13 Quaker Oats Flavors, Ranked Worst To Best

This little to-go cup of oatmeal is highly convenient. Honey & Almond isn't a far cry from Maple & Brown Sugar or Cinnamon & Spice, so if you're looking to only branch out ever so slightly, you'll appreciate this product. 

That said, if you're looking for a fun new flavor, this addition doesn't really get you there. Honey rounds out the sweetness of the basic oatmeal in an almost equally warming, toasty sense as brown sugar, and the almonds bring a slight chew for the textural factor — but we found out that they didn't give us much of a real almond flavor. There's not much that could make us choose it instead of the Cinnamon or Maple & Brown Sugar because we could always just add our own almonds if need be. If you want to make your simpler oatmeals like this one a little more exciting, we know plenty of tasty tricks you've never heard of, from miso paste to hot sauce.

Oatmeal, maple, and brown sugar go together almost as synonymously as peanut butter and jelly, chips and salsa, or watermelon and tajin. (Just us?) The basic Maple & Brown Sugar Instant Oatmeal is everybody's go-to, which a team member's parents would always describe as "stick to your ribs." Sure, it's not exactly a cinnamon roll, but add your favorite milk, some more brown sugar, and some cinnamon, et voila, it's at least reminiscent of one. 

But let's be real, without those extra trappings, it's still pretty plain, and an organic tag doesn't change that fact. It still tasted good but it definitely needed something more. Unfortunately, if we were going to eat the contents of the Instant Organic Maple & Brown Sugar Oatmeal packet exactly how we prepared it — meaning, just oatmeal and water — we would consider it a fairly sad meal. Anything you might dislike about oatmeal is accentuated. The potential monotony of bite after bite of a homogeneously textured food? It's at its worst when there are no add-ins to break it up. There's also no additional nutrient boost (even though oatmeal is perfectly nutritious all on its own) or even the placebo effect of a strawberry flavor fooling you into thinking you're eating your fruits and vegetables. But hey, it's organic at least, which is why the price tag is higher, and that's got to count for something, right? Well, maybe, but we leave that choice up to you.

This variety pack includes Maple & Brown Sugar, Cinnamon & Spice, and Apples & Cinnamon. Now before you click away from this article at the sheer tomfoolery we are exhibiting by ranking something so classic so low, okay, we get it. Apples & Cinnamon: What fruit is a better fit with warm, soothing oatmeal that's nearly always paired with cinnamon anyway? Actually, we agree, and that's why we rank it so high — when it has a protein boost. What is a better basic instant oatmeal than Maple & Brown Sugar or Cinnamon & Spice? We agree — when it has a little less sugar. This is the version without protein and with all the sugar, and since there are more nutrient-dense but equally tasty alternatives, we're fine going with those. 

The other advantage here is that this one's a whole lot cheaper, so if you only need your oatmeal to be oatmeal and not also a source of protein, feel free to save your hard-earned dollars. Or, add your own protein source, like a big dollop of Greek yogurt or cottage cheese on top.

When we saw the Original instant oatmeal on store shelves, we felt some cognitive dissonance. Original oatmeal is a staple in our homes, but in a giant canister of loose oats that are used for the occasional from-scratch bowl of oatmeal, batch of cookies, or noble effort at homemade granola. But we would never have thought to purchase it as instant oatmeal. Those pouches are reserved for fall or fruit flavors. It's supposed to be a one-and-done meal, not something you then have to take any effort to dress up. Doesn't it defeat the whole purpose? 

For this reason, and this alone, we ranked the Original oatmeal so low. Just buy the canister of instant oats, and if you need to bring a perfectly bowl-sized portion, slip some into a ziplock baggie and you're good to go. There's really no need for this slightly redundant product. The oats are great, though, because of course they are. Plain oats are the building block of one of our favorite secret struggle dinners that still tastes heavenly to this day: savory oatmeal.

There's a lot to like about this flavor variety. In a way, it has some of everything going for it. The Banana Nut Protein Instant Oatmeal leaves out the "Cream" from its title and is not to be confused with the Bananas & Cream flavor found in the Fruit & Cream variety pack, but before you get disappointed at a lack of cream, think of it this way: Bananas are a naturally creamy fruit. They can even be blended with zero other ingredients to create faux ice cream, or "Nice" cream. So with or without the added "cream" innovation, this or any banana-infused oatmeal is just going to be lusher than if the fruit were, say, blackberries. Then there's the protein of it all, which turns a bowl full of nutrient-dense carbs into a full meal with plenty of staying power. 

The nuts are the cherry on top, adding the crunch and texture that, by now you know very well, gives instant oatmeal a leg up in our rankings. Overall, it reminds us of a banana nut bread in oatmeal form, and that's a good thing. The only reason it didn't rank higher was that we can't exactly seek out nice chunks of fruit, since that inherent creaminess makes the banana bleed into the rest of the oatmeal.

As the old saying goes, variety is the spice of life. It holds up. We all love our routines, but without a little variety here and there, life is bland. Lots of routines — like a bowl of oatmeal — can be in place for practicality but also for our own personal benefit. It's healthy! If you hold these routines close, don't worry — we're not going to tell you to start making breakfast pizzas or eggs benedict instead. But might we suggest having three flavors of low-sugar instant oatmeal to choose from instead of just one?

We were hard-pressed to find much of a difference between the low-sugar and full-sugar versions of Apple & Cinnamon, Cinnamon & Spice, and Maple & Brown Sugar Oatmeal from Quaker. The most pronounced difference was probably in the apple one, just because it tasted slightly less like a dessert. Otherwise, the sweetness that's already intrinsic to ingredients like maple, brown sugar, and cinnamon all come through just as well. If you want or need to monitor your sugar intake, you might decide that even small changes can go a long way — and thus choose to make a small switch in your oatmeal habit. You would be barely sacrificing any pleasure in the process.

We're going to get a lot of flack for putting Quaker's Raisin, Date, & Walnut instant oatmeal in the top spot. It doesn't make logical sense. Maybe Cinnamon & Spice is basic and Original is boring, but isn't this flavor even worse because it's something your grandma would eat? Quite the contrary. We've covered oatmeals that feature innovations like added protein or reduced sugar, but sometimes you just want a bowl of sweet, creamy oatmeal that will taste delicious and provide a bowl of pure comfort. This instant oatmeal option might have sugar, but raisins and dates are chock-full of it naturally. They also add a (healthy) gut punch of fiber. Walnuts? Natural protein, plus more fiber, and tons of antioxidants. All nutrients aside, each element imparts a warm flavor that accentuates and elevates the toasty notes of plain oatmeal. 

Walnuts, raisins, and dates are all popular ingredients in festive holiday desserts, and that's because they have that generous, friendly taste. It's almost like a bowl full of figgy pudding! And yes, we're aware that this might be a turn-off, but here's one more sticking point: Perhaps most importantly, there's a diversity of textures and flavors that's hard to find in any of Quaker's other oatmeals. It's the only one with three ingredients listed in the title, and all of them have at least a slightly notable texture. Maybe you're still not sold, but we're some happy grandmas over here and we're not ashamed of it.