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Oatcakes are a Scottish pantry staple - crisp, crumbly and full of oaty goodness. Made with just a few simple ingredients, they're perfect for snacking, topping or serving alongside hearty meals.
I always bought oatcakes when I lived in Scotland, but since emigrating, they've been hard to come across (or expensive to buy) - so I started making my own. Many batches later, I finally had a recipe that reminded me of home.
Looking for more Scottish recipes? Try our Scotch Pancakes or our Tattie Scones.
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Reasons to Love This Recipe
- Easy recipe with simple ingredients
- Freezer friendly - great for batch cooking
- Perfect for lunchboxes
- Versatile - enjoy on their own or with sweet or savoury toppings.
Ingredient Information
- Oats: Use a mix of steel cut (pinhead) and rolled (old fashioned) oats, or if you can find Scottish Oatmeal, that's perfect. See "more about oats" section for more info.
- Butter: Adds richness, but can be replaced with oil for a dairy-free alternative.
- Salt: Optional, skip if making for a baby.
- Warm Water: To bind the dough together.
More About Oats
Every country seems to have their own selection and names for different varieties of oats, which can make oat recipes confusing. The type of oat you use affects the texture and outcome of your oatcakes.
Traditional Scottish oatcakes use Scottish oatmeal, which is oats ground to a coarse or medium texture. This isn't always easy to find outside Scotland, so I tested more common oats like rolled oats and steel-cut oats.
Here's what I discovered
- 100% steel cut (pinhead) oats (blended): Dough was crumbly but made textured oatcakes.
- 100% rolled (old fashioned) oats (blended): Easier to work with but softer, less textured oatcakes
- 50/50 steel cut and rolled oats (blended): Best texture and family favourite.
Step by Step Instructions (With Images)
- Blend Oats: Add oats to a food processor or blender and blitz until you have a coarse, flour-like consistency.
- Mix with Butter: In a mixing bowl add the ground oats and melted butter and gently mix until combined.
- Add warm water & knead: Gradually add water and mix until the oats absorb the liquid and a dough forms.
- Roll and cut: Roll the dough out on a floured surface to approx. 3mm (⅛ inch) thick. Use cookie cutters to cut into rounds (or preferred shape).
Serving Suggestions
The great thing about oatcakes is that they can be enjoyed in many different ways and at any time of the day. Enjoy them with sweet or savoury toppings, crumbled into soup or as part of a cheese board.
Some topping suggestion include
- Cottage Cheese Egg Salad
- Mashed Avocado and Tomato
- Peanut Butter & Raspberry Chia Jam
- Cream Cheese & Strawberry
- Hummus and Carrot
- Tuna Salad and Cucumber
- Butter, Cheese & Grape
- Cottage Cheese and Tomato
- Nut Butter, Banana and Cinnamon
Storage Instructions
Store homemade oatcakes in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. For longer storage, you can freeze them - place in a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 2 months.
Recipe FAQs
Oatcakes can be suitable for babies, 6months +, as long as your baby is developmentally ready for finger foods, and the recipe is appropriately modified.
For babies, it's important to make them softer, soft enough that they can be easily flattened between your fingers. For a baby I would suggest
- Rolling the dough thicker (around ¾ cm) to create a softer texture.
- Use only rolled oats for less textured oatcake.
- Skip the salt to keep sodium levels low
- Cut into finger to make them easier for baby to hold
- Try serving with sweet or savoury purees to dip into for added flavour and variety.
For informational purposes only - each baby develops at their own place. Make informed decisions for your baby and consult a professional for personalised advice. Always provide a safe eating environment and watch your baby closely while eating.
Oatcakes have a nutty, wholesome flavour and a dry, crumbly texture. They're savoury rather than sweet - so don't be fooled by the word "cake"! They aren't an indulgent treat, more a humble snack that pairs great with cheese, soup or spread of choice.
Oatcakes can vary in texture .They can be rough to fine, depending on they type and how the oats are ground. They can be slightly chewy, crumbly or crispy depending on water content, and how thick they are rolled out and how long they are bakes.
This recipe produces an oatcake that is crunchy with a medium to rough texture.
Gluten free - although oats are naturally gluten free, most commercial oats are processed in facilities that also process wheat, barley and rye. The gluten in these ingrediesnt can contaiminate oats. Make sure to buy gluten free oats if intolerant.
Dairy Free - You can replace butter with a different fat (eg olive oil or lard)
Cracker and Bite Recipes to Try
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Oatcakes
Ingredients
- 95g (½ cup) Steel Cut (Pinhead) Oats * SEE NOTE 1
- 95g ( 1 cup) Rolled (old fashioned) Oats
- ¼ tsp Salt (Optional)
- 28g (2 tbsp) Butter (melted) *SEE NOTE 2
- 75ml (¼ cup + 1 tbsp) Hot water
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 190℃ / 375℉
- Add the steel cut oats to a food processor and blend until you achieve a coarse flour-like consistency,(see picture above for video for illustration). *SEE NOTE 3
- Add the rolled oats to the blender and continue to blend until they also represent coarse flour.
- In a large bowl, mix together the blended oats and salt (if using). Add the melted butter and use your fingers to mix it through the oats until coated.
- Add the hot water and knead the mixture together. It will feel very wet, to begin with, but as you continue to mix the dough, the oats will absorb the water. Continue to knead until the mixture no longer feels sticky. *SEE NOTE 4
- Form into a ball, sprinkle the work surface with some extra blended oats (or flour) and roll out to approx 3mm (⅛inch) thick.
