Muy Bueno: Fiestas 
Old-Fashioned Mexican Oatmeal (Avena)
Warm, creamy, sweet, and cinnamon-y, this slow-cooked Old-Fashioned Mexican Oatmeal (also known as Avena) is a bowlful of morning comfort. Start your day off on the right foot with this wholesome and nutritious breakfast made with just old-fashioned oats, water, cinnamon, and milk.
If you’ve fallen into a breakfast slump recently, give this deliciously smooth oatmeal recipe a try! This traditional Mexican breakfast will warm you up from the inside out and keep you full until lunchtime. It’s also entirely customizable, making it the perfect choice for your whole family.
About This Recipe
Warm avena (oatmeal) is one of my favorite winter breakfasts. It’s warm, creamy, easy on the tummy, and feels like a big hug in a bowl. While you can always opt to use instant oatmeal for a quick breakfast, oftentimes the packets are loaded with sugar, not to mention their lackluster consistency. There’s just something different about homemade oatmeal prepared on a chilly morning.
This simple recipe for slow-cooked Mexican avena requires just a handful of ingredients, most of which are probably already in your pantry. Old-fashioned rolled oats, cinnamon sticks, water, and milk are all you need to make this hearty breakfast.
While I can’t claim that this is a quick recipe, the flavor is well worth the minimal effort it requires. It only takes about three minutes of prep time to get on the stove, and then a quick stir every few minutes to ensure it doesn’t burn. The result? A smooth, cozy breakfast that acts like an internal jacket.
This easy avena recipe also allows for plenty of customization. Feel free to use the sweetener of your choice, then top it with whatever your heart desires. I like mine with handful of berries, some chopped nuts, a sprinkle of ground cinnamon, and a drizzle of honey. Delicious!
Health Benefits of Oats
Whether you’re still going strong with your New Year’s resolutions or if you’ve fallen off the wagon and want to get back to a healthy diet, this is a great place to start. Avena is a tasty and nutritious breakfast that should fit well with most diets, and is loaded with good-for-you ingredients.
In case you didn’t already know it, whole-grain oats are naturally gluten-free, high in fiber, relatively high in protein and fat, and are loaded with vitamins, minerals and antioxidants. In fact, they are one of the most nutrient dense foods on the planet!
A diet rich in oats has also been associated with several positive health outcomes including reduced blood pressure, reduced LDL cholesterol, reduced insulin response, and reduced inflammation. If you’re looking for a superfood to start your day, oats are it amigos!
As if that weren’t enough, the addition of cinnamon increases the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of this avena recipe, and the addition of milk gives the oatmeal a boost of protein. Toss in some fresh berries for a hit of powerful phytonutrients and some nuts for heart-healthy fat, and you have yourself a breakfast that will nourish you from the inside out.
Finally, when you purée the cooked avena in the blender it becomes an atole, which is a smooth oatmeal drink. This is a good way to prepare it for both the elderly and the very young; it was my grandma Jesusita’s favorite breakfast preparation when she got older.
How to Make Old-Fashioned Avena
This simple recipe for slow-cooked Mexican oatmeal is pretty straightforward. It takes a bit of time to prepare, but I promise it will be worth every second! Here’s how it’s done:
In a saucepan (I love my cast iron Dutch oven), bring the water to a boil with the cinnamon sticks. Remove from heat, cover, and let steep for one hour. Discard the cinnamon sticks. Make-Ahead Tip: This Cinnamon Tea (Té de Canela) can be done up to a week in advance and kept in the refrigerator.
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Add the salt and oats to the water and let it come to a boil, uncovered. Lower the heat and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent sticking. Add milk and simmer for an additional 15 minutes until creamy.
Serve in a bowl and add more milk or water if you want it thinner. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sweeten with sugar, honey, or maple syrup. Serve garnished with blueberries and walnuts. Enjoy!
Watch the video below to learn how quick and simple it is to make avena. Slow-cooked old-fashioned creamy oatmeal is so comforting and beats instant packaged oatmeal any day.
Optional Variations & Customizations
This comforting recipe for avena is simply perfect as is, but there are plenty of ways to make it your own. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
- Play with your toppings! I’m a sucker for antioxidant-rich blueberries and heart-healthy walnuts, but those are just two of about a gazillion options. Feel free to try other berries and nuts, or raisins. Granola will add crunch and sweetness, maple syrup can replace the honey, use cacao powder to make it chocolatey, or add apples.
- Make it vegan. Trade out the dairy milk for your favorite plant-based milk instead. I love rice or almond milk, but you can also double down on the oats with creamy oat milk.
- Make it in a slow cooker. If you aren’t one for morning cooking, I hear you! Simply add all the ingredients to a slow cooker and set it to low for 8-10 hours. When you wake up, this sweetly spiced slow cooker avena will be waiting to greet you!
