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This Slow Cooker Apple Pie Steel-Cut Oatmeal makes the perfect, hands-off healthy breakfast for Fall. Just throw in the Slow Cooker and you have breakfast ready for you when you wake up.
You know what’s better than waking up to a hot bowl of oatmeal??? Your entire home smelling like a fresh apple pie. Now combine the two and you have this recipe. It tastes as indulgent as an apple pie but is actually nutritious and comes together easily in your crockpot so you have breakfast waiting for you in the morning. That’s what I call a breakfast win!
What’s the Difference between Regular Oats and Steel-Cut Oats?
Great question! Both regular oats and steel-cut oats come from the oat plant, however unlike regular oats which are steamed and rolled, steel-cut oats are cut into 2-3 small pieces with a steel blade. They preserve a lot of the plant so while both are nutritious and great sources of fiber, steel-cut are slightly higher in fiber and offer a more nutty taste and texture.
The only problem with steel-cut oats? They take much longer to cook! So one of the best solutions is to cook your steel-cut oats in your slow cooker, that way you can set it and forget it and wake up in the morning to freshly cooked apple pie oats!
How To Make Slow Cooker Oatmeal
It might surprise you but 1 cup of steel-cut oats makes 4 servings of oatmeal. Steel-cut oats expand a lot when cooked so make sure you add the 1:4 oats to milk ratio.
One of the most important steps to remember is to grease your slow cooker! Otherwise the ingredients may stick to the base and no one wants to wake up to burnt oatmeal! Otherwise the recipe is simple. Add all ingredients, stir well to combine and then set-it and forget it! This slow cooker recipe is a fool-proof recipe for everyone.
And for those of you asking, THIS is the slow-cooker I use!
PrintSlow Cooker Apple Pie Steel-Cut Oatmeal
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 hours
- Total Time: 8 hours
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 1 cup steel-cut oats*
- 4 cups unsweetened almond milk
- 2 medium apples, chopped
- 1 tsp coconut oil
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 2 tbsp maple syrup (or honey) – note: I don’t like my oats super sweet so feel free to add more for added sweetness
- splash of lemon juice
Instructions
- Grease your slow cooker with coconut oil
- Add all ingredients to your slow cooker and stir well.
- Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours.**
- When finished cooking give it a good stir to ensure liquid is well mixed.
- Top with your favourite toppings. I like peanut butter and crunchy apples.
- Store leftovers in fridge for up to 1 week. To reheat add a splash of almond milk and heat up in microwave or on stove-top.
*Gluten-free certified if necessary
**I make mine overnight so it is ready in the morning
Like this recipe? Here are a few other oatmeal recipes you might enjoy:
Yum, my mouth is watering. My current way to start the day is https://bit.ly/2ZBPkP0 I start on the right foot, it’s quick and gets me going. I will definitely try this for those cold mornings 🙂
Oops, I should ask, is it ok to use other mills such as coconut milk or regular milk?
Julie
yup! Should be totally fine!
I’m looking forward to trying this recipe! It’s just starting to get cold here in Australia so finding it was perfect timing. I have a Thermomix so I will try and make the Apple Pie Oats in it as a hands free shortcut. If it works I will post some pic on Instagram.
Thanks for sharing
Julie
This recipe is delicious but the cook time was only 4 hours on low if I didn’t check it the food would have burned. The oatmeal was perfect and creamy.
For the apple pie steel cut oats in the slow cooker, do you use fast cooking or long cooking oats?
Standard steel-cut oats, so not quick cook!
Looks delicious. Can I use a 5 qt slow cooker and double the recipe for a crowd?
absolutely!
I’m new to using coconut oil. Is it in this recipe for flavor or is the oil needed to make the recipe cook properly?
Is there an alternative? What else can I use coconut oil for if I buy some?
it’s used for both flavour and to help the oatmeal not stick to the pot. You can substitute butter!
I’d love to try this but I have a tree nut / soy allergy daughter. Can I use regular cow’s milk?
Totally! Feel free to sub dairy-milk!
Saw this recipe posted on MyFitnessPal yesterday & put it in my slow cooker last night. Yummy oatmeal this morning…thanks for sharing the recipe!!!!
Hey what size slow cooker?
Mine is a 5 quart but so long as it’s bigger than 3 quarts you should be good!
Mine is a 5 qt. crock pot
I was skeptical of using twice as much water as the package of oats instructed, but since it was to be left overnight, thought maybe I would lose that much water by morning. I was wrong. I wound up with oatmeal soup, and was pretty disappointed.
Hi Michael, I am sorry to hear this. I and many others have made these recipe several times and have never had any issues with leftover liquid. If anything I need to add a bit more liquid in the morning! Slow cookers can be finicky so perhaps this had something to do with it.