It has been a couple weeks since I received my slow cooker as a birthday present (yes these are the type of things I ask for) and have been chomping at the bit to use it. The reason I haven’t use it is because all of our meals are prepared and frozen for this month and I did not “need” to really make anything.
However, this week we finally ran out of the freezer pancakes and breakfast sandwiches giving me a chance to put my slow cooker to work. Therefore, the first recipe I made in my slow cooker was a delicious steel-cut oats breakfast adapted from the America’s Test Kitchen Slow Cooker Revolution
Anyway, back to the recipe.
Steel-cut oats are typically a real pain to prepare on the stove top because they take so long to cook and need to be tended to frequently. With making them in the slow cooker you will find it much easier to whip up a large batch of these oats to enjoy for a few days. Simply store the cooked oatmeal in a container in the refrigerator and then warm up on stove or microwave when you are ready to eat. Add a little milk or water to bring it back to the desired consistency.
This steel cut oats recipe turned out deliciously creamy with just the right amount of texture you come to expect with this hearty breakfast. It went perfectly with my pumpkin flavored coffee and the Today Show 
Steel-Cut Oats Slow Cooker Recipe
Servings: 8
Serving size: 1/8 of recipe
Approximate nutritional information:
Calories: 265 * Carbs: 58 * Fat: 4 * Protein: 6 * Fiber: 5
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 cups steel-cut oats
8 cups water
1/2 cup raisins (you could use more but that is all I had left)
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
Directions:
Step 1: Melt the butter in a pan over medium heat. Add the oats, stir and coat with the butter, and toast over medium heat until lightly brown. You will start to smell their nuttiness. This only takes about 1-2 minutes. Be careful not to burn them.
Step 2: Mix oats and the rest of the ingredients into the slow cooker. Cook on low for 4-6 hours.
Special note **I used a 6 quart slow cooker and cooked mine for 5 hours and then it went to warm for about an hour. I turned it off and went back to bed for another hour. When we came back down to eat it was perfect.
I will admit I was bummed at first when the recipe said 4-6 hours because I was hoping to turn it on when I went to bed and then wake up to perfect oatmeal. However, the recipe I used was pretty adamant that oats would turn out mushy if cooked longer than that. With being new to slowing cooking I did not want to take to many risks at first. If you have cooked a recipe like this longer than 6 hours and it worked out then I would love to hear about your experience.
I leave my crockpot on Warm all night and turn it up to High for about an hour when I get up in the morning. It works pretty well for us. I usually cook 1 cup of oats with 2 cups of milk and 2 cups of water.
This is a great idea! Thanks! I am still trying to get the hang of my crockpot.
This was awesome! I used about a 1/3 cup of brown sugar and added a chopped apple about 90 minutes before it finished and it was really good! Mine took about 5 1/2 hours.
I just discovered your blog and its awesome! I plan on making this tonight for morning. Can I freeze the left overs?
Hey there! thanks for stopping by. I personally have never froze steel cut oats. However, I just saw steel cut oats in the freezer section of the grocery store the other day which says to me that it most likely can be frozen. You may have to play around a little with it but give it a try. Let me know how it goes.
I freeze steel cut oats all the time. I put 1 cup portions into freezer/microwave safe containers. Once they are room temperature, I put in freezer. Reheat in microwave on high for 3 minutes. My cross country running 12 yo loves this for breakfast.
I like to add chopped apples and dried cherries, cinnamon. I use apple juice instead of water. I put it on low the night before and it is ready in the morning. Put it into one cup containers and it is ready for breakfast anytime. Add a dollop of plain greek yogurt and you have a really nice hardy breakfast.
Yum that sounds delish!! I will have to give that a try.
Hi there, I just found your blog via pintrest, and this was the first recipe that I looked at since I have recently been cooking steel cut oats in my crock pot. I have been using this recipe: http://www.theyummylife.com/blog/2011/03/159/Overnight,+Slow+Cooker,+Apple+Cinnamon+Steel-Cut+Oatmeal
It’s is really yummy. I did make a few changes for my liking. The 3rd time I made it, it turned out the best. I added 1 Tbsp of agave nectar, and one more tbsp of brown sugar, and finally 1/2 tsp of vanilla ( I also omitted the flax meal, since I don’t have any). It was awesome. I’ve tried a couple different ways to cook with my crock pot settings, and the last time that it turned out best, I had it on warm all night, then changed it to low when I got up. The apples were still a tiny bit crunchy, but that made it all the better.
Thank you-I love this recipe!
You are welcome! It is one of my favorites too!