You know what the easiest part of my day is? Mornings. Especially school mornings. Things always go super smooth because my kids always go to bed on time the night before and fall asleep promptly, not keeping each other up or coming out to ask for drinks and Band-Aids (for, you know, all those bedtime injuries) and bathroom trips. I have a dog that lets herself out of the house to take care of business and she definitely does not go bark incessantly at her nemeses, the ugly terrier and the stump-tailed beagle next door. And my baby? He’s always super considerate about feedings and diaper changes and he’s great about waiting until everyone is squared away and awake and happy and dressed and fed so I can take care of his needs.
Yeah, that’s not my life. If it’s your life, I think you and I would lack a fundamental understanding of each other. I need all the help I can get in the mornings.
I found this recipe a few months ago on The Yummy Life and it has quickly become my favorite go-to breakfast for busy (and not-so-busy mornings). I have all sorts of variations in the works, so keep your eyes out for other fun overnight oatmeals over the next few months.
You’ll need steel cut oats, milk (I used whole; I’ve been reading some interesting research on implementing whole milk in a healthy diet), water, brown sugar, cinnamon, 2 baking apples (Fujis are sweet, Granny Smiths are tart), and salted butter. You can also add some ground flax seeds for extra nutrition.
Okay, here’s the thing with slow-cooker oatmeal–the first time you make this, I really, really, reeeeeally recommend making this for dinner on a day when you’re going to be around to keep an eye on things. Because every slow cooker cooks a little differently, there’s a possibility it won’t be done after seven hours or, more likely, there’s a possibility it could overcook. And then you’ll be sad and breakfastless. So it is really not the worst idea in the world to figure out how this recipe works in your slow cooker when you can control the situation instead of while you’re sleeping.
Anyway.
Steel-cut oats.
They’re the whole oats, just cut up. This means they’re much heartier, healthier, and more filling than rolled oats. It also means that cooking rolled oats like this will likely end in mushy goopiness.
So spray the slow cooker (well, the removable crock part, not the whole slow cooker–I know 99.9% of you are smart enough to realize that, but that darn .1% ruins it for everyone) with non-stick cooking spray and place the oats, brown sugar, ground flax, and cinnamon in a 3 1/2 quart slow cooker. You can go larger–a slow cooker up to 6 1/2 quart is fine–but don’t use the biggest, baddest slow cookers out there.
Chop up two apples (I love Fuji apples, but Granny Smiths would also work).
and add them along with the milk, water, and butter to the oatmeal mixture.
Cover and cook on low for 7 hours (keeping in mind that all slow cookers cook differently). Before serving, stir (or don’t…but I like to stir mine because I’m crazy like that) and serve.
Keep in mind that this is oatmeal and it’s probably not going to be seasoned EXACTLY how everyone at your breakfast table will want it straight out of the pot. It might not be sweet enough or cinamonny enough or creamy enough, so serve with additional milk, brown sugar, chopped walnuts or pecans (if you want ’em), and a sprinkling of cinnamon or apple pie spice. I also sprinkle mine with a little salt rather than cooking it with the salt–I’ve found I use less and notice it more (in a good way) when it’s sprinkled on top of the oatmeal.
Overnight Apple-Cinnamon Oatmeal
Recipe very lightly adapted by Our Best Bites from The Yummy Life
Ingredients:
2 baking apples like Fuji (sweet) or Granny Smith (tart)
1 1/2 cups milk (I used whole)
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup steel cut oats
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground flax seed
Kosher or coarse salt for sprinkling when serving
Toppings: Brown sugar, cinnamon or apple pie spice, raisins, chopped pecans or walnuts, milk, etc.
Instructions:
Spray a 3 1/2-quart or larger slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray. Combine all the ingredients except for the salt and additional toppings. Cover and cook on low for 7 hours. Serve with additional toppings. Serves 5-7.
Questions & Reviews
trying this out tonight. i dont have a slow cooker so im trying it with my pressure cooker!
