I Tried Jennifer Aniston’s “Delicious” Oatmeal Hack

Oatmeal is easily one of my favorite breakfasts, especially on a chilly winter day. It’s warm, comforting, and nourishing thanks to whole grains. Plus, there are so many options for switching up the flavor. The only problem? Oatmeal on its own doesn’t pack quite as much protein as I’d like.

I’m always looking for clever ways to get more protein in my diet, especially because I don’t eat much meat. Once I stumbled on Jennifer Aniston’s hack for upping the protein in her morning oatmeal with one simple mix-in, I knew I had to try it. Certainly the Friends star must be on to something, right? Now, egg white oatmeal has become my new favorite breakfast. 

Get the recipe: Jennifer Aniston’s Oatmeal Hack

This quick and easy hack can be used in any favorite oatmeal recipe, but it’s best to use it when making stovetop oatmeal, as opposed to packaged instant oatmeal. 

Make your favorite oatmeal recipe according to the normal method. I love to make mine by boiling vanilla almond milk with a bit of cinnamon and cooking the oats in that mixture. Just before your oatmeal is done cooking, whisk one or two egg whites into the mixture. The residual heat from the oatmeal will cook the egg whites. Be sure to whisk consistently to prevent scrambling the egg whites. 

Once the oatmeal is cooked, transfer it to a bowl to garnish with your favorite toppings. 

It doesn’t exactly sound appealing to add eggs into oatmeal, so I was definitely skeptical at first. But I was certainly glad I moved past that. This is such a quick and easy hack to add more protein to oatmeal. Depending on the size of the egg, each egg white can add four more grams of protein to this simple dish. They are entirely neutral, so you can’t taste the addition at all. And overall, the texture of my regular oatmeal is actually improved. It’s slightly fluffier making it that much more delicious. I wish I had learned about this so much sooner! 

You can choose to crack and separate the egg whites out of whole eggs and use up the yolks in another recipe, or measure egg whites from a store-bought carton. Either way, you’ll end up with a punch of protein to make a bowl of morning oatmeal that much better.