Steel cut oats are much tastier plus they are good leftover so making a big batch isn’t that much of a hassle even though they take longer to cook.
I just do mine in the microwave and they only take about 4 minutes for a 1/2 cup serving. Be careful, though, as they have a tendency to boil over and paste themselves all over the inside of your oven. I like mine savory and, perhaps in an unconventional way, I like to put a fried sunny-side egg atop and break the yolk into the cereal. Or just break a raw egg into the oats at the end and swirl it up.
I have steel-cut oats for breakfast almost every day. My trick is to put them in water the night before - that way they cook in a short time (I throw in some raisins shortly before they are done). They are delicious and amazingly cheap.
I can’t see any difference (except, as you note, the much higher price).
Oh lord have mercy. I bet your kids go to school hungry.
Do you have any specifics you can share?
Kids? What kids? You know something I don’t? (I don’t like sweets very much. Egg yolk and oatmeal is awesome. I also like to add hot sauce to it.)
edit: A little Googling shows I’m not completely nuts. The NYTimes food guru Mark Bittman likes his with scallions and soy sauce. edit 2: Reading the comments, looks like some others like the idea of a fried or poached egg. Trust me, it’s really good if you don’t automatically think of oatmeal as “sweet” food (and I don’t. It seems so much more natural to me to pair it with savory flavors.)
I love my oatmeal with chopped up boiled eggs, scallions, onions, mushrooms or veggie burgers, with a dash of curry powder and hot sauce and a sprinkle of parmesan. The oats should be boiled in veggie boullion, of course. My oatmeal is ALWAYS savory. Anywhere most people would use rice or potatoes, I could easily substitute oatmeal.
I like the way you think.
AB’s take on the subject: “…if you were to take [whole oats], however, and send them through steel cutters you would have steel cut oats, a.k.a. Scotch oats or Irish Oats or—I love this one—pinhead oats. They also take a little while to cook. But they produce a very creamy porridge. Mmm. It’s also just a little bit chewy, a little toasty … mmm. They’re really nice.”
p.s. Food questions fare nicely in Cafe Society.
No one has ever said that to me following the description of how I like my oatmeal. Nothing but disgust! Good to know there are others! Cheers!
I bring 4 cups of water to a boil, turn off the heat, throw in 1 cup (steel cut) oats, cover and go to bed. They are done in the morning and make enough for a couple of days.
I also like to use oatmeal (rolled) in place of breadcrumbs in my meatloaf.
Thanks to this thread, I had steel cut oats for breakfast this morning. I put 4c of water and 1c oats in the rice cooker, and it didn’t take nearly as long as I thought it would. I like it sweet & crunchy, with blueberries, pecans and sesame seeds. Yum-ola.
I make mine in the slowcooker turned into a double boiler. I put 4 cups of water and 1 cup of oats in a bowl that fits in the slowcooker, then pour water in the cooker till it’s about halfway up the side of the bowl with the oats in it. Cook on low overnight and wake up to perfect hot oatmeal. Add brown sugar and some maple syrup (or whatever you like), and then instead of having to scrape burnt oats out of the crock of the slowcooker, toss the bowl in the dishwasher and head to work. 
As a lover of oatmeal and oats in general, I recently bought some steel-cut oats to try. I cook them on the stove and add a little bit of Promise and raw or brown sugar, cinnamon and a little almond milk. Honestly, can’t taste much of a difference between it and prepared rolled oats, but the texture is closer to porridge or wheat cereal than the gloopy, pasty texture of Quaker Oatmeal.
That being the case, oatmeal absolutely does rock.
Got a bulk food store anywhere near you? The bulk food store I frequent sells steel-cut oats for 60 cents a pound.
i just bought a 30oz box of Country Choice brand organic steel cut oats at Trader Joe’s for $2.99. More than 60 cents a pound, but less than the $4.99 a can for the ubiquitous McCann’s Irish Oats.
I have steel-cut oats at least once on most weekends. Cook 'em for 20 minutes, then add a handful of raisins, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla. Cook for another 5 minutes. Served with a little brown sugar and a little butter, is the healthiest sweet breakfast I know of, and it makes me feel great.
Opinions. Nothing I can do to steel cut oats will give them more flavor than a sheet of notebook paper. I’ve tried, believe me I’ve tried. I love rolled oats.
I add 1 Tbs peanut butter
1 banana or apple
cream or milk & maple syrup to taste.
My kids think it’s disgusting.