Oats are one of the most versatile grains in the kitchen – nutty, hearty, and endlessly adaptable. Beyond their place in porridge bowls, they transform into crisp batters, tender bakes and even savoury crusts that carry bold flavours. Their ability to absorb, bind and add texture makes them invaluable across sweet and savoury cooking alike.
In these recipes, oats pair with native botanicals, enrich pancakes with nutty depth, lend chew to flapjacks and bars and bring crunch to a savoury prawn coating. Some methods toast oats until golden and fragrant, some soak them overnight for softness, and other grind them fine to replace wheat flour entirely – proving oats deserve more than their porridge reputation (although, porridge we do love you!).
This crumble uses the stove first to slowly cook rosy-tasting quince in butter, before baking with the oat and hazelnuts topping until crisp and moreish.
Quince, hazelnut and oat crumble. Credit: Alan Benson
A light sponge folded with ground oats gives this roulade structure without heaviness. Rolled around whipped cream and berries, it slices cleanly yet stays tender and airy.
Oat roulade with berry cream. Credit: Martha Bakes / Yossy Arefi
This granola showcases Australian native ingredients – toasted wattleseed, lemon myrtle and anise myrtle powder mixed with macadamias and oats, for a welcome morning twist.
Credit: Freshly Picked with Simon Toohey
These biscuits are hardy and satisfying, with a combination of coconut oil, shredded coconut and oats – just add a hot cuppa on the side.
A quick DIY chai sugar brings aromatic depth to this luxurious take on porridge. Adding cold butter at the end rather than the beginning means the butter melts on the finished oats for serving.
Credit: Danielle Abou Karam
These bars let you control exactly what goes into your workday treat – oats, walnuts and chocolate chips held together with honey and golden syrup, and ground flax seed adds extra nutrition.
Credit: Mary Makes It Easy
Cardamom makes this granola – the spice weaves through maple syrup, toasted almonds and coconut, creating a flavour that's hard to pin down but impossible to forget once you've tasted it.
Credit: Alan Benson
Perfect for a cheese plate or gift packaging with brie or cheddar, these crackers combine oats with wholemeal flour for the base, studded with pistachios and cumin seeds. Simply roll the mixture into a log and chill before slicing and baking.
Oat, pistachio and cumin crackers Credit: Petrina Tinslay
Build this decorative porridge in jars for a festive-feeling breakfast delight. The creamy porridge is simmered with milk, then layered with crunchy mixed seeds and finished with a grape compote.
Porridge trifle. Credit: Everyday Gourmet with Justine Schofield
Rolled oats toast with coconut and ginger to create a crunchy topping for this elegant South Asian-inspired dessert. The oat mixture bakes separately while the kulfi sets overnight in moulds, so is ideal as a make-ahead sweet when entertaining.
Credit: Sarah Todd
Use any nut butter you prefer – cashew, peanut or a mix – mixed with honey or agave for vegans for these healthy on-the-go breakfast bars. The dry ingredients include protein powder and ground flax for sustained energy.
Credit: Juliet Sear
These charming cookie sandwiches bring together caramel, peanuts and oats in bite-sized portions, elevating the humble oat biscuit into a golden dulce de leche delight.
Credit: Alan Benson
Oats find a savoury role here, toasted with pepitas to pair with fresh broad beans and a herb-kombucha vinaigrette – a dish that highlights the humble grain beyond its usual sweet setting.
Broad bean salad Credit: Murdoch Books / Ben Dearnley
You don’t need to wait until dessert to enjoy the sweetly spiced and fruity fresh flavour of apple pie – this porridge brings it to the breakfast table.
Apple pie porridge Credit: Adam Liaw
A base of oat cookie dough encases pockets of vanilla-tinged tangy rhubarb, giving three textures – firm, jammy, and crisp – in each serving.
Rhubarb and oat cookie bars Credit: Benito Martin
This make-ahead breakfast requires only mixing and refrigeration – no cooking necessary. Oats, chia seeds, flax seeds and cacao nibs soften overnight in almond milk spiked with lemon juice, ready to top with fruit and honey and scoop straight from the jar.
Overnight oats Credit: Desiree Nielsen
This recipe bridges British flapjack with Indian burfi – oats bind with golden syrup and butter, topped with a cardamom-infused milk fudge.
Milk fudge flapjack. Credit: Nadiya's Simple Spices / Penguin Michael Joseph / Chris Terry
Your gut will thank you for this start to the day – the fermented tea adds probiotics into easy overnight oats. The fragrance of chai tea, natural or coconut yoghurt and baked stone fruit complete the bowl.
Credit: Bondi Harvest
Quick oats mixed with milk powder and chicken bouillon form a crunchy golden crust in this Singaporean prawn dish. Not only does the coating add extra aroma, but clings to curry leaf-infused butter.
Cereal butter prawns Credit: Kitti Gould
These digestive-style biscuits work with both savoury and sweet accompaniments – blue cheese or dark chocolate. Brown sugar sweetens the wholemeal and oat bran base, which bakes until just golden.
For a wholesome, whole-grain take on pancakes, this recipe combines rolled oats and nutty buckwheat flour, with chopped pecans adding crunch and cinnamon and maple syrup bringing a sweet balance.
Oaty pecan pancakes Credit: Simon & Schuster
Forget store-bought granola bars and whip up these textural, flavourful and nutrient-packed treats. Toasted oats and almonds bind with flaxseed meal, chia seeds and pitted dates, crunchy peanut butter and honey hold everything together before the optional chocolate dip.
Credit: China Squirrel
An oat and almond crust holds juicy apricot halves in a maple-sweetened custard. The crisp, nutty base against soft fruit and cream makes for balanced texture and taste in every slice.
Credit: Mary Makes It Easy
This clever and cosy-feeling slice requires only five ingredients – oats, butter, honey, brown sugar and hazelnuts. Simply spread the mixture into a tin, bake for 25 minutes and cut into portions while warm.
Honey oat slice Credit: Sharyn Cairns
