Overnight Steel Cut Oats
Remember when I mentioned the other day how important having breakfast is? Well, I wasn’t going to keep you hanging on some easy breakfast ideas to start your day. My kids and I love oatmeal. They are so cute sitting at the kitchen table in the morning with their little bowl of oatmeal and their plate of berries. I am so happy that my kids love fruit. They would pass up a snack for fruit any day. Veggies, well that’s another story but I will gloat for a moment about their love of fruits. Anyways, steel cut oats is another morning favorite. These good for you oats that are packed with fiber take a little longer to make then your typical oatmeal but with cooking them in the crock pot you can eat them more often with minimal effort.
I love to serve then like a parfait, although I’m certain my kids don’t care how it is served, but for me I think it looks pretty. One serving, is 1 cup cooked oats, which is about 1/4 cup dry. I take 1/2 cup of steel cut oats and place it in the bottom of a bowl, then half of my yogurt. Top with the remaining 1/2 cup of steel cut oats and yogurt then add some berries. So simple and comes in at about under 300 calories with the yogurt for a hearty breakfast.
In a crock pot add in steel cut oats.
2 cups skim milk (or your choice milk) and 2 cups water.
1 teaspoon vanilla extract.
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg.
1 tablespoon agave nectar (or if you prefer maple syrup).
1 teaspoon chia seeds (optional). Give it a stir, place cover on top and cook on low for 7-8 hours. In the morning the oats will be cooked. Turn off heat. Stir and serve warm topped with your favorite berries.
RECIPE UPDATED! After several comments regarding the cooking time of this recipe I have retested it and have updated with the necessary changes in the revised recipe below. Enjoy!
PrintOvernight Steel Cut Oats
An easy way to make steel cut oats that will be ready for breakfast in the morning. Serve with your choice of yogurt and berries for a filling breakfast.
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 hours
- Total Time: 8 hours 10 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 1 cup steel cut oats
- 2 cups skim milk (or non-dairy milk such as almond milk or coconut milk)
- 2 cups water
- 1 tablespoon agave nectar or maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Pinch of nutmeg
Instructions
- Spray slow cooker with cooking spray.
- Place all ingredients in slow cooker and stir until combined.
- Cover and set on low for 7-8 hours.
- Turn off slow cooker. Stir and serve with fresh berries and yogurt.
What a great tip! No one likes mush for breakfast 😉 p.s. our dryer total caught on fire last year! Scary! Thank goodness we were home.
Thanks goodness you were home! I’m always afraid of that happening too.
This is brilliant-I can’t wait to try it!
What a fun different way to do overnight oats1
So I tried this last night and it nearly worked perfectly. It sat in the slow cooker for 8 hours after I turned it off and it was still fairly soupy in the morning, so I turned it back onto high for about 45 minutes to get it to a more oatmeal-y consistency.
Glad you tried it! You know, I think my crock pot runs hot. An hour seems to be fine in mine, but I have had my crock pot forever so I think I might need a new one as well. 🙂 Things tend to heat it in very quickly so I think I’m going to adjust the recipe for 1 1/2 hours on high then shut it off. Thanks for letting me know! 🙂
What a delicious breakfast idea! I love the yogurt and berry topping!
I try to eat breakfast every morning but it gets to be so hard sometimes so this here is just great! Thank god for a slow cooker 🙂
This is a great idea, I can’t stand mushy oats! I’m totally like that with the dryer too – I won’t leave it on if I’m leaving the house – I’m scared it will cause a fire!
I’m glad to hear I’m not the only one scared to leave the dryer on! 🙂
Thank you for this awesome recipe!!! This will finally break my addiction to my steel cut oats breakfast from Chick-fil-a!!! 🙂
Brilliant! I also hate keeping my crockpot on if I am not home (or asleep for that matter!) This is a fantastic trick. Thanks for sharing. The oats look delicious!
Wow, this is a really fantastic idea! I’m definitely trying this! Love it!
Love this idea! Always looking for quick and healthy breakfast ideas for our family in the mornings. Thanks so much!
I’m not a big breakfast eater, but this is so pretty!! I think I could actually eat it 🙂
I’m so glad I found this recipe. I bought steel cut oats and have been wanting to try them.
I like dumping a thing of cinnamon applesauce on top and some brown sugar. Reminds me of apple pie 🙂
Question–Does the milk go bad overnight–staying out and in the heat until it cools down?
No, the milk won’t go bad overnight. I make these all the time without ever a problem. 🙂
Has anyone tried these with almond or coconut milk? I’m breastfeeding and my son has a milk protein sensitivity and I have a soy sensitivity, so neither of those are an option for our family
Hi Jessica. I have made this Silk original coconut milk and it’s very good. Let me know how this turns out for you. 🙂
Hi wondering if you ever make this and then store in fridge and re heat? thanks!
Hi Emily, Yes, you can definitely store in the refrigerator and reheat. I love to portion them in mason jars for a quick grab and go breakfast.
ok great! made it for work this week and tasted more like desert then breakfast! loved it! thanks so much look forward to discovering more of your recipes!
Hi Emily, So glad to hear you enjoyed this yummy recipe! 🙂 Have a great weekend!
What size of crock pot? I have a 2 quart I would love ideas for it.
It didn’t work for me :(. Started it at high for 1.5 hours then shut it off. It sat in the slow Cooker for 9 hours and was soup when I got to it in the morning. I put it back on high & I’m waiting for it to thicken up. It’s been 2 hours and it’s still soup. Followed the recipe exactly… No substitutions. 🙁 This crockpot is one that usually runs hot, so I’m confused…
Hi Sara, Sorry this recipe didn’t turn out for you. When I get a chance I will test the recipe again and make any modifications if necessary. Thanks for letting me know.
Can I follow the same directions using a larger crock pot?
Hi Lori, yes you can. You just may want to let them cook longer before turning it off. Enjoy! 🙂
I was so excited to try this recipe, but when I did it was just soup in the morning. I followed the directions exactly and when I woke up I even turned it on again but it didn’t help much. My slow cooker is usually on the hot side so I don’t know why it didn’t turn out. I’m so bummed!
Hi Carisa, So sorry these didn’t turn out for you. I am going to retest this recipe soon and will add any modifications to the recipe once it is retested. Thanks for letting me know your results.
I don’t see a change in the length of cooking time. It
I ran across this recipe last night believe or not while grocery shopping. I had another overnight oats recipe I was going to make, but I love steel cuts oats and did a quick search and found yours! It worked great for me. I probably cooked it for 8-9 hours and it was perfect. After portioning into containers, I added a tablespoon of splenda brown sugar, 1 tablespoon of grape jam and 1 tablespoon of crunchy almond butter. So good!! I used almond milk and it was perfect. Will for sure make this again! Beats the heck out of babysitting a pot of oats on the stovetop!
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