I’ve come up with 10 ways to use oats in your spring pantry:

1.  Homemade Granola

If you haven’t tried homemade granola, you’re really missing out. The aroma fills the house: cinnamon, nuts, honey…heavenly. It’s the same feeling I get when chocolate chip cookies are baking in the oven- a warm and comforting feeling. I don’t stick to recipes, but instead throw whatever nuts and dried fruits from the cupboard into the mix. Using olive oil yields a fruity, complex granola. The guys from Baked have a good quick baking granola recipe in their fantastic book, New Frontiers in Baking. Love them!

2.  Pastry

While reading  The Versatile Grain & the Elegant Bean, I was intrigued by the recipe for a tart shell made with oat flour and quick-cooking oats as a base for a mixed berry tart. I can see how the tart shell would be more satisfying with a nutty flavor and crisp texture. If you make a lot of tarts, this would be a great way to change your routine up a bit and try something new.

3.  Bread

Oats are mostly gluten free (if they are not contaminated by other grains in production). Therefore, oat flour is not a good choice on its own for bread. However, oat flour can be added to bread made with a high gluten flour to enrich flavor and increase the shelf life of the bread. Even better, use rolled oats as a coating for a hearty loaf with character. I like to make “Apricot & Oat Bread” from Richard Bertinet’s book Dough. It’s a wheat bread with chopped dried apricot throughout and a coating of oats.

4.  Cranachan

A traditional Scottish dessert, cranachan is a layering of toasted oats, honey, fruit, and whisky spiked cream. In River Cottage Every Day, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall includes a recipe for “Rhubarb and Contreau Cranachan” that’s perfect for spring.

5.  Crisp

Who doesn’t love a crisp? I have a weakness for  baked fruit hot and bubbling under a sweet and crumbly oat crust. A crisp lends itself to this moment, when berries are in the markets and rhubarb is still around. Experiment with different types of fruit and spices. This week I’ll be making a strawberry rhubarb crisp, so stay tuned!

6.  Muesli

Muesli is a traditional Swiss breakfast of rolled oats with dried fruits, nuts, and oats served doused in fresh orange juice and served with grated apple. It can be made ahead and kept in an airtight container ready to go in the morning. Martha Stewart has a recipe for Blueberry-Walnut Muesli in The New Classics that I think sounds tasty.

7.  Pilaf

A soft, moist texture makes oats a good grain for the pilaf method. In Whole Grains Every Day Every Way Lorna Sass suggests baking oats with carrots and thyme so that they absorb the liquid slowly and don’t stick to the bottom of the pot. You can also use the traditional pilaf method like Maria Speck does in Ancient Grains for Modern Meals. Cook ingredients like diced onions, carrots, and celery in butter and then add the oats to sautee for a minute or two. Add broth plus a bay leaf and cook until it has absorbed and the oats are tender, about 45 minutes.

8.  Scones

Oats add heft to baked goods as well as staving off staleness by retaining moisture. The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook contains a recipe for “Maple-Oatmeal Scones” that sounds just lovely. Ina Garten uses whole wheat flour and quick cooking oats for a hearty scone sweetened with a maple syrup frosting. Yum!

9.  Oatmeal

I know you’re tired of the same old boring oatmeal, why not try something new! In her first book, Super Natural Cooking, Heidi Swanson has seven ways to spice up your oatmeal. My favorite: oatmeal with unsweetened coconut milk, chunks of ripe mango, sugar, and toasted coconut topping.

10.  Breading for Fried Chicken

The Splendid Grain by Rebecca Wood has won awards like the Julia Child Cookbook Award and the James Beard/Kitchen Aid Cookbook Award. Published in 1997, this book remains an invaluable source of information on grains such as oats. The recipe, “Better than Fried Chicken” calls for chicken to be marinated in cinnamon, nutmeg, cumin, lemon and mint and then coated in oats. Once baked in the oven the chicken is crispy and supposedly “Better than Fried Chicken.”

What’s your favorite recipe using oats? Let me know in the comments section.