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Slow cooker apple cinnamon oatmeal is the epitome of Fall. Warm cinnamon and sweet apples will make your house smell absolutely incredible. The best part? Throw the ingredients in your slow cooker before bed and you’ll have the coziest apple cinnamon oatmeal when you wake up!
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.
difference between steel cut oats, old fashioned oats/rolled oats, and quick cook oats
It comes down to texture, processing, and cooking time.
Steel cut oats are oat groats that have been cut into two or three pieces and they’re relatively unprocessed while old fashioned/rolled oats are made by steaming and rolling the oat groats for faster cooking. Quick cook oats are the same but cut into smaller pieces for even faster cooking.
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.
Slow Cooker Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 apples, cored and cut into ½ inch cubes
- 1 ½ cup (366 g) 2% milk
- 1 cup (236 g) apple cider
- ½ cup (119 g) water
- 1 cup (160 g) steel-cut oats, a heaping cup
- 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, or more if you prefer more
- 1 tablespoon ground flax seed
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Optional toppings: nuts, dried fruit, bananas
Instructions
- Coat the inside of your crockpot generously with cooking spray. You will NOT want to miss this step cause otherwise you will be standing over the sink scraping the little sucker.
- Add all the ingredients to the crockpot (minus the garnishes), stir, cover, and cook on low for 3-4 hours or high for 1.5-2 hours. Keep on warm until ready to serve. Depending on how long it has been sitting on 'keep warm', you may need to add some liquid to loosen it up.3 apples, 1 1/2 cup (366 g) 2% milk, 1 cup (236 g) apple cider, 1/2 cup (119 g) water, 1 cup (160 g) steel-cut oats, 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 tablespoon ground flax seed, 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Serve warm with your desired toppings.Optional toppings: nuts, dried fruit, bananas
Video
Nutrition
Photography by Eat Love Eats
I found the finished product rather “Gluey”. I’m thinking it was over cooked. I think next time I would try making it during the day to get the right cooking time. I do not have a programmable crockpot nor do I have a warm setting. I also added a touch more brown sugar and a splash of milk before eating.
Can use almond milk Instead of regular milk?
Yes, it should work.
Made this! Turned out exactly how I think it was expected to be. I have a small crock pot but it didn’t change anything. I wish I had added lessnof the cider, made it too sweet for me (I usually eat my oatmeal with No sugar). I used a liner and nothing burned or stuck.
Well I didn’t cost my pot with anything 1st, hopefully it won’t be too much of a bear to scrub out! Can hardly wait to taste it now though:)
I made this tonight and it was delicious! My 5 year old son loved it too. I think it will now be a regular, but I will double it for sure. I peeled the apples first, and added some white sugar to taste before eating. We actually made for dessert/ late-night snack tonight, so I cooked it at warmer setting for 3 hours instead.
Can you make this recipe without the milk?
You can, but I would advise adding more water and apple cider since steel cut oats need a lot of liquid to cook.
The steel cut oats… are they the regular ones or the quick cooking?
Regular! :)
What is the Flax seed supposed to do, other than completely ruin everything?
What was the purpose of this comment, other than to be a troll? If you don’t like flaxseed or care for it…then don’t use it! Or, if you really want to know its benefits, you could Google it.
Julie!!! I love your responses to some of these people???. You are cracking me up girl ?
Can you use apple juice instead of apple cider and perhaps leave out the sugar ?
Oh, that is a good thought! Definitely could. If you leave out the sugar entirely, make sure to add some when you eat it (if it doesn’t taste right).
I’ve never left a comment about any recipe ever, until now, but I wanted to thank you. Our family LOVES this oatmeal. I’ve been making it at least once a week for the past 2 months, and each time my kids act excited and surprised in the morning (about oatmeal!!!) . We like it topped with a little butter. Yum! Thank you!