I confess to being an oatmeal addict for the past 2 years. I didn’t realize how much oatmeal I really consumed until this past summer, as my steady working hours pushed me into a morning routine that included bringing my breakfast to work.
Every night, I portion out some oats with almond milk, cinnamon, and fresh berries if I’m lucky, and let them soak overnight before reheating in the microwave at work. It’s delicious, easy, and filling- but WOW, I have gotten really bored.
This past week, I bought steel-cut oats in the bulk bins of Whole Foods in an attempt to diversify from my rolled oat obsession. This slight variation has made a world of difference, and this pot of steel-cut oats lasted me 5 straight mornings. There was no boredom, only creamy and chewy oatmeal that filled me up all morning.
Slow Cooker Steel-Cut Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal (serves around 6 generously)
- 2 cups steel-cut oats
- 2 apples, diced
- 3 cups water
- 3 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup raisins or dried cranberries
Dice your apples into small bite-size chunks. Grease the slow cooker and fill it with the above ingredients. Easy so far, right? Make sure to keep the ratio of milk to water equivalent, as equal parts seems to help the oats cook adequately while becoming creamy.
Turn the slow cooker on low for 4 hours. You can make this on the stove easily as well- I would assume simmering for 35-40 minutes would do the trick.
Leftovers will keep in the fridge for about a week. Reheat each portion in the microwave with extra almond milk on top. Yum!
Oatmeal diversity love,
Marisa
Beth says
Great looking. I LOVE outmeal. Now just need a crock pot!
Jessi says
Yum, girl! I’m always looking for other ways to Crock Pot!
jeddacp says
this looks so yummy! i may just need to try this 🙂
Marisa says
Thanks! Let me know how it turns out!
Rae says
why almond milk? is it possible to use regular skim milk? I am not really a fan of rolled oats – oatmeal and my sister suggested I try steel-cut oats instead. this looks like something I could make on the weekend and have ready for the next week….always looking for shortcuts for time.
Marisa says
Hi Rae- the vanilla almond milk adds a nice creaminess and vanilla flavor, but I definitely think you could substitute skim milk and potentially add a tsp of vanilla extract before cooking. The thicker the milk, the creamier the oats- so if you can use 1% that could be another option too! Let me know what works for you!