Slow Cooker Steel-Cut Oats
There's nothing quite like waking up to warm, hearty slow cooker steel-cut oats waiting for you. Just toss the ingredients in the slow cooker the night before, and let your slow cooker do the heavy lifting while you drift off to dreamland-your house will smell delicious come morning!
🔍 Recipe At-A-Glance: Slow Cooker Steel Cut Oats
- 🕰️ Prep Time: 5 minutes (plus soaking time)
- ⏰ Cook Time: 10 hours in the slow cooker
- 🍁 Flavor Profile: A cozy flavor full of warming spice and a little sweetness.
- 🥄 Good For: Hot breakfasts on busy mornings, or as part of a big brunch spread.
- 🧡 Difficulty: As easy as chopping fruit and adding things to the slow cooker.
"I've made these oats several times and they're delicious every time. I usually double the recipe to have enough for my husband and I to eat for breakfast through the week."
- KATIE -
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🧡 Why You'll Love This Recipe
As much as I love an overnight oats recipe, some days I just want a warm, comforting breakfast. Enter slow cooker steel-cut oats: a hot breakfast wrapped in the same easy prep package. For an everyday, delicious breakfast, I love to serve these oats with a smoothie like Mixed Berry Smoothie Without Banana or a refreshing glass of homemade cold brew.
Here's why you'll love this recipe:
- A hands-off breakfast: Aside from prepping the ingredients for the slow cooker, this slow cooker steel-cut oats with apples and dates recipe is mostly hands-off. The slow cooker gives you a meal prep hot breakfast any day of the week!
- Full of whole grains: A hearty bowl of steel-cut oatmeal will keep you full and satisfied. It's a great option for those who want to add more whole grains into their day.
- For any occasion: Enjoy these oats on a chaotic weekday morning, or include them as part of a big brunch spread with some of our favorite special breakfast dishes: Dill Pickle Deviled Eggs Recipe, Bell Pepper Eggs, or Instant Pot Coconut Yogurt.
🌾 The Ingredients You Need
- Steel-cut oats: Steel-cut oats are oat seeds that are less processed than rolled oats (rolled oats are often called "old-fashioned" oats like what I use in my apple overnight oats). When cooked, they have a pleasantly chewy texture. You may be able to find them in the bulk bin section of the grocery store, or look for a canister of steel-cut oats near the other types of oatmeal in your grocery store. Skip the rolled oats or quick oats-they come out too mushy in this recipe. Plus, steel-cut oats have more fiber and make this oatmeal deliciously hearty!
- Apple: Go for a tart apple like Granny Smith-the dates will add plenty of sweetness! You can also toss in dried apple slices instead. The slow cooking process will rehydrate the apples.
- Salt: Don't skip this one! It helps bring out the sweetness of the dates and the flavor of the cinnamon. You'll end up with bland, flat oats without it.
Make sure to check the recipe card below for the full ingredients list, along with quantities and my expert tips and tricks.
🔁 Variations & Substitutions
- Keep it plain: The apples and dates are there for flavor, not function. So if you are missing one or both, you can leave them out. You'll just want to pump up the flavor of your toppings to compensate! May I suggest homemade apple butter or homemade pumpkin spice syrup?
- Pumpkin spice steel-cut oats: When you're craving pumpkin overnight oats but want something warm, make a pumpkin spice version of this recipe! Replace the apples and dates with a half-cup of pumpkin puree, and replace the cinnamon with pumpkin pie spice. Top with my pumpkin butter recipe, chopped toasted nuts, and a little butter or ghee.
- Banana nut steel-cut oatmeal: Replace the apples and dates with a full mashed banana, and top with butter, maple syrup, and plenty of nuts. Or top with peanut butter and sweetener for a warm take on our peanut butter banana overnight oats.
- Choose your own adventure toppings: Top this oatmeal however you'd like. I love a combination of chopped nuts, raisins, butter or ghee, and some sort of sweetener. Sometimes that's maple syrup or brown sugar, and sometimes that's jam or jelly like my apple jelly recipe.
🥣 How to Make Slow Cooker Steel Cut Oats
Step 1: Pour four cups of water over the oats, cover, and allow them to soak for at least 12 hours. I like to do this right in the basin of the slow cooker to cut down on dishes!
Step 2: Drain the oats and add the rest of the ingredients to the slow cooker (just not the toppings). Cook on low for 8-10 hours. You'll know they are done when the oats are thick and look like porridge.
Step 3: Give the oatmeal a good stir, then serve topped with your favorite toppings.
