Fact Checked

How we rate breakfast oats

Is your diet ‘oat’ of control? Why not add oatmeal to your morning routine? It’s said to be gluten-free and packed with all the good stuff (i.e. vitamins, minerals, fibre and antioxidants) to make a healthy breakfast. Whether you like it hot with milk, or with a dash of yoghurt, there are plenty of breakfast oatmeal options available on the market which means finding oats that float your boat shouldn’t be too hard. To help you avoid crying over spilled milk, Canstar Blue reveals the top brands of breakfast oats, as rated by shoppers.

Find more detailed information on our ratings methodology.

Top Oatmeal Brand ─ Uncle Tobys

If you would rather start your day with a hot breakfast, Uncle Tobys offers a variety of sachets to choose from. Its Quick Oats Sachets range is designed for busy mornings, just add a dash of milk or water to your bowl, put it in the microwave for 90 secs and you’ll have yourself a wholesome breakfast in no time! You can alternatively add it to smoothies. Flavours available include apple & cinnamon, brown sugar & cinnamon, creamy vanilla, creamy honey, berry, etc.  Uncle Tobys also offers larger portion sizes with Quick Sachets Big Bowl and a high-fibre option for those who want extra goodness in the morning. Expect to fork out anywhere between $4.50 and $8 for Uncle Tobys oats.

• Uncle Tobys was rated best for taste, texture, packaging convenience, range variety, and overall satisfaction. It got three stars for value for money.

What’s the difference between rolled oats and steel-cut oats?

What separates rolled oats from steel-cut oats is whether the whole oats are steel-cut or rolled during the manufacturing process. Rolled oats are steamed and flattened with steel rollers, making them faster to cook than steel-cut oats.

Here are the different types of rolled oats you can buy:

• Old-fashioned oats: can be consumed as oatmeal, added to baked goods, or used to coat meats. This is the most textured type of rolled oats and takes the longest to cook.
• Quick-cooking oats: similar to old-fashioned oats but require less cooking time because they’re rolled thinner.
• Instant oats: can be unhealthier than other types of rolled oats if they contain added sugars, salt, and other ingredients to make them tasty. These cook the fastest.

Is it healthy to eat oatmeal every day?

Wholegrain cereals like oatmeal are fine to eat daily and contain various vitamins and minerals, such as iron and B group vitamins like folate, as well as protein, antioxidants, and carbohydrates.

Health authorities suggest Aussie adults should eat up to six serves of wholegrain cereals every day, while children are recommended to consume at least three to 4.5 serves. However, this varies depending on age and sex.

Does oatmeal make you gain weight?

No, oatmeal on its own won’t make you gain weight unless you add sugars or naughty toppings (we’re looking at you, choc chip!) AND eat over your recommended daily calorie intake. Oats can be good for weight management since they’re a high-fibre food. This means they take longer to digest, keeping you feeling fuller for longer.

Oats come in different forms – steel-cut, steamed, instant, rolled, and whole. All types are seen as rich in soluble fibres, vitamins and minerals. That’s why oatmeal is considered a healthy breakfast option, compared to other cereals which can be high in added sugars and additives. The nutritional value of each type of oat varies only slightly based on cook time and what liquid you add to your bowl of oatmeal. As a rule of thumb, plain or ‘original’ oats are healthier than their flavoured counterparts.

Which breakfast oats should you buy?

When it comes to finding a good oatmeal brand, Uncle Tobys has proven to be a popular pick after rating best in our consumer ratings for four years in a row. Coles also seems to be good bang for buck.

‘Oat-timately’ your choice of breakfast oats should come down to personal preference. Of course, you also want to make sure you’re getting the best bang for your buck for your breakfast cereal. You can do that by looking at the unit pricing of each item. It’s a labelling system that compares the selling price of a product against a standard unit of measurement (i.e. per litre, kilogram, etc.). This allows consumers to compare product prices more accurately, regardless of packaging size or brand.

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Meet our consumer experts

Megan Birot: Home & Lifestyle Editor

Megan is Canstar Blue’s Home & Lifestyle Editor, leading the team that focuses on consumer products and services, ranging from supermarkets and groceries to home and personal appliances and retail stores. She interprets Canstar Blue’s bespoke research on the thousands of brands that we compare, rate and review, to help shoppers make better purchasing decisions.

Meet the Editorial Team

Samantha Howse: Consumer Research Specialist

Samantha Howse is Canstar Blue’s Consumer Research Specialist, coordinating the consumer research program behind our customer satisfaction awards across Canstar and Canstar Blue in Australia and New Zealand. Sam has earned a Bachelor of Business (Marketing) from Griffith University and, with seven years in market research and 2 years in marketing, she is experienced in survey design, implementation and analysis, coupled with an understanding of marketing principles and best practice.

Meet the Research Team

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