This Crockpot Apple Oatmeal is an easy, overnight family breakfast that cooks entirely hands off! It's a cozy fall breakfast recipe that you can prepare before going to bed and wake up to in the morning, like our baked pumpkin oatmeal. Or let it cook on the weekend for an easy meal prepped breakfast during the week. You can also use this oatmeal as a filling for baked pears.
Use your favorite type of apple in this recipe (anything goes!) for a customized flavor. It's spiced with a homemade blend of apple pie seasoning to give it an amazing flavor profile. You can add other fruits too, like dried cranberries or raisins, to make it even more filling. Or mix in a homemade slow cooker apple pie filling when serving for an even more pronounced and sweet apple flavor.
While we love this now during apple season, baked strawberry oatmeal and blueberry oatmeal are perfect for warmer weather make-ahead breakfasts.
Looking for more recipes to use an abundance of orchard picked apples? Try vegan apple muffins, Instant Pot apple cider, slow cooker applesauce, apple bread and crockpot pork chops and apples, too!
Table Of Contents
Why You'll Love Slow Cooker Apple Oatmeal
- It can be prepared ahead of time and cooked overnight to make busy weekday or holiday mornings simple and stress-free.
- This recipe yields a large amount of oatmeal so it's great for meal prepping, too!
- Customize the taste with an added mix of fruits. Raisins, cranberries, currants, coconut flakes, peaches, and pears are great additions.
Ingredients
To make slow cooker apple oatmeal you need:
- 1 cup steel cut oats: do not substitute!
- 3 ½ cups milk: I prefer using a non-dairy milk such as almond milk, but any dairy milk or plant-based milk will work.
- ½ cup maple syrup: or use honey.
- 4 large apples: they should be diced or sliced, and peeled or unpeeled are both fine.
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp cinnamon extract: substitute with additional vanilla extract if you don't have cinnamon extract.
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- ⅛ tsp ground allspice
Can I Use Old Fashioned Oats?
No, do not substitute with old fashioned oats. The timing and ingredient ratios for this Drecipe is for steel cut oats and old fashioned oats will become mushy and overcooked.
Do I Need To Peel The Apples?
Peeling the apples is optional. I never peel mine to keep it quick and easy.
Instructions
- Lightly grease the sides and bottom of the slow cooker with butter. Add all ingredients except the apples. Stir to combine.
- Layer the diced apples on top of the oatmeal. Cover the slow cooker and set to LOW for 4 hours.
- Stir apples into the oatmeal when finished. Remove from the crockpot and transfer to a serving dish. Serve warm or store for up to 1 week in the fridge.
How Much Oatmeal Does This Make
You'll get 5-6 cups of oatmeal.
Can I Make Crockpot Oatmeal Overnight?
Yes! This recipe is convenient for busy mornings because you can set it up in the slow cooker before going to bed, forget about it and wake up to a fantastic tasting (and smelling!) breakfast ready to eat!
How Do You Keep Crockpot Oatmeal From Getting Mushy
The key is to using steel cut oats and the right amount of liquid and cooking for a short duration (4 hours) on the low setting. You don't want to keep it on warm for too long once it's done to avoid overcooking it also. This recipe will make the apples very soft and blended into the oatmeal, so if you want the diced apples to have a more distinct texture, add them with about an hour of cook time left.
Can I Cook It On High?
I don't recommend cooking apple oatmeal on the high setting, as this can cause it to burn quickly.
Chef's Tips
- For the oatmeal to turn out right, you must use steel cut oats - no substitutions!
- If your crockpot runs hot, use a slow cooker liner to prevent burning if you can.
How To Store Apple Oatmeal
Store oatmeal in a covered container for up to 1 week in the fridge. Avoiding freezing, as it does not freeze well.
Recipe
Slow Cooker Apple Oatmeal
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup steel cut oats no substitutions
- 3.5 cups milk any dairy or plant-based milk
- ½ cup maple syrup or honey
- 4 large apples diced, peeled or unpeeled
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon extract or vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ⅛ teaspoon ground allspice
Instructions
- Lightly grease the sides and bottom of the slow cooker with butter. Add all ingredients except the diced apples. Stir to combine.
- Layer the diced apples on top of the oatmeal. Cover the slow cooker and set to LOW for 4 hours.
- Stir apples into oatmeal when finished. Remove from the crockpot and transfer to a serving dish. Serve warm or store for up to 1 week in the fridge.
Notes
Nutrition
Lois liz says
I love the flavor of the cooked apples in this recipe! It's a favorite cooked oatmeal.
Kristina Tipps says
My family loves apple cinnamon oatmeal packets so we make this our homemade version instead, especially when we go apple picking and have sooo many apples to use!