Are you looking for a fail-proof way to have a piping hot breakfast ready and waiting for you in the morning when you wake up? This Creamy Crock Pot Oatmeal Recipe is the perfect Steel Cut Oatmeal Recipe and couldn’t be easier.
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How to Make Creamy Oatmeal in a Crock Pot
Cris here.
I LOVE steel-cut oatmeal in a slow cooker. Our Apple Cinnamon Crock Pot Steel Cut Oatmeal is one of my favorite crock pot meals of all time. (Here is a great video of that recipe…)
However, I don’t always have apples on hand, so this recipe for Creamy Crock Pot Oatmeal comes in very handy. I altered this recipe from one I found in Gooseberry Patch’s Slow Cooking All Year Round (Psst… enter to win a copy).
I find a lot of people tend to shy away from breakfast crock pot recipes and specifically oatmeal. Many say it is due to a really bad flop. After a little investigation, I have come to the conclusion that crock pot oatmeal recipes flop for two main reasons… Wrong ingredients and burning.
Using the Right Ingredients
Steel Cut Oats are not the same as Old Fashioned or Long Cooking Oats. The recipes I enjoy cRockin’ all use Steel Cut Oats. They look and cook very differently from other types and withstand the long cooking times in a slow cooker a lot better than other forms of oats. Steel Cut Oats also use a lot more water to cook than the other types.
My advice? Always look for a Slow Cooker recipe that calls for Steel Cut Oats and follow it closely. Recipes that simply call for oats or long cooking oats may turn out mushy, gluey or have too much water in them.
Safeguard Against Burning
As I share in my Tips for Avoiding Crock Pot Disasters (Part 1 & Part 2), all slow cookers are not created equal and you really need to know from experience how evenly and how hot yours cooks. In my opinion, most slow cookers from the last few decades cook WAY hotter than a lot of recipes allow. The newer models from the last few years are greatly improving this issue (here are some of my favorites), but it still means a lot of the slow cookers out there are throwing curve balls to your overnight recipes especially.
My advice? Use a glass bowl inside your slow cooker and fill water half way up the side (also known as a double boiler) to keep your contents from burning while you sleep. I use the largest bowl from this set found on Amazon for many breakfast recipes and also in lieu of a coffee can for breads and cakes. (Psst… I also use the medium bowl from the set quite a bit as well for smaller recipes.) I use this method with all my slow cookers for breakfast recipes.
What You Will Need for Creamy Crock Pot Oatmeal- Steel Cut
Ingredients Needed
- 1 cup steel cut oats, uncooked
- 4 cups water in the glass bowl, you will need additional water to pour into the insert outside the bowl
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
- 2 tablespoons vanilla or almond extract
- Optional: Favorite fruit topping
Equipment Needed
- Glass mixing bowl that will fit in your slow cooker insert and hold all of the ingredients of the recipe
- Measuring cups
- Measuring spoon
- Stirring spatula
- 6 quart crock pot
Time Needed
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cooking Time 8 hours on low
General Notes
- Looking for more recipes? Our Recipe Finder can help you find exactly what you need.
- Check out all our favorite recommendations for cookbooks, slow cookers and low carb essentials in our Amazon Influencer Shop.
- As with any of our recipes, carb counts, calorie counts and nutritional information varies greatly. As a result, your nutritional content depends on which products you choose to use when cooking this dish. The auto-calculation is just an automated estimate and should NOT be used for specific dietary needs.
- All slow cookers cook differently, so cooking times are always a basic guideline. Recipes should always be tested first in your own slow cooker and time adjusted as needed.
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Creamy Crock Pot Oatmeal {Steel Cut}
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Steel Cut Oats uncooked
- 4 Cups Water inside the bowl- additional water will be needed for in the crock pot insert, outside the bowl
- 1/2 Cup Milk
- 1/2 Cup Brown Sugar packed
- 2 Tablespoons Vanilla or Almond Extract
- Optional: Favorite fruit to serve on top
Instructions
- Place glass bowl inside your 6 quart slow cooker's insert.
- Fill water on the outside of the bowl just to half way up. (DO NOT OVERFILL)
- Add all ingredients inside of bowl and mix well.
- Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.
- Stir and serve.
Notes
- Looking for more recipes? Our Recipe Finder can help you find exactly what you need.
- Check out all our favorite recommendations for cookbooks, slow cookers and low carb essentials in our Amazon Influencer Shop.
- As with any of our recipes, carb counts, calorie counts and nutritional information varies greatly. As a result, your nutritional content depends on which products you choose to use when cooking this dish. The auto-calculation is just an automated estimate and should NOT be used for specific dietary needs.
- All slow cookers cook differently, so cooking times are always a basic guideline. Recipes should always be tested first in your own slow cooker and time adjusted as needed.
Nutrition
If you enjoyed this recipe, you might also enjoy these dishes
Peaches and Cream Overnight Oatmeal {Crock Pot}
Crock Pot Steel Cut Oatmeal: Apple Cinnamon
Her site Recipes That Crock is dedicated to helping everyone find delicious recipes to serve their families every month.
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I don’t like Oatmeal. But I’m 71 years old and my Doctors have more than suggested that I includeSteel Cut Oatmeal in my diet if I want to see as many more Holiday Seasons as I’ve been allocated to share with my Family and Friends. And so I “searched”, and, given that “search”, I came across this recipe. And it is WONDERFUL! (Oatmeal will NEVER be ranked among my favorite foods, but if I have to eat it, this is the way to go!) I’ve been making it for 3 weeks now, and I can’t be happier. I’ve adjusted the recipe to accommodate my 1.5 Quart crockpot (I prefer setting this up every night rather than using one of my larger crockpots, and having leftovers), and I’ve been using Heavy Cream instead of Milk and Splenda’s Brown Sugar Blend instead of “straight” Brown Sugar. Sometimes I’ve “topped” it with low-carb fruits (e.g., Berries) while at other times I’ve sliced a Banana or added some Raisins or other chopped-up Dried Fruit to my “concoction”. And then — of course — there’ve been those days when I’ve just added some Butter and a bit of Cinnamon. To my mind, ALL of those additives “work”. And to my surprise, I’ve actually been looking forward to an Oatmeal-based Breakfast ever since I’ve incorporated this particular recipe into my DAILY rotation Try it! You’ll like it! I promise! (Thank you Chris, Mickey, and Aunt Lou for this recipe. You’ve actually made Oatmeal a more than palatable Breakfast option for me).
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