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🙋🏻♀️ Slow Cooker Steel Cut Oats FAQs
Steel-cut oats are notoriously harder to digest, but this slow cooker recipe solves that problem. This slow cooker steel-cut oatmeal recipe includes soaking the steel-cut oats for at least 12 hours, so the oats are easier to digest.
Because they are a less processed form of oats, steel-cut oats take 8 hours on low heat in the slow cooker (which means you can get a full night's sleep!), though they will cook faster on high.
In a well-sealed container, these oats will last in the fridge for a little less than a week, or in the freezer for a few months.
👩🏻🍳 My Expert Tips & Tricks
- Easy clean-up: No need to dirty an extra dish-use the slow cooker basin (room temp and turned off) to soak the oats before cooking.
- Time it right: I recommend soaking the oats all day and then cooking them overnight. This way you can enjoy a hot, filling breakfast as soon as you wake up!
- How to reheat: Stir a tablespoon of milk or water into a serving of leftover oatmeal, and warm in the microwave for a minute, or in a pan on the stove for a few minutes.
🍁 More Easy Oatmeal Recipes
If you tried these slow cooker steel-cut oats or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments!
📖 Recipe
Slow Cooker Steel Cut Oatmeal
Ingredients
- 1 cup steel cut oats
- 7 cups water divided
- 1 large tart apple cored and diced (like Granny Smith)
- 6 Medjool dates pitted and diced
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Pinch kosher salt
- Optional toppings chopped nuts, raisins, maple syrup, butter, or your favorite oatmeal toppings
Instructions
- In the basin of a slow cooker, combine steel cut oats and 4 cups of water. Close the lid and let the oats soak at room temperature for at least 12 hours.
- When soaking time is up, drain the oats, discard the soaking water, and return the oats to the slow cooker. Add in the remaining 3 cups water, plus all the remaining ingredients (except your toppings). Cook on low for 8-10 hours.
- Serve topped with your favorite oatmeal toppings.
Notes
- To time this right, I recommend starting to soak your oatmeal in the morning, then putting it to cook overnight-that way you'll wake up the next morning to a hot breakfast. Your house will smell amazing!
- This recipe won't work with "regular" old-fashioned oats or quick cook oats. You're looking for steel cut oats-which should be sold in a can next to all the other oatmeal in your grocery store. These are a less-processed form of the oat seed, and result in a pleasantly chewy oatmeal!
- Check the label of your oats to make sure they are gluten-free if you or someone you are serving this too are sensitive to gluten.
I've never woken up to a more delicious-smelling kitchen than I did when I made these oats! I love the texture these steel-cut oats take on after a long cook in the slow cooker.
I was wary about leaving the slow cooker running all night, but this was SO good!!
The secret to cooking steel cut oats is to let them soak in water for 24 hours before you cook them that way you only have to cook them for only about 15-20 minutes every one should do that
I've made these oats several times and they're delicious every time. I usually double the recipe to have enough for my husband and I to eat for breakfast through the week. I use my rice cooker to make them, but it only has one setting for whole grains and doesn't turn off automatically. I usually cook for 25 minutes, stir and cook another 20 if it is only one batch- if more than one, it may take an additional 15-20 minutes. I've also substituted the dates for raisins, dried cranberries, etc. This has become a go to favorite in our house!
I made a batch of these oats yesterday for breakfasts during the week. This was my first time trying Medjool dates, and I loved them in this dish! I made mine on the stove-top and added milk and chopped walnuts to serve. It was nice and quick to reheat this morning. I plan to make this again!
This looks absolutely delicious! Yay for Oatmeal Month!
just pinned this to try soon...I'm always a little intimidated to cook steel cut oats, but this sounds so easy. Thanks for sharing!
I've been ready for spring since the clocks went back in September! So far it's been unseasonally warm but it started to get colder this weekend and it's been sunnier which helps, although true to form, it's still raining! I'm not keen on oatmeal and we call it porridge which makes it even less appealing but maybe I should try the steel cut oats and see if they convert me?
I am a slow cooker steel cut oats kind of girl because I don't have a rice cooker. However, I use one of the little ones that don't have different settings, like you would use to serve queso. I just put in one cup of steel cut oats and three cups of water and plug it in. It takes about 2 hours for the oats to cook...when all of the water is almost absorbed, I add whatever fun ingredients I have on hand and cook it the rest of the way.
I just bought dates for the first time, so now I am going to have try this recipe! As soon as I get sick of my bagel-a-day habit, I will be moving on to some oatmeal breakfasts.