We make this recipe all the time… love it! Also, I always scan the first paragraph or so before I get to the recipe and it makes me laugh – it’s refreshing someone else doesn’t have perfect mornings every day 🙂
If I use a 2 qt. slow cooker will it work if I use the original recipe or do I need to cut it in half?
I put this recipe together last night in the crock pot, and left a note for my 10 year old son to eat this for breakfast. In parentheses I put that the recipe was from “Our Best Bites”. He later informed me today that when he saw that breakfast was oatmeal, he was going to skip it and eat cold cereal instead. He then finished reading my note and saw that it was your recipe, so he changed his mind. He said that if it was from “Our Best Bites” it must be good, since up to this point we love all your recipes we’ve tried! He said it was really good, but he’d like more apple chunks in it next time…yeah he said “next time”!!
Made this for today and it turned out great. So much better than other versions I’ve tried. My favorite part might be the salt AFTER cooking … Yum!!! Great tip :-). I also have a bigger slow cooker but I just doubled the recipe for oatmeal all week 🙂
I make steel cut oats like this about once a week in the fall/winter. It always cooks longer than 7 hours. And forget whole milk- I USE CREAM!:) 2 cups water and one cup heavy cream- I promise it is awesome!
Is it ok to omit the flax seed? Not that I’m against flax seed or anything, but we don’t have it at our grocery store, and I’d rather not pay for the shipping to purchase it online…
yep 🙂
Thanks! do I need to adjust the liquid amounts if I omit the flax seed?
I make something sorta like this and it is just fantastic using agave nectar or brown rice syrup, apple juice, cranberries. Excited to try this out…steel cut oats rock!
For those of you living near a Winco, you can buy steel cut oats in their bulk section for about 60 cents per pound. I buy their 25 lb bag and it costs me 14 dollars. WAYY cheaper than any where else I’ve found.
I LOOOOVE steel cut oats and make them regularly. Even better and quicker than a slow-cooker is a pressure cooker! I have an electronic pressure cooker with a timer and all i have to do is put everything in the night before, set the timer and voila! Perfect oats right at breakfast time. Also, if I forget, I often blend up steel cut oats in the blender until they resemble a really course flour. This cuts WAY down on cooking time. Then i throw them in a pan with water, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt and simmer for about 8 minutes. So good!
I love my electric pressure pan! I was wondering, how long do you pressure it? Do you use high or low pressure?
Holy Delicious!! I made this for breakfast Sunday – It was a hit with every member of my family, including my 2-year-old! Thanks again for another great recipe, ladies!
Looking forward to making this! And I’ve just discovered the supreme goodness of putting pecans on breakfast cereal, so i appreciate that you included that.
I make this recipe all the time – my whole family loves it. I love that breakfast is all ready to go when I get up! Too easy!
Made this today as a “test run” for a weekend breakfast idea. It was the perfect amount and turned out so delicious. We are definately doing it again. (Side note my slow cooler only took about 6 hours to cook it to perfection)
I think I read in the book “365 Days of Slow Cooking” that you can use a smaller oven-safe dish inside your slow cooker if you need a smaller crock pot. I think she said just to put your food in the smaller dish, cover it with plastic wrap, and put it inside your crock pot, cover with the crock pot lid, and cook as directed.
Oh, and your description of how you just have the easiest mornings – I laughed out loud through the whole thing. It’s crazy, but that’s just like my life! LOL. Bedtime injuries! How does that happen, anyway? Oh, wait, we’re supposed to pretending it doesn’t happen. 😉
I have a question that might seem a little dumb. I’ve tried a recipe like this before and it came out as inedible glue! What would be the best description of how it should look when it’s done? I definitely like the suggestion of cooking it while you can watch it the first time.
