This Costco Breakfast Find Will Feed You All Year for $10

Oatmeal is my favorite cozy morning breakfast—topped with berries, sprinkled with chopped nuts, studded with chocolate chips, or doused in maple syrup. There are so many ways to make it and really no wrong answers.

Since oatmeal is part of my regular breakfast rotation, I was very pleased to see that Costco sells a very large bag of Quaker Old Fashioned Rolled Oats at a ridiculously good price: Less than $10 for 10 pounds. Since I only use about a third of a cup of oats per bowl, which is roughly an ounce, that ten-pound bag gives me around 160 servings. Broken down, my morning oatmeal costs about 5 cents a bowl.

The 5-Cent Oatmeal Breakfast That Never Bores Me

Cooking oats in an instant pot, preparing overnight oats, or baking them in a casserole make an oatmeal breakfast my favorite kind: hands-free, low-effort, and ready when I wake up.

One of the many reasons why I lean on oatmeal is that it’s the perfect blank breakfast canvas. You can make it sweet or savory depending on your mood, and most of the best upgrades are things you already have in your pantry. For example, using coconut milk makes for an ultra-creamy bowl of oats. Or, you can mix in an egg for extra satiety. 

Toppings are where it really gets fun. Beyond the usual swirl of jam, try dried or fresh fruit, nuts, nut butter, chocolate chips, maple syrup, or coconut flakes. A few more ideas if you want to mix things up:

• Stir in a spoonful of pie filling
• Sprinkle on some granola
• Grate in citrus zest
• Dust cinnamon sugar on top
• Swirl in yogurt
• Mix in peanut butter powder
• Top with crushed graham crackers or cereal
• Drizzle on tahini and honey
• Toss in frozen berries (When added at the end, they thaw instantly)

How To Store 10 Pounds of Oats

Even with my endless list of oatmeal variations and all the other fun ways to use up oats, I’m not guaranteed to get through a whole box in a year. To prevent them from attracting pests or going stale, here’s how to properly store the oats:

• Transfer some of the oats into a large airtight container you can keep handy on your counter or pantry shelf. This makes daily scooping easier.
• Store the rest in a sealed container in a cool, dark place. A big jar, a plastic flour bin, or even a zip-top freezer bag works well.
• Freeze your oats in airtight bags. They can be frozen uncooked, dry, and then used directly from the freezer. 
• Watch out for mold, pests like weevils, and other signs of spoilage, especially in moist, warm weather, as oats naturally absorb ambient humidity.