Photo by Abby Ladybug
Cold winter mornings are the worst. Knowing that I have to crawl out of my nice warm bed into the cold air, stumble down the stairs and get the kiddos ready for school. . . Sometimes I just wish there were a nice, hot breakfast waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs.
Well, with Overnight Crock Pot Oatmeal there is! With this recipe there will be plenty of oatmeal to feed 4-6 adults. Don’t need to feed that many? Just toss it in the fridge and reheat the next day.
Oatmeal is a frugal person’s friend. Oats can be purchased inexpensively at most stores-and if you have the option of a bulk food/healthfood store you can pay even less. Oatmeal is also an extremely healthy & filling breakfast. It is naturally high in fiber and low in fat.
*****NOTE: People have been experiencing difficulty with this recipe-coming out way too soupy & mushy. I did a huge experiment, with help from readers, to try to figure it out. Please check the info out before you cook.*****
Overnight Crockpot Oatmeal
1 cup steel cut or regular oats (NOT Quick Oats!)
4 cups water
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 TBS butter
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
Combine all in crockpot and cook on low for 8hrs. Serve with milk & cinnamon sugar.
Variations:
Add up to 1 C raisins/dried fruit before cooking.
Add 1 chopped fresh apple before cooking.
Top with fresh fruit (in season) or canned fruit (drained).
Add a pat of butter or a dollop of jam/preserves.
Drizzle with honey.
I actually cook my overnight steel cut oats on the warm setting and it works perfectly. Low is too high with my crockpot.
I tried this last night on my low setting but it was all burnt when I looked at it this morning. I will try this again on the warm setting. Dangit.
I’m so sorry Gina. This recipe gives me fits–I always feel so bad when other folks try it and it doesn’t work out. 🙁 Hopefully the “warm” will do better for you.
I followed the original recipe with steel cut oats and ended up with oatmeal soup. :-/
Should I have left the lid off while it cooked?
No, the lid is supposed to be on. I’m sorry the recipe has given you trouble. Were the oats completely cooked?
I’m curious why after conducting your experiment that you haven’t updated the recipe on this page. Clearly 1 cup of regular oats is not sufficient, yet the recipe above still calls for 1 cup of regular oats.
That first line should read:
“1 cup steel cut or 2 cups of regular oats (NOT Quick Oats!)”
It’s not really clear that the real recipe for those using regular oats is hidden behind a link.
Did u use 2 cups of regular oats and I turned out fine?
I make a pot of this every weekend but, I only put in 3 cups of liquid, 1 1/2 cups of water and the same of almond milk, I also put chopped up apples, cook on low for eight hours, I put into little cups and my breakfast if ready to grab, I also eat it cold with greek yogurt on top, it is good that way just like apple cobbler
I love when folks change things to suit their family and needs. Glad you enjoyed the recipe!
I’m carefully monitoring all my calories, so I’m trying to figure out how many calories per serving are in this recipe. About how many servings are in this recipe do you think?
Thanks for your help!
I’m sorry–I don’t really know.
I love this recipe! I mix walnut and slice a banana into each serving and it tastes like banana bread! I was wondering what size crock pot do you use for this recipe?
I use my mom’s old large pot–I’m not sure the size. I know, that’s not particularly helpful is it? I’m glad the recipe works well for you!
I cooked my 1st batch exactly how the recipe was written (I substituted almond milk) and it was delicious! I’m doubling it today so that I have enough for the rest of the week. I also added chia & flax to my individual servings!!! Thank you <3
How much chia did you add? Did you add or take anything away because you added the chai?
I’m sorry, it’s been so long since I made this that I don’t remember!
Made this two nights ago and it turned out delicious. Followed the recipe exactly. My (newer, crappy) crockpot only had a low and high setting, so I went with the low, even though many recommended the Warm setting. Next time I make this, I will add in another 1/2 cup of the steel cut oats. I had some burn on the bottom edges of the pot and I think they would have helped the consistency.
Anyways, I’m enjoying it right now. Thanks for the recipe!
I have a new 2qt slow cooker I recently bought. I’ve used it to cook steel cut oats on low overnight but after 6-7 hours it’s cooked perfect but some of it is stuck to the sides and bottom, with very little burnt.(I spray the inside non-stick spray) . Do you think it’ll be safe to cook it on the warm setting? Has any one tried it with success?
Personally I am comfortable with the “warm” setting and have had several readers state it worked for them. However, you may want to do a test by putting water in your pot, turning it on to “warm” and letting it sit for several hours, then checking the temperature to see if it is maintained at a high enough level for your personal safety tolerance.
DELISH!!!! It was a crowd pleaser even with my son who is a picky eater. I added cut up apple… Wonderful to wake up to a warm breakfast….Thanks for the recipe.
This is my second time making it and the recipe came out perfect! I used soy milk instead of regular milk. Love this recipe!
So glad you enjoy it!
Great recipe! Making it again for breakfast tomorrow morning. Thank you for creating and sharing this yummy recipe!
I made this for breakfast this morning using almond milk and it turned out perfect. This is so easy and was a big hit with my family and friends at the campground. Will definitely make this again. Thanks for sharing
Glad you enjoyed it!
We were recently at a casino restraunt in Minnesota and they had Northwoods porridge on the menu. It was delicious. It has made with oatmeal, wild rice, nuts, dried cranberries and blueberries on top. Served with cream, brown sugar, and maple syrup. I’m thinking of adapting this recipe to make it. Any tips?
I’m sorry, I’ve never had anything like that. I would assume that they cooked the oats and the wild rice at the same time, but you’d have to experiment with amounts of grain to water and times.
Made this last night. I did everything the recipe told me to do except I put it on low for 5 hours, woke up in the middle of the night and switched it to “warm” for the last 3 hours. Just because I seen all of the reviews about what temp to put it on, so I did both. Let me tell you, it came out perfect!!! Loved it and it is so convenient for me to just get up in the morning and take it to go. Once I get to work, I sit down at my desk and eat it. I top mines with strawberries and walnuts! 🙂
So glad this recipe worked out well for you. Strawberries and walnuts sound like a delicious combination with it.
This recipe ruined my entire day! I followed the instructions to a “t” with steel cut oats and it did not look too appetizing at all, more like diaper filling to be quite honest. With that said it tasted ok, so I ate it since I didn’t want to waste the ingredients that I used – this was a big mistake! About an hour later I was in the restroom with explosive diarrhea, so much so that I almost didn’t make it to the toilet in time. Thank goodness that I have a strong sphincter. These episodes continued for several more hours. I would suggest avoiding this recipe unless you are prepping for a colonoscopy.
This recipe has been a thorn in my side since I posted it-some folks have excellent results, some have horrible. i have no idea why it turns out so differently for everyone.
When talking about regular oats are you referring to rolled oats? Not the quick oats?
regular oats.
4 1/2 cups of liquid for 1 cup.of oats is way too much liquid. Either double the oats or half the liquid.