July 23, 2026, 8:16 am | Read time: 6 minutes
After my air fryer phase, it seems I’ve now entered the oatmeal phase. For a long time, I thought: Oatmeal? It tastes like nothing. Until one day, my mother served me a steaming bowl of porridge. Honestly, I was skeptical—but after the first few spoonfuls, I had to change my mind. The breakfast was surprisingly delicious. Instead of wondering about the taste, a different question suddenly came to mind: Why are there tender, hearty, and even soluble oats, and what are the nutritional differences between different types of oatmeal?
As a nutrition expert, I wanted to know exactly that—so I looked into how the different types differ and whether one is actually healthier than the other.
All Oats Come from the Same Grain
Honestly, I thought for a long time that tender and hearty oats were probably made from different grains. In fact, that’s not true at all. No matter which package you pick up from the supermarket shelf, all oats come from the same oat grain. The difference lies solely in the processing.
According to the Consumer Center, oat grains are first cleaned, then briefly steamed, and finally rolled. Steaming makes the grains more elastic and longer-lasting. Because the germ, endosperm, and bran layers are fully preserved, all variants are whole grain products. In other words, nutritionally, hearty and tender oats are much more closely related than many think.1
Team Crunchy or Team Creamy?
Hearty Oats
If you like something to chew on in the morning, hearty oats might become your favorite. They are rolled from the whole oat grain, swell more slowly, and retain their firm structure even after a few minutes in muesli or Bircher muesli. Therefore, they are particularly suitable for mueslis, bread, rolls, granola bars, or pastries.2
Tender Oats
Team creamy? Then you’ve probably already landed on tender oats—maybe even without knowing it. Here, the oat grains are crushed before rolling. This allows the flakes to absorb liquid much faster, resulting in the creamy porridge you now see in almost every breakfast picture on social media.
They are also excellent for overnight oats, yogurt, smoothies, and for binding patties, soups, or sauces.
Soluble Oats
And then there’s the third variant, which many have probably never heard of. Soluble oats—also called melt flakes—are made from whole grain oat flour and dissolve almost completely in liquid. Therefore, they are often used for baby food, porridges, or light diets.
Which Oats Are Suitable for What?
During my research, it quickly became clear: It’s not really about which oats are better. It’s more about which ones are better suited to the respective recipe.3
Hearty oats are particularly suitable for:
- classic muesli
- Bircher muesli
- bread and rolls
- granola bars
- cookies and pastries
Tender oats are ideal for:
- porridge
- overnight oats
- yogurt
- smoothies
- patties
- breading
- soups and sauces
Melt flakes are particularly well-suited for:
- baby food
- porridges
- shakes
- light diets
Which Oats Are Healthier?
I’ll take the big surprise right away: Neither hearty nor tender oats have a significant health advantage. Both variants provide nearly the same nutrients.
According to the Consumer Center, 100 grams of oats contain on average:
- around 350 kilocalories,
- about 60 grams of complex carbohydrates,
- approximately 13 grams of plant-based protein,
- around seven grams of mostly unsaturated fatty acids, and
- about ten grams of fiber.
They also contain iron, magnesium, zinc, potassium, various B vitamins, and secondary plant compounds like avenanthramides. So the crucial question isn’t: “Which oats are healthier?” but rather: “Why are oats considered so healthy in the first place?”
Scientists have repeatedly explored this question over the past decades—and one substance appears in almost every study: beta-glucan.
What Scientific Studies Show
I admit: For a long time, I thought oats just had pretty good marketing. After all, they’ve been celebrated as a superfood for years. So I wanted to know: What’s really behind it?
The answer: surprisingly a lot. Above all, one ingredient repeatedly appears in scientific studies: beta-glucan. While it may sound like a chemistry lesson, it’s one of the main reasons oats are so often associated with positive health effects.
Beta-Glucan and Cholesterol Metabolism
Let’s start with the most well-known effect. Beta-glucan is not just any fiber; it’s one of the most studied components of oats.
In the gut, beta-glucan binds bile acids, which are then excreted. To produce new bile acids, the body uses cholesterol—primarily LDL cholesterol. This can reduce its concentration in the blood.
Several meta-analyses confirm this connection. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) also considers the scientific evidence sufficient.4 Therefore, manufacturers in the EU are even allowed to advertise that beta-glucans from oats contribute to maintaining normal cholesterol levels.5
Prebiotic Effect on the Gut Microbiome
I’ve also repeatedly come across the claim that oats harm gut flora. The consumer centers see it quite differently—and science has yet to provide evidence for this.
On the contrary: The fiber from oats serves as food for beneficial gut bacteria. This produces so-called short-chain fatty acids, which play an important role in gut health. Scientists therefore refer to beta-glucan as a prebiotic fiber.6
Whole Grains and Heart Health
A large systematic review showed that people who regularly eat whole grains are less likely to suffer from cardiovascular diseases and have a lower overall mortality risk.7
However, it’s important to note: These are observational studies. They show correlations but cannot prove a direct cause-and-effect relationship. Nevertheless, the results suggest that whole grains like oats can be part of a heart-healthy diet in the long term.
Hearty, Tender, or Instant: Comparing Types of Oatmeal
Is Porridge Healthier Than Oatmeal With Milk?
Are There Any Disadvantages?
The Gut Sometimes Needs to Adjust
No food is perfect—and that applies to oats as well. Anyone who suddenly switches from a low-fiber diet to larger amounts of oats should expect their gut to react at first. Bloating or a feeling of fullness is not uncommon, especially at the beginning. The Consumer Center therefore recommends gradually increasing fiber intake and drinking enough fluids.
Caution with Celiac Disease
Oats are naturally gluten-free. However, during processing, they can come into contact with wheat, rye, or barley. People with celiac disease should therefore only buy products that are explicitly labeled as gluten-free.
What About Pesticide Residues?
The Consumer Center points out that organic oats are less likely to contain pesticide residues than conventional products. At the same time, product tests by Ökotest show that both organic and conventional oats can occasionally be contaminated with pesticide residues or mold toxins. Those who want to consume as few residues as possible can opt for organic oats and also consider current test results.8
My Conclusion
I never thought that a bowl of porridge would lead me so deeply into the world of oats. What started as a spontaneous question at breakfast turned into a small journey through production processes, nutritional science, and numerous studies.
You don’t have to optimize every food down to the smallest detail. Often, it’s enough to know which variant best suits your own breakfast. And if you’re wondering whether I still look skeptically at my mother’s porridge today: No. I’ve since been converted.