These apple cinnamon overnight oats are so easy to throw together and with the help of your slow cooker you can have a warm breakfast ready for you in the morning!
There’s something about overnight oatmeal that makes me want to curl up in front of a fire with a hot cup of coffee and a piping hot bowl of oatmeal as soon as I wake up in the morning. While that scene might seem cozy this time of year, it’s clearly just a scene in my mind as mornings in my house tend to involve two “hangry” [hungry + angry] toddlers clamoring for breakfast as soon as they wake up. While I usually reheat French toast sticks or toaster waffles with a side of yogurt and chopped fruit for their breakfast, I like to change up our breakfast routine every now and then with a batch of oatmeal. And since the cold weather has hit us here in Detroit, I brought out my slow cooker for this batch of apple cinnamon overnight oatmeal.
While I’ve seen a few cooking methods for slow cooker overnight oats, there’s one cooking method I absolutely had to try [and trusted] from my friend Ashleigh at A Dash of Evans. Ashleigh shared her secret method for cooking apple overnight oats in the slow cooker a few weeks ago and because I love following her family cooking online [especially SnapChat], I knew her oats just had to rock: Cook on high for 1 hour then turn off and let the oats “rest” for 8 hours. I like the sound of the “rest” method, don’t you?!
The base for slow cooker overnight oats is simple: 1 cup of oats [I used steel cut which are heartier, and have more fiber and protein than old-fashioned oats] to 4 cups of liquid [I do 2 cups of milk and 2 cups of water]. From there you can add any fruit or seasonings you might like—- we are an apple cinnamon family so I knew the boys would enjoy this flavor combination. Next time I might try peanut butter chocolate too! As for toppings, I like to mix a little Greek yogurt and chopped nuts on top. And my boys like a little extra brown sugar. As long as they are eating breakfast I’m OK with a little sweetness here and there! And between us, the brown sugar gives this Mom the push to eat a little breakfast too…
- 1 cup steel cut oats
- 2 cups low-fat milk
- 2 cups water
- 1 apple, cored and chopped [I used red delicious]
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Set slow cooker to high setting. Add all of the ingredients to slow cooker insert.
- Cook on high for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Then turn off the slow cooker. With lid on, let stand for 8 hours or overnight.
- In the morning or before serving, spoon out ½ cup servings and reheat in the microwave for 15-30 seconds.
- Top with favorite toppings such as chopped dried fruit, Greek yogurt, brown sugar, or chopped nuts.
If your slow cooker is busy cooking dinner and you’d like a refrigerator version of overnight oats, give these overnight oatmeal raisin bars a try! Bring out your slow cooker for these fiber-filled apple cinnamon overnight oats! Share on X
Thanks for the shoutout lady 🙂 These are seriously the best, especially during the winter!
Thank you for sharing an amazing tip!! Ps. Yours looked better than mine lol!
This looks wonderful! Question: Will only steel cut oatmeal work? I have a lot of rolled oats, and I’m not sure if using them instead would make a difference. Thanks!
Thanks for sharing, will put this recipe in the slow cooker tonight.