Start your morning off on the right foot with a healthy bowl of Crock-Pot Steel Cut Oatmeal! Just three ingredient for this basic recipe which you can customize!

Slow Cooker Steel Cut Oatmeal
I have a confession to make. Breakfast is my least favorite meal to cook.
I am not a breakfast person.
Most of my family likes to eat breakfast pretty soon after they wake up in the morning. While I on the other hand, want to sip on a couple cups of coffee first and then eat breakfast around 9 or 10 AM.
Enter this basic recipe for steel cut oatmeal cooked in the slow cooker.
I can prepare this recipe the night before and let it cook overnight. The key to being able to cook this recipe overnight is using a slow cooker that automatically switches WARM after the cooking time is done.
So the oatmeal cooks for 6 hours on LOW and then automatically turn to the WARM setting. When we wake up the oatmeal is done cooking and still nice and warm.
Everyone can then prepare their bowl of oatmeal however they like it depending on what we have on hand.
When I am ready to eat later in the morning, I usually just scoop some oatmeal into a bowl and add a splash of water and re-heat it in the microwave.
Topping ideas for steel cut oatmeal made in the slow cooker:
To make it creamy:
- Butter
- Coconut cream
- Heavy whipping cream
- Whole milk
To make it sweet:
- Agave
- Brown sugar
- Equal
- Honey
- Maple syrup
- Monk fruit sweetener
- Raw sugar
- Splenda
- Stevia
- Sweet N low
- White sugar
To make it taste yummy:
- Almond extract
- Almonds
- Apple pie spice
- Apples (cooked or dried)
- Apricots (fresh or dried)
- Blackberries
- Blueberries (fresh or dried)
- Cherries (pitted fresh or dried)
- Cinnamon
- Cranberries (dried or cooked)
- Ground cloves
- Jam
- Lemon zest
- Nutella
- Nutmeg
- Orange zest
- Peaches (fresh or dried)
- Pears (fresh or dried)
- Pecans
- Pumpkin pie spice
- Raisins
- Raspberries
- Strawberries (fresh or dried)
- Vanilla extract
- Walnuts

Equipment Needed For Crock-Pot Steel Cut Oatmeal:
Frequently Asked Questions
No, this recipe is specifically for using steel cut oats. Steel cut oats take a much longer cooking time than old fashioned oat or quick cooking oats and will not turn out correctly when used with this specific recipe?
Yes, this recipe can be put in the slow cooker right before you go to bed and it can cook while you sleep. The key however is to cook this recipe in a programmable slow cooker that will automatically switch to a WARM setting or will turn OFF after 6 hours of cooking time. Because most people sleep on average 8 hours you do not want to cook this steel cut oatmeal recipe for 8 hours on LOW heat.
Some of our readers have had success cooking this recipe for 8 hours on the WARM setting. Normally we would not recommend cooking food on the WARM setting, but because this recipe does not contain any sort of meat or dairy it is safe.
Yes, you can reheat the steel cut oats. The fastest way to reheat is to put the oatmeal in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 1 to 2 minutes. If the oatmeal is a little too thick you can thin it back out with splash of water or milk.
Steel cut oatmeal is good for about 1 week when stored in an airtight food-safe container in the refrigerator.

Special Diets
Gluten Free | High Fiber | Low Calorie | Low Cholesterol | Low Fat | Low Sodium | Low Sugar | Vegan | Vegetarian
This recipe for Crock-Pot Steel Cut Oatmeal is Weight Watchers Friendly on the new Personal Points plan. You can see the WW personal points for this recipe here on the Weight Watchers website. Click here for MORE of our Weight Watchers Recipes
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Recipe Collections
- 5 Quart Crock-Pot
- 5.5 Quart Crock-Pot
- 6 Quart Crock-Pot
- Breakfast Recipes
- Fall Recipes
- Kid Friendly Crock-Pot Recipes
- Winter Recipes

Crock-Pot Steel Cut Oatmeal Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 Cups Water
- 2 Cups Steel Cut Oats
- ½ Teaspoon Kosher Salt
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a 5 to 6 quart slow cooker and stir to combine.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 4 to 6 hours.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition

I love this recipe! I make it all the time and it comes out perfect every time!
Absolutely love this recipe! This is a big hit, home run, in my house. I sweeten with brown sugar. Thanks ladies for this fabulous recipe!
Can I reheat this the next day?
You can reheat this the next day Melissa. You may need to add a little water or milk to it to thin it out a little bit but it reheats just fine
Thank you for sharing this recipe!
I make this once a week and my husband brings it to work every morning.
I use oat milk instead of water and throw about a cup of raisins and a tablespoon of cinnamon into the crock pot and cook it for six hours.
You are most welcome Carol. I am so glad you and your husband enjoy this recipe. Thanks for the kind rating!