Crockpot Oatmeal

At a glance

What stands out: Crockpot oatmeal is a lighter and satisfying hot breakfast that’s ready when you wake up. A slow cooker is ideal for cooking steel cut oats. Low and slow is just what they need to cook evenly.

How long it takes: overnight
Equipment you’ll need: slow cooker (4 to 6 quart)
Servings: 6

You’ll love crockpot oatmeal because you wake up to a hot bowl of oatmeal, a hearty lighter breakfast. What could be better than that? It’s comforting, warm, and filling.

Eating oatmeal can feel a little old-fashioned. Oats have been around for thousands of years. You may know oatmeal as porridge or by another name. The Scots have been eating oatmeal for centuries because growing oats is well-suited to their climate. We're reminded of a funny episode in The Outlander series when Jamie tells the French king his digestive problems could be solved with a morning bowl of porridge.

If you have only tried instant oatmeal from the little packets, you’ll be pleased to discover that crockpot oatmeal is so much better than that! There’s no comparison.

What Are Steel Cut Oats?

Oat groats (the whole grain) are milled in a variety of ways. For steel cut oats, the groats are chopped into little pieces. They look like small pieces of brown rice. Steel cut oats, also known as Irish oats or Scottish oats, have a chewier texture than old-fashioned oats which are steamed first, then rolled into small flat disks. Steel cut oats require a longer cooking time.

What stands out

A cinch to make! This oatmeal is straightforward to stir up the night before. You only need oats, water, and a pinch of salt. And a crockpot, of course. Five minutes max!

Eliminates breakfast prep in the morning. When you’re ready for breakfast, just lift the lid off your slow cooker, spoon steaming hot oatmeal into your bowl, top with anything you like, and eat! No half-awake breakfast-making. No standing by the stove, stirring a pot while you listen to your stomach growl.

A lighter start to the day! Why is a breakfast of oatmeal a good thing? Healthline says oats are one of the healthiest grains on earth. Oats are higher in protein than many other grains so they’ll stick with you until lunchtime. Oats are gluten-free, too. (P.S. If you’re not a fan of oatmeal but want to incorporate oats into your morning routine, try our oat flour pancakes. Kids love ’em!)

What goes in

• Steel Cut Oats: No substitutions here; other types of oats won’t work in this recipe. Try our baked oatmeal with rolled (old-fashioned) oats if that’s what you have on hand. From-scratch granola is another recipe which uses rolled oats.
• Water: A liquid is essential to hydrate the oats. We tested this recipe several different ways, including using milk instead of water, and found that the mixture with milk tends to burn on the bottom and around the edges when it cooks all night in a slow cooker.
• Salt: Just a pinch of salt keeps the oats from tasting flat.
• Nonstick Spray, Butter, Or Coconut Oil: A little bit of oil will make clean up straightforward for you.
• Slow Cooker (Crockpot): You’ll need a four to six quart crockpot with a lid. If you’re looking for a faster option, you may want to try Instant Pot steel cut oats. The cooking time is shorter, about 30 minutes, and it’s all hands-off time.
• Optional Toppings: Milk (either dairy or non-dairy), fruit, dried fruit, seeds, nuts, nut butters, brown sugar, honey, maple syrup, you name it, it’s good on oatmeal. Keep reading for even more topping ideas!

How it comes together

Prep the slow cooker. Spray the inside of the crockpot with nonstick spray or grease it with butter or coconut oil. This will prevent the oats from sticking to the sides and will be easier to clean up.

Combine and cook. Add the steel cut oats, water, and a bit of salt to the crockpot and stir. Put the lid on, set it for Low, and walk away.

In seven or eight hours, you’ll have evenly cooked steel cut oats! Have a good night’s sleep!

Serve. In the morning, give the oats a stir and scoop up a bowlful.

Unless you’re a purist, you’ll want to top the oatmeal with something. Here are a few ideas but don’t be limited by this list.

