Way better than instant. Two parts water, one part oats. Boil the water, turn off the burner, add the oats. Sprinkle a bit of salt. Stir to make sure all the oats are wet, cover. Wait a few minutes.
While you’re waiting, put whatever you want into a bowl - butter, syrup, brown sugar, cinnamon, bits of fruit, honey, peanut butter, jelly, etc. (Probably not all of those at once, but you do you.) Serve the oatmeal on top of the add-ons, mix.
Fellas, fellas - hold up. While steel-cut is 100% correk, here’s how you do:
Get that empty salsa jar or jam jar you put through the dishwasher. Fill it 60-70% with oats. Add soymilk (or whatever) to just cover the oats, maybe a touch more. Put the top on, tuck it in the fridge. Next morning, scoop some jam or preserves (or fresh berries if you’re feeling fancy), stir it up and you got all the goodness with no cooking and hardly any cleanup. It’s perfecto!