Frequently Asked Questions
Sure! Take a page out of the overnight oats playbook and add the milk, oats, salt, and cinnamon-infused water to a mixing bowl. Stir well, cover and place in the fridge overnight. During their rest, the oats will absorb the liquids and begin to soften, reducing your cook time significantly.
Alternatively, you can opt to make this yummy avena on your meal-prep day and keep it in the fridge. Leftovers will last for up to a week!
Making avena requires rolled (or old-fashioned) oats to get the proper consistency. While you can technically use instant oats, they end up a little too mushy for my taste. Stay away from steel-cut oats for this one – they take much longer to cook.
Absolutely! Simply toss the cooked avena in a blender (or use an immersion blender to cut down on dishes) and whiz away until it is smooth and sippable.
More Tasty Breakfast Recipes
If you made this recipe for my Old-Fashioned Mexican Oatmeal (a.k.a. Avena), please be sure to rate and review it below!
Old-Fashioned Mexican Oatmeal (Avena)
Ingredients
- 8 cups water
- 3 cinnamon sticks
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups old-fashioned oats
- 1 cup milk, low-fat evaporated milk, milk, or almond milk
- ground cinnamon, optional
- sugar, optional
- honey, optional
- raisins, optional
- blueberries, optional
- walnuts, optional
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Instructions
- In a saucepan bring the water with the cinnamon sticks to a boil. Remove from heat, cover, and let steep for 1 hour. Discard the cinnamon sticks.
- Add salt and oats to the water and let it come to a boil uncovered. Lower heat and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent sticking. Add milk and simmer for an additional 15 minutes until creamy.
- Serve in a bowl and add more milk or water if you want it thinner. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sweeten with sugar or honey. Serve garnished with blueberries and walnuts.
Video
Notes
- When you puree it in the blender it becomes an atole, smooth oatmeal, which is a good way to prepare it for the elderly and the very young.
- If you are lactose intolerant, use lactose-free milk. Or substitute regular milk for a vegan version like oat, almond, or soy milk.
- Refrigerate leftovers for up to 1 week.
50 Comments on “Old-Fashioned Mexican Oatmeal (Avena)”
This Old-Fashioned Mexican Oatmeal is the perfect cozy and comforting way to kickstart your morning with a touch of cinnamon warmth.
Hard to go back to the old way of making oatmeal after you try this way! I bought the recipe book before c-vid so it became known as my c-vid oatmeal as I would take and drop it off on doorsteps of loved ones suffering thru that mess. It brought a lot of comfort. Thank you!
This may be how Oatmeal is made in Mexico, the cuisine and people of which I love and respect, but… it’s not Mexican, anymore than it’s Norwegian. It’s a way to cook Oatmeal used by millions of people around the world.
I’m going to use your recipe this weekend. It’s going to be delicious I know.
Omg! i just made this and it reminds me of when, my father n law used to make it for me. Thank you for the Recipe. I will be making this a lot more.
Thank You
CE
Yvette’s recipes are always spot on. Our mothers are from the same area, since often our mama did not write them down, she has done us the favor of committing them to paper for all of us.
I’ve made your oatmeal recipe countless times and my family loves it! I half the recipe and add a little brown sugar. We love adding pecans with blueberries as a topping.
What is the best way to reheat the oatmeal?
This may be how Oatmeal is made in Mexico, the cuisine and people of which I love and respect, but… it’s not Mexican, anymore than it’s Norwegian. It’s a way to cook Oatmeal used by millions of people around the world.
I haven’t tried this recipe yet, but am definitely going to do so tomorrow morning. I love oatmeal and this sounds so good! I usually just have oatmeal with butter, sugar and condensed milk. This is such an easy way to try something I haven’t had before.
Oops! I meant to say evaporated milk, not condensed!
If you blend the oats, do you do this before cooking or do you add it all cooked into the blender?
You can do it either way. It’s truly up to you.
Love it!!! It is tasty and yummy!
Love it!!! It is tasty and yummy!
I remember my mother breaking up the oatmeal first then let it sit in a little cinnamon water for about an hour. She then added the full amount of cinnamon water to cook with evaporated milk and some milk.
YUMMY, would I be able to make this in the crockpot? Want to have it out Christmas morning with tamales
This is an amazing recipe! My husband isn’t a big cinnamon fan but this may have changed his mind. 🙂
I stayed in Hautulco last winter for a week. It was an all inclusive hotel. They served this a couple times. The translated item description ..oatmeal grool.lol it was great but the name didn’t make it sound good.lol.
I remember my mother breaking up the oatmeal first then let it sit in a little cinnamon water for about an hour. She then added the full amount of cinnamon water to cook with evaporated milk and some milk.