Topping ideas

• Dairy (or non-dairy): Milk, cream, yogurt, non-dairy milk such as almond milk
• Sweeteners: Brown sugar, honey, maple syrup, molasses, chocolate syrup (or chocolate chips!)
• Spices: Add a sprinkle of cinnamon, nutmeg, or ginger. Pumpkin pie spice or apple pie spice are great additions to oatmeal. Try mild curry powder for something different!
• Fruit: Sliced bananas, berries, peaches, and mango are good choices. Apple compote (cooked apples) is one of our favorite things to add to oatmeal. It’s great on French toast or pancakes, too!
• Dried fruit: Raisins, dried cherries, dried apricots, dates, figs
• Toasted nuts and seeds: Walnuts, pecans, almonds, pepitas, and sunflower seeds. Toasting the nuts first adds extra flavor and it’s straightforward to do. For an extra special breakfast, garnish the oatmeal with spiced pecans.
• Nutrition boosters: Try ground flaxseed, chia seeds, wheat germ, and nut butters.
• Eggs: Add a fried egg to your bowl of oatmeal for a more savory treat.

Do You Soak Steel Cut Oats?

This is a common question. Soaking steel cut oats can speed up the cooking time if you are cooking them on the stove. With this crockpot method, it isn’t necessary to soak the oats first because they’ll be cooking all night. By the way, you don’t have to rinse steel cut oats before cooking them, either, unless the package instructs you to do so.

Rather Have Oatmeal Cookies?

We get that! Try these crispy coconut oatmeal cookies, soft and chewy iced oatmeal cookies, or whole wheat oatmeal raisin cookies. We love breakfast cookies made with whole wheat flour and oats for breakfast on-the-go or a lighter snack. Energy balls are high in protein and are usually made with oats, too. Try cranberry oatmeal energy balls or apple cinnamon energy bites.

If you’re loving the idea of crockpot oatmeal, be sure to try carrot cake slow cooker oatmeal or pumpkin pie slow cooker oatmeal.

Make Ahead Ideas

Crockpot oatmeal is a great make ahead recipe because cooked oatmeal can be refrigerated or frozen for a speedy and straightforward breakfast later in the week. Double the recipe if you like! Keep reading for how to freeze and reheat serving size portions.

Keeping leftovers

Refrigerate: Cooked oatmeal can be stored in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to five days.

Freeze: For serving size portions, freeze the cooked oatmeal in muffin tins sprayed lightly with cooking spray or greased (silicone muffin tins or souper cubes work great for this). Once it’s frozen, pop the oatmeal out of the tins and put the disks into freezer bags. It will keep for up to six months. To reheat, put one into a microwave safe bowl and heat for 1 to 2 minutes. Bingo, breakfast is ready!

How to store uncooked oats: Oats should be kept in an airtight container in a cool dark place. They’ll keep for at least 12 months or even longer.

Straightforward Breakfast Recipes

• Yield: 6
• Prep: 5 minutes
• Cook: 8 hours
• Total: 8 hours 5 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups steel-cut oats, uncooked (do not substitute other types of oats)
• 6 cups water
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt

Method

1. Spray the inside of a 4 to 6-quart crockpot with nonstick cooking spray or rub with coconut oil or butter.
2. Add ingredients to crockpot and stir to combine.
3. Cook on low, covered, for 7 to 8 hours (overnight is perfect!) or on high for 4 hours, until the oats are tender and the water is absorbed.
4. Stir and serve warm with desired toppings.

Notes

Yield: This recipe makes 6 cups of oatmeal. The recipe can be doubled as long as your slow cooker is large enough. We don’t recommend halving the recipe unless you have a smaller size slow cooker.

Testing note: We found the oatmeal cooked best (and didn’t burn) when we added additional ingredients after it was done cooking. We tested this recipe many times to make sure it would turn out for you!

Optional toppings: Milk, fresh fruit, dried fruit, nut butters (peanut butter, for example), or spices (cinnamon, apple pie spice, pumpkin pie spice, etc.). Ground flaxseed, chia seeds, or hemp seeds add great nutrition.