Food - Drink
Old-Fashioned Oats Vs. Steel-Cut: Is There A Nutritional Difference?
By KATIE HORST
Oats of many varieties — old-fashioned, quick, steel-cut, Scottish, overnight, and instant — have been gracing breakfast tables for centuries; not only are they affordably filling, they're really good for you, too. Yet, health-conscious consumers have always wondered whether there’s a nutritional difference between old-fashioned and steel-cut oats.
Per Quaker, a ½ cup serving of old-fashioned rolled oats provides 4 grams of fiber, 27 grams of carbohydrates — the complex, healthy kind — and 5 grams of protein. A ¼ cup serving of steel-cut oats, on the other hand, has 4 grams of fiber, 30 grams of carbohydrates, and 4 grams of protein, according to McCann's who has been producing steel-cut oats for 150 years.
While there’s no nutritional difference between the two, they are processed differently — rolled oats are steamed, then flattened, and steel-cut are only cut into coarse, kernel-esque pieces, giving them a slightly longer cooking time. The real nutritional difference lies in your toppings, so stick with fresh fruit, nuts, and other low-sugar, minimally-processed ingredients.