Slow Cooker Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal

The Ultimate Fall Cozy Weather Recipe: Apple Cinnamon Oats

This slow cooker apple cinnamon oatmeal pack all the flavors of Fall into a warm, cozy bowl. They’re loaded with all the Fall flavors that you’re accustomed to such as cinnamon, apples, and pecans. I love how easy this comes together. It’s nearly hands-off and you wake up in the morning to the most amazing smell in your house. It’s like having a house full of Bath and Body Works candles.

The best way to utilize this is when you’re having overnight guests or just want to sleep in a bit on the weekend. Everyone wakes up at different times and instead of being concerned about, “what’s for breakfast?” if you have a batch of apple cinnamon oats ready when everyone wakes up, they can serve themselves a bowl with their coffee. It helps the entire household out and you won’t have any hangry guests or anyone rummaging through your pantry for something to tame that hunger!

What You’ll Need:

• Apple – fresh apples! I would go for Fuji, Gala, Honeycrisp, or whatever variety you like. I would stay away from Red Delicious (I think the exterior is too waxy) and Granny Smiths.
• Milk – cow’s milk or dairy-free works!
• Apple Cider – please, NOT apple cider vinegar. Apple cider!! If you can’t find apple cider, you can substitute for apple juice.
• Steel cut oats – I love the texture of steel cut oats and it’s the perfect candidate for an overnight slow cooker oats recipe such as this because it doesn’t get super mushy and steel cut oats typically take longer to cook anyway.
• Brown sugar – dark brown sugar to be exact. I love the depth of flavor the dark brown sugar gives.
• Ground cinnamon – I love the warmth of cinnamon.
• Ground flaxseed – for that extra fiber, ya know?
• All the toppings – nuts, maple syrup, more apples, and do you dare add some whipped cream?!

Recipe Tips and Variations

• Definitely spray the insert of your slow cooker well so you aren’t scrubbing off the sugary browned edges (this is normal) for hours. However, if you do forget and this does happen, allow the insert to soak for a couple hours and use a little Bar Keeper’s Friend or create a paste with baking soda and Dawn dish soap.
• If you don’t have steel cut oats, you can substitute with old-fashioned rolled oats but I would not recommend substituting with quick cook oats. They would cook entirely way too fast and not hold their shape very well. I fear they would be too mushy and gummy.
• On your serving of oatmeal, sprinkle some chia seeds on top for extra fiber and protein.
• Speaking of protein, you could mix in some vanilla protein powder into your personal serving if you need to start the day with extra protein.

Storage and Reheating Instructions

Allow leftovers to cool then store in an airtight container and keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. To reheat, you’ll want to splash a little liquid (milk or creamer) before reheating in a pot on the stovetop or in a microwave-safe bowl until warmed through. The liquid will help loosen up the gluten that naturally gets thicker when chilled.