Overnight Slow Cooker Oatmeal

Years ago, a neighbor and friend of mine mentioned that she uses a timer to set her slow cooker to make oatmeal overnight.  She didn’t know it then, but it forever changed our morning breakfasts. I’ve been making Overnight Slow Cooker Oatmeal like that ever since, on at least a weekly basis, and now that school just started, daily. It is so easy, economical, healthy, and delicious.  I use mostly steel-cut oats, but you can use any grain and tweak it for breakfast. I’ve used this method to make quinoa porridge and rice porridge, and it all turns out just as great.

Basic Ingredients

• Oats (any kind, but I like steel-cut)
• Water

All you need are two ingredients: grain and water.  And the gear: a slow cooker and timer. Actually, you might not even need a timer. My slow cooker is pretty old and doesn’t have a timing feature, so I need to use an external timer. And voila! An easy, healthy breakfast that you can customize to any taste.

Mix Ins

You can add:

• Fresh fruit
• Dried fruit
• Nuts
• Seeds
• Spices (cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg)
• Different milks (almond, coconut, cow)
• Fats! (bacon, butter)

I serve it with cranberries, bananas, walnuts, milk, and a little brown sugar. I recently tried bananas, blueberries, and walnuts and it was a hit.

And in summertime, I like adding seasonal fruit, like peaches (served here with pepita seeds).

But I confess…I like savory breakfasts, so when I have it on hand, I add crispy pancetta bits, or bacon.

And drizzle it with a little maple syrup (not the fake stuff). What’s not to love? The chewy nutty grains, crispy salty bacon, sweetness of maple syrup, and just a touch of almond milk to make it meld together in the best porridge ever.

If you have extras, just prepare it in a mason jar and you’ll have an instant breakfast for the next morning.

Variations

You can also use the slow cooker to make:

• Quinoa
• Rice

To get this to work for me, the night before when I’m ready for bed, I setup the slow cooker on a timer.  I set the timer to turn on the power at 3 am and turn off at 7 am. I get to wake up to the aroma of oatmeal and cinnamon.  Breakfast is made!

You Might Like These Too!

• Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes
• Overnight French Toast Bake

Overnight Slow Cooker Oatmeal

Steel-cut oats are slow cooked overnight in cinnamon, producing a hot, healthy easy breakfast without any work at all. Add your favorite toppings and enjoy.

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 4 hours hours

Total Time: 4 hours hours 5 minutes minutes

Servings: 6 servings

Author: Four to Cook For

Equipment

• slow cooker

Ingredients

• 1 cup steel cut oats
• 4 cups water
• 2 tablespoons cinnamon optional

Instructions

• Put all ingredients in a slow cooker and set the timer to cook for four hours.

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