This almost went perfectly for me! I was talking to my husband while I was throwing everything in the crockpot and completely forgot to add the butter! It turned out fine with out it, but still. And then I think I let it go a little to long because I checked on it at 6 hours and it still had so much liquid so I was afraid it hadn’t cooked enough, when if I’d just stirred it it would have been fine. I had some crust of overcooked oatmeal on the bottom and sides of my crockpot but it separated its self and came off easily…probably for my crockpot 6 hours would have done the trick. It’s super tasty, though…I love the taste and texture in comparison to quick oats. And it’s not overly sweet at all. Yum!
We have been loving oatmeal lately, so I can’t wait to try this. And we recently switched to getting only full fat dairy products as part of a move towards eliminating processed food. We’re getting non-homogenized whole milk from a local dairy, and you wouldn’t believe how good it is! I made your cupcake frosting with it for my 2 year old’s birthday, and it was absolutely heavenly!
I have been doing 1 cup of steel cut oats in a bowl. Then I add 2 cups boiling water. Then I cover it with a shower cap or plastic wrap overnite. Next morning I add another cup of water and bring to a boil. Then simmer it for five minutes. I haven’t had good luck with my crockpot and this works better for my life.
This came out really good! I used granny smith apples, but my oatmeal was completely cooked in about 3 hours! My apples weren’t mushy, but they were medium hard…I wasn’t sure if they were supposed to be mushy or not, but I had to shut off the crockpot since the oats were completely cooked! I added a little sprinkle of Stevia and even my 2 year old ate 3 bowls! Yummy!
I read that whole first paragraph saying to myself, “oh huh, Kate. I’m not buying it,” but I grinned the whole way through reading it. You are so funny. I love steel cut oatmeal, and your idea of adding pumpkin spice to it sounds crazy good! See you next month at Gygi’s!
anyway to modify to use dried apples…..
My favorite Holiday tradition is making candy gingerbread houses with the grand kids.
I just found out I’m allergic to all dairy and to almonds (among lots of other things). I’ve been using almond milk up until now, but now need to find an alternative. I’m wondering if rice milk or soy milk might work in this recipe?
Thanks!!!
I can’t wait to try this! Where did you get your dishes? I love them!
I buy my steel cut oats at Costco in a 4 lb bag (Bob’s Red Mill brand) for like five bucks! Super cheap!
I make my crockpot steel cut oats on a Sunday afternoon, throw it in the fridge when it’s done, and eat it for the next 3 or 4 days. It heats up beautifully with a little milk on top with bananas and blueberries! Yummy! Great recipe-haven’t tried cooking it with apples yet. Next on the list, for sure.
Love, love, love this recipe! I adore steel cut oats and find myself craving them many mornings…but with a four month old, keeping watch over a simmering pot of oats for 15-20 minutes just doesn’t fit in to my day. I try to eat oatmeal every day to keep my milk supply up so I will definitely be trying this recipe…ASAP! Thank you!
You said in the post that steel cut oats are ‘healthier’? I’ve never heard that before – only that they are a different texture. Can you point me toward information about how/why steel cut oats would be healthier than rolled oats? Thanks.
I’m a registered dietitian and can perhaps offer info that might help. The difference primarily lies in the way the oats are processced. Steel cut oats are the whole oat kernel that is simply cut into pieces with a steel blade, leaving behind all parts of the grain. Rolled oats are rolled between two large drums or presses, which removes the outer bran and makes the kernel flat. That makes it easier and faster to cook, but also removes much of the outer bran, which is where some of the fiber and fat is. Both types of oats are nutritious and a good choice. According to the USDA, 1/2 cup of dry rolled oats has approximately 190 calories, 3.5 g fat, 7 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber. 1/2 cup of dry steel-cut oats has approximately 300 calories, 5 grams of fat, 10 grams of protein, and 8 grams of fiber.
I’ve been wanting to try overnight oatmeal for a while now. Seeing your pictures has prompted me to make it this weekend! It looks so good; I can’t wait to have some!
Love the milk carton pitcher…where’d you find it? We aren’t big oatmeal fans in this house but worth giving a try!