Add two or three tablespoons of shredded mozzarella. This is kind of hard to measure by tablespoon but I basically did three big pinches with my three Ninja Turtle fingers. Stir the cheese to melt it in the hot oats, and mix in about two tablespoons of marinara sauce and a pinch of salt.
The cheese melts into creamy, stretchy strings, and the tomato sauce is bright, tangy, and sharp. It’s, well, like a bowl full of pizza. I used a simple tomato sauce with garlic and onions, but a hearty meat sauce like bolognese would be my next choice. This is a “plain slice,” but if you like toppings, now is the time to add them. I added on some sliced olives and extra cheese. Try dropping on slices of pepperoni, torn basil, caramelized onions, crumbled sausage, anchovies, or make me proud and add some ham and pineapple. Stir it all together or scatter them over the top for a fun pizza look.
