Wake up to the amazing aroma of this easy recipe for Crock-Pot Apple Pie Oatmeal that has been cooking overnight in your slow cooker. Steel cut oatmeal is simmered with fresh apples, cinnamon and other warm spices to bring you a healthy breakfast that is gluten free, vegan, vegetarian and high in fiber!
Crock-Pot Apple Pie Oatmeal
There is nothing that make my mornings happier than knowing that I have a healthy breakfast all ready to go when the kids and I wake up.
And this recipe for overnight apple pie oatmeal made in my slow cooker fits all the requirements for me.
Not a lot of prep work involved…just measuring out the steel cut oats, water, and spices and then chopping up a couple of apples.
Easy!
You basically just throw everything in your slow cooker and let it do it’s thing while you sleep.
Now if only everything else were that easy right?
When making oatmeal in your crock-pot the key really is to use steel cut oats. Other kinds of oatmeal like instant oatmeal, quick cooking oatmeal and even old fashioned rolled oatmeal tends to get mushy when cooked for any length of time in the slow cooker.
But not good and hearty steel cut oats! Because they are less processed they hold up their texture beautifully in the long cooking environment. AND as a bonus…they are healthier for you too with more nutrients and fiber than other forms of processed oats.
If you are on a gluten free diet we recommend using a brand of steel cut oats that is gluten free. While oats in general are gluten free, not all brands are in fact labeled as gluten free. We really like McCann’s Steel Cut Irish Oatmeal. They are easy to find and are indeed labeled as gluten free.
This recipe contains no added sweetener. I found it to be plenty sweet with just the apples. However feel free to sweeten the oats to suit your taste with sugar, honey or your favorite sweetener.
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| Servings | 8Servings |
| Prep Time | 25Minutes |
| Cook Time | 6 - 8Hours |
- 2 cups Steel Cut Oatmeal
- 7 cups Water
- 2 large Apples peeled, cored and chopped
- 3/4 teaspoon Pure Vanilla Extract
- 1/2 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon Ground Ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
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Ingredients
Servings: Servings
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- Add all of the ingredients to a 4 quart or larger slow cooker and stir everything together to mix.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 6 - 8 hours.
- Serve and enjoy.
If you have a programmable slow cooker that automatically switches to the WARM setting after the cooking time is done this recipe will keep well on WARM for several hours so you can sleep in! 🙂
If I decide to add sugar, how much should I put in?
We suggest sweetening with sugar or other sweetener after it is cooked and adding to suit your taste. Some folks may like it sweeter than others. I would start with 3 tablespoons of sugar, stir that in, taste it and add more 1 tablespoon at a time if needed.
I loved this recipe, however, I had to double the amount of water. 31/2 cups left it a big dry burnt glob. I made it & used the water to oatmeal ratio that was on the box…..1 cup steel cut oats to 4 cups water…so I used the 2 cups oats & added 7 cups water. Perfect creamy oatmeal. It was delicious & I’ll definitely make it again.
Thanks for the feedback on the recipe Christine. I just looked up the original notes on this recipe and somehow the water amount is indeed wrong and it should be 7 cups of water. I have edited the recipe to include the correct amount of water for the steel cut oats.
I tried this recipe last night but only made it for 4 servings rather than 8. Had so much faith in it and got up 7.5 hours later and it’s a watery mess with the oats all stuck to the bottom! 🙁
Oh no Hanna, I am sorry that happened to your oatmeal. I am not sure why it would have turned out that way for you. Perhaps because you halved the recipe but did not adjust the cooking time?
My husband is now on a low colesterol diet and this sounds like a great breakfast idea! I have a question, there is only 2 of us so I was wondering how this would work if I refrigerated and reheated leftovers the following mornings? Thanks!
Hi Anna, I think reheating this oatmeal dish would work. Sometimes you may need to add just a little bit of water when reheating to loosen it back up a little. But not much. Maybe a tablespoon or two per bowl.
If i make this dish with rolled oats what would i have to change?
This recipe has not been tested using rolled oats. But if you give it a try the cooking time will probably need to be adjusted down as rolled oats cook faster than steel cut oats.
My husband made this first time today & unfortunately didn’t read the 7 cups of water till 3 hours after mixed rest of ingredients.
The first few bites it tastes a bit watery.
Not sure if the lateness of the water made the off taste.
We’re thinking of adding more cinnamon or oatmeal to the mixture.
I definitely think adding the water 3 hours into the recipe would affect the flavor of the oatmeal.
Do you know how many cups is considered 1 serving?
Thanks!
Sorry Rebecca, I don’t know how many cups is 1 serving. This recipe serves 8 people so 1 serving is 1/8th of the recipe.
I just made this oatmeal last night and followed all directions to a tee. This morning I tried some and there was no taste at all. Bland and no texture…? Help…
So sorry your oatmeal didn’t come out to your liking Brooke. Did you add any additional sweetener after it was cooked?
This recipe was ok but tasted nothing like apple pie. Definitely needs sweetener, apples were not enough to sweeten. I also found it to be too thick. I Added warm milk to the crockpot while it was on warm setting. Then mixed in stevia and a little sugar. It really helped. The apples were amazing since they weren’t mushy. I’d make it again but with these enhancements.
Thanks for letting us know, Tracy! Glad you were able to tweak it to your liking!
What type of apples work best? Maybe cooking apples or would they be way too bittter?
Marc, I would try Fuji, Ambrosia, Gala, Golden Delicious, or Honeycrisp apples. Those all are on the sweeter side.
Used Gala and it worked well! Might add some strawberries next time – Thanks for the recipe!!
So glad you liked it!
If I cut the recipe in half do I have to adjust the cooking time?
Hi Karen, this recipe has not been tested in a half recipe as such I cannot promise that it will turn out right if you half the recipe and adjust the cooking time. If you are up for experimenting you could try that and perhaps reduce the cooking time by one or two hours, check the oatmeal and see how it looks and cook longer only if needed.
If you do experiment with it be sure to come on back and let us know how it turned out for you and what adjustments you made!
Hello! Can I store the left overs in the fridge and eat through the week or will it go bad/ thanks
It should be fine if stored properly! Enjoy!
Made this recipe last night. It turned out just as described. It was excellent after 6 hours in the slow cooker. Thank you!!
So glad you enjoyed!
I followed the recipe and it’s way too watery with no flavor.
Hey Amanda, I’m sorry the recipe didn’t turn out for you! Every crockpot cooks a little differently…if you try it again maybe try it on high for an hour or two and then on low for the rest of the time.