Years ago, I learned the basic tip from chef April Bloomfield to mix steel cut oats and old-fashioned oats to get a more interesting texture from your bowl of oatmeal.

If you’re making the compote, make that the night before to make quick work of breakfast as well.

To make the cooking time quicker, I leave both oats to soak in the pot overnight, and the cooking time is then only about 15 minutes until the steel cut oats are tender. Sure, it’s one more thing to think about, but not a time investment.