- Cut your oatcakes with a cookie cutter into your desired shape. *SEE NOTE 5
- Carefully place your oatcakes onto a baking tray and bake for 25-30 minutes, until dry and lightly golden. (Turn oatcakes after 15 mins)
Video
Recipe Notes
- See above post for information on oats. The type of oats you use, and how much you blend them, will affect the texture of your oatcake. This was our preferred combination and ratio. If you decide to change the oats, replace them by weight (total weight 190g), as different oats yield different cup measurements.
- You can replace the butter with a different fat (e.g olive oil) to make dairy free.
- The steel cut oats take a while to break down, I blended mine for around 5 mins. The rolled oats break down very quickly.
- I used 75ml of water. If the dough is too dry and not rolling then you may have to add a little more, 1 teaspoon at a time.
- The pictured oatcakes were made using a circle cutter with a diameter of approx. 5.5 cm (2¼ inches). I have however successfully made smaller and larger ones too.
Sara
This was delicious !! Best recipe yet, and it reminds me of the uk. Thanks for this. Just one question. Is 1.5 cm the diameter of the cookie cutter or the radius? My batch only yielded 18 cakes. Otherwise, great recipe !
Amy
Hi Sarah, it was the diameter of the cookie cutter (3.5cm / 1.5 inch) so really small oatcakes. So glad you enjoyed the recipe 🙂
Terri
Hi Amy. My mom is required to stop eating breads and baked goods but can have oatmeal. Mom LOVES tuna ala king (think a bechamel sauce with tuna with biscuits. Your thoughts on this as an alternative?
Amy
Hi Terri, I have just googled tuna ala king as I had never heard of it before! Oatcakes are very different to biscuits but they are popular in Scotland with soup. Maybe they could be used as an alternative...
Duncan Dixon
Very tasty! I refer to them as oat thins rather than oat cakes, as they remind me of wheat thins or rye thins and by not using "cake" I don't raise raise expectations of something sweet.
Amy
Hi Duncan, thanks for the five-star rating. Oat thins sounds perfect!
Hayley Louise
Can you freeze these please
Amy
Hi Hayley, yes you can freeze 🙂
Penny
I love the look of these and cannot wait to try them! One question: if you freeze some of them, would those be baked first or the dough kept in the freezer and baked raw from frozen? Thanks!
Amy
Hi Penny, I always bake them before freezing 🙂
Wendy
Love this recipe! No need to buy store bought again.
Amy
That is great, Wendy. Thanks for the five stars 🙂
Molly Zawacki
I've been looking for an oatcake recipe and this one was great, simple and yummy. Thanks!
Amy
That is great, Molly. Thanks for the 5 stars 🙂
Gale Bowering
Hi. It looks like you could use Scottish oatmeal instead of grinding the other two?
Amy
Hi Gale, yes you can 🙂
Kathryn Philp
Finally an oatcake recipe that’s not too crumbly. Thanks so much, love a homemade oatcake, so simple and tasty x
Amy
Thanks Kathryn!
Tracey McAskill
95g (1/2 cup) Steel Cut (Pinhead) Oats
95g (1 cup) Rolled Oats
Can you clarify if 95g is .5cup, or 1 cup, or should it be 190g rolled oats??
Amy
Hi Tracey. You need 95g of steel cut oats and 95g of rolled oats (which is the same as 1/2 cup of steel-cut and 1 cup of rolled oats (as the oats are a different size the same weight has different cup sizes)).
Frida Jonson
Thank you for very good article and recipe, I will try this today, I think I will try one batch with olive oil and one with butter, how much olive oil do you suggest in this recipe? Kind Regards from Sweden 🙂
Amy
Hi Frida, I'd use the same amount of olive oil as butter (2 tbsp). I really hope you enjoy this recipe, please let me know what you think 🙂
Isa from France
Great ! same taste and flavor as in my memories of Scotland.
thank you Amy
Amy
Great to know, Isa. So happy they were a success for you 🙂
Amy Prankard
Thank you so much for this recipe, I’m having a few gluten issues at the moment, and these are a godsend. There easy to make, so cheap, and I don’t think I’m ever going to go back to shop bought. I’ve made them twice so far, and have found olive oil is preferable for personal taste. I don’t have a food processor, so gave it a shot with some ‘Scottish Oats’ from tesco scrunched a bit with my hands, worked a treat.
My only question, which may seem a bit daft, is how long do you think these would last in a good airtight Tupperware? I’d love to make a large batch, and don’t want them to spoil, as I’m the main oatcake eater.
Amy
Hi Amy, thank you so much for your kind message and sorry it has taken me so long to reply. Some messages filter into spam and I miss them. I always store these in the freezer and they are good for 3 months. You can store them in an airtight container for 2-3 days at room temp but I haven't stored them longer than that.
Nancy Greenough
We are new to making oat cakes, but we are loving them and look forward to making this recipe.
Amy
Thanks Nancy, I hope you enjoy them 🙂
Debra Jones
An absolute life saver of a recipe. Thank you Amy! I made 2 batches yesterday. This is a Keeper, love 'em.
Amy
Thanks Debra, so happy you loved them 🙂
Amy Ngai
Thank you! It was delicious. Buttery and tender. Added 1.5 tsp of sugar for a little sweetness and 1/2 tsp of baking powder. 100% recommend. I made one batch this afternoon and I'm ready to make more and it'll have to be a double batch next time 🙂
Amy
Thanks Amy, so glad you liked them 🙂